a fuzz pedal but which one?
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Chris of Arabia
Desert RATT
Re: a fuzz pedal but which one?
My favourite is the Noel Cornet, but that's expensive and rather hard to get hold of. Have a look for Chicago Music Exchange's demo of the Cloven Hoof on YT though, as that's a good substitute. Both of those are muff style fuzzes though, rather than fuzz face, or tone benders.
My favourite is the Noel Cornet, but that's expensive and rather hard to get hold of. Have a look for Chicago Music Exchange's demo of the Cloven Hoof on YT though, as that's a good substitute. Both of those are muff style fuzzes though, rather than fuzz face, or tone benders.
PFDarkside
of the Forum
Re: a fuzz pedal but which one?
You are mentioning Fuzz Face pedals from Dunlop. The new range of Dunlop Fuzz Faces are designed by Jorge Tripps of Way Huge fame, and all (Blue Hendrix, Eric Johnson, Bonamassa) are quite good, but in different ways. The Bonamassa is a lower gain Germanium for HBs, the Eric Johnson and Hendrix Fuzz Face models are different Silicon transistors and then the two mini (Red & Blue) are higher gain Germanium and Silicon Fuzzes. The best bet is to try as many as you can through your rig and see what you like.
Caveats:
-Fuzz Face is an ultra simple circuit, the magic is not in the circuit, it's in selecting transistors with appropriate characteristics, and then matching the gain levels and biasing them "correctly". As such, it's not a great pedal for mass production as compared with overdrives and distortions. (Needing to select specific transistors and biasing resistors) However, the mil-spec Bonamassa and Silicon a Transistors are easier than vintage Germanium ones. What I'm saying is, every pedal builder can build a fuzz face, that doesn't mean it's good. Jimi went through boxes to find the "good ones", which were just well matched transistors.
-Fuzz Face is not a "plug and play" effect, it requires a good tube amp running at a bit of distortion at decent volunes to tame the upper harmonics. Also, they are very impedance sensitive, they like to be first in the chain. This allows you a wide range of tones, from full on wooly fuzz at 10, to heavy rhythm at 9, to barely breaking up rhythm at 7. Very dynamic and fun! But plugging one into a Peavy Bandit at bedroom volumes and an Ibanez with import HBs might not quite give you the tones you are looking for!
Again, some of those Dunlop Fuzz Face models are great (I have a couple) but they are rig dependent. That's why you want to try them with your rig. Analogman is the man at building fuzzes, his Sunface can be configured with an array of great transistors depending on what you are looking for.
Finally, there are other pedals that were developed in response to the downfalls of the FF. The Big Muff was designed to sound like a Fuzz Face through a cranked Marshall. (Not that it necessarily does, but it's a fun fuzz nonetheless) They are less rig dependent and are more plug and play. Pedals like the Wampler Velvet Fuzz are also more tolerant to rig differences, and give a classic fuzz tone a little easier
Good Luck, the world of fuzz pedals is a wild, wonderful, quirky one!
You are mentioning Fuzz Face pedals from Dunlop. The new range of Dunlop Fuzz Faces are designed by Jorge Tripps of Way Huge fame, and all (Blue Hendrix, Eric Johnson, Bonamassa) are quite good, but in different ways. The Bonamassa is a lower gain Germanium for HBs, the Eric Johnson and Hendrix Fuzz Face models are different Silicon transistors and then the two mini (Red & Blue) are higher gain Germanium and Silicon Fuzzes. The best bet is to try as many as you can through your rig and see what you like.
Caveats:
-Fuzz Face is an ultra simple circuit, the magic is not in the circuit, it's in selecting transistors with appropriate characteristics, and then matching the gain levels and biasing them "correctly". As such, it's not a great pedal for mass production as compared with overdrives and distortions. (Needing to select specific transistors and biasing resistors) However, the mil-spec Bonamassa and Silicon a Transistors are easier than vintage Germanium ones. What I'm saying is, every pedal builder can build a fuzz face, that doesn't mean it's good. Jimi went through boxes to find the "good ones", which were just well matched transistors.
