If you look closely at the tiny screen-printed text on the face of the Dophix Medici More Fuzz stompbox, you’ll see an inscription in Italian. It’s a quote by Lorenzo de' Medici that roughly translates to, As a Paisan, that quote takes on a whole new profound meaning when I consider how ironic that – centuries later – here I am reviewing a pedal named after the most prominent ruler of the Medici family who my ancestors (look at my surname) tried to assassinate (look up the Pazzi Conspiracy) during the Renaissance. The good news is that all is well (sorry about that, Lorenzo), and we can move forward and talk about this royally good Medici More Fuzz from Dophix, an Italian boutique pedal company based in Florence, Italy.
Every pedal in Dophix’s collection is handmade in the company’s Florence factory and named after inspirational figures from Florentine culture and Roman mythology, with the Medici More Fuzz having Donatello’s “Marzocco” lion screen-printed on the pedal’s face. What’s cool is the Medici has a clear acrylic panel sandwiched at the base of its diecast chassis with a circuit-board-mounted LED inside the enclosure that gleams a red halo around the bottom of the pedal when powered up. The pedal feels rock-solid with bulletproof construction and features dual footswitches for Fuzz Me-On and Even More Fuzz, with controls for Master (level), Fuzz, Tone on its left side; while More Level, More Fuzz and Blend (+/- clean signal) are found on its adjo.