# Favourite fuzz?



## Baconator

I've been getting into fuzz pedals lately and want to hear other peoples' opinions. I've got a Russian Big Muff that is fun in the distortion realm of things, a BYOC Fuzzface clone which is good for grainy strangeness and BYOC Tonebender clone which I like for super huge, fat and fuzzy lead sounds. I'm intrigued by the Skreddy pedals like the Mayo and Top Fuel but I'm also interested in checking out a Danelectro French Toast for Octavia type sounds. This vid makes it seem pretty appealing considering you can nab one for less than $50: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQUFnNqFRnw

Well . . . . what fuzz rocks your world?:rockon2:


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## zdogma

I really like the analogman Sunface. I've had a few over the years, but this one has been the best. Always full up on the fuzz, volume at half. Very groovy for Sunshine of oyur Love. 

ITs a funny effect, I don't use it very often (my fulldrive is on most of the time), but there is no substitute for a good fuzz.


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## Scottone

The best one that I've tried is my ProAnalog MKII fuzz....really cool but it was a bit pricey.

I remember trying an early MJM Foxey Fuzz once that was amazing as well.

If you like Octavia effects, the Addrock Electric Smile is pretty nice.


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## Wild Bill

*"Ah, nostalgia isn't what it used to be..."*

I run a 1974 ColourSound FuzzWah.

It's ok for wah but to be honest the fuzz isn't all that great but the pedal does a great job of picking up the local talk radio station...


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## Rick Assenger

In 1976 I bought a used 'Royal' Double Effect Machine...so it may even be from the '60's? It has a few fuzz tone effects, and a 'cry' pedal. This thing cranks out so much fuzz, it makes your bottom teeth vibrate. Can anyone tell me anything about this, I have searched the net to no avail. It's built like a tank, and its made by the 'Thunder Electronic Co. Ltd., Tokyo Japan'.

Every time I pull it out at band practice, the guys make me put it away None

cheers, and have a great day


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## bagpipe

I'm currently looking for a fuzz but I cant decide what to get .. there are so many out there. I'm keen on the MJM London Fuzz, but a couple of people have said its kinda dark. I need something which will cut through the mix, especially as I want to use it on the neck pickup of my HSS strat. I like the fuzz tones on Are you Experienced (who doesnt ?) so I'm probably looking at a Ge Fuzz. I had a BYOC Silicon Fuzz, but I found it it a bit aggresive and too "sputtery" sounding.


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## sysexguy

Retroman.....gotta get all of 'em!

Andy


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## chesterb

For more vintage fuzz tones its Fulltone Soul-Bender serial number 9, for a more modern take on a fuzz is a new Soul-Bender. Quite a difference in the two.


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## ruby7829

Antonio at Capsule Music in Toronto makes awesome fuzz pedals. His brand is Teixeira (he also makes amps). I have the Heaven 17 which is a Tonebender MKII type pedal loaded with OC75 germ transistors. It's amazing. A very musical, useable fuzz. Really one of the best MKII pedals I've heard.


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## Baconator

Wow - thanks for all the replies! You guys rock :food-smiley-004: .

Wild Bill - Thanks for the laugh. The funny thing is I'm sure you could get primo bucks for it from a vintage collector regardless of how much it sucks. A friend of mine has a Univox Square Wave pedal which has to be one of the funniest pedals I've ever used. There are two knobs on it, but they really don't do all that much. When you stomp on it you instantly get this huge, loud hum and the noise that comes out when you play is horrendous. It's a lot of fun, but difficult to play through unless you're in a noise band. Needless to say, I was shocked when I saw one on eBay listed at $165US. Ever stranger were the reviews on Harmony Central - check 'em out: http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Effects/product/Univox/Square+Wave/10/1

My favourite quote from the reviews: 
_"it's not subtle. once it's on, it's ON. all fuzz all the time. for very extreme applications only. it will almost always feedback on the treble setting once you hit the switch, but it's amazingly quiet when turned off. "_

Bagpipe - does that BYOC pedal have sockets in the circuitboard for the transistors? If so you could try swapping out the silicon transistors for germanium. You could do that even if there aren't sockets, but you just have to be a little careful when removing the old ones. The BYOC forum is excellent - check it out.

Sysexguy - those Retroman pedals look cool. Too bad they're so pricey - the one that intrigued me was the Hi Octone, but it's $255 plus whatever taxes and such. I know some people spend way more on pedals than that, but I still can't quite rationalize it. Give me time :wink: .


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## swagger

Fulltone '70


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## FetusFajitas

the fuzz on my Shin-ei Companion Fuzz Wah is pretty gnarly. the Boss FZ-2 is awesome too.


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## Baconator

*We have a weener!*

I just got an email today from BYOC saying their latest pedal kit will be available as of March 10th - an Octavia clone :banana: . I've emailed Scott already for mine. Can you have too many fuzz pedals? I think not!


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## david henman

...i haven't played through a fuzz since the 70s. you guys are making me wonder what i'm missing...

:confused-smiley-010 

-dh


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## Baconator

david henman said:


> ...i haven't played through a fuzz since the 70s. you guys are making me wonder what i'm missing...
> 
> :confused-smiley-010
> 
> -dh


Since I didn't start playing guitar until the 80's I missed the golden era of fuzz pedals. I never really experienced one myself until the last few years when I started noticing more people using them. There are certain sounds you just can't get from any other other pedal and if that sound works for you it's great. 

I could understand completely if you are confused - unless you enjoy making weird noises or like trying to cop some Gilmour tones I could see most guitarists get by just fine without using one. I could too, but I like what they bring to the table. For example, I just love the tone Michael Landau gets in this solo around 1:20 in using (I'm assuming) an Octavia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdfJuoLsNJE


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## Ripper

The Arbiter is still one of my favourites. I traded off my original years ago (yes that was stupid), but I've got two now that I built and I do like them. I don't use them alot but they still are my favourites when I want to use a fuzz.


