definitive fuzz pedals

juansolo

Bucket said:

I'm expecting them to be quite different.

The Bee Baa seems like a "Big Muff on steroids" kind of sound - well, at least the tone setting I'll mainly be using, there's also the Notch mode which introduces an impossibly-violent-sounding scooped tone which I probably won't be using much - but yeah, the main sound seems to be a very thick, mid-heavy, sustaining sound. Ideal really, IMO.

The BeeBaa is awesome. You can dial a lot of sounds in it, but it is kinda psychotic, for want of a better expression. At low vols it can be pretty thin, once you start cranking it though... JFC it can be full on proper tear your head off sort thing. Then there's the scooped sound that's so insanely scooped it's insta-stoner. Lots and lots of great sounds in a BeeBaa, one of my favourite fuzzes (and why it ended up in the Lament Configuration).

meltedbuzzbox

Im going with the ZVex fuzz factory. It seems to make all the right noises and it can go completely tits as well which is always an added bonus :-)

midiglitch

I know people complain about the lack of mids in stock big muffs, and there is a whole industry out there making muffs with mids, but the big muff with tone wicker (with the tone stack switched off) gives me exactly what I want from a big muff, and they're cheap too!

In my case that tone pairs well with my amp, set for the kind of EQ, volume, and level of dirt (not much) that I use as a base, and so I'm lucky in that regard.  However this has been my experience of fuzzes in general: more so than any other pedal, I think the 'sound' of a fuzz doesn't exist in isolation - it really really depends on the guitar and amp.

The two bipolar approaches to fuzz therefore seem to be either sample as many as possible of the almost infinite variations that are benig made, or get one and stick to it.  The middle ground of owning just two or three and selecting the right one for the job is unstable for territory for gasaholics....

Bucket

@juansolo That multi-fuzz is one of the most incredible-looking pedals I've ever seen, absolute work of art. I dread to think how much it'd cost to buy such a thing though, even if you weren't decided against making more.

I've got a Big Muff with the Tone and Wicker switches, which sounded good in the shop but as soon as I got it home it sounded pretty cack through my rig, which was a shame. I really hope the Maxon works better with it, when it gets here.

juansolo

Bucket said:

@juansolo That multi-fuzz is one of the most incredible-looking pedals I've ever seen, absolute work of art. I dread to think how much it'd cost to buy such a thing though, even if you weren't decided against making more.

Cheers!

I've found with the multis the amount of work required in them bears no relation whatsoever to what people are prepared to pay for them. Put it this way, in parts alone there's probably close to £200 there... In case anyone thinks I'm exaggerating:



That's not to say I didn't enjoy building it or love the result. I could be persuaded to do another maybe. But the labour would cost more than the parts

samzadgan

so, £200 worth of parts...10+ hours of work...thats about £70 retail???  

juansolo

Yeah, about that

I don't make a lot of multis for other people as you can imagine :P

My next is possibly even more epic... Currently in the planning stages, parts on the way. Part guitar effect, part synth, part noise machine.

samzadgan

juansolo said:

Yeah, about that

I don't make a lot of multis for other people as you can imagine :P

My next is possibly even more epic... Currently in the planning stages, parts on the way. Part guitar effect, part synth, part noise machine.

=D> ^:)^   =D>

guitargeek62

I've not had the widest experience of fuzz pedals, but I've gone through these that I recall;

• EH/x Little Big Muff - x2 or 3, I figured I must be missing something but they just don't work for me. I don't recall if I've played any other Muff versions.
  
• ZVex Fuzz Factory - Too much of a PITA to bother with if you just want a good simple fuzz.
  
• Fulltone Ultimate Octave - Really nice tone, but a little more polite than I'd like. The octave is pretty awesome though.
  
• Dunlop Jimi Hendrix 70th Anniv. Fuzz Face....   OMG, pure fuzz bliss. @Not_The_DJ - I've finally got one and it is glorious! :O

I'm pretty sure I had a Ge fuzz at one point too but I don't remember what it was. I plan on getting the Eric Johnson Mini Fuzz Face when/if that gets released though so that I can compare it to the 70th FF.... plus, it's gold.

impmann

Shin-Ei fuzz is bonkers - I used to have the Fredrik Effects clone (Unpleasant Companion) and foolishly I sold it. Snarly, spitty, angry little bastard - I loved it!
Also the Bone Collector is worth trying if you like your fuzz on the wild side. That's a pedal that only comes out to play when I find myself wanting to strip the enamel off the dog's teeth or if I've eaten too many Skittles...

Cacofonix

juansolo said:

Bucket said:

@juansolo That multi-fuzz is one of the most incredible-looking pedals I've ever seen, absolute work of art. I dread to think how much it'd cost to buy such a thing though, even if you weren't decided against making more.

Cheers!

I've found with the multis the amount of work required in them bears no relation whatsoever to what people are prepared to pay for them. Put it this way, in parts alone there's probably close to £200 there... In case anyone thinks I'm exaggerating:



That's not to say I didn't enjoy building it or love the result. I could be persuaded to do another maybe. But the labour would cost more than the parts

That's a tidy build. Respect is due.

I quite like my little Big Muff PI.  Glad I didn't sell it after all.  I had to replace all the switch-board connector ribbon as it corroded away somehow.  It is mid-focused, but it goes from 0-blitzkrieg in about a half turn on the dial.  I built a robot to turn it up all the way, but it disappeared in smoke at 2/3 of the dial.  I expect it to phase back into existence in 2037.

kelvinburn

I NEED to have at any one time Silicon FF type, Violet Rams Head Big Muff type and Octavia.

@juansolo Holy shit! Amazing work. If you ever build any more of the "Hashishian" type pedals I'd definately have one

tone1

My new favourite is the Solar Bender from Magnetic effects. Led Zep in a box

Guitarse

I'm looking at getting a new fuzz pedal. I have the Zvex Mastotron, but it's a bastard to get the setting I like on it.Too much to tweak.  Had a Big Muff, but was too much for me. Need a more simple, more user friendly one with useable sounds.

Guitarse

.........So I've settled for the Way Huge Swollen Pickle. Perfect for what I need! 

Forge

Sometimes bare bones fuzz is what I prefer, the Colorsound One Knob Fuzz is phenomenal.

Forge

Guitarse said:

.........So I've settled for the Way Huge Swollen Pickle. Perfect for what I need! 

Must resist making bad jokes....

juansolo

kelvinburn said:

@juansolo Holy shit! Amazing work. If you ever build any more of the "Hashishian" type pedals I'd definately have one

Can do another no probs. They're just pricey...

ThePrettyDamned

juansolo;259384" said:

kelvinburn said:






@juansolo Holy shit! Amazing work. If you ever build any more of the "Hashishian" type pedals I'd definately have one





Can do another no probs. They're just pricey...

Not as such...

A boutique fuzz typically costs between 50 quid for an unknown who wants to sell a few up to 200 quid for folk who are known and want to make a living.

So 400 quid for 4 or 5 of them from someone reputable is actually... Well, cheap.

But pricey if I was a fuzz whore (sadly, I'm more distortion) I'd sell all my pedals bar delay and buy one and never look back because I'd probably never need another fuzz in my life.

Gassage

Definitive Orginals:

Fuzzface
Triangle and Ram's Head (Violet Triangle is a partic fave of mine)
Rat
Sovtek Civil War

Definitive from a monster tone perspective:

Cornish P1 (nothing comes close, not a thing)
Skreddy Lunar, Skeddy Pink Flesh, Skreddy Cog Diss

Upcoming

New EHX Deluxe Muff.