Best Way to Use a Fuzz?

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Pink Unicorn Horsey

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Is a fuzz pedal (such as a vintage Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face) best played into a clean amp, an amp on the verge of breakup, or an amp cranked into overdrive?

Does a fuzz pedal sound good in combination with a clean boost? With an overdrive pedal? Totally on its own?

Does it sound best with single coils? Humbuckers?

How do you use yours? What have you found to work well for you? To work badly for you?

- Keith
 
Re: Best Way to Use a Fuzz?

I like my fuzz like this:

Fuzz -> Completely cranked amp.

Not for everyone, but it gives me the most amazing "my amp sounds like it might explode type of tone".

I prefer fuzz with singles, but humbuckers and P90's rock too. In my experience fuzz works great with OD as well as alone. For the most part I dont use my fuzz with any boost as of right now, but I would like to get a treble booster for solo's.
 
Re: Best Way to Use a Fuzz?

Well into a huge old Marshall......and loud as well;)
I like it best with either lowoutput humbuckers or best with singlecoils, and I use tone and volumeknobs alot, since it gives so many great sounds!
Sometimes I use my optical comp into the fuzz....gives a great dist/fuzz sound!
 
Re: Best Way to Use a Fuzz?

I use fuzz more and more everyday!

I like them into fairly clean amps as it keeps them undercontrol however...they do not play well with BF Fenders, IMO. As for pickups, I prefer them with singles or LOW output buckers...again, this helps keep them under control...
 
Re: Best Way to Use a Fuzz?

I've only got one fuzz and it's the Analogman NKT SunFace. I've also found it works best with an amp on the brink of overdrive, and seems to respond best to single coil neck pickups. It doesn't seem to be overly happy working with other gain pedals, as it tends to get kinda flabby in the bottom end. Good germanium based fuzz pedals are very sensitive to input volume, so a lot of gain variance can be controlled from the guitar's volume. As the Sunface cleans up, it provides a fairly bright clean sound, almost brittle, but for some darker amps that might be fantastic. The gain difference between 10 and 8 on the guitar volume can be huge, so it can be very useful for going from rhythm to lead sounds just with the volume pot. I must admit I'm more a fan of the treble booster/overdrive kind of sounds, but it's cool to have a good fuzz as an effect to drop into for a couple of songs in a set. Other guys use them as their main source of drive. As always, it's each to their own.


Cheers...............wahwah
 
Re: Best Way to Use a Fuzz?

wahwah said:
I've only got one fuzz and it's the Analogman NKT SunFace. I've also found it works best with an amp on the brink of overdrive, and seems to respond best to single coil neck pickups. It doesn't seem to be overly happy working with other gain pedals, as it tends to get kinda flabby in the bottom end. Good germanium based fuzz pedals are very sensitive to input volume, so a lot of gain variance can be controlled from the guitar's volume. As the Sunface cleans up, it provides a fairly bright clean sound, almost brittle, but for some darker amps that might be fantastic. The gain difference between 10 and 8 on the guitar volume can be huge, so it can be very useful for going from rhythm to lead sounds just with the volume pot. I must admit I'm more a fan of the treble booster/overdrive kind of sounds, but it's cool to have a good fuzz as an effect to drop into for a couple of songs in a set. Other guys use them as their main source of drive. As always, it's each to their own.


Cheers...............wahwah
Click to expand...

What kind of amp do you play it into?
 
Re: Best Way to Use a Fuzz?

KGMESSIER said:
What kind of amp do you play it into?
Click to expand...

I've got two setups that I use live, which include an '83 Fender Super Champ, and a custom made amp made here in Australia called a "Rock Bender" which is a 100w 2 x 12" combo, loaded with SED EL-34's, which is tonally kinda like a Bassman on steroids, but EL-34 powered, a nice hybrid. I've put late 50's blackplate RCA 12AX7's in the front of both amps, and the Super Champ has late 50's RCA blackplate 6V6GT's as well, which are superb. The Rock Bender also has an early 60's Mullard in it's "Intensity" slot, which is a second tube gain stage after the tone section of the preamp. The Sunface will work well with either rig, but it's not so nice with the volume backed off through the Super Champ.


