Do you set and forget your Fuzz Factory?

[bshields]

Do you guys tweak all night or just leave the thing set to your favorite? I see plenty of people with the factory and other fuzzes, and I suspect some of you guys do this too.

I could see using a good splatty fuzz, a gated fuzz, a wooly nasty fuzz, and a modulated/synthy fuzz, but realistically I just set it to a gated, heavy, slightly modulated setting, with the knobbies at ~1 ~2 5 4.

Share settings that you actually use live, if you like - I know its been done to death

[sanhozay]

usually, set & forget. i do like experimenting at home for sounds but when i use it for a song/solo its gate: 11pm comp: 2-3pm drive: 1pm stab: 1pm; with a little tweaking at game time. i typically run it through a tremolo to get a fast throbbing gated fuzz sound. LOVE IT! play around a lot with the volume control on the guitar, too.

[bonedaddy]

yeah, set and forget...I usually fiddle with it at the beging of the set...but it ends up in similar positions...fun to futz with at home though...

[bonedaddy]

oh yeah...11,2,10 or 3,5 o'clack

[bshields]

It does make sense, considering the fickle nature of the factory. Anyone else? BUMP

[drbob1]

But if the temp changes a little, the response does too, then you have to twiddle those knobs a little more, no?

[Keasley]

I'm a tweaker. This pedal has such a wide range of sounds that I dial in different settings for different songs. I keep a list of favourite settings on a sheet of paper I keep close at hand. They have names like "electricity" or "mellow-to-crazy"

On top of that, I sometimes twiddle knobs mid-song. My band and I call these interludes "noise assault". Safe to say, we're not playing top-40

[JPF]

Yes.

I set it to where I like it, and enjoy the ride.

Then, I forget where I had it set by the next time I play, and go through the tweaking process all over again.

Rinse. Repeat.

It's a great, fun pedal, but it's challenging to quickly get the same sound out of it twice when changing up both guitars and amps. Love it, though.

[sahhas]

i sadly got rid of my FF too early in my fuzz search.

missing it so much i ended up getting a fuzz factory clone, which to my ear does sound like my old FF...w/ the squealing fuzz sounds....

funny thing then i put it away for awhile....and was using my swollen pickle more....
then i read somewhere (here) if you turn the gate, compression, stab down to "0", the FF is "supposed" to be like a fuzz face. no idea if this is true or not, and have never had a fuzz face to compare.

but once i did this, i found out: I LOVE THIS THING!!
then if you work your VOLUME KNOB and not have it on max all the time, you can get some great variation of sounds

i think it sounds so good this way, and to my ear it does sound 'close' to fuzz face type sounds (more treble /60s fuzzy sounds) and then if i need whacko variations, i can turn the gate,compression, stab up to my liking.

at least this works for me....a lazy dumb*ss guitarist at times!

i generally keep my vol and drive on around 12 o'clock....
good luck...

[Bryan T]

I had several 'go to' settings with mine. Wall of distortion, pitch dropping decay, velcro, . . .

[bshields]

the pitch drop on mine doesnt sound good, idk. It only seems to work if you pick very lightly, and even then doesnt sound great. how do you set it bryan?

[tsinthegame]

Like some here I play around with it at home, but otherwise mainly use the "smooth fuzz" setting suggested by Zvex for live use.

[Bryan T]

the pitch drop on mine doesnt sound good, idk. It only seems to work if you pick very lightly, and even then doesnt sound great. how do you set it bryan?

I would set it so that with the volume on the guitar up it didn't drop the pitch until the note sustained for a long time, but if I lowered the volume on the guitar it would. Playing high up the neck, I could sustain a note and then tweak the volume knob to get the different pitch interval drops. So much fun!

[dave12]

99% of all pedals, I'm a set and forget, but the FF is the only exception. I'm totally a tweaker. It never ends up the same at the end of a set as it started at the beginning. I can't help myself, it's so much fun :D

[AXXA]

I have 3 main settings I use. For a fat, heavy, smoother sound: 1:30, 7:00, 5:00, 5:00. For a thinner, raspy sound: 7:00, 3:30, 9:00, 5:00. And for pitch dropping: 2:00, 7:00, 5:00, 7:00. For this setting, gate and comp can be reversed (gate 2:00 comp 7:00, or gate 7:00 comp 2:00). I find I get better octave down/ pitch dropping sounds with the guitar's tone control rolled off, and guitar volume at different points between 3-8 on the knob. Light picking helps too.

