What's all this Fuzz?

[Dogrel]

I’m late to the party here I know,  but if anyone needs a guide to how to better use their fuzz pedals, Rhett Shull just posted a great guide not too long ago. 

 

 

[rockabilly69]

I truly think he is missing a lot of the great things that happen with fuzz boxes, about how they react to volume changes, and unlike where he's going with his discussion, I think I would talk more about how you should start with the volumes rolled back, and get the touch sensitivity with the box. Listen in my demo how you don't get overwhelmed with the "FUZZ" sound and how it can be used as a semi-transparent box, and then whack it open for full fuzz action.

 

 

[TalismanRich]

I remember  when you really didn't have OD.   It was fuzz or nothing.   My first three were Fuzz Face,  Fender Blender and Jordan Bosstone.   LIke others back then,  it just sounded better when the volume control on my Guild Thunderbird was set at 10.

I thought I might like going back to a fuzz a while back, but after playing with it a bit,  I went back to my Tubescreamer and Soul Food.   Fuzz just sounds too "raspy" for me.

[rockabilly69]

On 5/24/2020 at 2:15 PM, TalismanRich said:

I remember  when you really didn't have OD.   It was fuzz or nothing.   My first three were Fuzz Face,  Fender Blender and Jordan Bosstone.   LIke others back then,  it just sounded better when the volume control on my Guild Thunderbird was set at 10.

I thought I might like going back to a fuzz a while back, but after playing with it a bit,  I went back to my Tubescreamer and Soul Food.   Fuzz just sounds too "raspy" for me.

I prefer Overdrives too, but I think of them as a totally different thing. When I use I overdrives, I use it as part of my core sound, but when I add a Fuzzbox to the mix I'm going for a more aggressive sound. I'm not a Tube Screamer fan, but what the Soul Food does is pretty much what my Mythical Overdrive does, as they are both variations on a KLON. There are some techniques to get the best out of a fuzzbox, which frankly, have eluded me. Until recently, I had just about given up on them, until my friend Ryan let me try most of the classics, as he is a fuzz box afficionado; While doing this, I fell in love with the box that he built, as I finally found a fuzz that works for the way that I play. 

[bolero]

they sound pretty good through a pair of 100W Marshall stacks, with a strat, in Monterey California, summer of 1967

[DetroitBlues]

1 hour ago, bolero said:

they sound pretty good through a pair of 100W Marshall stacks, with a strat, in Monterey California, summer of 1967

Came very close tonight to putting my MXR Windowpane on the market this weekend.  Sounded awful with P90’s... used my Strat today with my Quilter MicroPro .... it was amazing....

[JeffB]

 

[loudtubeamps]

I can still remember plugging into my first fuzz .That was the first and last one I ever owned.

[Gianluca]

I recently acquired from the use market an excellent Expresso XF GE Fuzz Face, full options edition.
Fantastic tone, maybe one day I'll share some recordings
this one: https://expressofx.com/product/germanium-fuzz/ (no affil)
equipped with two OC42
I'm blessed living on the 3rd stone from the Sun

[Yooper]

I'm not a fuzz guy either. If I want to get really hairy at modest levels, I add a boost to an OD or stack a couple OD's. Gets me those endless notes and singing waves of feedback. Then I can play around with the volume control and various angles and proximity to the amp. It's like surfing on sound waves.

[rockabilly69]

deleted, old post

 

[DetroitBlues]

Here's a curious thing about fuzz.  Does it sound differently in recordings then when you hear it in a room?

[rockabilly69]

22 hours ago, DetroitBlues said:

Here's a curious thing about fuzz.  Does it sound differently in recordings then when you hear it in a room?

You may find this odd but I have never used a fuzz live as I find them too hard to control, so for me, the only way that I've ever heard them is through headphones while recording.

[bolero]

that Pete Thorn vid is bang on the money!

Hendrix was usually always running into a fuzz pedal, riding his volume to control the signal

I believe I have a Throbak fuzz around here somewhere, I quite like it. not sure if it's germanium or not?