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let's talk about some motherfuzzin fuzz pedals!!!!

gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 Posts: 23,303
in Musicians and Gearheads
i am looking for a good fuzz pedal.

I am really digging the Dr. No kafuzz, Dr. No skullfuzz, and Dr. No Turd. they are all kind of out of my pricerange though. plus, the skull fuzz, being an actual skull, is not practical for being on a pedalboard, or even gigging, as someone will steal it.

i am also looking at the magnetic effects white atom, and the basic audio scarab deluxe fuzz.

i am a big fan of the jhs muffeletta, as it is 6 versions of the big muff in one pedal.

does anybody have any experience with any of these? i have never used a fuzz. i was always afraid it would muddy my tone too much.

my other guitar player got a thorpy effects muffroom cloud, and it is fucking killer. so now of course i have to keep up with the jones and get a fuzz as well.

post your fuzz pedals that you like or what you would recommend to someone.
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."

Comments

  • dudemandudeman Posts: 3,061
    I replaced a bunch of fuzz pedals, mostly Big Muffs and clones, with a Homebrew Electronics Ultimate Fuzz Octave.

    It plays well with other pedals, is very reactive to gain staging, is well built, pedal board friendly and it has a huge useful range.

    I stopped buying fuzz pedals after I found the U.F.O..
    If hope can grow from dirt like me, it can be done. - EV
  • gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 Posts: 23,303
    dudeman said:

    I replaced a bunch of fuzz pedals, mostly Big Muffs and clones, with a Homebrew Electronics Ultimate Fuzz Octave.

    It plays well with other pedals, is very reactive to gain staging, is well built, pedal board friendly and it has a huge useful range.

    I stopped buying fuzz pedals after I found the U.F.O..

    thanks for the recommendation. I will check it out. i have heard that fuzzboxes are notorious for not playing well with other pedals. I was reading about how a fuzz and a wah typically don't work well together. some have even suggested putting a buffer between the wah and the fuzz as the wah can be a huge tonesuck.
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • earthquakes making wavesearthquakes making waves Posts: 295
    spaceman pedals. all their fuzz pedals are great for guitar and bass
  • dudemandudeman Posts: 3,061
    gimmesometruth27 said:

    dudeman said:

    I replaced a bunch of fuzz pedals, mostly Big Muffs and clones, with a Homebrew Electronics Ultimate Fuzz Octave.

    It plays well with other pedals, is very reactive to gain staging, is well built, pedal board friendly and it has a huge useful range.

    I stopped buying fuzz pedals after I found the U.F.O..

    thanks for the recommendation. I will check it out. i have heard that fuzzboxes are notorious for not playing well with other pedals. I was reading about how a fuzz and a wah typically don't work well together. some have even suggested putting a buffer between the wah and the fuzz as the wah can be a huge tonesuck.
    I always found placement of the fuzz in the signal chain was something to experiment with. With the U.F.O., I had the best results putting it after the wah.
    If hope can grow from dirt like me, it can be done. - EV
  • DewieCoxDewieCox Posts: 11,429
    Love the Muffuletta as well.

    Also sporting an Analogman Sunface and Zvex Wooly Mammoth on my board. The Sunface has the Mullard germanium transistors from his options and is about as close as you can get to holy grail territory for reasonable money. Incredible fuzziness and better than bypass cleans with the volume rolled back. The Mammoth is really tasty too and does some cool gating and over the top fuzz...a mainstay on Jim James' board.

  • xtremehardy388xtremehardy388 Posts: 2,759
    I've got a Fender Blender (thanks to Monster, on here). It's the pedal McCready uses on NAIS and gets the SRV tone pretty well (surprisingly).
    Grand Rapids '04, Detroit '06
    JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
    "Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
  • moejilesmoejiles Posts: 70
    I scored a Sovtek Big Green Muff on Ebay this year for a reasonable price - sounds incredible!! I also have an EarthQuaker Devices Hoof Fuzz which is amazing
  • All Those YesterdaysAll Those Yesterdays Posts: 2,723
    Love fuzz pedals......

    I'm actually a diehard Fulltone guy still. I prefer germanium over silicon. I feel germanium fit my style better. I don't play lead, I'm strictly a chord guy 99.94354% of the time. MKII and Soul Bender sound amazing. I recommend finding which over drive pedals work help with whatever fuzz pedal you get, you can use them to help tame fuzzes at times. Play with them in the signal chain, fuzzes tones drastically change depending where they are in the chain (some more then others). I tend to him my fuzzes with the signal first. Another secret weapon is my Keeley Java Boost. Germanium treble boost pedal. Think Zeppelin I.

