Ace Tone FM-2: A miraculous deadstock find! Awakening from a 50-year slumber.

As I continued to exchange emails with the sender, a series of surprising facts came to light. He lived in Jakarta, Indonesia, and was the drummer of a well-known rock band there. He had even released an album in Japan in the past, and was a fellow music lover like us.

And then he tells me crucial information.
"All of these FM-2s are 'unused dead stock'."

The additional photos that came with those words left me speechless once again. A mountain of FM-2s. Each one was still clad in what appeared to be its original, brightly colored presentation box. They were in perfect condition, as if they had just left the factory yesterday.
"No way, that can't be..."

And finally, after a long journey, the FM-2s that had been sleeping in Jakarta arrived. The moment we opened the box, the distinctive scent of old paper and electronic components filled the air. The heavy, embossed black casing exuded an air of dignity reminiscent of a Maestro fuzz pedal.
With trembling hands, I plugged in the cables and switched on the amplifier. It was the moment the FM-2 would unleash its sound for the first time, breaking decades of silence.
"BEEEEE!!"

What burst forth from the speakers was a fierce yet beautiful distortion, including upper octaves that sent shivers down your spine.

• control: The 'VOLUME' control also functions as the power switch, the 'FUZZ ADJ.' controls the distortion, and the tone selector switch determines the sound character. Even at the minimum setting, the FUZZ ADJ. is already distorted enough to shake the earth, and as you turn it up, the harmonics saturate, and a growling sustain overflows.
• sound: The "beep" and "zzzz" sounds give it a raw, untamed quality that's characteristic of Japanese vintage fuzz. The added melancholic upper octave creates a rich, deep sound that's not just violent distortion. When you play chords, the sound compresses nicely and comes forward with a powerful presence. And the tone selector is particularly noteworthy. When turned on, it transforms into a scooped bass and treble sound, spewing out an astonishingly metallic and aggressive tone.

This is justEffectorIt's not just a simple object. It's a time capsule filled with the passion for Japanese craftsmanship.

Ace Tone FM-1 FUZZ MASTER: The predecessor to the FM-2 and Ace Tone's first fuzz pedal. Its enclosure is remarkably similar to the Maestro FZ-1A, and even the specifications, such as being powered by two AA batteries, are identical. However, the sound is completely different. In contrast to the slender FZ-1A, it has a strong gated, boomy sound that relies on sheer volume. As an aside, it is said that when developing this fuzz, Mr. Kakehashi based his design on the sound of the shamisen, a traditional Japanese instrument. This original idea is at the heart of the Ace Tone sound.

Ace Tone FM-3 FUZZ MASTER: This is the successor to the FM-2. It's an evolved model with a 2-in-1 design combining fuzz and booster. While it has a thick, raw sound reminiscent of the BIG MUFF, it gives a more refined impression than the FM-2. Its enclosure design and specifications suggest a lineage that would later lead to the Roland BeeBaa, and it's a very interesting unit that seems to tell the story of Mr. Kakehashi's journey of sound exploration.

Now, far away in Indonesia, the FM-2s have awakened from their long slumber. These Japanese vintage fuzz pedals, which have quietly accumulated years of history unnoticed, are about to shine once again in the hands of music lovers.
This is not simply the discovery of old equipment. It is the moment when a small life, which may have been buried in history without ever producing sound, begins to beat powerfully once again after several decades.
The spirit of craftsmanship that Ace Tone and Ikutaro Kakehashi have cultivated transcends time and borders, continuing to stir our hearts and stimulate our creativity.
We sincerely hope that these miraculous fuzz pedals, which arrived all the way from Jakarta, will produce wonderful sounds at the feet of their new owners and brightly illuminate the future of their endless musical journey.