Fuzz Tone

Davie Allan was an early user of the fuzz tone boxes in the 1960s and put them to good use on a number of his instrumental hits with the Arrows. He also used the effects on many of the soundtrack works he completed for movie studios over the years. His pioneering sound has been an influence on many performers since his early recordings. Among his most popular songs is “Blues’ Theme” for the biker film The Wild Angels. The tune incorporated a heavily distorted guitar lick by Davie and was released as a single that made it to the Top 40 of the Billboard charts.

Lou Bradley served as a recording engineer in the famous Quonset Hut Studios in Nashville, TN which was operated by Owen Bradley (no relation). Among the thousands of recordings Lou played a part in are “Spooky” by the Classics IV, “Whistle Stop” by Roger Miller (later used by the Disney Company) and “If We Make it Through December” by Merle Haggard. He was hired in 1969 and stayed 13 years until the studio was closed.

Robert Hobbs is very proud of his father’s role in music. His father, Revis Hobbs, was a radio engineer for station WSM and later created the r/f switch for radio frequency stability. In 1962, Glenn Snoddy asked Revis to provide the circuit board and box for the Fuzz Tone, an idea Glenn had to create a guitar effect pedal. The two men drove to Gibson and partnered with the guitar maker to supply the Fuzz Tone, which were made until the early 1970s. Robert, always interested in music, earned a degree in accounting and formed a few businesses in the record industry.

Gary Stewart Hurst is known around the industry as “Gary the Fuzzman” for being the inventor of the Tone Bender fuzz pedal, which he began producing in the 1960s. Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page started using Gary’s Tone Benders in 1965 and soon demand for his fuzz pedals came in from around the world.

Dave Pike made an indelible mark on jazz vibraphones! As a percussive based player, Dave wanted to play with both rhythm and pitch and to explore melodies within Bebop riffs. He played with many of the legends of jazz and in doing so created music that would result in his own status as a jazz icon. While in Germany in the 1960s, he made use of Fuzz tones and synthesizers with the vibraphones that few had even thought of. As a result, his style became much imitated and was influential on fellow vibe players and non vibe players alike. 

Mike Porter is the Facilities Manager at Belmont University in Nashville and a historian of the local recording studios. He set out to become a pilot but while attending Belmont in 1973 he enrolled in music business classes and connected with the courses on recording and engineering. He began working as an engineer at Woodland Sound Studio while still in college.

Glenn Snoddy was working in the recording studio in Nashville, when a short on the control board caused Grady Martin's guitar to take on a new sound.  The engineers and producer looked at one another and asked if they heard that fuzzy sound.  That sound was later requested by other artists who sought the studio out.  So, Glenn went home and designed an effects box that was later sold to Gibson with the same name Glenn gave the device, the Fuzz Tone!