My name is Curly, and I admit I like FUZZ ... as in Wattson

Curly

Moe's Bluesman
Wattson Classic Fuzz, based on the Univox Superfuzz.
This is one of the better copies of that circuit, and not so easy to find.
Oh, it sounds fat and nasty, like a fuzz should. :D

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Re: My name is Curly, and I admit I like FUZZ ... as in Wattson

Cool - closest visually to originals as well. Originals went from kinda high to expensive to downright stupid prices in like 5 years time.
 
Re: My name is Curly, and I admit I like FUZZ ... as in Wattson

the guys at Wattson went to a lot of trouble to get this right ... it's a fairly complex circuit for a fuzz, and not based on a fuzz face or bender type circuit ... endless sustain, and tone from a buzzsaw to the earth opening up under you :)
 
Re: My name is Curly, and I admit I like FUZZ ... as in Wattson

Hey Curly, good to see you posting. Which dirt pedals do you own, and which amps do you use the most nowadays?

Also, do you still have your website that included my pages?
 
Re: My name is Curly, and I admit I like FUZZ ... as in Wattson

Joe,
I mostly play my Blues Junior -- it seems to be my most reliable amp with good tone. Sitting in my living room though, are a Victoria Double Deluxe, a Mesa Blue Angel, a DRRI, a '58 Champ, '56 Deluxe, and the Mission Amps Deluxe I built. I have a bunch of pedals, mostly ODs and fuzzes, plus some that I built for the heck of it -- my failure rate is pretty high on the stuff I built though. :(
Of the ODs I have, I could almost be happy with just the little Maxon 808. Of the fuzzes, mostly I like tonebenders -- they seem the most musical to me, plus that's what I was weened on. :)

I kind of lost interest in maintaining the web site, but if there is anything you want, I can put it on a disc and send it to you.

Cheers!
 
Re: My name is Curly, and I admit I like FUZZ ... as in Wattson

nice! never heard one before. good to see ya around
 
Re: My name is Curly, and I admit I like FUZZ ... as in Wattson

Clips would be nice! I have little to no experience with Fuzz pedals. About 30 years ago I had one I think but for the life of me I can't remember which one it was! It never impressed me so I unloaded it. I tend to lean more towards overdrives. I have the Maxxon 808 but its in a box on the shelf. Didn't really care for it all that much. I also had the MXR classic overdrive which I gave to my buddy's 24 year old son who was looking to enhance his tone some. What I use mostly is a Spina modded TS9. I also have a "new" TS9 that has a chip mod so I can switch the chips. Never really need to it sounds just fine the way it is.

Good to see you here Curly. Hope you are well....
 
Re: My name is Curly, and I admit I like FUZZ ... as in Wattson

Yup. Good to see ya posting again Curly!!
 
Re: My name is Curly, and I admit I like FUZZ ... as in Wattson

OK, here's gearmandude's demo ...



the circuit produces both upper and lower octaves -- the lower adding fatness, and the quirky, ring mod type stuff happening in the upper octave

I hadn't used an octave fuzz before, so I had to learn to roll the tone down and use the neck pickup for the upper harmonics. The tone switch has two positions - one is the straight circuit, the other a mid scoop for a fatter tone.
I've seen some people ask how they can turn the octave effect off ... just don't use the neck pickup! I first tested it with my Esquire, and I had a hard time producing the upper octave. Not so on my strat.

here's another vid from ProGuitar :


Why am I showing you these if they are no longer available? No, it's not to gloat -- but if you're interested, there are other reproductions of the circuit, like the Black Cat and 73 Effects versions. Quinnamps also has a smaller version called the Prophet -- the Youtube video for that , on bass, sounds sick -- in a good way! :)
BYOC also has a kit called the Leeds fuzz -- my comment, after building that kit is that the circuit is complex enough to benefit from some fine tuning with the transistor gains, and I think it helps if you have a way to check the gain.
 