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## Baconator

*Octave heaven!*

Well, when I got home from work today my BYOC Octave Fuzz kit was waiting for me. After getting the kids to bed I got to work on it. It was the easiest kit to build by far and I was pretty much done in about 2 hours. Populating the circuit board only took about 25-30 minutes, but I'm a slowpoke when it comes to wiring. I guess my patience payed off because it worked just great the first time I plugged it in. Unfortunately, since I wasn't done until after 11pm there was no way I'd be able to try it out with an amp so I had to settle for trying it out through the Black Box. I will say this fuzz is LOUD and has more gain than anyone should probably hit an amp with, but it is fun! I wasn't sure if this was just something I had done or if it was supposed to be like this, but after checking out the demo video from the BYOC site I think that's the nature of the beast. 

Now less talk, more sleep for me.


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## Warren

Fuzz Factory.


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## ENDITOL

I haven't tried a whole bunch but the Skreddy Mayo is awesome! Huge and evil sounding. For the octave stuff I like the Chicago Iron and Lovepedal.


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## Ti-Ron

What is the diffenrence between an octavia and a a fuzz ? I know there's something about the octave but is there fuzzy sound more or something else ?


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## ENDITOL

yeah octavia is pretty much fuzz with an added upper octave / harmonic / ring mod on top of the normal fuzz sound. pretty wild and crazy sound :banana:


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## jimmy peters

*fuzz*

do yourself a real favour and find a ZONK if you can.


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## NB_Terry

Baconator said:


> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdfJuoLsNJE


Landau rocks. :food-smiley-004:


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## Baconator

CalgaryTerry said:


> Landau rocks. :food-smiley-004:


You know it :food-smiley-004:.

There are so many good guitarists out there that I never hear of either through my own ignorance or by the fact that they play primarily as uncredited studio artists. Mike L's singing is less than inspiring, but he's such an incredible guitarist that I'd just love to see his group play (not to mention how much I love Abe Laboriel Jr's drumming - he even rocks Macca's band! :bow: ).

This isn't on topic, but WTH - here's another clip of Landau. This time playing with Steve Lukather doing a fusion tune (beware - jazz chops ahead :tongue: )


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## mrdylan

The Tech21 XXL has OD, Distortion and Fuzz and you select by rotary dial (called warp) so you can actually go between. I really liked it and found it had it's own nice character much different than regular fuzz. I sold it ages ago when I bought my Line6 AX2 212 as I didn't have as much use for it but I wish I had it now for my Triple rec.

You can find these used for semi cheap though.


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## Ti-Ron

*Fuzz machine*

I look around on the internet to found fuzz box's sounds and I see that they built Big Muff and Russian Big Muff. What is the difference ? The country, for sure but on the sound ?

Have a nice Week-end !


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## elcabong

The BigMuff was originally made in the US by Electro Harmonix. Much later, the Russian version came in. I do not know if there is any sonic difference between the two.

I still have one from the 70's, given to me by a friend, and it does not sound as good as the one we can hear on the BYOC site http://www.buildyourownclone.com/corkybeaverclip.html

The one I got spent a lot of time in an unheated garage and the pots are terribly scratchy!


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## gtrchris

Well boyz and girlz,
I kind of had the same attitude about fuzzes that other older cats expressed, but having ventured into fuzzes i've found a huge palette of new subtle tones that have really inspired my playing of late.
on my recommended list
1 Love pedal BBB has a number of classic tones-Rangemaster,MK11,and boost all in one. Germanium based with an internal adjustable bias. Lots of Hendrix tones in this one!
2. BJF Pink purple Fuzz-more subtle fuzz-really a distortion box, but it has such a range of tones, at its extreme setting its a warmer fuzz.
3 Fulltone Soul-bender-The original one to me is the best-it nails the early Zep stuff. it can get pretty hairy.:rockon:


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## Ti-Ron

gtrchris said:


> 1 Love pedal BBB has a number of classic tones-Rangemaster,MK11,and boost all in one. Germanium based with an internal adjustable bias. Lots of Hendrix tones in this one!


 Hi, first question what is a BBB ?? It's not the first time I heard/read that but never found what is it ! 

Second one, there is a sonic difference between the Big Muff Pi and the Little Big Muff ? I heard that a big muff is closer to a distortion than a real fuzz, is this true ? I never play with a fuzz so I never heard the different. 

Thank you all and happy easter !


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## dolphinstreet

I have a Baja Tech Custom Das Fuzz that is pretty cool. It's a Germanium fuzz - see my website for demo.

I find it's hard for me to use a fuzz in our band though. We do mostly country, blues and some rock, and the fuzz stuff is just too over the top... but it is fun to play with at home!


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## devnulljp

FetusFajitas said:


> the fuzz on my Shin-ei Companion Fuzz Wah is pretty gnarly.


Is that a good thing? I just found one of these for pretty cheap and was thinking about buying it for fun...


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## Evilmusician

Right now I'm digging the Lovepedal Karl it's kinda out there with this funky ring-mod thing but man is it nice! The Skreddy Pink Flesh nails the Gilmour tone and sustains for days ,also the Lovepedal 200lbs is a nice fuzz ,very subtle ,but easy to put in a song or two cheers! :rockon:


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## mhammer

I must have 30-40 or more, and they all have their special charms, especially when I "charm the special in them" :smilie_flagge17:!

Several things to know about fuzzes:

1) Virtually ANY of them can be made to adopt different characters when preceded by a booster or by a compressor.

2) Pre-fuzz EQ is the shizznit. Indeed, many of DOD's assorted products don't really differ much more than by having various pre-distortion boosts inserted.

3) In a great many cases, particularly when they are discrete, rather than op-amp-based units, there can be considerable variation even within a given model. Mike Matthews himself said in an interview that there was considerable unit-to-unit variation within the different Big Muff issues. I suppose that could have been "fixed" by use of 1% resistors, and selecting caps and transistors to meet certain specs. But then that's not how the EHX stuff in the 70's and 80's were priced so cheap.

