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The sound of slashed speaker cones in a box
Believe it or not, the Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz Tone pedal, launched by Gibson in 1962, was originally designed to allow guitarists to simulate the sound of horn players. It didn't. Gibson was so sure that its little stomp box was going to sell big that they built 5000 to meet expected demand.
Dealers bought the stock but guitarists didn’t. It all looked bleak for the FZ-1 until 1965 Keith Richards used one on the opening riff of The Rolling Stones' (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction. Thanks to the Human Riff, the FZ-1 began selling by the shedload to a new generation of garage band heroes.
There were some great garage bands doing their thing south of the border in the 1960s. For a kickoff there’s Matematicos (that’s Spanish for Mathematicians!) with Pregunto, their cover of I Need You by The Kinks. Even better is Los Chijua’s cracking Changing The Colors of Life from 1968.
