The Zvex Woolly Mammoth is a fuzz pedal. Close alternatives include the Catalinbread Manx and the Fulltone Custom Shop OCD Gold Standard LTD. It pairs well with the Fender Vibrolux 6G11 and the Gibson Les Paul LP-1 Preamp.
Zvex Woolly Mammoth
Unknown brand · pedal
The ZVEX Woolly Mammoth is a fuzz pedal built for bass, delivering thick, uncompressed saturation with a dynamic, tube-amp-like response to pick attack rather than a brick-wall wall of fuzz. Its four controls, Output, EQ, Pinch, and Wool, shape the voice in detail: EQ refines the tone in a mix, Pinch alters the character of the overtones from a sharper fuzz to a broken, overdrive-like edge, and Wool adds or removes hair and gristle in the fuzz texture. Played with a lighter touch, it reveals a pretty, dynamic distortion with overtones reminiscent of an electric piano; dug in harder, it turns thick and aggressive. It suits bass players in rock and experimental styles wanting a fuzzy, textured, highly touch-responsive tone rather than a fixed, one-note fuzz voice.
What stands out
“Its four controls, Output, EQ, Pinch, and Wool, shape the voice in detail: EQ refines the tone in a mix, Pinch alters the character of the overtones from a sharper fuzz to a broken, overdrive-like edge, and Wool adds or”
— from the listing
“[Community Reviews] • Fun, cool pedal”
— from the reviews
“The ZVEX Woolly Mammoth is a fuzz pedal built for bass, delivering thick, uncompressed saturation with a dynamic, tube-amp-like response to pick attack”
— from the listing
“Played with a lighter touch, it reveals a pretty, dynamic distortion with overtones reminiscent of an electric piano; dug in harder, it turns thick and aggressive”
— from the listing
“It suits bass players in rock and experimental styles wanting a fuzzy, textured, highly touch-responsive tone , one-note fuzz voice”
— from the listing
- fuzz
- thick
- saturation
- bass
- touch
- overtone
- mix
- distortion
Genres the Zvex Woolly Mammoth is commonly used in
- Experimental
- Rock
- Noise Rock
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag. - Alternative
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag. - Stoner Rock
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag. - Blues
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
Amps that pair well with the Zvex Woolly Mammoth
Fender Vibrolux 6G11
amplifier
20% matchsits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor. (fuzzy → modulated)
Put Fender Vibrolux 6G11 in front and the fuzzy tone leans further toward modulated
Comes later in the signal chain
Gibson Les Paul LP-1 Preamp
Gibson
tonal matchComes later in the signal chain
Gibson Les Paul LP-1 Preamp layers modulated onto an already fuzzy signal
Magnatone 510
Magnatone
tonal matchComes later in the signal chain
Magnatone 510 layers modulated onto an already fuzzy signal
Pedals that stack with the Zvex Woolly Mammoth
Walrus Audio EB-10 Black Edition
Walrus Audio
23% matchgain stackingStacks two gain stages for more saturation than either produces alone. (fuzzy → clean boost)
Walrus Audio EB-10 Black Edition stacks clean boost on top of the fuzzy already here
Comes earlier in the signal chain
Z.Vex Super Hard On
Zvex
23% matchgain stackingStacks two gain stages for more saturation than either produces alone. (fuzzy → clean boost)
Z.Vex Super Hard On stacks clean boost on top of the fuzzy already here
Comes earlier in the signal chain
Caroline Guitar Company Parabola State Tremolo
Caroline Guitar Company
21% matchsits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.
Put Caroline Guitar Company Parabola State Tremolo after Zvex Woolly Mammoth in the signal chain, clear of Zvex Woolly Mammoth's own gain stage
Comes later in the signal chain
Acoustic Strymon Compadre Dual Voice Compressor
Acoustic
16% matchshapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain.
Acoustic Strymon Compadre Dual Voice Compressor leans toward compressed, and that's a real, usable character to pair with
Comes earlier in the signal chain
Walrus Audio Mako D1 High-Fidelity Stereo Delay V1
Walrus Audio
13% matchsits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor. (fuzzy → modulated)
Keep Zvex Woolly Mammoth's fuzzy voice out front: Walrus Audio Mako D1 High-Fidelity Stereo Delay V1 goes after Zvex Woolly Mammoth in the signal chain so its pristine voice doesn't muddy it — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Comes later in the signal chain
Electro-Harmonix Canyon
Electro-Harmonix
13% matchsits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor. (fuzzy → octave)
Electro-Harmonix Canyon's modulated voice goes after Zvex Woolly Mammoth in the signal chain — it's not there to compete with Zvex Woolly Mammoth's own fuzzy character — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Comes later in the signal chain
EarthQuaker Devices Swiss Things
EarthQuaker Devices
EarthQuaker Devices Utility Series Buffer Preamp
EarthQuaker Devices
tonal matchComes later in the signal chain
EarthQuaker Devices Utility Series Buffer Preamp stacks clean boost on top of the fuzzy already here
Alternatives
Catalinbread Manx
Catalinbread
54% similarityShared character: pick attack, response
Fulltone Custom Shop OCD Gold Standard LTD
Fulltone
53% similarityShared character: distortion, aggressive playing
Fulltone '69 MkII Fuzz
Fulltone
51% similarityShared character: touch, thickness, fuzz
Walrus Audio Eons
Walrus Audio
51% similarityShared character: thickness, fuzz, aggressive playing
ThorpyFX Field Marshal LT
ThorpyFX
51% similarityShared character: thickness, fuzz
Death By Audio Supersonic Fu
Death By Audio
50% similarityShared character: thickness, distortion, aggressive playing
Cusack Music Carolina Reaper Overdrive Fuzz
Cusack Music
50% similarityShared character: fuzz, distortion, aggressive playing
Old Blood Noise Endeavors Alpha Haunt Fuzz
Old Blood Noise Endeavors
50% similarityShared character: thickness, fuzz
Caroline Guitar Company Wave Cannon Zero
Caroline Guitar Company
50% similarityShared character: pick attack, thickness, fuzz
Electronic Audio Experiments Eldritch Blast
Electronic Audio Experiments
49% similarityShared character: fuzz, aggressive playing
Subdecay Harmonic Antagonizer Fuzz
Subdecay
49% similarityShared character: thickness, fuzz, aggressive playing
Red Witch Opia
Red Witch
48% similarityShared character: thickness, fuzz
See all alternatives to the Zvex Woolly Mammoth (cheaper + boutique) →
Questions people ask
What are good alternatives to the Zvex Woolly Mammoth?+
The closest matches in character are the Catalinbread Manx, the Fulltone Custom Shop OCD Gold Standard LTD, the Fulltone '69 MkII Fuzz.
What pairs well with the Zvex Woolly Mammoth?+
Strong matches from rig and tone-complementarity evidence: Fender Vibrolux 6G11, Gibson Les Paul LP-1 Preamp, Magnatone 510 — Put Fender Vibrolux 6G11 in front and the fuzzy tone leans further toward modulated.