I know some fuzz factory's are different, so settings might be different for some people. Also, mine in particular sounds terrible if the guitar's volume is used to 'clean it up'. Its very bright and ice picky. Apparently, some sound good with volume adjustments, like a fuzz face. Mine's a vexter series. Awesome fuzz though, and it actually cuts through!

[Godspeed64]

Somewhat.. Although I have to adjust my pots when my board is first plugged in (I twist the stab knob down and then move back to original position, just nice so that the hiss is removed; no idea why I have to do this every time).

Generally:
Vol = 8.30 OR 11 o'clock (depending on amp settings)
Gate = 2.30 o'clock
Comp = 3 o'clock
Drive = 5 o'clock (max)
Stab = 3 o'clock

[loudif]

Good thread. I'm eager to try the gate, comp, and stab at zero setting as I don't believe I've tried that. Like most of you I tend to tweak and play at home but when in a band situation it's fairly stable. I go with gate 1ish, comp 7ish (off), drive 3ish, stab, 3ish (these are "o-clocks". I often run mine into a VS comp 66 to smooth it and I boost the high EQ and output vol on the comp. Nice smooth sustain. I find it cuts through the mix some days but other days not so much...

[stephen sawall]

Most the time I use the 3/9/5/5 o'clock setting.
It's the biggest sound I have found in her....

[Panacea]

Mine is: Vol: 9-ish Gate: 12 Comp:12 Drive: 1-5 (depends) Stab: 1-5 (depends on how bright or bassy I want it).

[stephen sawall]

Want to see how much time you can kill with just 4 knobs ?

