(also posted this on another Dirty Boy thread) So the Cannibal Boy showed up... I'm still think something is amiss with the price on these, BUT it does sound great, and is completely silent with exception of when the "sustain" knob is maxed, but even then it is negligable compaired to most pedals and fuzzes I've tried. Okay, the tone has a huge sweep, but for the most part there is only three settings available through it, all which sound really great, dark and bass heavy, thin and treble heavy and inbetween, and the rest of the sweep of it is sort of subtle version of those three things. The frequency knob is a different story, it has a wide variety of sounds that don't change the fundimental sound of the fuzz but definately change the emphasis of the mid, bass and treble ranges. Definately useful for solos, honky midrange rhythm and bass heavy leads. Now for the coolest part, this pedal has the most increadible note seperation and definition of ANY fuzz I have ever used before, even with the sustain maxed 5-note jazz chords (metal fusion ) ring out with increadible clarity. If you are doing a really fuzzy rhythm with complicated chords, you can fool around with the frequency knob until you can hear every note in the chord. Amazing. As for the overall tone of the fuzz, it comes off as more Tonebender than Fuzzface or Big Muff but flavors of both can be found in it. All in all... its hard to tell if is worth the money for everyone, but its relative small size (just a smidge wider than a phase 90) massively low back ground noise (literally none to speak of at 95% of the settings), extreme clarity during full saturation and frequency knob which really helps you home your tone in, makes it the best fuzz I own but no more tonefull than some of my others, just more recording and gig friendly due to low noise and tonal options. Have an Afro Fuzz on the way as well... which promises to kick considerable butt as well, I'll give the lowdown on it as well once I put it through its paces. -TJK P/S This thing has been kicking SERIOUS ass with my 5-String Ibanez bass, keeps the low-end better than a lot of things I've tried and just gets those nasty chuggy industrial and psychedelia fuzz sounds like you wouldn't believe.
T - Have you tried a Hellbilly? Sounds very much like you're describing here, with more treble booster tones thrown in. Just curious...
Hey Erksin... no I haven't tried the Hellbilly but from the sound clips I've heard, they aren't THAT close to being the same thing, the Hellbilly fuzz sounds tended to lean to Fuzzface sounds where as this leans towards Tonebender sounds, IMO of course, so it has more of the upper octave (and razorblade treble available, if you want it) stuff going on than the Hellbilly did. Also, the gain range on this pedal goes from moderate to over-the-top and not much before or inbetween, where-as the Hellbilly seems to have a lot more subtle and medium drive sounds at its disposal. Hope this helps and I'll be sure to review the Afro Fuzz the minute I get it. -TJK
Cool. To be honest, I'm really not into fuzzes at all (can't make 'em sound good at the low volumes I usually play) but this Hellbilly sounds really great as a gooser for my other ODs - especially the Timmy. Those two pedals are just made for each other IMO...
TaronKeim you seem to be interested in some of the same tones that I am. I'd really like to have something that has the note definition that you speak of, but alas 420 is too much for me to spend. Do you or anyone have any suggestions for a fuzz that retains note definition for chording? Maybe I should start a new thread, but my ultimate pedal would have that big corpulent fuzz like a Big Cheese or Way Huge or Bee Baa but be able to handle the chords and maybe even metal. I'm also open to something that isn't just a straight up fuzz but more of a fuzzy distortion. Been considering: ICBM Zero Keeley Rat Zoom UltraFuzz Thanks
Hey aman73! I haven't ever tried anything with this kind of definition before that gets as fuzzy as this, however, I've heard the J-Everman Ultra Fuzz (loosely based and big improvement over the Big Muff circuit) is increadibly articulate and quite a bit less than $420... I too love the sound of the Bee Baa... thats what my Black Sheep Fuzz is a clone of, but not a whole lot of note defination there Hope this helps. -TJK
Yeah, I forgot about the Everman was very interested in one awhile back and tried one briefly. The one I tried didn't have much gain on it's own at all, but I heard it's designed to mix with the gain of the amp in use and give you more of what you have. It sounds ideal, but how can a pedal actually achieve that. It sounds as if it would just be acting as a boost to goose the pre. How would the way a boost interacts with an amp create fuzz? It's not as if signal is being sent back to the pedal and the pedal is mixing it, it can only push, unless I'm missing something here? Thanks Anthony
Thats the Fuzz Drive pedal, not the Ultra Fuzz... the Ultra Fuzz has TONS of gain on its own and would definately be fine without amp gain. -TJK