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SolidGoldFX launches the retro-styled Imperial MKII fuzz

SolidGoldFX is standing on the shoulders of giants with the Imperial MKII, taking what they liked from the old, and tweaking it for the new.

Fuzz fanatics SolidGoldFX are back again with another glorious pedal. Their latest release, the Imperial MKII, is a JEN Jumbo Fuzz/Big Muff inspired gated fuzz pedal, hand-built in Montreal, Canada.

Making use of sliders rather than knobs, as well as vintage-inspired red and black decals, it’s just as pleasing on the eye as it is on the ear.

Imperial MK II

The Imperial MKII takes heavy inspiration from the 1970s JEN Jumbo Fuzz, which was inspired itself by the classic Electro-Harmonix Big Muff. Like the JEN Jumbo Fuzz, the Imperial MKII makes use of a J-FET preamp which results in what SolidGoldFX describes as “low noise floor detail and definition”.

The pedal is controlled by four sliders that adjust the volume, tone, contour, and fuzz levels, allowing the user to get the crunchy tone they desire. While similar in many ways to its JEN predecessor, SolidGoldFX have improved on the design in a couple of ways.

The Imperial MKII’s germanium noise gate has been redesigned, now made out of silicon. Alongside an improved envelope generator, the noise gate is said to produce “virtually zero noise“, while having a more flexible fuzz and more defined attack. These changes were made with hollow body guitar players in mind but will be noticed by keys and bass players as well.

Finally, the Imperial MKII makes use of top jacks for inputs, dual-LED indicators for bypass and gate status respectively, and true bypass switching. For more details, head over to SolidGoldFX.