Re: My name is Curly, and I admit I like FUZZ ... as in Wattson

nice pedal! the MJM china fuzz is also a cool superfuzz clone.
 
Re: My name is Curly, and I admit I like FUZZ ... as in Wattson

hey guys, I also wanted to say thanks for the welcoming words ....

@ Bludave ... I think you use mostly Gibsons, or at least humbucker guitars? This may be just me, but when I think of classic fuzz, I mostly think of Jeff Beck with the Yardbirds, Led Zep's first, and Jimi ..
I kind of favor humbuckers straight into a good amp, with maybe a little clean boost at times. Single coils need a little more help! thus, OD, fuzz, etc, etc ... not written in stone, but just my opinion.

@ Superpete, yeah, I forgot to mention the China fuzz ... there might be a couple others.
 
Re: My name is Curly, and I admit I like FUZZ ... as in Wattson

hey guys, I also wanted to say thanks for the welcoming words ....

@ Bludave ... I think you use mostly Gibsons, or at least humbucker guitars? This may be just me, but when I think of classic fuzz, I mostly think of Jeff Beck with the Yardbirds, Led Zep's first, and Jimi ..
I kind of favor humbuckers straight into a good amp, with maybe a little clean boost at times. Single coils need a little more help! thus, OD, fuzz, etc, etc ... not written in stone, but just my opinion.

@ Superpete, yeah, I forgot to mention the China fuzz ... there might be a couple others.

I have a good assortment of both single coils & humbuckers. BUT.... I do tend to lean towards a good Strat or a 335.
 
Re: My name is Curly, and I admit I like FUZZ ... as in Wattson

Univox sound. cool! that has serious attitude.
For those who want a current production superfuzz sound (not to be confused with voodoo labs superfuzz which is based on a jordan bosstone), check this out.
It wails!
 
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Re: My name is Curly, and I admit I like FUZZ ... as in Wattson

Gawd Dan. This thread just made me pull the trigger on a Black Cat Super Fuzz for $195. Can't wait!
 
Re: My name is Curly, and I admit I like FUZZ ... as in Wattson

Already shipped and in NJ ! I might have this tomorrow. Prymaxe is the best!
 
Re: My name is Curly, and I admit I like FUZZ ... as in Wattson

OK ... a little follow up ...
I've recently built two kits -- the BYOC Leeds fuzz -- their version of the Univox/ Shin-ei SuperFuzz, and a General Guitar Gadgets Companion Fuzz, based on the Shin-ei Companion fuzz -- a different circuit, but shares the fat, scooped bottom end, and long sustain, without the octave effect. I have to say both could use a little tweaking, pretty usual for my kit builds -- they are both totally OK to use, but the Companion is pretty bassy, and the Leeds gets a bit mushy. Both have long sustain though, and they're a lot of fun.
The orange one is the Companion, Leeds is blue ....
GGG-FY-2-Fuzz_01-01.jpgLeeds fuzz_06.jpgLeeds fuzz_04.jpgLeeds fuzz_05.jpg

I'm also getting a Quinnamps Prophet, aka Mantis:

note that's a bass clip ... one person said, "One side is like having sex, the other is like having your head eaten!" :)

and here is another SF version from Brad Davis of Fu Manchu (known as Creepy Fingers Effects):

a tweaked version that turned the 2-way switch into a blend knob -- actually pretty practical

I don't think you can go wrong with the Black Cat -- Analog Man sells those too. I was in a local studio yesterday, and they had a Black Cat Superfuzz in the main room...

I've listened to several clips of clones, and they vary a lot, so my comment is that the circuit is a little complex, and it's not enough to just throw some parts in a box ... the good builders have spent time dialing in their pedals, and you can tell the difference.
 
Re: My name is Curly, and I admit I like FUZZ ... as in Wattson

Very cool Curly! Very cool!

I shouldn't have clicked this thread!

Damn!

:banghead:

I was intending to get a good version of ToneBender MK2 (not the professional though, the regular MK2) and maybe a good Muff... Now this! :banghead:

B
 
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