Best Sam Ash Fuzzz Boxx / Astro Tone Fuzz Clone...

dr.barlo

dr.barlo

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The cheaper the better!

As far as I see there are 3 contenders ...

1. AnalogMan AstroTone

2. Mojo Hand FX Zephyr

3. Hartman Tommy Bolin Fuzz...

There are some reviews that the last one may be a bit trebly, due to being an exact clone of the real Sam Ash fuzz boxes. I am not into the whole historically correct frenzy... Just need a nice fuzz for sorta different flavor. That is, while I kinda like historic accuracy I can give it up if it means some change according to my liking you know...

BTW I do not know much about fuzz pedals. I have a Sunface NKT275 and like it a lot. Also a friend of mine built a FF clone with NOS OC45's and I like that one quite a lot as well... And I also have a Fulltone Octave Fuzz, which I love. That's it... Yet, I am jonesing (my "long run plans" include, that is :) ) for a Tone Bender MK2 and Univox SuperFuzz.

B

PS. BTW here is my understanding of the use of fuzz (with my strat and Blues Jr.)



and

 
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Re: Best Sam Ash Fuzzz Boxx / Astro Tone Fuzz Clone...

...

The amp is either a Fender Blues Jr. or a 45W Dumble clone (to be exact it is a 45W - Bassman tranny - amp modified to my tastes and not that different from a 40W Brown Note D-Lite, another D-clone...). I am using my Blues Jr. at the verge of breakup, and would be using the fuzz with the D-Clone (having lotsa clean headroom) in the clean channel.

B
 
Re: Best Sam Ash Fuzzz Boxx / Astro Tone Fuzz Clone...

I have and love an Astro Tone...the clips of the Hartman are also really good but the nature of it being an exact clone make it limited in ways that to me the Astro Tone is not limited.
 
Re: Best Sam Ash Fuzzz Boxx / Astro Tone Fuzz Clone...

Cool... That's exactly the impression I've got, and getting your confirmation is great. Thanks...

How about the MojoFX? Any experience with or information about them?

B :beerchug:
 
Re: Best Sam Ash Fuzzz Boxx / Astro Tone Fuzz Clone...

The Bolin is not as versatile as the AnalogMan.

Ppl that find the Bolin 'too bright/thin' are not using it properly and are wrong. :)
 
Re: Best Sam Ash Fuzzz Boxx / Astro Tone Fuzz Clone...

I have played the Mojo and the Bolin. The Astro I have heard played live but never used it myself.

My opinions on the Mojo... it seemed more like an overdrive that had sam ash qualities. It was a great sounding pedal... I wanted one but it really feels like more of a more mainstream version of the bolin if that makes sense.

The Bolin is not thin. It's bright and has a similar feel to a treble booster mixed with a low gain fuzz. I don't know if it would work really well with the Blues Junior but you could try it. It liked darker amps... It's a very different sound than most fuzzes. It is a low gain bright fuzz sound with TONS of sustain. It's a freaking awesome sound but it isn't very versatile at least in the way I used it, I can see plenty of ways to make it more versatile though. I had it with my amp broken up and it pushed it. It sounded really great but I have a Mesa and I try to eliminated as many pedals as I can in front. It has the overdrive I need on tap and sounds great on it's own. The knobs on the bolin are very precise, there isnt a wide range on them but it allows you to fine tune that sound extremely well. If you like the base sound of the pedal, you will be in love with it... because it is versatile in the way it works... it just kinda stays in that territory more than most pedals.

It only came off my small board because like I said, I don't use pedals often. I sold it a couple weeks ago but was sad to see it go. I needed the money but if I had money I would buy that one again (or an Astro to see how it is).

Good luck, its definitely really unique and really cool. If you want to hear some good sounds with it. Look up Tommy Bolin in Deep Purple or solo. Amazing tone.
 
Re: Best Sam Ash Fuzzz Boxx / Astro Tone Fuzz Clone...

The Astro Tone is a stellar fuzz and having that Tone control on there should go a long way in dialing it in for either amp.

Here's the thing though - if you're playing into a clean amp, none of these things are gonna sound all that great. They are primarily dirty boosts that will fuzz up and get looser feeling when folded into the amp's dirt. If you can't run your amp dirty, then stack it into an overdrive and get a similar response though it won't be quite as fat.

And yeah - Bolin.

 
Re: Best Sam Ash Fuzzz Boxx / Astro Tone Fuzz Clone...

Cool!

Thanks for the input guys...

Now it looks like I am gonna go with the AnalogMan Astro Tone.

B :cool:
 
Re: Best Sam Ash Fuzzz Boxx / Astro Tone Fuzz Clone...

Andrew Lamprecht said:
I have played the Mojo and the Bolin. The Astro I have heard played live but never used it myself.

My opinions on the Mojo... it seemed more like an overdrive that had sam ash qualities. It was a great sounding pedal... I wanted one but it really feels like more of a more mainstream version of the bolin if that makes sense.

The Bolin is not thin. It's bright and has a similar feel to a treble booster mixed with a low gain fuzz. I don't know if it would work really well with the Blues Junior but you could try it. It liked darker amps... It's a very different sound than most fuzzes. It is a low gain bright fuzz sound with TONS of sustain. It's a freaking awesome sound but it isn't very versatile at least in the way I used it, I can see plenty of ways to make it more versatile though. I had it with my amp broken up and it pushed it. It sounded really great but I have a Mesa and I try to eliminated as many pedals as I can in front. It has the overdrive I need on tap and sounds great on it's own. The knobs on the bolin are very precise, there isnt a wide range on them but it allows you to fine tune that sound extremely well. If you like the base sound of the pedal, you will be in love with it... because it is versatile in the way it works... it just kinda stays in that territory more than most pedals.

It only came off my small board because like I said, I don't use pedals often. I sold it a couple weeks ago but was sad to see it go. I needed the money but if I had money I would buy that one again (or an Astro to see how it is).

Good luck, its definitely really unique and really cool. If you want to hear some good sounds with it. Look up Tommy Bolin in Deep Purple or solo. Amazing tone.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply, it's been really helpful... I am not into another od you know. So I guess I should get the AM AstroTone for the added flexibility of the tone control.

BTW about Tommy Bolin: Love the man, especially his solo work (also with Zephyr) and with the James Gang.... Just awesome!

B :)
 
Re: Best Sam Ash Fuzzz Boxx / Astro Tone Fuzz Clone...

erksin said:
The Astro Tone is a stellar fuzz and having that Tone control on there should go a long way in dialing it in for either amp.

Here's the thing though - if you're playing into a clean amp, none of these things are gonna sound all that great. They are primarily dirty boosts that will fuzz up and get looser feeling when folded into the amp's dirt. If you can't run your amp dirty, then stack it into an overdrive and get a similar response though it won't be quite as fat.

And yeah - Bolin.
Click to expand...

Cool!

My main gigging/rehearsal amp is a Marshall clone, a 1987/2204 type of amp. EL34's and all... With the flip of a switch I can go from a good old 70's metal panel type of 1987 into Slash's #34 JCM800 type of 2204. I can use it pretty loud so in my main rig I have a lot of gain, in fact more than I need. So I am guessing that this is exactly a pedal I would love.

Then I'd be relocating my Sunface to the "D-Board"... the board I am using with my D-clone, a fairly clean amp with 45W's of clean headroom. SunFace did not sound that good with this Marshall clone of mine. The NOS OC45 Fuzz Face that friend of mine did for me sounded way better:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4GE5V2CFGs

Very cool!

B :)
 
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