Favorite Fuzz Pedal

[treyhaislip]

What's your favorite fuzz pedal? Just curious as I've heard some incredible tones with fuzz pedals but have never connected to them. Got a really cool tone from the EXH Big Muff but could never dial it in to usable in the groups I was playing with. I think the best tone I've heard with someone using one was Phil Keaggy with a Fuzz Face.

 

[Securb]

I use a MXR Blue Box I love thr thickness

 

[Chistopher]

I'd have to say Fuzz Face. But my answer is subject to change at moments notice.

 

[Mincer]

I dig the re-released Expandora...unlike a lot of fuzzes, it can be pretty dynamic.

 

[Securb]

I also love the Seymour Duncan La Super Rica Fuzz I haven't bought one because as much as I love it I don't know how it would gel with our music.

 

[superpete]

stomp under foot violet ram's head

 

[Hiwatts and Gibsons]

Ramble FX Twin Bender. Mk I.V and Mk II Pro clones in one box with added Fat switch to take it into Fuzz Face and heavier tones.

 

[GuitarStv]

I built myself a germanium fuzz face with two tone controls - one that cuts high treble, one that cuts bass. It has been my favourite fuzz for a while now.

 

[jeremy]

im curious what that circuit is. did you come up with it yourself?

 

[GuitarStv]

I just stole some ideas off the internet and smashed them together.

Originally it was a basic fuzz face circuit and then I stuck in Joe Gagan's 'variable bass' to cut bass on the input from the guitar. It worked well for when I wanted a less wild/boomy sound, but sometimes it could make things too shrill so then a few years later I added a treble cut based on Mark Hammer's 'Stupidly Wonderful Tone Control' design with a little playing around with component values to get something that sounded right. The cut I went with is really just to the highest highs. Since the tones are at different spots in the circuit they kind of operate differently but work well together.

 

[Chistopher]

Interesting. So a predistortion bass control to shave off the wool, but a postdistortion tone control to make it darker.

 

[jeremy]

thats part of the reason i love the timmy od pedal. pre dirt bass roll off, post dirt treble roll off

 

[GuitarStv]

Interesting. So a predistortion bass control to shave off the wool, but a postdistortion tone control to make it darker.

Yeah. It's kind of cool how much it changes the character of the pedal. If you roll back the bass and treble about half way or so on each you end up with a kind of mid-boosted overdrive sound. Crank the gain, volume, and knock the bass back a bit into an overdriven amp and you get some treble booster sorts of sounds. Knock back just the highs and it sounds good into a clean amp. Or go both tones wide open for classic fuzz stuff.

 

[Liam1963]

HomeBrew Electronics Germacide, nice old-school splatty fuzz....

 

[Chistopher]

stomp under foot violet ram's head

I'm gonna have to change my answer to Violet Ram's Head too. They are exceptionally balanced

 

[idsnowdog]

I recently saw this video with the TWA Octoverdrive. It has a Selenium rectifier for diode clipping and has the most lively-sounding clipping I have heard. Today I added a NOS Selenium Rectifier to a ToneBender MK.III circuit I am building and it has that same harmonically charged distortion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS5Pue-Vl7o