    I'll try to get Exhausted's attention, he has been through and has used a ton of different fuzzes. I know he is a big Way Huge fan.
    E. Lansing-98 Columbus-00,03,10 Detroit-00,03 (1&2),06, 14 Cleveland-03,06,10 Toledo-04, Grand Rapids-04,06 London-05, Toronto-05, Indianapolis 10, East Troy (1&2) 11, Chicago 13, Detroit 14

    https://www.facebook.com/aghostwritersapology/
  • gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 Posts: 23,303
    i ended up getting the basic audio scarab deluxe. i contacted the builder, john lyons, and bought directly from him. i bought it tuesday last week and i received it on friday and played with it literally all weekend. several hours each day. i plugged it in and immediately got stockdale's wolfmother tone. i was never able to get it before. i messed around with placement on my board. as it is now i have it after my wah and phaser just before my drives. i have a jhs little black buffer between the phaser and the wah. that is where everything seems to sound best at the moment. i am still tweaking the order though. we don't have a gig for a few weeks yet so i have time to experiment. i am waiting to get my dr. no drive o matic in the mail. it should be here this week. hopefully it goes well with the new fuzz.
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • DewieCoxDewieCox Posts: 11,429
    Great choice...I've never owned one, but it's a very popular pedal over at gearpage. Should be able to cop a lot of old school tones. Meant to sound Tonebenderish.
  • All Those YesterdaysAll Those Yesterdays Posts: 2,723
    Awesome purchase!
    E. Lansing-98 Columbus-00,03,10 Detroit-00,03 (1&2),06, 14 Cleveland-03,06,10 Toledo-04, Grand Rapids-04,06 London-05, Toronto-05, Indianapolis 10, East Troy (1&2) 11, Chicago 13, Detroit 14

    https://www.facebook.com/aghostwritersapology/
  • gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 Posts: 23,303
    yeah i was messing around with it last night. i used my looper and recorded the clean intro of everlong. i played it back and got that roaring intro strum of the distorted guitar. i love that damn pedal now!!
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • PART.OF.eV3RY.DAYPART.OF.eV3RY.DAY Posts: 146
    A must have...

    idiotboxeffects.bigcartel.com/product/ron-fucking-swanson-super-fuzz
  • CM189191CM189191 Posts: 6,927
    What I have:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXcpqldmg_8
    And what I want:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9xMy3mZtCI
  • CM189191CM189191 Posts: 6,927
    saw this, had to post it
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpWbKnlrRvs
  • Go BeaversGo Beavers Posts: 9,086
    Here's a nice sounding cheapo Chinese fuzz pedal:

  • dudemandudeman Posts: 3,061
    I've seen a lot of those little Mooer pedals but I've never played around with any of them. How do they compare to the rest of the market?
    If hope can grow from dirt like me, it can be done. - EV
  • CM189191CM189191 Posts: 6,927
    dudeman said:

    I've seen a lot of those little Mooer pedals but I've never played around with any of them. How do they compare to the rest of the market?

    I have one of these and I really enjoy it:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvuHSr_yncE
    /amateur guitarist with amateur ears
  • dudemandudeman Posts: 3,061
    Wow. That looks like a capable pedal. I'll have to look into them a little more. 
    If hope can grow from dirt like me, it can be done. - EV
  • DewieCoxDewieCox Posts: 11,429
    I have a Donner Flanger. Same kinda thing as the Mooer stuff. I honestly think it's one of the best Flanger pedals around and it was friggin $30 at Amazon. I'd gladly put it on my board among mostly cork sniffer type stuff.
  • brianluxbrianlux Posts: 42,038
    edited May 2017
    I found one of these babys in a little music store that used to be in Diamond Springs, CA for a very reasonable price (I think I paid like $20 or $25).  Not long after, the old tube went out and I replaced it and it's worked like a bull dog ever since.  Kind of sounds like an old bull dog, come to think of it.  Dirty, funky, get down in the grunge kind of pedal.  Lotta fun, this one.

    Edit: The Chandler Industries Tube Driver isn't a true "fuzz pedal" but I thought it worth mentioning here.  The fuzz pedal I really want is one of the home-made jobs that a guy I knew way back in high school used to make.  He even made his only little tin boxes (that doubled as a stash box) to house them in.  Loads of fuzz and peculiar in odor.  Sure wish I had one or knew where the guy is these days.