Atari 7:00 3:00 5:00 8:00
60's Fuzz 2:00 8:30 3:00 5:00
Arpegio 12:00 3:00 3:00 3:00
Bonkers Fuzz (1) 2:00 2:00 11:00 3:00
Bonkers Fuzz (2) 1:00 1:00 11:00 3:00
Broken Amp 4:00 3:30 5:00 12:00
Clean Fuzz 5:00 2:00 11:00 5:00
Clean Up Fuzz 7:00 7:00 3:00 5:00
Clean to OD 5:00 2:00 10:00 5:00
Dummy Fuzz 11:00 11:00 5:00 5:00
Dead Quite Ripper 9:00 3:00 5:00 7:00
Electric Beans 7:00 5:00 7:00 5:00
Goodbye High 3:00 3:00 5:00 12:00
Fizzy Fizz 10:00 1:00 11:00 12:00
Fuzz Bright 1:00 12:00 1:00 4:00
Fuzz Distortion 12:00 12:00 3:00 9:00
FuzzFace71 (1) 12:00 12:00 12:00 5:00
FuzzFace71 (2) 3:00 7:00 12:00 4:30
FuzzFace71 (3) 7:00 12:00 1:00 5:00
FuzzFace71 (4) 12:00 7:00 12:00 5:00
Fuzz Mellow 1:00 12:00 1:00 9:00
Fuzz Splutter 3:00 12:00 3:00 9:00
Fuzz Squeal 9:00 12:00 3:00 9:00
Hi-Compression 3:00 9:00 5:00 5:00
Hi-Octane 2:00 to 3:00 7:00 7:00 5:00
Interference 7:00 3:00 12:00 5:00
Intermodulation 2-3:00 7:00 7:00 5:00
IYW 2:00 3:00 4:00 5:00
Juice Face 12:00 12:00 12:00 12:00
Krackle Fuzz 1:00 4:00 10:00 2-5:00
Mellow Mud 2:30 7:00 7:00 9:00
Metal Distortion 4:00 10:30 7:00 5:00
Modulated Mud Fuzz 12:00 11:00 5:00 7:00
Modulated Sticky 12:00 1:00 5:00 7:00
Modulated Sticky Fuzz 9:00 3:00 9:00 3:00
Muse-esque 2:30 3:15 5:00 5:00
No-Name Fuzz 1:00 11:00 2:00 7:00
No-Name Fuzz (2) 10:00 7:00 12:00 5:00
OD/Fuzz 7:00 7:00 7:00 5:00
OD Squeal 7:00 12:00 3:00 3:00
Pitch Drop 7:00 12:00 5:00 7:00
Please Fuzz 12:00 7:00 3:00 2:00
Prickly Vexter 8:45 12:15 2:00 4:45 1:30
Psychedelic Crackle 1:00 8:00 3:00 3:00
Punky 2:30 - 3:30 7:00 7:00 5:00
Radio Fuzz 7:00 10:00 12:00 5:00 (play A, lower to taste)
Random Fuzz 1:30 7:00 5:00 4:00 (approx)
Range 7:00 12:00 3:00 12:00
Resonant Fuzz 7:00 7:00 12:00 4:00
Smashing Pumpkins-esque 2:00 9:00 5:00 10:00
Smooth Fuzz 7:00 3:00 5:00 5:00 (lower to mellow)
Soft Fuzz 1:00 7:00 7:00 Variable
Spastic Muff 5:00 7:00 5:00 5:00
Squealer Fuzz 9:00 9:00 9:00 9:00
Squealer Fuzz (2) 7:00 8:00 1:00 7:00
Static / Low 12:00 12:00 5:00 7:00
Stooges Fuzz 3:00 7:00 3:00 5:00
Stylo Fuzz 12:30 12:30 7:00 7:00
Super-Heavy 3:00 9:00 5:00 5:00
Sweet Sustain 1:00 7:00 10:00 1:30
Tight and Sweet 12:00 8:00 8:00 5:00
Tiny 10:30 12:00 12:30 9:30
Traditional Fuzz 9:00 7:00 11:00 to 1:00 11-1:00
Traditional Fuzz (1) 9:00 7:00 1:00 5:00
Traditional Fuzz (2) 2:00 7:00 3:00 5:00
Ugly Fuzz 2:00 8:30 3:30 2:00
Velcro 7:00 5:00 5:00 2:00
Weezer-esque 2:30 7:00 7:00 5:00
Whale 7:00 1:00 5:00 9:00
What the Fuzz? 7:00 7:00 5:00 5:00

[jgyn]

The Zvex FF's like the periodic table of elements re: garage rock sounds.

[Ginsly]

I've had an '02 hand-painted Fuzz Factory for about a year, and although I realize some settings produce crazy oscillations and weird sounds, I have a strange feeling something's not quite right.. Are there any tell-tale signs of a bad component anybody knows of? For a while I chalked it up to the "nature of the beast", but a lot of the settings posted in this thread either produce nothing but massive amounts of self-oscillation or add a tinny, high-pitched rattle to the sound. There are plenty of settings that sound okay, and I'm probably just experiencing what every other FF owner has - I'm just trying to make sure I didn't get a somewhat fried pedal...

[stephen sawall]

I've had an '02 hand-painted Fuzz Factory for about a year, and although I realize some settings produce crazy oscillations and weird sounds, I have a strange feeling something's not quite right.. Are there any tell-tale signs of a bad component anybody knows of? For a while I chalked it up to the "nature of the beast", but a lot of the settings posted in this thread either produce nothing but massive amounts of self-oscillation or add a tinny, high-pitched rattle to the sound. There are plenty of settings that sound okay, and I'm probably just experiencing what every other FF owner has - I'm just trying to make sure I didn't get a somewhat fried pedal...Those sound are normal and part of the beauty of the pedal ....

[IndieHead]

Like some here I play around with it at home, but otherwise mainly use the "smooth fuzz" setting suggested by Zvex for live use.

what is the Zvex recommended setting?

[Miles]

I tweak mine ALL the time. I never run it alone - WAY too harsh. I stack it in front of another OD since it rounds it out but keeps the same voicing of the FF. It's a very powerful pedal.

I run mine with the Gain and Volume pretty consistent. Gain below noon.

From there, I mess with the GATE, COMP, and STAB levels constantly to achieve many different weird sounds, oscillations, etc... Just depends on the part/song.

