Really wanted this one on my pedal board because it's so small and genuinely sounds fantastic. But those hidden potentiometers just make it a really cumbersome pedal to use. Want to tweak the sound as you play? Well get ready to continuously flip it over and use your pick (if you use one) to get at the fiddly controls for the blend and filter setting. Maybe it's fine for you if you're playing a gig and you're not going to be changing the settings in between songs but for every other scenario it's a big pain.
I managed to find a brand new old-model Duality Fuzz (Goodbye edition) still in stock in a local shop and bought it too. I compared the two side by side and they are completely identical in sound. The old model has the knobs on the front where they should be, is the same size as other 4-knob Darkglass pedals - like the Hyper Luminal and Alpha Omicron - and was about 70€ more expensive. If possible, I recommend grabbing one of those while you still can or get a second hand one. If you can't then at least the new DFZ is still an amazing sounding fuzz to have on your board - ultimately it's the sound that matters most.
Pros
- Excellent fuzz tone
- Darkglass build quality
- Small size
- price
Cons
- Hidden controls are very awkward to use