4) You will hear much fooferaw about this diode type and that. While, in an absolutely pure sense, there ARE hypothetical differences in the manner in which different diodes clip, very very VERY few real world circumstances permit one to separate those qualities from the mere fact that using a different diode type alters the output level, the level fed to subsequent stages, and renders a different outcome of the same input signal level. LEDs might clip differently, but in the real world, when people switch between germanium, silicon, or light-emitting diodes, they are essentially just changing the clipping threshold and output level, and little else. Not to depict that as moot, though. Feeding your amp a much hotter input signal *will* get you a different sound, to be sure, but the effect is from how you drive the amp, *not* from how the pedal changes the tone.

On the matter of Shin-Ei fuzz....

I bought myself a used FY-2 Companion fuzz in Moncton, back in 1992, largely because the selling price was less than the cost of a chassis and stompswitch at the time (stompswitches have thankfully come down in price). This is the same fuzz that shows up under many different guises in many places. It should not be confused with the various versions of Univox Superfuzz that have showed up in fuzz-wah pedals or on their own (see this site for a nice compendium: http://members.fortunecity.com/uzzfay/home.html ).

About 4 years ago, I finally resurrected the board, got a schematic and hooked it up (I had never actually heard it before cannibalizing the box!), and was quite pleased by what I heard. The FY-2 is a kind of bastard child of the Mos-Rite Fuzz-Rite and Superfuzz, and is apparently prized by the guy in Radiohead. The Fuzz-Rite, itself a highly esteemed harmonic monster, is essentially two cascaded transistor stages, and the "fuzz" control essentially blends the outputs of the first stage and the second. The FY-2 does something very very similar, but sticks a midscoop filter in after - very very similar to what makes the Superfuzz sound like doom, with the big bottom and searing top. Playing around with it, I realized that by sticking a small-value pot (say 10k) between the .1uf cap to ground in that filter, and ground, I could reduce the amount of mid-scoop and bring back the vocal shriek to it. VERY very nice. And much much louder as well. Those Shin-Ei fuzzes are worth every bit of doting people have placed on them. Keep an eye out for them.


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## LowWatt

I love the Earthquaker Devices Hoof Fuzz. I'm a big muff guy and I've been through about 15 different muff style fuzzes until I picked this off of Scott at axeandyoushallreceive a few months back. 

To me it's the perfect muff. It's thick, but sits well in the mix. It's wooly and wild, but you never lose control of it. It also has the best tone control sweep of any fuzz box I've ever played. 

The Hoof is based off the Green Russian Muff, but when you open it up, you see how different it is. Instead of 4 silicon transistors, it has 2 silicon and 2 germanium. The tone control still swings from bass to treble, but does it by going from a dark voiced germanium circuit on the left to a bright voiced Silicon circuit on the right ...so many textures are created by doing this. And instead of the usual clipping diodes it uses white LEDs.

Once again proof that a few subtle tweaks to a classic circuit can work magic.


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## Falcatarius

I've always loved fuzzes and the like but I don't really know where to start as I'm so overwhelmed by the sheer variety of them.

Currently I'm using a BYOC Large Beaver, which suits my needs pretty well. Its very smooth and gives a lovely full sound when coupled with an overdrive. But it always makes me feel very much in control of the sound, never really pushes it to ridiculous levels. (Think David Gilmour)


I'd really like some sort of crazy fuzzed out tone where the sound is barely being contained by the player and the amp is about to explode. I'm absolutely not a shredder or anything of the sort, nor am I looking for something gimmicky.

The closest thing I can relate it to would be some kind of huge vintage tube amp cranked to the very edge of destruction. Here's some sound clips of the type of thing I want.
Check out Jimi's solo here at about 3:25...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHAx7KpcEas

And here's a delicious clip of my idol Eddie Hazel...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfGatOUwyMg&feature=related

Any recommendations from any of you fuzz nuts? Please note that my amp is a tube one, but is purely clean. So the majority of this crazy fuzz would have to come from the pedal, though I'm happy to throw an overdrive into the mix as well. Or maybe I should just be looking for distortion?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Cheers
-Tom


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## devnulljp

Thanks for the info on the Shin-ei -- the one I found got snapped up PDQ I'm afraid. Good price, but I missed it -- so rare to find anything but line6 and MT-2s on craigslist these days...

Answering the question: Fulltone 69 is an awesome Ge fuzz face, and I just got an Analogman Sunface BC108, which is a tasty Si fuzz face type. Never bonded with the Fulltone 70 I had...
Got some D*A*M pedals on the way, that I'm I'm hoping work out--1966, ProMkII, and Drag'n'fly. 

Fuzz is a real finnicky thing to get right. I've had a few Big Muffs over the eyars, but ultimately they're not really for me--just too much. David Gilmour can coax subtlety out of one, but I can't...

I think it seems to come down to fuzz face (clones) / tonebender (clones) / big muff (clones)


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## mhammer

I will put in a plug for the Gretsch Controfuzz. Not available commercially, other than as a DIY kit. generalguitargadgets has boards for them, plus project info posted. http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/pdf/ggg_controfuzz.pdf

The Controfuzz is an interesting idea. What it does is split your signal at the input, with one path remaining clean and the other getting the bejeezus driven out of it (gain >2000!!). The fuzz output is attenuated somewhat to bring the level down to earth, and the two signals are combined out of phase with each other at a mixer stage.

The interesting thing about the circuit is that the clean signal momentarily cancels the fuzz signal, or rather aspects of it. But since the sustain in a diode-clipping circuit with a gain of >2000 is, er, *longer* than that of the clean signal, the fuzz appears to be faded in with time. So, instead of the signal getting cleaner with decay, as most fuzzes do, this one gets dirtier as the note decays. Hence the name - *Contro*fuzz.