[Keasley]

what is the Zvex recommended setting?

From the manual (and Zvex website):

Gate: 7
Comp 3
Drive: 5
Stab: 5 (lower stab is more mellow)

Scroll to bottom of page for small list of Zvex recommended settings:

http://zvex.com/fuzz.html

(Personally, I like my personal 'home grown' settings better)

[FuzzGazer]

Massive settings list

That is awesome and generous, thanks!

[Intercom Terror]

i tweak until i find a setting i really like, and gig it for a while. then i tweak some more and find a new setting. it's like getting a completely new fuzz pedal every month or so.

[Ginsly]

Those sound are normal and part of the beauty of the pedal ....

That's good to hear, and kind of what I assumed. I just can't seem to find any settings that have a reasonable amount of sustain - I realize the Fuzz Factory's strong point isn't classic Fuzz Face sounds, but some people seem to have been able to use it that way. Zvex wrote me and said there is a possibility that transistor leakage could be occurring, and even offered to take a look at it for me. I don't want to waste their time sending in what is most likely a perfectly normal Fuzz Factory, though... Are there any obvious signs of transistor leakage?

[stephen sawall]

That is awesome and generous, thanks!I just copyed and pasted from some place else .... it was a collection from many people. I found it very useful ....;)

[dcmak5]

I've had an '02 hand-painted Fuzz Factory for about a year, and although I realize some settings produce crazy oscillations and weird sounds, I have a strange feeling something's not quite right.. Are there any tell-tale signs of a bad component anybody knows of? For a while I chalked it up to the "nature of the beast", but a lot of the settings posted in this thread either produce nothing but massive amounts of self-oscillation or add a tinny, high-pitched rattle to the sound. There are plenty of settings that sound okay, and I'm probably just experiencing what every other FF owner has - I'm just trying to make sure I didn't get a somewhat fried pedal...

I had a vexter with a BAD hum, so if you think it's off compare it directly with another. if you keep thinking something's wrong it's worth it

[jgyn]

I've had an '02 hand-painted Fuzz Factory for about a year, and although I realize some settings produce crazy oscillations and weird sounds, I have a strange feeling something's not quite right.. Are there any tell-tale signs of a bad component anybody knows of? For a while I chalked it up to the "nature of the beast", but a lot of the settings posted in this thread either produce nothing but massive amounts of self-oscillation or add a tinny, high-pitched rattle to the sound. There are plenty of settings that sound okay, and I'm probably just experiencing what every other FF owner has - I'm just trying to make sure I didn't get a somewhat fried pedal...

Also, if you still think something's wrong with your hand painted pedal, contact Zvex. The hand painted pedals are guaranteed for the lifetime of the maker!

[bshields]

So I've been thinking about a way to organize the stupidly large number of tones the fuzz factory can put out. I felt a little overwhelmed when first sitting down with mine, and still do to a degree.

Add to this! There isn't much guidance to new fuzz factory inductees other than "here's the list of settings, go nuts." If this catches on, maybe we'll start a new thread. Let's get some common language going.

Most tones differ on:

The "release" part of an ADSR curve:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthesizer
Release
Decay: held notes fade out naturally/or are "starved" and die slightly faster
Pitch Shift: held notes either plummet pitchwise and then cut out OR are pulled to some note the pedal is oscillating about when no guitar signal is coming in
Gated: notes cleanly stop sustaining when their level falls below some value

Tone (mostly from the compression knob)
Synth: synth-like tone
Guitar: still sounds like a guitar

Fuzz Character
Hi-gain: meaty silicon fuzz with body
Lo-gain: lower gain, sounds more like clean tone plus fuzz - includes raspy snarky thin fuzz too?
Glitch/Artifact Fuzz: maybe needs its own category because it often is able to be dialed in or out while leaving the gain level alone? Anyway, the "noise" that gets added in with some fuzz tones

[stephen sawall]

The feeling that you have control over what the FF does is at best a illusion .... that feeling bshields describes I am pretty sure never goes away..... :crazyguy:brick:drown:banana:crazy

Interesting idea but what guitar / pickup / how much input the pedal gets / etc ~ greatly effects how the FF reacts. Not only that but the temperature makes a pretty big difference on how it sounds, reacts. The thing is not stable much at all. Very small changes can make big changes in the sound.

