Baldwin Burns Ltd Buzzaround Fuzz 1968

Is this the Holy Grail of fuzz? In many peoples’ opinions – absolutely yes. This is the ridiculously rare and almost unfindable Baldwin-Burns Buzzaround, made in small numbers in the UK in the late 60s. It is the sound of Robert Fripp on David Bowie’s “Heroes”. It is one of the earliest truly functional, and great sounding pedals of all time.

These pedals were manufactured in England by Baldwin-Burns Ltd between 1966-1968 in low production numbers and are now fondly referred to as the “mythical fuzz”. They are hand wired with tag board construction using 3 x Germanium transistors and powered by a standard 9 volt transistor battery. There are very few of the original units still surviving. And we have this one here in our showroom in Sydney – it’s the real deal, it’s completely original, it’s all working, and it sounds huge.

Engineer Gary Hurst reportedly designed this pedal around 1966 and the circuit is extremely close to the 3-knob Tone Bender circuit. The Buzzaround pedal also features three knobs – Sustain, Balance and Timbre.

From Guitar Player Magazine (1974) – “On stage I use three pedals on a pedal board: A volume pedal, fuzz-tone, and wah-wah. I’m not sure what type of wah-wah it is. The best fuzz-box to use is a Burn’s Buz-around which they discontinued making in England about six years ago.” – Robert Fripp, King Crimson

The current owner bought this Buzzaround in 1973 from an American friend, who had bought it second hand in UK 1971. He has used it sporadically for over 40 years since.

This box sounds like no other. Many have tried to copy it, but the original versions are something quite special. It barks & spits like an uncaged animal, it roars and cuts through like nothing we’ve ever heard. And there are so few of these original Buzzarounds out there, let alone one that’s actually working properly, and sounding this good.

Every client of ours who has been invited to test drive this beast is amazed at the tone, the rich harmonics, the fatness, the versatility, and the almost surreal openness of the sound with virtually any good guitar plugged into it. The Baldwin-Burns Buzzaround can create a range of tones from classic vintage fuzz through to chunky overdrive and modern rock distortion.

We have been researching these for two years since the owner hinted he may sell it, and we have not seen another genuine original Buzzaround appear for sale in that period. Here’s a rare chance to secure a truly collectable piece of music history that will further appreciate over time.

Here’s an interesting video about the original Buzzaround –-

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