    Post edited by brianlux on
    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • dudemandudeman Posts: 3,061
    I've been revisiting, or maybe rediscovering my guitar pedalboard lately. After much experimentation, I found that the Fulltone O.C.D. into the Homebrew Electronics Ultimate Fuzz Octave into the Dunlop 535Q wah gives me the best range of useful tones. The overdrive tightens up the fuzz a little and the wah sounds great by itself or with any combination of OD and fuzz.

    Btw, how's the Scarab working out, OP?


    If hope can grow from dirt like me, it can be done. - EV
  • gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 Posts: 23,303
    dudeman said:
    I've been revisiting, or maybe rediscovering my guitar pedalboard lately. After much experimentation, I found that the Fulltone O.C.D. into the Homebrew Electronics Ultimate Fuzz Octave into the Dunlop 535Q wah gives me the best range of useful tones. The overdrive tightens up the fuzz a little and the wah sounds great by itself or with any combination of OD and fuzz.

    Btw, how's the Scarab working out, OP?


    man, it is killer. i recently joined an original band and that pedal is my entire guitar tone in that project. I have switched from my 74 marshall jmp to my 1994 matchless clubman with the scarab deluxe, wah, trembletank reverb, and dr no driveomatic. I had to switch from the marshall to the matchless because my marshall was getting lost in the mix with the other guitarists playing a vintage marshall and an old hiwatt. i needed something to cut through the mix. basically my setup in that band is the matchless and the scarab deluxe on all the time, and i use the reverb and driveomatic to get a little different sound on some songs. the scarab is my favorite pedal. if someone told me a year ago that a fuzz pedal would be my favorite pedal i would not have believed it.
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • earthquakes making wavesearthquakes making waves Posts: 295
    SPACEMAN

    All of their fuzz pedals are amazing!
  • dudemandudeman Posts: 3,061
    While not technically a fuzz, the T-Rex Mudhoney is a distortion pedal that gets well into Muff territory. This thing sounds absolutely massive with the gain and tone cranked. There is a little boost switch that gives nice, creamy OD when off. Turning it on unleashes loads of gain that crushes the input stage on my amp.

    I'm running mine with my bass rig with a hot rodded P-Bass or one of my custom ESPs. Driving the Mudhoney into a modified SansAmp BDDI is the best bass distortion I have ever heard.

    Worth a test drive if you find one in the wild.
    If hope can grow from dirt like me, it can be done. - EV
  • gimmesometruth27gimmesometruth27 Posts: 23,303

    forgot to add a pic of mine. he custom made it for me by taking a dremel to the case. I did not want powdercoated so he made the swirls into the aluminum casing.
    "You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry."  - Lincoln

    "Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
  • dudemandudeman Posts: 3,061
    That looks awesome! I used to have a Martin ABG that had an aluminum top. They did something to it that gave it a similar pattern. I got a lot of questions, comments and compliments on that bass when I played out with it. 
    If hope can grow from dirt like me, it can be done. - EV
  • H.ChinaskiH.Chinaski Posts: 1,600
    Big muff all day
    Pine Knob, MI Lollapalooza 1992 / Soldier Field, Chicago 1995 / Savage Hall, Toledo 1996 / Palace, Detroit 1998 / Palace, Detroit 2000 / Pine Knob, MI 2003 / Showbox, Seattle 2004 / MSG, NYC 2008 / Key Arena I & II, Seattle 2009 / Eddie Vedder Beacon, NYC 2011 / Eddie Vedder Benaroya, Hall Seattle 2011 / Barclays, Brooklyn I &II 2013 / Wells Fargo, Philadelphia II 2013 / Wuhlheide, Berlin, Germany 2014 / Wells Fargo, Philadelphia 1 2016 / Madison Square Garden, NYC 2 2016 / Wrigley 2, Chicago 2016/ Fenway 1, Boston 2018/
  • Go BeaversGo Beavers Posts: 9,086
    H.Chinaski said:
    Big muff all day
    Until you hit two or more simultaneous notes, then after that Satan has taken over your guitar.
  • dudemandudeman Posts: 3,061
    I love the idea of the Big Muff but I have sold or traded every version I ever bought. 

    IME, it doesn't play well with other pedals, completely squashes dynamics and gets really muddy very early in the gain range. 

    It's probably my technique, since I like what some others can do with it. I've heard them sound glorious. In my control, it is a wall of noise one trick pony. 
    If hope can grow from dirt like me, it can be done. - EV
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