Re: new FUZZ...
I started with both pedals in a switcher looper so I could toggle from one to the other with one stomp, this is the only way to A/B pedals IMO! I set both fuzz knobs to full and set both volume controls to unity...now we're off! My amp was a 62 Fender Deluxe loaded with a Celestion Greenback and the 2 guitars I used were my 05 R8 Les Paul loaded with SD Antiquities and my Cleveland Guitars Broadcaster.
The "normal" NKT-275 FF is just an amazing pedal...warm, thick, earthy sounding, amazing clean up...all the way down to completely clean even with humbuckers. I love this pedal because it will go all the way to clean and as you bring up the volume control you really begin to get into some killer overdrive/distortion tones before it breaks loose (about 8.5-9 on the volume control) and goes into full blown FUZZ! Great pedal...with a Les Paul you can get these amazing Cream era Clapton tones, think tunes like SWLABR and Outside Woman Blues with ease.
Now on to the High Gain NKT-275 FF...again a great pedal but definitely different from the other. The HG version does have a lot more gain and this equals more of a stereo typical fuzz sound...this pedal is more of a hard clipped square wave where the normal NKT is a tad softer in it's clipping. This all came to a few basic overall changes...one is that the earthy quality the lower gain version had is almost gone, there is still a little of it there but it is a lot stiffer sounding overall. Also, there is a noticeable amount of top end added, now this is not an ear piercing top end but almost like a little extra treble as well as a slight presence increase as well...this gave the HG pedal a little more "cut" and made the actual pick attack sharper and more aggressive. All that said, even with the extra top, aggression, and more exadurated pick attact the classic NKT-275 tone was still there!
Some of the other differences I noticed was that no matter how hard I tried with either guitar I could not get the HG FF to clean all the way up. not even close truth be told but one cool thing is that it being crunchy even when turned down there seemed to be a slightly wider range of overdriven/distorted tones before this fuzz went into full on fuzz mode. Also, the lower gain FF seemed to have more of a blooming effect on single noted where the HG version was more forcefull but w/o the bloom. Also, the HG version has more sustain...not a lot more and like any fuzz box you still have to work wiht the guitar and the amp to really make it sing but it did seem easier with the HG version.
The last thing I tried to do was get the HG FF to sound like the lower gain version. If you turn the fuzz control down on the HG FF to about 8 or so you can get sort of close, sort of but not exact! The gain level is more inline with what the lower gain FF gives you and the basic, overall tone is close but the extra top end and presence is still there as is the exaurated pick attact and as hard as I tried I couldn't get the HG FF to bloom like the lower gain version nor could I find that earthy quality. Also, another thing is that even with the fuzz control turned down to 8 it still wouldn't clean up like the lower gain version. All that said because the basic tone was there with the HG FF set to a lower overall fuzz setting it was pretty close to the lower gain FF.
Im not sure which pedal I like best to be honest...both are killer. It really depends on what you are looking for as a player as to which would be the "best" fit for you. Either way I don't think you can go wrong with either!
Something else I found interesting was stacking these Fuzz Faces with a Beano Boost...Mike used to make a Sunface and a Beano in one box, the famed Sunlion. Mike says that by stacking the 2 pedals, by running the Sunface/Fuzz Face into the Beano and messing with the controls on both pedals you can get close to the tone of a 3 tranny Tonebender pedal and I was amazed but he's right!!! However... I tried this with the HG fuzz and the Beano and it didn't seem to work as well for me. This got me thinking and I started stacking several pedals (both boost pedals and OD/Dist pedals as well as my Octron) with the fuzzes, both before and after the fuzz and found out real quick that IMO stacking works much better with the lower gain FF.
Anyway, these were my findings...I have to be honest, both of these pedals are just amazing in every way just a little different from each other. I find both very useful and a lot of fun. Both of these pedals have a place in my rig for sure!
