Fuzz - Big Muff or MKII for both single and humbuckers?

[KaBudokan]

I'm considering picking up another BYOC fuzz this weekend, since they have the BOGO sale going on (pre-built pedal gets you a free kit).

I was originally thinking of getting both the Large Beaver and the ESV Tonebender MKII to play with them both to find which one is a better fit, but then I remembered that I have been wanting to add a tremolo, and so I may go that route instead for the "free" kit.

For the fuzz, I'd like to find something that works well with both humbuckers and single coils. If that's not a distinct possibility, then I'd probably lean toward a fuzz that plays nice with humbuckers.

I have a fuzzface clone on the board, and it seems to respond well to the volume knob with single coils, but not so much with humbuckers.

Would the BEaver or the MKII be a better choice to work well with hums? If the Beaver, would you recommend the Triangle version or the Rams Head?

Thanks!

 

[charmboy]

I've built both the MKII and Tremolo from BYOC and absolutely love them both! The MKII won't clean up anywhere near what your fuzzface does though, neither will a muff for that matter... just not the nature of the circuit. The MKII will clean up a little but it never really gets below overdriven levels. It does, however, sound stellar with both my strat and sg whether full on or with the guitar volume rolled back.

Having said that, just get it!! Muffs are everywhere but MKII's are a bit harder to come by and the prices always seem to be fairly high for a good one... The BYOC is definitely a contender and I'd say hop on it while it's still available... those transistors won't last forever.

The tremolo; very basic but wonderful sounding... reminds me of a really great amp tremolo.

 

[drewl]

Just my opinion, but I just don't get the big muff...other than the cool name.
I built a MKII, it and all the others I've listened to are the most incredible sounding fuzz I've ever heard.

I have an original 70's muff and have worked on countless others and they have a nasty thing going on there and it does have it's uses but to me the MKII just sounds so much better, organic, full or any other silly term you can think of.

 

[thesjkexperienc]

For Strats I cant seem to warm up to any MKII I have tried. I do like the PA MKIII. I really like my BYOC triangle fuzz as I can tweak it to get most any fuzz tone. Can be a bit noisy though. I would like to have someone build me one with super high quality components, so it would be quieter and hopefully work better with my Wah.

 

[smogfalls]

I agree with the above post. I really don't think Strats and Tonebenders go too well together. A Strat is perfectly matched to the Fuzz Face though, aswell as the triangle and rams head Muffs. And the Les Paul is perfectly matched to the MkII.

 

[KaBudokan]

Yeah - I'm kind of leaning towards the MKII, since I have a Fuzz Face thing going for the strat tones. I'm ok with keeping 2 fuzzes on the board if they're distinct enough and cover the fuzz ground for both of my main guitars.

 

[charmboy]

It's bright and in your face with a strat but not in a bad way at all... I quite like it.

 

[thesjkexperienc]

I agree with the above post. I really don't think Strats and Tonebenders go too well together. A Strat is perfectly matched to the Fuzz Face though, aswell as the triangle and rams head Muffs. And the Les Paul is perfectly matched to the MkII.

Agreed, if you have spots for two fuzzes a great combo is to have a MKII, a Sunface and, for me, a byoc triangle. I switch around depending on my mood. I also rotate in a D*A*M Meathead. Love that thing!

 

[Jumblefingers]

As I see it there are three fuzz's to have: Fuzz Face, Tonebender and Big Muff and a Fuzz Factory which is from another world. I have a DAM 1966, SunFace High Gain and an incoming Muff Diver (any high gain silcone based "muff" fuzz")

Fuzz Face cleans up the best and can do a wonderful overdrive tone and sounds "best" with a Strat and a Tele. It can get a bit farty and flubby with humbuckers as there is a goodly amount of low end. I find that I have to roll back too far to get near clean and by that time I am almost down to zero on the volument knob.

Tonebender (1966, MKII) does sound great with humbuckers and you get SO into Zeppelin/Moody Blues territory with the volume rolled back it ain't funny. Does not get clean but has this gritty raspy tone that is heard all over Zep I and II. A Tele also sounds great with the Tonebender especially on the bridge with the tone rolled back....mmmmmm-good!

Muff can give youa huge wall of sound and if designed like the "triangle" the Tone knob can be really useful...espeically if you like Fripp, Smashing Pumpkins and others. As others have said it does not really clean up and it's more of a monster.

Again, to me owning one good one of each is great. The Tonebender ESV from BYOC is VERY good...had it next to a DAM MKII and they were REALLY close with the DAM being a bit more quiet and having a tad less extreme high end.

 

[Windup 43]

Just my opinion, but I just don't get the big muff...other than the cool name.
I built a MKII, it and all the others I've listened to are the most incredible sounding fuzz I've ever heard.

I have an original 70's muff and have worked on countless others and they have a nasty thing going on there and it does have it's uses but to me the MKII just sounds so much better, organic, full or any other silly term you can think of.

I agree, muffs are terribly overrated but that's just my opinion. On the other hand love MkII's, way more dynamic and less messy/bloated than muffs and can cop some great overdriven sounds. Fwiw, Gilmour used the muff to great effect (although he could make anything sound good) but could never stand Corgan's muff tone, blech...