MAESTRO

MAY 2022 TOTAL GUITAR
THE TG TEST
85
I
t’s 1965, and the Rolling Stones have
released a new single. (I Can’t Get No )
Satisfaction is an instant sensation due to
Keith Richard’s unforgettable ri, which
introduced the sound of a fuzz pedal to a
worldwide audience. While there had
been records featuring fuzz before, this was the
one that really put it on the map and sparked a
demand from guitar players for the sound. The
fuzz pedal that Keith used was the Maestro FZ-1
which rst saw the light of day in 1962 and, 60
years on, Gibson have revived the Maestro
brand name for a series of new pedals. If you’ve
never heard of Maestro that may be because the
original brand became extinct in 1979, but you’ll
certainly have heard their gear in action – that
lovely liquid phasing on the Isley Brothers’ That
Lady was a PS-1 Phase-Shifter, the distinctive
wah intro on the Theme From Shaft was a BG-1
Boomerang Wah and the various models of
the Echoplex tape echo were used by many,
not least Jimmy Page. The ve new all-analogue
Maestro pedals; the Fuzz-Tone FZ-M, Discover
Delay, Comet Chorus, Ranger Overdrive and
Invader Distortion are the sort of substantially-
built pedals that could double as a doorstop if
you weren’t making music. Although not huge,
they are perhaps a tad larger than one would
expect for a 3-knob single footswitch pedal, but
have all the connectivity, including the socket
for a 9-12V power adapter, at the top end for
ease of pedalboard use. The pedals can also run
from a 9V battery accessed by loosening two
screws, one each side of the pedal, and lowering
a bottom plate which hinges on the remaining
two screws. There’s a slightly sloping top panel
to make footswitching easier, plus you’ll know
when each pedal is active as the red, yellow and
blue Maestro bugle logo lights up. Perhaps the
main selling point, though, is that each pedal
features two distinct sounds called up by a small
toggle switch; “Two pedals in one” says Gibson.
We’re looking at four pedals from the range
here. Keep your eyes peeled for a review of the
Invader Distortion in a future issue of the mag.
TGR357.gear_test.indd 85TGR357.gear_test.indd 85 24/03/2022 10:5224/03/2022 10:52