What is it?
The Harvezi Hazze may look like an ordinary fuzz/distortion box, but anyone familiar with SOMA – the company that invents outlandish and awesome alternative instruments like The Pipe, Enner and Terra – knows that “ordinary” does not exist in SOMA’s vocabulary.
Featuring a waveshaper circuit based around a unijunction transistor (whereas typical fuzz devices usually utilize bipolar junction transistors), a component often employed in early synth oscillator circuits for sawtooth waveform generation, the Harvezi Hazze provides a vast universe of distortion and fuzz effects and much more.
The Harvezi Hazze is actually more complex than it seems on the surface, featuring a signal chain that goes from an optical compressor with fixed parameters to a dual-mode soft/harsh clipping distortion amplifier to the aforementioned waveshaper and finally to a tone stack.
Six mini on/off switches on the right side allow users to switch the compressor and tone control in or out of the signal path, while the Bass Boost, Tone Mode, Notch Frequency and High Cut switches affect various tone characteristics.
Of the five knobs on the top panel, the bottom three are familiar Level, Tone and Gain controls while the Spoil and Spread controls on the top row are dedicated to the waveshaper section and respectively change timbre/response and the severity of the distortion character.
A three-position mini toggle in the center of the top row selects the distorting amplifier’s soft clipping, harsh clipping or total feedback mode settings. Other features include a true bypass footswitch, mono ¼-inch input and output jacks and a 9VDC/50mA 2.1mm center negative power adapter jack.
As one would expect for a distortion stompbox, it is very easy to operate this pedal and dial in sounds. However, thanks to the side-mounted switches and three-position distortion/feedback mode switch, the Harvezi Hazze can generate an outrageous variety of tones and textures.
Since it doesn’t have any memory capabilities, you will want to take detailed setting notes when you come across sounds you love. The Tone knob provides dramatic EQ sweeps rather than the typical “mush to bright” range of a typical fuzz/distortion box, and its range and characteristics vary depending on which switches are engaged or disengaged.
When the total feedback mode is selected, sounds can get very wild and wooly, and higher gain settings can become gated and stutter unpredictably.
Specs
- Launch price: $/£/€
- Type: Distortion pedal with waveshaper
- Controls: Gain, Spoil, Spread, Level, and Tone plus switches for Tone Stack, Bass Boost, Tone Mode, Notch Freq, High Cut and Compressor
- Connectivity: 2x 1/4" input/outputs, standard 2.1mm pedalboard supply center negative input
- Bypass: True bypass
- Power: 9V DC, 50mA
- Dimensions: 130 x 115 x 40mm
- Options: None
- Contact: SOMA Laboratory
Usability and sounds
The range of overdrive, distortion and fuzz textures that the Harvezi Hazze generates is impressive, especially since most of its tones and textures are unlike anything else on the market.
Although some settings can get very compressed with seemingly endless sustain, the guitar’s attack dynamics and the inherent sonic personality of Strat, Tele, P-90, Filter’tron and humbucking pickups are preserved, even in total fuzz meltdown annihilation settings.
The tone stack and the Bass Boost, Tone Mode, Notch Frequency and High Cut switches provide some pretty deep tonal modification and shaping capabilities, but unlike most fuzz/distortion box tone sections that have only one or two great sounds, this pedal’s tone section has more sweet spots than the 90-piece Discovery box from Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse.
While the overdrive and distortion characteristics are quite nice, this pedal’s biggest strength is its glorious and highly aggressive fuzz textures.
If The 2,000 Pound Bee defined the Ventures’ early ’60s fuzz, the best description for the Harvezi Hazze’s fuzz is the 50-megaton murder hornet.
Fuzz textures can range from laser-sharp buzz saws to fat pummeling blasts that miraculously maintain stellar note definition even when playing chords.
Verdict
Verdict: ★★★★½
Guitar World verdict: The Harvezi Hazze is an outrageously versatile distortion/fuzz box that generates a huge variety of highly musical dirty tones and textures that users can fine tune to their discriminating taste.
Hands-on videos
SOMA Laboratory
- This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.
