Fuzz Experts and Hendrix at Woodstock..

[Fender074]

I did a search and thought this would of been talked about but saw nothing on it so I'll ask you Fuzz freaks! What Fuzz was Jimi using at Woodstock 69 as in was it Silicon or Germanium? I've listened over and over again to his sound on this gig and cant decide! At times it sounds in your face and has a bit of bite to it and sounds like it could be silicon especially when he dimes his volume on his guitar (Check out the"Spanish Castle Magic" solo to see what I mean, a fuzz tone to die for!) Then at times it sounds like it could be germanium as it has a really nice warmth to it which leaves me ...Giddy!

So what do you think it could be?

Thanks in advance as always!

 

[devnulljp]

I think Woodstock might be the RM Axis fuzz (in a red FF enclosure w/ white strat knobs).
RM claims it is anyway.

 

[Fender074]

Interesting! Don't want to come across an A**hole like some people do on here, So in the nicest possible way of saying this, you have any evidence or something I can read to back this up?

 

[Rumblefish]

Interesting! Don't want to come across an A**hole like some people do on here, So in the nicest possible way of saying this, you have any evidence or something I can read to back this up?

It takes some digging,but the info is out there.I spent hrs and hrs...heck whole nights checking various forums to find out and yes it's the red/white one.Get a lovepedal dragon or RM Axis.Play through a 100 watt plexi with a strat with reverse pups from Klein pups and you'll be close.
ymmv

 

[Fender074]

Thanks for the info guys I'll start diggin'!

 

[Jim Moulton]

i have Dave Hunters book on the history of pedals,vintage and modern brands, Hunter has pics of Roger Mayer being in the studio with Hendrix during early Hendrix records, plus Hendrix brought Mayer on his US trip with him to the US, I would bet it was a fuzz built by him, I would go with what rumblefish on the RM pedal.

 

[FF71]

Pretty sure that most of Hendrix Fuzz Faces were moded or tinkered by RM. Those germanium transistors are getting very tempermental all the time. That's why it Jimi switched to silicons. It's a known fact that Roger Mayer tweaked most of Jimi's Fuzz Faces at the time.

 

[Fender074]

Yeah I know RM was with him on this tour he was with him from a week after Monterery according to Roger Mayer on a interview about Jimi's life on YouTube. Showed him the Octavia and a week after that he Recordered "Are You Experienced" with Roger Mayer tweaking everything, so honestly it came as no surprise that he would tweak the fuzz at Woodstock for Jimi. I think the Axis Fuzz would probably get me somewhere close, I had the JHF1 and that really got me no where near Its sold now and I need another Fuzz its driving me mad!

 

[stratovarius]

Speaking of the red Fuzz Face, does anyone have an opinion on KR's The Fuzz?

 

[zosozep7]

The problem i keep finding as i chase down particular live tones is that its recorded and im sure mixed in the studio. I listen to that woodstock cd all the time and i swear i hear a delay set on low ms settings. Almost like a very short slap back. He didnt use a delay in Woodstock as far as i know unless it was done in the mixing. So, the fuzz your hearing could be a final result from the studio when mixing?

I have the same problem when i listen to Page on the Song Remains the Same. I swear im hearing chorus in Stairway and his delays are all over the place. From slap back to long repeats. I believe they add effects in the recording process.

As far as i know, Hendrix was using silicon in his final days. Analogman Mike could probably answer your question though. Hes an expert on the fuzz face. But you probably already know that!

 

[jboyjams]

Speaking of the red Fuzz Face, does anyone have an opinion on KR's The Fuzz?

I had two of them - slightly different from one another. Sometimes I wish I'd kept one. It's not a true Fuzz Face in that it's more versatile and can be set up like an od too. It can do some Fuzz Face tones when maxed and has a touch more bite to it. I ended up preferring a Sunface NKT 275 at the time.

 

[Buddy Boy]

The Bonamassa Fuzz does the "magic cleanup" thing very well. FWIW

 

[cookieshoes]

The problem i keep finding as i chase down particular live tones is that its recorded and im sure mixed in the studio. I listen to that woodstock cd all the time and i swear i hear a delay set on low ms settings. Almost like a very short slap back. He didnt use a delay in Woodstock as far as i know unless it was done in the mixing. So, the fuzz your hearing could be a final result from the studio when mixing?

