Help me choose a new fuzz pedal!

[AmirH]

For Christmas this year, I get to request a guitar pedal of my choice in the 100-200 dollar range. I haven't had a fuzz on hand since my cheap little moen fuzzmoo crapped out (honestly, not a bad muff clone at all for the price), so this is a good opportunity to get something more proper to replace it. There are so many options it's hard to know where to start, but I do have a good idea of the type of sound I'm looking for. Could you all help me zone in on some options that can achieve fuzz tones similar to what I'm hearing in the two songs I've linked below? Thanks much!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0YK7cswaLw&ab_channel=MileyCyrus-Topic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfSTG460qqQ&ab_channel=DepartmentOfEagles-Topic

 

[Demanic]

Securb has a pedal called a Dirt Clod. I recommend one of those. Maybe he can tell you a bit about it if he gets the chance.

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[Mincer]

I'd search out La Super Rica (with parametric mids) or a Tweak Fuzz.

 

[Wattage]

Love the Tweak Fuzz once you do the volume mod.

 

[GuitarStv]

ZVex Fat Fuzz Factory. It's known for the crazier end of fuzz sounds and can certainly do ripping cardboard, weird self-oscillations, octaved strangeness, and dying battery type gated fuzz . . . but you can also dial it back and get some pretty decent classic fuzz face things going on.

 

[Securb]

Securb has a pedal called a Dirt Clod. I recommend one of those. Maybe he can tell you a bit about it if he gets the chance.

I use the Dirt Clod for overdrive for Fuzz I use an MXR Blue Box. If you set the octave right around unity, you get an ultra-thick MOOG-like overdrive. The nice thing is you can find them cheap on the secondary market.

 

[GuitarStv]

I've always had a soft spot for the blue box. It's a very distinctive sounding fuzz.

 

[Aceman]

I know this is way outside your price range...but think about it.

https://reverb.com/item/63915713-adventure-audio-demogorgon-v3

 

[elelpe]

Orange Fur Coat. It has a footswitchable octave. When needed, you can adjustably blend it with the fuzz for a varied range of sounds.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Some context would be helpful.
Do you want one great fuzz sound with flexible tone controls, or a classic fuzz with cleanup for a spectrum of drive?
Also, will it be near buffers in your setup?

Myself, I like classic Fuzz Face or Tone Bender circuits; you can leave 'em on for a whole song, rolling back for those iconic Jimi style semicleans.
Nice broad range of gain textures, however they don't offer much control over EQ and they don't like buffers nearby - even downstream of them.

Later circuits - even Muffs - don't have the same cleanup, but do offer thicker saturation and many overcome some weaknesses of the classics.
Not just better flexibilty EQ-wise, but most of the modern designs won't tend to get tubby in the lows or get lost in denser mixes.
And most are designed to play nice with buffers so you don't have to worry about placement.

IMO a Muff could bring you into the same ballpark as those two examples. Muffs don't have the legendary cleanup of a good Fuzzface, but they back off well enough to cop a "fuzz-rhythm" tone if you don't need to get all the way to sparkly semicleans.

 

[misterwhizzy]

I use the Dirt Clod for overdrive for Fuzz I use an MXR Blue Box. If you set the octave right around unity, you get an ultra-thick MOOG-like overdrive. The nice thing is you can find them cheap on the secondary market.

That sounds like losing a video game.

 

[Securb]

That sounds like losing a video game.

Now you get it.

 

[NegativeEase]

I really dig the Furry Burrito -it is both a Distortion and a Fuzz (Mixable) -with a dying 9volt effect for that really dirty stuff (the clear tiny knob on the middle right side -it lights up)

 

[Rich_S]

My company has a totally off-putting "brownie points" system where you occasionally get points for doing something above & beyond. Get enough points, and you can order fabulous prizes from their online catalog. I recently discovered that they carry some Fender stuff, and I had a few points in my account. Just for fun, I ordered a Fender Hammertone series Fuzz.

It's great. It can do the old Fuzz Face think, but it has an internal tone control to brighten it up for more modern over-the-top sounds. It also has a lot more output than a lot of classic fuzz pedal. Add to that an octave switch and it's a very versatile pedal, for dirt cheap. Mine was free, but I think they normally go for about $79. A great pedal at a bargain price.

 

[AmirH]

Thanks for all the recommendations ya'll! The fat fuzz factory, la super rica, and fur coat all sound promising, so I'm adding them to the list of potentials. I've been poking around the used market and found a few others that piqued my interest as well -- the all pedal love machine, red witch fuzz god, and zvex fuzzalo. Has anyone here tried one of those?

 

[AmirH]

Some context would be helpful.
Do you want one great fuzz sound with flexible tone controls, or a classic fuzz with cleanup for a spectrum of drive?
Also, will it be near buffers in your setup?

Myself, I like classic Fuzz Face or Tone Bender circuits; you can leave 'em on for a whole song, rolling back for those iconic Jimi style semicleans.
Nice broad range of gain textures, however they don't offer much control over EQ and they don't like buffers nearby - even downstream of them.

Later circuits - even Muffs - don't have the same cleanup, but do offer thicker saturation and many overcome some weaknesses of the classics.
Not just better flexibilty EQ-wise, but most of the modern designs won't tend to get tubby in the lows or get lost in denser mixes.
And most are designed to play nice with buffers so you don't have to worry about placement.

IMO a Muff could bring you into the same ballpark as those two examples. Muffs don't have the legendary cleanup of a good Fuzzface, but they back off well enough to cop a "fuzz-rhythm" tone if you don't need to get all the way to sparkly semicleans.

Hmm, well I do primarily play clean or on the edge of breakup so that digging in with my picking can result in just a bit of crunch, and I've never used a fuzzface type, but I think my main uses for a fuzz have been for smooth saturated, almost cello-like lead tones, rhythm tones that sound warmer and smoother than an OD or high gain amp like my mesa, and for use in combination with my ehx pitchfork for big synthy tones, which can sound very close to the fuzz types with built in octave effects, just with a ton of control and flexibility. That seems like important context -- it's not important to me if the pedal I get has an octave feature, and if it does I definitely want the ability to turn it off. I couldn't really get into that splatty clipping diode territory with the muff type I had, maybe because it was a poor imitation, but that's definitely high on my priority list this time around. Clarity/note separation is extremely important to me though. That MXR blue box above, for instance, sounds way too congested and garbled. The voltage control on that furry burrito NegativeEase recommended seems awesome, but the dirt sounds much too overdrive in flavor for what I'm after.

 

[AmirH]

My company has a totally off-putting "brownie points" system where you get occasionally points for doing something above & beyond. Get enough points, and you can order fabulous prizes from their online catalog. I recently discovered that they carry some Fender stuff, and I had a few points in my account. Just for fun, I ordered a Fender Hammertone series Fuzz.

It's great. It can do the old Fuzz Face think, but it has an internal tone control to brighten it up for more modern over-the-top sounds. It also has a lot more output than a lot of classic fuzz pedal. Add to that an octave switch and it's a very versatile pedal, for dirt cheap. Mine was free, but I think they normally go for about $79. A great pedal at a bargain price.

Oh, awesome -- I'll check it out! That sounds like a solid option.

 

[jeremy]

clarity/note separation isnt the first thing i think of when i think fuzz

 

[AmirH]

clarity/note separation isnt the first thing i think of when i think fuzz

I think it's just hearing that MXR clip cemented my need for both gain and tone/eq knobs lol

 

[Rich_S]

Oh, awesome -- I'll check it out! That sounds like a solid option.

Fender really did a great job spec'ing out the Hammertone line. Totally pro features & construction for budget prices.