As fuzzes go, it is nothing remarkable, but the reverse nature of the outcome is intriguing, and provokes interesting uses. For instance, pedals like the Boss Slow Gear were devised to mimic reversed tape. Unfortunately, normally you have more harmonic content at the outset of a note than at the end, so simply ramping up the volume slowly won't mimic that increase in harmonic content in a reversed tape. However, if you plugged into a Controfuzz and then into a Slow Gear, you would have the advantage of both the improvisational flexibility of a slowed-attack pedal (that doesn't require you to plan out your whole passage backwards) AND the "reversed harmonic bloom" of the Controfuzz - ergo a more realistic reverse-tape simulation. You can also imagne that having more harmonic content near the end prompts you to usie envelope-controlled filters differently.

If it had been introduced into the marketplace 6-8 years later than it's original launch-date, I imagine it would have had a bigger place in our consciousness of vintage fuzzes. The trouble was that all of those other pedals and musical styles that would have permitted its creative use, didn't show up until later on. Armed with a guitar, amp, hard rock, and Controfuzz pedal, I imagine a lot of players simply couldn't figure out what the hell to do with it.


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## Gretsch6120

Has anyone tried a yardbox by prescription electronics, really like the controls on it can really smooth things out so it doesn't sound so harsh, lots of options with this pedal


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## LowWatt

The Yardbox is based on a Sola Sound Tone Bender with a few extra tweaks. With any tone tone bender, they tend to sound raspy at low volume, but almost too thick and smooth with a tube amp at near full volume. This is definitely the case with BYOC Tone Bender and with the MJM BritBender I used to have (both based on the same pedal)

Have you had the chance to try it with a cranked amp? Is it still raspy or does it start to smooth out?


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## KoskineN

I'm a fuzz newbie and so far I got a EHX Little Big Muff, BYOC Ultimate Fuzz and a Fulltone '69. I really like the Muff sound in general bit there is just too much bass. Is there a Muff clone that has more controls on the Eq? The Earthquaker seems to be a good option!(I'm a big the Black Keys fan!)

EDIT: i just watched the ProGuitarShop demo of the Lovepedal 200lb of fuzz and it sounds really great!


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## LowWatt

KoskineN said:


> I'm a fuzz newbie and so far I got a EHX Little Big Muff, BYOC Ultimate Fuzz and a Fulltone '69. I really like the Muff sound in general bit there is just too much bass. Is there a Muff clone that has more controls on the Eq? The Earthquaker seems to be a good option!(I'm a big the Black Keys fan!)
> 
> EDIT: i just watched the ProGuitarShop demo of the Lovepedal 200lb of fuzz and it sounds really great!


The Earthquaker Hoof is awesome, but it has just as much bass as a Little Big Muff. I just picke a LBM up for my brother and was playing them side to side. If anything, the LBM is brighter.


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## KoskineN

Thanks for the infos! So the Hoof is out of my list now!:smile:


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## NB_Terry

My favourite fuzz is the "secret" dip switch setting on the Bixonic Expandora. 

Honourable mention goes to the octave fuzz in the cheapie Danelectro French Toast pedal. 

One of the many fuzzes I've owned was the Kay Orange fuzz pedal. Since The Edge used one on Elevation (also Daniel Lanois used one on his recordings) this pedal is worth $300, so out the door it went. 

Here's a demo of it: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Chb9s4_8h9M


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## Stratin2traynor

I've checked out YouTube vids on the Sunface and FoxRox Hot Silicon Fuzz as well as some others. They sound pretty good but of course, someone else is using them in the THEIR setup. There seems to be a lot to choose from. I used to have a Fulltone 70 which I really liked (still kicking myself for selling it) and an Ultimate Octave (there's a bruise right beside the spot where I kick myself for the 70). 

I going after the Jimi thing of course. Any suggestions?


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## RCCola

Very cool thread. Found it while researching fuzz pedals on Google.

I just bought my first fuzz pedals. I was looking for my first fuzz pedal for last few weeks. I've been watching eBay trying to score an analogman NKT Sunface for a good price.

What got me wanting a fuzz is 'Bold As Love' on the Jimi Hendrix Experience boxed set (it's an instrumental version - take 21). Jimi flips the fuzz on and just takes the song to another level. It's a really warm and fat fuzz. That song is one of the most perfect songs I've heard. It ends with Jimi telling Eddie he wants to do another take and Eddie says "Oh, Jimi".

I didn't really find that sound and just decided to get a Retroman Sybil because of its originality and versatility. After I ordered one, I stumbled upon some posts that mentioned the MJM Foxey Fuzz and lo and behold that is the sound I was looking for! I searched on Google for US dealers of the pedal and saw there was an auction on eBay ending in an hour and a half! Scored it for $80!

I'll try and post back in 6-8 weeks when I get my Retroman :food-smiley-004:


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## devnulljp

Stratin2traynor said:


> I going after the Jimi thing of course. Any suggestions?


Which Jimi though? Are You Experienced Jimi (Fulltone 69 gets close for starters) or Band of Gypsies (Sunface BC108 gets close for starters). I kinda thing the analogman sunfaces are the baseline against which everything else should get judged...
There's been a lot of +ve talk recently on TGP about the new Dunlop Jimi Hendrix JH1 fuzzface if you can believe that...and the demos do sound good. Seems it was designed by Jeorge Tripps from Way Huge. This thread...

Never bonded with the Fulltone 70, although it sounded quite nice. They're not hard to come by if you really miss yours (there's one on evilbay in Canada right now). Tried the lovepedal 200lbs and didn't like it at all...too smooth. 

Right now I've got the Fulltone 69 Ge and an AM sunface BC108 Si and that does for my vintage Hendrix/Cream fetishes, but have some DAM fuzzes on the way, so we'll see how those all stack up. I fancy trying one of those Hendrix Fuzzfaces too though, just haven't seen any around.

EDIT: Here's the JH1 clip I as looking for
http://guitarplayertv.com/
Then click "Guitars and Gear"
Then click "Pedalboard FX Routing"
Then click "Jimi Hendrix"


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## Archer

The Keeley Fuzz Head is an amazing fuzz.


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## Stratin2traynor

devnulljp said:


> Which Jimi though? Are You Experienced Jimi (Fulltone 69 gets close for starters) or Band of Gypsies (Sunface BC108 gets close for starters). I kinda thing the analogman sunfaces are the baseline against which everything else should get judged...


