Wren and Cuff Eye See 78

Wren and Cuff Eye See 78 is based on the legendary op-amp fuzz as popularised by Billy Morgan from 1978 and has some improvements. In 1978, the transistors inside the Muff were scrapped in favor of operational amplifiers, otherwise known as op-amps, which are integrated circuits, or ICs. This particular variant was only manufactured for around two years, and as such, only a few thousand ever made it out of New York City alive.

Fast forward to 2014, and the Muff masters at Wren and Cuff have crafted the definitive version of the non-transistorized fuzz box. They call it the Eye See ’78 (or previously Eye See Pi). Apart from the lack of transistors, the Wren and Cuff Eye See ’78 features a drastically different clipping section for a monstrously woolly sound.

As expected, the sound of the Eye See ’78 is different from a standard Muff circuit. While most vintage muffs are a little ‘sweeter’ sounding, the Eye See ’78 is certainly crunchier and more ‘ballsy’ than a standard Muff. In 1978, a switch was added to the back of the original, and the Eye See ’78 includes this switch as well. The control is labeled as Tone Bypass on both old and new pedals. Essentially, it removes the passive tone stack from the circuit for a volume boost and a significantly more raw and open sound. Of course, this switch renders the tone control useless, but in this mode, you won’t miss it – this switch is just too cool.

If you’re looking for a largely-untamed IC-based fuzz and distortion machine, with the ability to adapt to most genres of music under the sun, look no further than the Wren and Cuff Eye See ’78.

Wren and Cuff Eye See 78 demo video