Mud with Germanium Fuzzfaces...

[dr.barlo]

Hey guys,

Please listen to this:



This is a AnalogMan SunFace NKT275 into a Blues Jr. boosted (for highs) with a PaulC Timmy. (The guitar is my strat with Van Zandt Vintage +'s in the neck and middle and blues in the bridge.)

I know that this too much thickness thing that is bothering me is not new. The sound is somewhat too thick, sometimes muddy in the neck with a strat and Tweed type of amp. So what I do is to use a Timmy following the SunFace to boost the highs.

Is that the only way? Any pointers? I do not know fuzzes that much, so would appreciate the help!

Thanks in advance.

B

 

[jeremy]

Re: Mud with Germanium Fuzzfaces...

i use timmy for an eq with my red dot sunface too. i cut a lot of bottom and a little top so i get a mid boost and less bottom. works well but it seems silly to have to use a second pedal to get what i want out of the fuzz. at the same time, i havent found anything that i like better than the sunface for what it does

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: Mud with Germanium Fuzzfaces...

The same here...



B

 

[Agileguy_101]

Re: Mud with Germanium Fuzzfaces...

I can't listen to that clip right now, so I'll just ask the standard questions:

Where are the volume and fuzz knobs set?

Where is your guitar volume set?

Do you have anything between your guitar and the Sunface? If so, what?

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Mud with Germanium Fuzzfaces...

i reckon its the amp...too much low end getting pumped into the poor thing by the sunface. Its only a 15 watter with not much low end to begin with - plus the preamp is pretty hot so that's getting mushed out by being overdriven and from all the fat lows. Low end needs headroom. There is no way around it. Blues juniors are cool amps, but no amps can do all things perfectly.
I reckon the best way to work with a fuzzface is to use an amp with plenty of headroom and then carefully dial in the gain on the ff to get the right balance of cut and fuzz. If you have the fuzz set low, the sound gets darker, but if its too high then you get too much fuzz. Getting the best out of them is a real balancing act - especially germs like the nkt.
Oh yeh - and they also sound best with nothing whatsoever in the chain. You probably know this already, but you can really hear the difference when you use an amp with plenty of headroom that lets all the subtleties of the ff through.
You might also want to consider using a silicon if you really want a fuzzface on your board - or possibly something brighter that is not a fuzz face at all like a voodoo superfuzz. With that, you can trim off the excess bass and shape the mids to fit your amp - plus it will play nice with your other pedals. It wont get the subtelty of the nkt, but i guess at the moment your rig is not capable of letting the sunface do what it does best anyway.

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: Mud with Germanium Fuzzfaces...

Thanks...

Cool input man!

So I should refrain from using this NKT275 with my Blues Jr. and 5E3 clone?



How about going silicon? Any more detailed input to that regard? How about the "iron bell"? I know I am giving in to the hype but still...



B

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Mud with Germanium Fuzzfaces...

One thing I found when direct-comparing the Germanium and Silicon Sun Faces was that they both have about the same LF response; the Si is a bit brighter, but it still has the same girth in the low end...

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Mud with Germanium Fuzzfaces...

T.O. is right about the low end between ge and si fuzzes. They both pump it out in a big way and the main differences between them are more textural/feel than anything- but there is a capacitor in fuzz face circuits than can increase or decrease the low end getting pumped into your amp. If you are not afraid then its only one component to change - and i know analogman uses the one with the big bass response - it says 104 on it. If you use a 103 coded cap then you'll decrease the low end noticeably which might solve your problem. Personally, i don't like to modify lovely circuits like analogman, so you might not want to do that either. However - the hartman bc108 silicon fuzz offers a little more top end definition than the analogman nkt, a touch less mids and it has the 103 cap already in place. I think tho, its still a fuzz face and it still does what fuzz faces do so it might still have you in the same situation.

Doc...have you been runing teh fuzz with nothing else whatsoever in the chain? That's a crucial part of getting a good ff tone. Also - dialing in the sweet spot between too much fuzz and too dark a tone on the fuzz knob is a big thing - its a real balancing act.