Just Jimi in general. I need a bit more "splat" or "spit" in the fuzz. I just picked up a FoxRox Hot Silicon Fuzz. Looking forward to trying that out. I have a Lovepedal 200lbs of Tone and I kinda like it but it's not quite splatty enough. It does a big wall of fuzz very well though. Haven't tried the Sunface yet but I'm sure I'll get there eventually. I've always liked the 69 but they are going for insane prices. I'm someone has made something very close for half the price, just have to find it.

Has anyone tried the FoxRox?


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## a Pack of Wolves

an american big muff (a niewish one from about 3 years ago)

i've had a russian one,and not all that impressed

i'm not a fuzz expert but man they're fun to have


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## bagpipe

devnulljp said:


> There's been a lot of +ve talk recently on TGP about the new Dunlop Jimi Hendrix JH1 fuzzface if you can believe that...and the demos do sound good. Seems it was designed by Jeorge Tripps from Way Huge. This thread...


Theres a lot of information in that thread. However, as usual with TGP, it doesn't take long before they all start fighting amongst themselves. I also found this Youtube video directly comparing the earlier Dunlop Fuzz Face and the newer Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face

http://youtube.com/watch?v=HPJ0RbqMskA

The guy makes an excellent point at the end of this clip. He says (and I agree) that Fuzz pedals sound great for coping Jimi stuff at home, but as soon as you try and use one in a band (or even just bass player and drummer) it just seems to disappear. They dont cut through well in a band mix.


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## devnulljp

bagpipe said:


> Theres a lot of information in that thread. However, as usual with TGP, it doesn't take long before they all start fighting amongst themselves.


Ain't that the truth! I always come away from TGP slightly depressed...it always seems to descend into a kind of Faux news/Bill O'Reilly alternative reality after about three posts. Like being caught in a conversation between Chuck Norris, Ted Nugent and Pat Robertson...too many people built their ethical world view based on 80s action flicks.

I never really thought of myself as a fuzz kinda guy, but I seem to have ended up with a ton of them over the years...it's a hard thing to get right. I blame Eric Johnson and Dave Gilmour for showing me that fuzz isn't just all Jesus and Mary Chain...


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## traynor_garnet

bagpipe said:


> Fuzz pedals sound great for coping Jimi stuff at home, but as soon as you try and use one in a band (or even just bass player and drummer) it just seems to disappear. They dont cut through well in a band mix.


This is precisely why I sold my MJM London Fuzz. Amazing sound, but I would stomp on it while jamming and it was like I actually turned down! Nothing I did changed this so I sold it (that, and it really needs a bias knob).

One of the best I have used (and mentioned above) is the cheapo Danelectro French Toast. The new Dano coolcat series out so I might check out their fuzz (true bypass, metal case and jacks).

TG


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## hollowbody

I had a Fuzz Factory for a while and just couldn't get it to consistently settle down for me and perform reliably. I loved the sound, but it just wasn't consistent enough. I ended up with an EHX Big Muff, which I didn't like at all (way too muddy and dark).

I had given up on fuzz until I picked up a Dano French Toast, and for the price, you can't go wrong. 

I'm GASing for an Analogman Sunface, but I don't think I'll be picking one up anytime soon.


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## SinCron

My roomie uses an EHX Graphic Fuzz and it cuts well.


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## Mr Yerp

Hi:
Google a search for Monsterpiece fuzz. I have one (see pic).
Hand made by a nice fella, very thick and fat sounding pedal. Has a bias control that loosens or tightens the feel.
I think it cost me around $150.00 Can. shipped to B.C. and painted the way I wanted with knobs of my choice.
A most excellent pedal!


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## Guest

I have had a few fuzz pedals over the last few months. Started with the Fuzz Factory but it was very thin sounding for me and always needed to be louder than I wanted. I ordered a Monsterpiece Two headed Monster from the Harmony Central board that I liked a lot but sold it because I got a Skreddy MAYO. The MAYO was nice, the best so far but for some reason I sold it for another Fuzz Factory. Now I have realized the the FF is just not my thing and I have a Fulltone 69 on the way... this one is going to be great!


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## Stratin2traynor

I've gone through a lot of fuzzes lately (Fulltone 70, Fulltone Ultimate Octave, Demeter Fuzzulator, BYOC Large Beaver, Lovepedal 200lbs, Fox Rox Hot Silicon) and now I have a Homebrew Electronics UFO on the way. Liked them all but I haven't found THE one yet although I regret selling my Fulltone stuff. HBE UFO looks promising though.


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## ne1roc

Stratin2traynor said:


> I've gone through a lot of fuzzes lately (Fulltone 70, Fulltone Ultimate Octave, Demeter Fuzzulator, BYOC Large Beaver, Lovepedal 200lbs, Fox Rox Hot Silicon) and now I have a Homebrew Electronics UFO on the way. Liked them all but I haven't found THE one yet although I regret selling my Fulltone stuff. HBE UFO looks promising though.


 I just ordered an HBE UFO last week. I trade pedals back and forth with a buddy in Connecticut so he has it at the moment ...... in the mean time he sent me his Stone Bender and a few other goodies. 

Ultimately, I need to find a Skreddy Mayo.


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## Voxguy76

I've been going through a real fuzz phase lately. BYOC Fuzz, Sunface, and MJM London Fuzz. Was really surprised with the BYOC, turned out to be a fantastic fuzz, plus has the addition option to swap out transistors. 
Just recently picked up the MJM London Fuzz. It's one of the ones in the smaller MXR sized boxes with bias knob. I had initially contacted Michael at MJM to have one built, however he no long makes them with external bias knobs. Luckily i found one used. These pedals are great.


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## Alien8

I'm not a big fuzz fan myself, but I always wanted a glitchy torn speaker sound, kinda like catching your pants on a nail. I tried a number of Big Muff's, and they always just sounded like a wall of distortion, not a torn speaker. I tried a few fulltones, and they were great sounding, just not my thing.