-Fuzz Face is not a "plug and play" effect, it requires a good tube amp running at a bit of distortion at decent volunes to tame the upper harmonics. Also, they are very impedance sensitive, they like to be first in the chain. This allows you a wide range of tones, from full on wooly fuzz at 10, to heavy rhythm at 9, to barely breaking up rhythm at 7. Very dynamic and fun! But plugging one into a Peavy Bandit at bedroom volumes and an Ibanez with import HBs might not quite give you the tones you are looking for!
Again, some of those Dunlop Fuzz Face models are great (I have a couple) but they are rig dependent. That's why you want to try them with your rig. Analogman is the man at building fuzzes, his Sunface can be configured with an array of great transistors depending on what you are looking for.
Finally, there are other pedals that were developed in response to the downfalls of the FF. The Big Muff was designed to sound like a Fuzz Face through a cranked Marshall. (Not that it necessarily does, but it's a fun fuzz nonetheless) They are less rig dependent and are more plug and play. Pedals like the Wampler Velvet Fuzz are also more tolerant to rig differences, and give a classic fuzz tone a little easier
Good Luck, the world of fuzz pedals is a wild, wonderful, quirky one!
TwilightOdyssey
Darkness on the edge of Tone
Re: a fuzz pedal but which one?
I did a few play tests and compared the pedals on offer verses my sonic needs and what's missing from my current palette. I also relied on the advice of fuzz gurus like the guy who invented fire to dial into the nitty gritty; in fact, when I bought my SunFace, tgwif and I traded text messages the entire time I was auditioning pedals when I pulled the trigger on my Fuzz Face style pedal.
Re: a fuzz pedal but which one?
i only look for the mini fuzz that i wrote because i have a fuzz pedal
The bat fuzz made by Jacques and i like it
i had a little big muff but with a Laney amp, the sound was not good at all with the clean channel
or i should have played with more gain with my amp?
so, i have not this pedal anymore but i will try the big muff deluxe:- ) (new model)
i know there is the velvet fuzz made by Wampler too but now, i look for a fuzz from MXR/DUNLOP
just a mini fuzz
i have found a man who sells the turquoise, blue one Hendrix model
i saw a lot of videos and i talked to a man who tried the 3 mini pedals
the red one is warm, not enough trebles, not a bright sound
the Hendrix model has medium gain (i will try this one)
the other blue one has the max of gain
i read some reviews: they said that the pedal must be with another disto or amp
because if you only play with the fuzz pedal, the sound will not be very good
so i am agree with what you said
i only look for the mini fuzz that i wrote because i have a fuzz pedal
The bat fuzz made by Jacques and i like it
i had a little big muff but with a Laney amp, the sound was not good at all with the clean channel
or i should have played with more gain with my amp?
so, i have not this pedal anymore but i will try the big muff deluxe:- ) (new model)
i know there is the velvet fuzz made by Wampler too but now, i look for a fuzz from MXR/DUNLOP
just a mini fuzz
i have found a man who sells the turquoise, blue one Hendrix model
i saw a lot of videos and i talked to a man who tried the 3 mini pedals
the red one is warm, not enough trebles, not a bright sound
the Hendrix model has medium gain (i will try this one)
the other blue one has the max of gain
i read some reviews: they said that the pedal must be with another disto or amp
because if you only play with the fuzz pedal, the sound will not be very good
so i am agree with what you said
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Chickenwings
Alnico 6/8
Re: a fuzz pedal but which one?
these are all dunlops. You are lucky you have not tried looking at all the the other fuzz faces out there! Let alone all the fuzzes out there that are not based of the fuzz face as these all are.
Anyways...safest bet from the dunlop/mxr selection is the classic 108. Its a hendrix fuzz in a pedal friendly size and with a switchable buffer.
these are all dunlops. You are lucky you have not tried looking at all the the other fuzz faces out there! Let alone all the fuzzes out there that are not based of the fuzz face as these all are.
Anyways...safest bet from the dunlop/mxr selection is the classic 108. Its a hendrix fuzz in a pedal friendly size and with a switchable buffer.
)
TwilightOdyssey
Darkness on the edge of Tone
Re: a fuzz pedal but which one?
Death By Audio makes great stuff. I have the Fuzz War, which is probably way too extreme for what you are looking to do with your fuzz -- the Apocolypse looks like it keeps with DBA's aesthetic and is very experimntal; not really intended for replicating fuzz tones of yesteryear.