I am all for the "idea" .... but these these thing should be considered by anyone using the pedal.

================================================== =

On a other note I often use a THD Quintet before and a blue MXR Six Band EQ after for pre and post EQ with all my OD/distortion/fuzz pedals. I find these very helpful to shape the sound and texture as well as balance the sound with my other gear and sounds.:noevil

At one time I had 4 list like the one above that I put together on to one "master list". The other 3 were shorter than the one above and have not seen the "master list" in some time.

[Trotter]

Nice list Stephen. Thanks! Looking forward to trying these.

[stephen sawall]

More stuff I found ...

I was getting sick of it bein thiner than a fuzz face so i checked a correct schem i have and noticed its only got 10uF input and output caps in it.anyway,i ripped out the output cap and replaced it with a 22uF (double the value),i was gonna put a 47uF input as well but tried it first with just the 22uF and the results are quite amazing.Its no longer thin at all,its still got the nice sound for lead but it also has a sick bottom with chords and wound strings.It would still cut thru live but it sounds so much better now,not muff territory although i have a feeling the 47uF would fix that if thats what you were after but its definitely fface territory.Everything else works as normal obviously.


Leary was still lucid. Although the five knobs are named for the parameters over which they seem to have the most control, please don't hold me to it. They are controls for various operating levels and biases, and basically shape you a personalized fuzz.
VOLUME:
Output level.
GATE:
Squelches noise after end of sustain. Turn to right to eliminate squeals, hiss and buzz, stopping just as they disappear, or use to tune in exact feedback pitch, if you're that kind. Turning to left opens gate.
COMPRESS:
Adds attack characteristic when turned to left, which gets softer to right, and suddenly pinches tone when all the way right. Also use to tune in fat feedbacky fuzz, if you're that kind. Lower the Stability and see what happens to this control.
DRIVE:
Increases distortion when used as a "normal" fuzz, and adjusts feedback pitch and tonal thickness, if you're that kind. This control becomes meaningless when Compress is all the way right.
STABILITY:
Use all the way right. Do not attempt to adjust this control below 2:00, unless you like your fuzz soft and squishy. Use to control feedback pitch. (Did I say that already?)
WARNING:
Many "incorrect" settings on this pedal squeal. This may annoy the faint-hearted. If you use the example settings, you won't get hurt. I don't want to see anyone hurt. Unless you're that kind. Don't forget to memorize or write down your favorite settings.
GREENNESS:
Yes, folks, like all Z. Vex pedals, it's as low current as possible, extending battery life so long... I have never changed the battery in the prototype (3 years). 'On' current is less than 3 mA... compare to the Tube Screamer (of course an entirely different animal) at almost 40 mA.
ARTINESS:
Z.Vex “Vexter Series” effects are hand-polished aluminum, hand silk-screened in two colors and hand assembled. They are produced in small batches by umm, elves.
EXAMPLE SETTINGS (These use "o'clock" notation- not spinal tap 1 to 11)

Hi compression fuzz
Vol 10:00 Gate 3:00 Comp 9:00 Drive 5:00 Stab 5:00
Velcro fuzz
Vol 10:00 Gate 7:00 Comp 5:00 Drive 5:00 Stab 2:00
Cleanish hi octave intermodulation
Vol 10:00 Gate 2:00-3:00 Comp 7:00 Drive7:00 Stab 5:00
Smooth fuzz
Vol 10:00 Gate 7:00 Comp 3:00 Drive 5:00 Stab 5:00
(lower Stab is more mellow)
Radio fuzz
Vol 10:00 Gate 7:00 Comp 10:00 Drive 12:00
Stab: Lower from fully clockwise while playing open 'A' with left hand. Stop at most interesting tone.

[sanhozay]

love zvex. love fuzz factory. not nearly as silly & uncontrollable as people think. ya gotta pick your battlefields when using this pedal.

[Stratobuc]

I set mine on a shelf in my music room and forget I own one, while I take my Skinpimp MKIII to the gig and play.....