[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:

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[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...

 

[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

 

[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.

 

[sysexguy]

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

Andy

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[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: .

 

[swagger]

Fulltone '70

 

[FetusFajitas]

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

 

[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!

 

[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

 

[Baconator]

...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

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[Warren]

Fuzz Factory.

 

[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.

 

[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 ?