Fuzz pedals

[marnold]

Whilst in Green Bay yesterday I decided to try out a couple of fuzz pedals. I tried a Little Big Muff and a Boss Fuzz. I was using a Standard Strat through an AD50VT. The LBM sounded similar to the Big Muff Pi inasmuch as there is no subtlety to it at all. It's great for many applications, but not for a Hendrixy kind of thing. To my ears, my EX-7 does a tremendous imitation of a BMP.

The Boss Fuzz is one of their COSM pedals so it is digital modeling. It models three pedals, two of which I really didn't care for at all. One I didn't like was some kind of Octavia thing. I'm not sure if it just didn't like the AD50VT or what, but I thought it sounded really crappy with it. The first model (the one that I did like) was decent at relatively high fuzz levels, but just seemed to be a tone suck on lower fuzz levels. Another thing with this pedal seemed to be that the guitar was taken almost completely out of the equation. It sounded pretty much the same regardless of what pickup I used or where the tone pots were set. The biggest difference was in positions 2 and 4 because those are hum-canceling.

They had a Keeley and Analogman fuzz there but I wasn't about to try them. The last thing I needed to do was to fall in love with a $250 pedal. I may just end up ordering one of the Danelectro Cool Cat Fuzzes sight unseen.

One thing was abundantly clear: I'm really glad I got noiseless single coils. Both of those pedals added what for me was an intolerable level of noise with the Standard Strat single coils. The more Fenders I play, the more I realize that I like my Area 61s. Granted I haven't tried a set of CS54s or anything, but I have liked them better than the regular Mexican and American pups, Texas Specials, Tex-Mex, the Highway One ones, and various Noiseless ones. Not that the Fender offerings were necessarily bad, mind you. I suppose that's a good thing because I can hardly afford to go buying even newer pickups

 

[Robert]

I think you were wise buying those pups.... very smart choice. I have the CS 54s but noise will happen with the "real" thing.

Get the Cool Cat Fuzz man. Excellent fun to be had for low dough.

 

[Tone2TheBone]

Ahem.....

 

[duhvoodooman]

Ahem, ahem....

 

[marnold]

Tone,

I saw your other thread right after I posted this. I checked a couple of YouTube clips of that pedal and it sounded kind of dark. I didn't know if that was an issue with the clips themselves or what. Of course, the "official" BBE clips on there use the exact same settings on the pedal--that over-the-top extra-linty fuzz.

DVM,

Actually, if I were to have one made it would be the Vintage Fuzz instead. I think my EX-7 does a close enough impression of a Big Muff for me.

 

[duhvoodooman]

Yeah, I read your comments above. I just used this one 'cuz I had a photo.

Actually, the ESV Vintage Fuzz (a Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face clone, as you probably well know) is the one to go with if you want to do that Strat/Hendrix sound thing... :rockon:

 

[Tone2TheBone]

...or the BBE Free Fuzz.....for that later years 70s Hendrix sound.....

 

[Jimi75]

I think the Danelectro Fuzz does a very good job at low cost. I disliked the the Boss Pedal a lot when testing it. It really didn't sound natural.

There's so many methods to make a Strat quiter, but honestly the hum is something that belongs to that guitar ;-)

The best fuzz I heard in the last time was the Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face, but it was quite expensive though.

 

[marnold]

For some reason, I hadn't considered a Seymour Duncan Tweak Fuzz. Apparently the original was built for Blues Saraceno by his father. Seems like a pretty interesting pedal. It's got a serious enclosure and it's true bypass. I had to laugh at some of the H-C reviews of it because it seems clear that some folks need to learn the differences between overdrive, fuzz, and distortion pedals. Anyone ever tried one of these?

 

[tunghaichuan]

For some reason, I hadn't considered a Seymour Duncan Tweak Fuzz. Apparently the original was built for Blues Saraceno by his father. Seems like a pretty interesting pedal. It's got a serious enclosure and it's true bypass. I had to laugh at some of the H-C reviews of it because it seems clear that some folks need to learn the differences between overdrive, fuzz, and distortion pedals. Anyone ever tried one of these?

Here is a germanium version of the Tweak Fuzz:

http://www.bluessaraceno.com/pedals_buzzyboy.html

(EDIT: Duhvoodooman's finished enclosures look way better than these: http://www.bluessaraceno.com/pedals.html. Maybe he should contact them and contract out his finishing services?)

According to this thread:

http://www.freestompboxes.org/viewt...=33990&hilit=seymour+duncan+tweak+fuzz#p33990

The Dirty Boy and Tweak Fuzz are the same inside, except the DB has
germanium transistors and the TF has silicon.

tung

 

[marnold]

Actually according to Seymour Duncan, the TweakFuzz is a Si version of the Afro Fuzz, which is actually a Si/Ge combo pedal. It's basically a Fuzz Face circuit with the tone shaper knob and another popular Fuzz Face mod (the third one under "Mods and Magic" on this page).

The main complaint I've heard about the Tweak Fuzz is that the volume knob has to be up quite high to keep the volume from dropping when the pedal is engaged. Someone else said the Fuzz Face is kind of the same way, but I can't confirm or deny that.

 

[tunghaichuan]

Actually according to Seymour Duncan, the TweakFuzz is a Si version of the Afro Fuzz, which is actually a Si/Ge combo pedal. It's basically a Fuzz Face circuit with the tone shaper knob and another popular Fuzz Face mod.

Cool. Good to know.

tung

 

[marnold]

Cool. Good to know.

tung

Check the edit I made to my previous post for the mod that I mentioned.

 

[tunghaichuan]

Check the edit I made to my previous post for the mod that I mentioned.

Well, I read that article by RG Keen and only understood about every third word

tung

 

[Buzzo]

I just picked up a Retroman Nu Fuzz. At first I thought it was amazing but now it doesnt seem to like my amps or maybe its my guitars. Fuzz pedals are tricky.

 

[Andy]

I still have to scratch my head over the popularity of Fuzz. I guess it's a retro thing.
I'm sure I'll have one on my board down the road, there's so many of them out there these days

 

[Tone2TheBone]

FWIW I enjoy the hell out of my stock Dunlop Fuzz Face. Yeah Dunlop. Maybe I lucked out or they make a heck of a fuzz but it does wickedly good germanium tones oh so good. Trick is to play loud to make them do what you imagine. Loud.

 

[marnold]

FWIW I enjoy the hell out of my stock Dunlop Fuzz Face. Yeah Dunlop. Maybe I lucked out or they make a heck of a fuzz but it does wickedly good germanium tones oh so good. Trick is to play loud to make them do what you imagine. Loud.

Well, the Fuzz Face is basically "the" vintage fuzz tone so I'm sure that's why. I'm not sure why the Hendrix version is so much more expensive when it doesn't use Germanium transistors. I assume you have the red one?

 

[Tone2TheBone]

Well, the Fuzz Face is basically "the" vintage fuzz tone so I'm sure that's why. I'm not sure why the Hendrix version is so much more expensive when it doesn't use Germanium transistors. I assume you have the red one?

Yes sir buddy I got the red landmine. Too big, too red and too round. My other beef is that the inputs are backwards...guitar input on the left and output to the amp on the right. However ...it is just a super fuzz pedal and responds very well with the guitar. I do agree with our own Fret Jimi in that the new silicon Hendrix Fuzz Face sounds really good. I think the added cost of the pedal is just due to marketing from our good friends at "Authentic Hendrix, LLC".