T.O: didn't you use a bolin fuzz (sam ash astrotone clone) until recently with good results using a low wattage amp? Andrew L had one and thought it was too lacking in bass for his needs - but he was using a twin and a boogie - both big headroom amps. Mebbe one of those would be good for the Doc and his BJ amp?

p.s. doc...i cant comment on the iron bell. never tried it - but isnt that a muff?
If you get the chance tho - try a voodoo labs fuzz...

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Mud with Germanium Fuzzfaces...

T.O: didn't you use a bolin fuzz (sam ash astrotone clone) until recently with good results using a low wattage amp? Andrew L had one and thought it was too lacking in bass for his needs - but he was using a twin and a boogie - both big headroom amps. Mebbe one of those would be good for the Doc and his BJ amp?

And I still do! It's a kickass pedal!

It really depends on how much grit you have on your amp already, though, as it's pretty low-gain on its own, and I found likes to be put into an amp being pushed into breakup.

But, yes; it's not bass-heavy at all and cuts thru a mix like a hot knife thru butter!

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: Mud with Germanium Fuzzfaces...

Hi,

In all them clips the sunface is either the only pedal or placed before my timmy boosting the highs... Apart from these two there is nothing else in the chain...

Good suggestions. Thanks.

I am not going to fiddle with the bass caps. This is because I kinda like the sunface as it is into my D-clone, 45W's with tonsa fender type of clean headroom... But still, I love my blues jr., it's my to go amp...

B :beerchug:

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: Mud with Germanium Fuzzfaces...

And I still do! It's a kickass pedal!

It really depends on how much grit you have on your amp already, though, as it's pretty low-gain on its own, and I found likes to be put into an amp being pushed into breakup.

But, yes; it's not bass-heavy at all and cuts thru a mix like a hot knife thru butter!

What fuzz are you guys talking about? I am like what's going on here!!! Especially because I loved the tone in the clip...

B

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: Mud with Germanium Fuzzfaces...



In this clip, I am using the vol on the guitar at ~8 between 0:00 - 0:59, and around 1:00 I am am cranking the vol on the guitar all the way. That's why the tone gets a bit darker... And around 2:30 I am adding the timmy, set to boost highs.

BTW I gotta be frank... I love the the results. It is just that I am using one of the best OD pedals on the world to get the fuzz as I want it... And that kinda is a bit weird. See the logic?

B

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: Mud with Germanium Fuzzfaces...

... and I don't have any issues about the bridge:







All of them are done with the bridge pickup... Love it!

B

 

[Agileguy_101]

Re: Mud with Germanium Fuzzfaces...

Where do you have the fuzz set? You get the most treble response with the fuzz maxed.

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: Mud with Germanium Fuzzfaces...

Hi, that's not exactly the case with my SunFace. The most "alive" tone comes with the fuzz ~2 o'clock. If I were to go higher, the tone gets more "fuzzy" and more screaming yes, but it does not add much highs...

FYI, in the below clip, I am using the fuzz exactly at that spot...

http://soundcloud.com/mr-hamdi/gpkbcem-07

B

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Mud with Germanium Fuzzfaces...

What fuzz are you guys talking about? I am like what's going on here!!! Especially because I loved the tone in the clip...

B

Thank you, sir!

That song was an Agile AL-2800 strung with DR Pure Blues 11s into the Tommy Bolin fuzz > EAST Studio 2 > vintage Hiwatt 4x12. All rhythms played LIVE and LOUD; harmonies and doubles were done with the same setup on my Rivera 4x12 using the Swamp Thang pair, I believe.


Mic was an Audix D2 a full 2ft from the cabs.

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: Mud with Germanium Fuzzfaces...

Vow!

Cool!

It really sounds great.

B :beerchug:

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Mud with Germanium Fuzzfaces...

Thanks!

You know, I've been enjoying the new Hendrix the past week or so (People, Hell, and Angels) and it got me thinking: I wonder if his wah had the same effect on the fuzz face that I am doing using the Beano Boost; ie, cutting off the 600ish Hz boom/mud and focusing the midrange and high freqs.

Thoughts?

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Mud with Germanium Fuzzfaces...

my fuzzes lose all their goodness when i use a wah. Mebbe i need one of those "fuzz friendly" buffers or something...or i could just keep my simple one pedal setup.

 

[Andrew Lamprecht]

Re: Mud with Germanium Fuzzfaces...

I still have the Bolin too... I had it up for sale but took it down... its a great pedal even though I don't use it very often.