Gokko Octave Fuzz - big ol' heap of nostalgia

Gokko Octave Fuzz

 A big ol' heap of nostalgia

The Gokko Octave Fuzz is a dual-footswitch fuzz pedal with the classic controls you'd expect: volume, tone, and fuzz. But don’t let the straightforward layout fool you—it’s not your average face-melting fuzz. It’s more of a *wink, wink* vintage New York-style distortion/fuzz. If you’re chasing those saturated, soaring tones of a Fuzz Face, or the gnarly rasp of a Tone Bender, this one might leave you wanting.

But for me? It took me somewhere else entirely.

The first time I plugged it in, I was hit with a wave of nostalgia. The tone had this old-school metal edge that instantly transported me back to my early days of guitar playing.

I started playing guitar in my teens, mostly drawn in by what I was hearing on the radio, TV chart shows, and—of course—the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater soundtracks. Pop-punk had broken into the mainstream, and that was my gateway drug into the world of rock. I picked up my first guitar around 16 or 17, keen to learn all those catchy punk tunes I’d been obsessing over.

While pop-punk was my first love, it wasn’t long before I started digging deeper. Growing up in the Midlands in the UK, it was only natural that Black Sabbath eventually entered the picture. Once I’d mastered the power chord (the holy grail of punk guitar), I wanted more—more challenge, more depth, more riffs.

Enter Tony Iommi.

Discovering Sabbath was like unlocking a new level of guitar mastery. It felt like I was getting a private lesson in riff writing. From the simple chug of “Paranoid” to the more intricate “Fairies Wear Boots” or “N.I.B.,” each riff pushed me further. I still remember hitting the breakdown in “Black Sabbath” and realising my picking hand wasn’t up to snuff—no amount of downstrokes were going to get me through that cleanly!

So yeah, when I plugged in the Gokko Octave Fuzz, it brought all of that rushing back. Sabbath riffs started flowing out—maybe not perfectly played (it's been a decade or more since I tried some of them), but close enough to relive the moment. Besides, I’ve got to be careful with those note-for-note renditions. You know... copyright. That’s my excuse for any ahem artistic interpretations in the demo, and I’m sticking to it.

The octave switch on this pedal adds a subtle upper octave overtone—it’s not in-your-face like the Behringer Octavia or other more aggressive octave fuzzes. It’s more of a gnarly top-end boost, which honestly feels more like a treble booster getting mixed into the fuzz. And that’s pretty on-brand for that Iommi-esque sound.

Now, let’s talk about that little switch nestled between the tone and fuzz knobs.

It’s labelled mid-cut, but don’t trust it. Of all the things I liked about this pedal, this one feature didn’t do it for me. Rather than cutting mids cleanly, it seemed to add this odd, muffled mid-hump that just made everything sound… worse. Your mileage may vary, but for me, it was one of those “set it and forget it (off)” kind of controls.

So, what’s the verdict?

The Gokko Octave Fuzz definitely has a sound. It’s a nostalgic one for me, and maybe it’ll be for you too. It’s probably not going to become your go-to dirt box unless you’re after that vintage metal distortion that flirts with fuzz but doesn’t fully commit. But as with most Gokko pedals, it’s affordable enough to be worth a punt.

Give it a go—you never know what memories it might dig up.