Then I tried a Fuzz Factory. While it can be a wall of distortion, it still has the ripping pants sound to it. What I like most about it is it's dynamically controlled voice. It responds dramatically to everything done ahead of it. How you pick, what pedals are in front of it, what pick-up you use, how loud the volume is. There are so many different sounds in the box, and it can take a while to dial some in at first, but they are all fun.

It is a thin sounding pedal, but an eq after fixes that. I haven't found it to be unpredictable. It is slightly chaotic, but the chaos is contained within a box if you will. I have never had a problem going from one setting to another without nailing it each time.


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## mhammer

Ever since I resurrected mine a couple years ago, I've been a big fan of the Shin-Ei FY-2 fuzz. Two transistors, and a whole lotta buzz. The stock unit has a mid-scoop filter derived from the one on the Superfuzz. I found that if I stuck some resistance between the filter and ground, you get a wonderfully gnarly sound, with a lot more output volume as well.

The FY-2 is a close cousin of the Orpheum Fuzz and the Mosrite Fuzz-Rite. And, my goodness, someone has even started a wiki page for it! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin-ei_Companion_FY-2


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## filmosound

Fulltone Soulbender, and for a very inexpensive but very good sounding fuzz -- the Danelectro Cool Cat Fuzz.


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## z0z0

Being an effects noob I am wondering what fuzz is all about.

To me it sounds like low level distortion.
Am I wrong?


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## tallhouserecordingco

z-vex fuzzzz factory!


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## foghorn99

*Roland Double-Beat AD-50....still going strong!!!*

I have YET to see a OD that can top the Roland Double-Beat AD-50 for distortion pedal. You can use your guitar's volume knob to control the amount of signal coming into the distortion, use the SUSTAIN knob on the pedal to set the max effect of distortion. There are THREE settings for tone: sine wave (bass heavy), square wave (mid PUNCH!!) and sawtooth wave (extreme EDGE!!).

The OUT LEVEL knob also allows you to set the BOOST from your amp's ambient sound (clean?) to the switched-on pedal enhanced sound...you can probably get about 6dB added depending on how you adjust the OUT LEVEL knob, I believe. This worked great with my original 12w Sears amp when I was 12 years old....drove my parent's up the wall (they didn't think the amp could go that LOUD - LOL)

And....yes it has a wah on-board....but seriously, IMHO....it really sucks. Literally, too...since it cuts the output volume by about 3-6 dB when I click it in.

One added feature: the 9v battery in these pedals....seem to last FOREVER!!!

I'll try to get a demo of it in the effects loop of my Badger 30 so you can see how it performs.

-Kent


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## EGBDF

Watson SuperFuzz or a Wooly Mammoth for straight-up fuzz.
Fuzz Factory for super fuzzy freakouts and oscillation weirdness...


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## Scottone

I'm really liking my new Formula 69 from Solid Gold Soundlabs. I'd say that its my current favorite.

Also have a Muhoney BossTone and Analogman Sunface which are great fuzzes in their own right.


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## DrPrid

I'm a fuzz freak and have tried a few. I echo Scottone on the F69. It is a great fuzz and Canadian made. Dying to check out the Agent 13.

My current collection includes:
Wattson Superfuzz
Foxrox Hot Silicon
NKT 275 Sunface
Blackout Effectors Musket Fuzz
Maestro MFZ-1 (60's)

I've had the BYOC MKII and miss it alot, as well as the FF. So many to choose from!

Personally, I find fuzz to be much more musical than distortion boxes. Once you've kicked a few you start to really notice the subtleties in sound. They take some work to really use properly, but worth every minute.

If I were to recommend one from my collection for a newbie it would be the Foxrox Hot Silicon. You can get singing Ge tones and gnarly scratchiness.


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## Andy

Love my Big Muff. It's a little muddy for live use (though my EQ really helps), but absolutely kills on recording.

I think my next purchase will be the Shin-ei FY-2. Always loved the bass on Myxomatosis.


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## Ti-Ron

My number one is my brand new Hoof-Fuzz, really fat!!!
I really love it stacked with my Octron!

This Wattson Superfuzz is really interessing...GAS


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## jjpinpin

I have a new Big Muff with Tone Wicker, it's OK but not the greatest
I recently bought a foxrox hot silicon fuzz, it is absolutely incredible, you can get perfect hendrix tones and it cleans up beautifully with the volume knob on the guitar


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## puckhead

I've had a Russian Big Muff for the last several years, if it kind of crapped out on me.
At some point I'll have to tear it apart and look for loose connections or something.

but in the mean time, i have a Proco RAT with the 308 chip in it en route.
can't wait. should be here next week.


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## Samsquantch

jjpinpin said:


> I have a new Big Muff with Tone Wicker, it's OK but not the greatest
> I recently bought a foxrox hot silicon fuzz, it is absolutely incredible, you can get perfect hendrix tones and it cleans up beautifully with the volume knob on the guitar


I'd be willing to bet you can get some spot on EJ tones as well...


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## gproud

Monsterpiece for me. Richard makes a great product. I have a 2 Headed Monster. However, no matter how hard I try, I just can't make a fuzz work with my setup. My guitar, I'm sure, has a lot to do with it: A MKI/MKIII. Check out his page regarding them. 

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=273885159&blogId=467618347

This is what's in the mail for me:


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## customtone

I built a fuzz face years ago and played with it for a while. Kind of cool, but not me. I put it away for a few years and recently pulled it out and still didn't like it, although it always sounded better than any of the after market fuzz faces. I decided to modify it and ended up with some what of a toss between a Fuzz face and a Tonbender sound. Lots of thick, rich overtones. This thing sounds awsome, with a very versatile tone control incorporated in to it too. If I were to describe it, I would have to say hi quality 60's, Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page) and a whole lot of others. For more info on awsome pedal mods in the GTA area, check out http://www.customguitartone.com


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## Todd68

It depends on what type of fuzz is required. I'd say the Fulltone '69 and Barber Trifecta.