Cheers..............wahwah
 
Re: Best Way to Use a Fuzz?

I have to echo what others are saying:

Fuzz + overdriven amp = great fuzz-tone

There's just something about the way a fuzz works together with an amps overdrive. It squishes the OD and tames the fuzz, but it's still totally raunchy!
 
Re: Best Way to Use a Fuzz?

Well I like them best on big clean amps or small clean amps;)...if there where any confusion.
And oh yes since trebleboosters where mentioned...that into a fuzz is also quite fun for a fat leadsound.
I have an old fuzz with Germanium transistors by the way.
 
Re: Best Way to Use a Fuzz?

I run a pedals-> clean SS amp rig. My Tonefactor Huckleberry(Ge/Si hybrid FuzzFace based) is first in line, I use it to push my OD/distortion pedal or on its own. Great tones either way.

On its own, its good for pure fuzz sounds. Rolling back the vol on guitar, you get lovely bright cleans with hint of hair. When I turn on the OD/dist pedal, it gives me a huge full sound, albeit a bit smoother. Again, if you roll back the volume, you get beautiful rich rhythm tones of varying dist flavors.Full out, it is good for saturated singing leads. The bottom end can often mush out, so you have to adjust your dist pedal EQ a bit. Playing with the volume and tone knobs gives you a number of usable tones.

I believe it would only sound better pushing an overdriven tube amp.
 
Re: Best Way to Use a Fuzz?

It really depends how i feel at the time !

Right now, i use all my fuzz'es to get a kind of Black Keys fuzz tone !

Fender Blues Jr. master vol max'd.
Pre-amp vol. at noon (remember this is an ultra low gain amp)
Fuzz, same vol as amp, and gain (depending on unit in use) just one or two "notches" above that of the amp's breack-up.


. . . so, i play on a slightly broken-up amp (some will say it is still clean), and when i stomp on the fuzz, you get that real comfortable warm and fuzzy tone, and ear-friendly levels, ala Black Keys !

Pretty much JUST like THIS tone :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoG3TACGXZo


What do you think ?
 
Re: Best Way to Use a Fuzz?

KGMESSIER said:
Is a fuzz pedal (such as a vintage Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face) best played into a clean amp, an amp on the verge of breakup, or an amp cranked into overdrive?

Does a fuzz pedal sound good in combination with a clean boost? With an overdrive pedal? Totally on its own?

Does it sound best with single coils? Humbuckers?

How do you use yours? What have you found to work well for you? To work badly for you?

- Keith
Click to expand...

Oh, sorry, i forgot to ad, i use (at this point in time) only 'buckers.

And for the life of me, can NOT get a FuzzFace to work for my style !
It is just not a musical fuzz to my ears !

Now give me a Big Muff, Double Muff, Graphic Fuzz, D&S (1 & 2), any Tone bender clone :smokin: , E13 Oraganic Drive, i love 'em all, but the Fuzz Face - sorry, i can not gell with that one !

Cheers
;)
 
Re: Best Way to Use a Fuzz?

Another great Dist/FUZZ unit :

http://www.pedalgeek.com/cgi-bin/new_shop.cgi?config=&uid=xBn_0gAA1173954912&command=link--fb2

Thsi Jacques Fuss Blower is labeled as a Dist. unit, albeit with a fuzz knob !

I am not so sure about this label it was given !
To my ears it sounds like a very usable (even by me) alt-sounding FUZZ - Period !


Then we have this OD from Vintage FX :

http://www.pedalgeek.com/cgi-bin/new_shop.cgi?config=&uid=xBn_0gAA1173954912&command=link--vfxcd

It is an OverDrive first, but with a beautifull fuzz-like under tone !
Another fav. of mine !
And for $99.00 it is a sweet booteek unit !

Vintage FX makes a dedicated fuzz unit too !
(thought you'd like to know)


Man I LOVE FUZZ !
(can you tell ?)

;)
 
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