I have the same problem when i listen to Page on the Song Remains the Same. I swear im hearing chorus in Stairway and his delays are all over the place. From slap back to long repeats. I believe they add effects in the recording process.

Agree 100%. For Page's tone on The Song Remains the Same there is definitely a small amount of really really short reverb (or a delay set to a tiny ms with no repeats), that was applied to his guitar sound throughout that entire recording. That's why people consistently say that they think his tone sounded "metallic" on that recording. Look for that same sound on any of the other soundboards or audience recordings from that same tour, and you won't hear that metallic tone that people have long associated with that movie. Why Page and Kramer did that when they were mixing the album was probably for the simple reason of wanting to beef up the otherwise dry sounding guitar tracks.

Chasing album or live recording tones is unfortunately a futile process. Just adding a touch of delay, reverb, or compression to the recording in the studio can significantly alter the characteristics of the tone that you end up hearing.

 

[Fender074]

Yo guys, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS57wMYg1LA
Something tells me (mostly my ears) that the first fuzz he uses in this is pretty much dead on what Jimi was using! - the dimed JTM's!
Just read the story behind the KR Audio Fuzz pedals, he had one of Jimi's actual Fuzz Faces to look repair once!

 

[cookieshoes]

Yo guys, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS57wMYg1LA
Something tells me (mostly my ears) that the first fuzz he uses in this is pretty much dead on what Jimi was using! - the dimed JTM's!
Just read the story behind the KR Audio Fuzz pedals, he had one of Jimi's actual Fuzz Faces to look repair once!

Notice though that he's playing with an EP Booster on in his chain in that video, which heavily colors your clean tone. That makes a big difference. As do the gauges and type of strings he's using, and the type of guitar. As well as his style of playing, which is more in the realm of that aggressive and quick SRV style. Hendrix was much looser, slower, and played light strings.

Even though he isn't using a Marshall in that video, it's worth mentioning that unfortunately nobody regularly plays with a dimed 100 watt amp anymore. It's just too loud and impractical. Even people who play arenas don't regularly use 100 watt amps anymore. And Hendrix didn't dime his amps anyway, otherwise he would've had a saturated and compressed overdrive tone from those amps as opposed to the clean tone he got out of those Marshalls.

Your best bet is to find a fuzz you like (be it the KR fuzz or any of the dozens of Hendrix inspired fuzzes - most of which claim authenticity) and pair it with a decent low watt amp with good headroom and good/warm clean tone.

 

[jboyjams]

It wouldn't surprise me to find that Jimi was using either Germanium or Silicon - they can sound very similar depending on the unit.

Try playing a JTM 45/100 (or any NMV Marshall) with a Fuzz Face - UNREAL (even with the amp set low and clean at 1 or 2)
I use a Red Dot Sunface NKT 275 with a Mini Deja Vibe 2 and a KR Killer Wah (Super 100JH and 62 RI strat) and it's very close to the Star Spangled Banner tone. (I need to make a clip or video of it)

KR Musical does (or did) make great stuff. I've had a couple Gypsy Fuzzes, Doubler and 4 Megavibes and kept the small one that sounded best to me. His Killer Wah is excellent and my favorite pedal from KR is a rare one called "The Boost". It's the most transparent and usable boost pedal I've ever tried. (including Klon).

Buddy Boy - I agree that the Joe Bonamassa Fuzz cleans up like nobody's business - great Fuzz Face.

I've been thru a ton of Fuzz Faces and prefer the Sunfaces (a Red Dot, a White Dot and a new BC-183) and my Fulltone 69 SR - I still have the Hendrix Fuzz Face too.
Here's some of them - not including the Cornell 1st Fuzz (awesome for Hendrix), Gypsy, Diaz, or London - (all of these could do some Jimi):
http://i870.photobucket.com/albums/ab266/jboyjams/Gear/FuzzFaces.jpg