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## paraedolia

Don't know about favourite, but I like these:


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## Ripper

paraedolia said:


> Don't know about favourite, but I like these:


Very nice collection!


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## wintle

DrPrid said:


> I'm a fuzz freak and have tried a few. I echo Scottone on the F69. It is a great fuzz and Canadian made. Dying to check out the Agent 13.


I'm with these guys. Lot of different fuzz tones and it depends what you are looking for. I've tried ones with the famous chips, but the Monsterpiece silicon and germanium two header will get you 90% of the fuzz tones out there, I think.

That said, if you want to nail Kyuss tones, nothing I've tried comes as close with my setup as the Solid Gold made-in-Canada fuzz. Worth keeping for One Inch Man alone.

Cheers


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## mattpas

Hi all,
I am a huge Big Muff addict.
I created a Big Muff reference page here:
http://www.stompunderfoot.com/BIG_MUFFS.html
I made this because I always see postings about the differences between Big Muffs and I thought this would help people out.


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## mhammer

Fired up yet another Shin-Ei FY-2 clone tonight. I increased the input cap to let a little more bass through. Oh *my*, that is some seriously serious fuzz! I had to turn down the volume on my single coils just to make it sound like overdrive at the lowest intensity fuzz setting. At the most intense setting it was full-on splatter fuzz. Just sick sick sick tortured tormented fuzz.kkjuw

I gotta stop making these. I'm starting to feel like some cat lady who can't help herself from adopting yet one more poor helpless little orphan fuzz.


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## Rugburn

mhammer said:


> I gotta stop making these. I'm starting to feel like some cat lady who can't help herself from adopting yet one more poor helpless little orphan fuzz.



Well,......if you have too many........9kkhhd


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## Overt1

i've only tried one fuzz and it was the analogman sunface. i have nothing else to compare it with, but it really sounds great


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## zurn

I'm suprised no one has mentionned the Roger Mayer fuzz's , since he worked with Jimmy.

Check out the Axis review from gearmandude on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3JKRieRc-Y


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## ZenJenga

fuzz fuzz fuzz.
neverending quest for fuzz.

so far I like: MXR classic 108, EHX russian muff green, EHX russian muff black w/ true bypass, EHX NYC muff, Dwarfcraft Shiva, Dwarfcraft Eau Claire Thunder and the MBM Fuzz Face clone.


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## Ti-Ron

How is the Dwarcraft Eau Claire??


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## NIK0

There has only been a couple of mentions of Skreddy stuff. Marc Skreddy loves his fuzz and has created some convincing fuzz pedals that duplicate a lot of the vintage stuff.

I have personally owned a bunch of fuzz boxes and I must say that my Mayo is wildly bang on to vintage muffs. My most prized possession is the the Pig Mine...solos are wonderful with this pedal, absolutely wonderful!

Tone however is totally relative and it comes down to your technique but in general terms I think Skreddy has really nailed it with his products.


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## keto

I'm looking for a thick but smooth fuzz. Sorta like the intro/solo in this tune, tho the sound quality isn't great http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFQZjv70YhI - there's something similar on Blow By Blow era Jeff Beck, and other examples. I know that April Wine example has other things going on (reverb, maybe some modulation) but gives the idea. It's important that the fuzz hang together through full bar chords, something that falls apart like most of the octave fuzzes is no good to me.

Anyways, I've been on a fuzz kick lately. Still want to get a tonebender type, but the Vox reissue locally is over $400 I'll pass on that.

Have 3 Fuzz Face types currently - FoxRox Captain Coconut2 clearly rules the roost, the GRIT knob adds spittiness as it's turned up, I like just a hint for that Neil Young Hey Hey My My type thing. Also have a Fulltone 70's and the Dunlop JH reissue, neither of which are currently turning my crank very much. The CC2 also has a very good octave fuzz built in, along with a Univibe.

Also have a Way Huge Swollen Pickle, great great Big Muff type fuzz with added diversity with the 'scoop' and 'crunch' knobs. Dialing out the scoop, and upping the crunch, turns it into a pretty wicked distortion. I haven't even messed with the internal trim pots, this thing is awesome. I still have settings in my head I want to experiment with.

Had a Roland Bee Baa fuzz a few years ago, I should never have traded that off. Not very usable for a lot of stuff, but very unique and cool for a bit of stuff. Very square wave and harsh, with tons of output.


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## Ti-Ron

If you are lookin' for a tonbender look for the EQD Ton Reaper, one of the nicest clone on the market and at a fair price!


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## Drazden

Currently have a Devi Ever Hyperion (insane Big Muff, but better than all the Big Muffs I've had) and a Zoom Ultra Fuzz. I think the Zoom is the most useful fuzz I've ever used... but it's beginning to act up, so we'll see if it needs to be replaced.


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## p_wats

Oh fuzz...so many options! I started building pedals recently and fuzz is pretty much the easiest one to make, so I've done a bunch. So far my favourites are the Foxx Tone Machine (I think it was recently reissued) and the Jordan Bosstone.


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## mhammer

I've made a bunch of octave-up fuzzes, and the Foxx is my all-time favourite. VERY robust octave. The Bosstone is also quite nice. Both are eminently moddable for some interesting alternate sounds. Good nominations.


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## six-string

i'm partial to a little peach fuzz now and then...:smile:


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## keto

six-string said:


> i'm partial to a little peach fuzz now and then...:smile:


careful, fifteen will get you twenty


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## ZenJenga

Ti-Ron said:


> How is the Dwarcraft Eau Claire??


Insane. I don't own one personally, but I know people who do and it can go from a nice normal fuzz to demented craziness depending on the settings.

I highly recommend Dwarfcraft devices. He's working on a tube amp right now too, which should be interesting. 
He (Ben/Aen) also works closely with DeviEver on various designs and is even releasing a few 'designed by DeviEver' devices soon as well. He just got picked up by Musiciansfriend recently, so it'll be easier to buy his builds.


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## Ti-Ron

Yeah, Aen is a really nice guy! He's building a Plane Ticket Plus for me right now (and a couple of other guyz from offsetguitar.com). I will investigate to find the Eau Claire, moog in Mtl carries it so, I'll have to try!