Death By Audio makes great stuff. I have the Fuzz War, which is probably way too extreme for what you are looking to do with your fuzz -- the Apocolypse looks like it keeps with DBA's aesthetic and is very experimntal; not really intended for replicating fuzz tones of yesteryear.
Re: a fuzz pedal but which one?
i like all the fuzz tones and it's good to have some extreme sounds ( Jimmy Page to the dirty sound of Hendrix and other sounds)
i had a little big muff EHX: it was a catastrophic sound, so cold...
the sound was big, fat and was good to play like Billy Corgan from "the smashing pumpkins" : very 90's or 60's too but too cold for me
i have a Jacques: bat fuzz, it's really good but not warm, not alive
fuzz face Hendrix model, mini model :
i have bought it to a guy and it’s a very good pedal!!
mini format but big sound!!
i have not a Marshall amp but the sound is good, warm, fuzz but not a hard fuzz, not a dirty fuzz like you could imagine with the videos that i put here
just medium gain but alive ! beautiful
and with a Marshall boost, i have another kind of sound!!
i am surprised with the sound of this pedal: it’s really beautiful to play some blues like Clapton does with his strat
my sound is a little bit different from the videos
but it’s good
very good with a strat but my guitar has not noiseless pickups so, i have too much hum/noises
maybe i should change with a Clapton model or hsh deluxe or Charvel san dimas/so cal
you don’t need to play with channel 2 or channel 1 with gain
just a clean sound and the pedal+good pickups make the sound
http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/FFM3-hendrix
"Jimi Hendrix™ Fuzz Face® Mini Distortion Info
The Fuzz Face® Mini pedal line features legendary Fuzz Face tones in smaller, more pedalboard-friendly housings with several modern appointments: a bright status LED, an AC power jack and a convenient battery door. As with the original models, Fuzz Face Minis feature true bypass switching.
The FFM3 Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face Mini Distortion has the same circuit as the JHF1 in smaller housing, delivering the thick, smooth Fuzz Face tone that Jimi Hendrix made famous in a pedalboard-friendly size."
i like all the fuzz tones and it's good to have some extreme sounds ( Jimmy Page to the dirty sound of Hendrix and other sounds)
i had a little big muff EHX: it was a catastrophic sound, so cold...
the sound was big, fat and was good to play like Billy Corgan from "the smashing pumpkins" : very 90's or 60's too but too cold for me
i have a Jacques: bat fuzz, it's really good but not warm, not alive
fuzz face Hendrix model, mini model :
i have bought it to a guy and it’s a very good pedal!!
mini format but big sound!!
i have not a Marshall amp but the sound is good, warm, fuzz but not a hard fuzz, not a dirty fuzz like you could imagine with the videos that i put here
just medium gain but alive ! beautiful
and with a Marshall boost, i have another kind of sound!!
i am surprised with the sound of this pedal: it’s really beautiful to play some blues like Clapton does with his strat
my sound is a little bit different from the videos
but it’s good
very good with a strat but my guitar has not noiseless pickups so, i have too much hum/noises
maybe i should change with a Clapton model or hsh deluxe or Charvel san dimas/so cal
you don’t need to play with channel 2 or channel 1 with gain
just a clean sound and the pedal+good pickups make the sound
http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/FFM3-hendrix
"Jimi Hendrix™ Fuzz Face® Mini Distortion Info
The Fuzz Face® Mini pedal line features legendary Fuzz Face tones in smaller, more pedalboard-friendly housings with several modern appointments: a bright status LED, an AC power jack and a convenient battery door. As with the original models, Fuzz Face Minis feature true bypass switching.
The FFM3 Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face Mini Distortion has the same circuit as the JHF1 in smaller housing, delivering the thick, smooth Fuzz Face tone that Jimi Hendrix made famous in a pedalboard-friendly size."
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Chickenwings
Alnico 6/8
Re: a fuzz pedal but which one?
thats a cool thing.
keep the noisy pickups tho. the noiseless ones just don't have the same "life".
thats a cool thing.
keep the noisy pickups tho. the noiseless ones just don't have the same "life".