Actually my dirt is cover by fuzz only, a Hoof Fuzz and a F69 (fuzz face) but I would like to try the Wattson Superfuzz (now the Classic Fuzz) and a IC Big muff!

Mr. Hammer, what is the sonic difference between IC and normal transitor Muff??


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## ZenJenga

Ti-Ron said:


> Yeah, Aen is a really nice guy! He's building a Plane Ticket Plus for me right now (and a couple of other guyz from offsetguitar.com). I will investigate to find the Eau Claire, moog in Mtl carries it so, I'll have to try!
> 
> Actually my dirt is cover by fuzz only, a Hoof Fuzz and a F69 (fuzz face) but I would like to try the Wattson Superfuzz (now the Classic Fuzz) and a IC Big muff!
> 
> Mr. Hammer, what is the sonic difference between IC and normal transitor Muff??


Oh hey. Yea the plane ticket plus is tempting. I almost got on board for that myself, but I had my money tied up in other effects at the time. I recently had a saltshaker made for me by Mike from OSG/Shortscale.org. Should be here sometime next week hopefully.
You're on OSG? What's your screenname? I'm also on there under the same name as here. 

sorry offtopic.

yup fuzz. can't live with em can't live without em.


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## Ti-Ron

ZenJenga said:


> Oh hey. Yea the plane ticket plus is tempting. I almost got on board for that myself, but I had my money tied up in other effects at the time. I recently had a saltshaker made for me by Mike from OSG/Shortscale.org. Should be here sometime next week hopefully.
> You're on OSG? What's your screenname? I'm also on there under the same name as here.
> 
> sorry offtopic.
> 
> yup fuzz. can't live with em can't live without em.


same screen name as here!


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## Gretsch6120

LowWatt said:


> The Yardbox is based on a Sola Sound Tone Bender with a few extra tweaks. With any tone tone bender, they tend to sound raspy at low volume, but almost too thick and smooth with a tube amp at near full volume. This is definitely the case with BYOC Tone Bender and with the MJM BritBender I used to have (both based on the same pedal)
> 
> Have you had the chance to try it with a cranked amp? Is it still raspy or does it start to smooth out?


Jeez I never found mine to be raspy..Sounds good to my ears and I always play pretty loud, well thats what everyone tells me. The one fuzz I found to be raspy would have been the two fulltone soul benders I had. I have a GGG red lama that sounds petty good too its a smooth fuzz.


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## elbandito

ruby7829 said:


> Antonio at Capsule Music in Toronto makes awesome fuzz pedals. His brand is Teixeira (he also makes amps). I have the Heaven 17 which is a Tonebender MKII type pedal loaded with OC75 germ transistors. It's amazing. A very musical, useable fuzz. Really one of the best MKII pedals I've heard.



Is this his stuff? If so, it sure seems cool but I can't find any sound samples...

As for fuzz, I'm currently using a Subdecay Flying Tomato and an old big box-style EH Graphic Fuzz, which really isn't a 'fuzz' effect... it's more of an aggressive overdrive.


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## mhammer

Ti-Ron said:


> Mr. Hammer, what is the sonic difference between IC and normal transistor Muff??


Well, this is a good resource to start with: http://www.pisotones.com/BigMuffPi/psst/BMP_versions.htm

The cardinal characteristics, and soul, if you will, of the BMP are the use of double clipping, and the mid-scoop introduced by the tone control.

All transistor versions share the same double-clipping, even though they may approach it slightly differently. The op-amp version has only one stage of diode clipping. Where it is also different is that it sticks a 2-pole lowpass filter ahead of the clipping stage. Using the filter means the signal is "rounded off" before it hits the clipping stage, which is a good thing. But having only one clipping stage, and especially given the higher clipping threshold adopted by means of a 3+3 diode compliment, means it should (in theory) be less compressed and "violin-ey" in its sustain than the transistor version. It also has a different scoop which appears to be both wider and situated a little higher up, more like a Russion.

I say this looking at the circuit, but never having heard one, so take it for what it's worth.

Mark


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## zdogma

mhammer said:


> I've made a bunch of octave-up fuzzes, and the Foxx is my all-time favourite.


Agreed, that's a great fuzz. I also really like the Octron.


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## Ti-Ron

mhammer said:


> Well, this is a good resource to start with: http://www.pisotones.com/BigMuffPi/psst/BMP_versions.htm
> 
> The cardinal characteristics, and soul, if you will, of the BMP are the use of double clipping, and the mid-scoop introduced by the tone control.
> 
> All transistor versions share the same double-clipping, even though they may approach it slightly differently. The op-amp version has only one stage of diode clipping. Where it is also different is that it sticks a 2-pole lowpass filter ahead of the clipping stage. Using the filter means the signal is "rounded off" before it hits the clipping stage, which is a good thing. But having only one clipping stage, and especially given the higher clipping threshold adopted by means of a 3+3 diode compliment, means it should (in theory) be less compressed and "violin-ey" in its sustain than the transistor version. It also has a different scoop which appears to be both wider and situated a little higher up, more like a Russion.
> 
> I say this looking at the circuit, but never having heard one, so take it for what it's worth.
> 
> Mark


Thanks Mark, really interessing! I've read the link and it's really usefull to see the difference between all of the versions! Now I understand why my Hoof Fuzz is not the same sounding as the green muff...


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## elbandito

elbandito said:


> As for fuzz, I'm currently using a Subdecay Flying Tomato and an old big box-style EH Graphic Fuzz, which really isn't a 'fuzz' effect... it's more of an aggressive overdrive.


I forgot to mention my application of the Graphic "Fuzz"... I run an SD Pickup Booster in front of it to slam the overdrive into fuzzdom and it's awesome! With the EQ of the G.F., I pump the bass up and moderately increase the highs to get a kick ass fuzz tone. If any of you have got the Graphic Fuzz, I suggest you try what I've done. You'll be pleased with the results.


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