Fuzz for Matchless Lightning

[melvins]

Hi guys,

I've recently started looking into fuzz pedals. I picked up a Fuzz Factory but it is a little too extreme for what I'm after.

I went to GC today and tried a Big Muff Pi with the extra tone controls. I loved the way it sounded, more "natural" sounding than the FF IMOP. The only problem is I was playing through a Fender Junior, whereas I normally play a Matchless Lightning.

Anyone have any experience using these two together?

I'm open to other suggestions but am really trying to keep the price around $100 or so.

 

[popinvasion]

Not a fuzz
But close

Red llama and rats and hotcakes rule with the lightning and are all fuzz like.

 

[TheoDog]

I strongly recommend you give the Rat a whirl. True that it's not a fuzz, but it might do what you want.

 

[popvulture]

I have a Matchless Chieftain, so we're in the same ballpark in terms of manufacturer and general sound, but not necessarily headroom. That said, your tone is probably pretty similar to mine before you put fuzz on it: clean or maybe a little bit overdriven. IMHO that's the best place you want to be before fuzz, regardless of what amp you're using.

I'm sure you'll find that with an amp that good, any fuzz will sound "good," but that just depends on what you want it to do and which specific kind of pedal fits the bill. I have a Fuzz Factory too, but I agree that it's a bit too wacked out for my personal taste. "Velcro," "gated," "zipper," whatever you wanna say... sometimes that's fun, but I usually want to go for something a little more musical/controllable. Though a Big Muff is a much more straightforward pedal, I still feel like it has a bit of that brute force vibe, so it's not my go-to if I could just have one fuzz.

If you want one fuzz, I'd consider something in the fuzz face / tonebender realm. They can sound balls-to-the-wall when they're maxed, but clean up with the volume knob and give you tons of amazing overdrive sounds. I personally think these sound best with single coils, esp strats and teles. Good for humbuckers too, but less nuance.

Of course the ideal situation is to have several fuzzes that do different things: your f*ed up one, your really aggressive blaster, your subtle/versatile option. This is why we're all idiots and have tons of pedals, but hey –*it's fun.

Starting out though, I'd go for one that'll cover multiple bases, and for my money it's the fuzz face / bender type of thing.

 

[melvins]

I strongly recommend you give the Rat a whirl. True that it's not a fuzz, but it might do what you want.

I currently have a Monte Allums OD308 on my board and I'd my go to OD. It is a a Rat clone and I love it.

Has any had experience good or bad withe the Big Muff Pi?

 

[popinvasion]

My lightning prefers hotcakes Rats Llamas. It also was cool with the lovetone big cheese. The big muff that works best IMO is the wren and Cuff box of war.

 

[DavidH]

If you could find a used Analogman Astro Tone for the money I think you'd be very happy with the result. I'd be looking for something that doesn't add a crap load more compression into that amp personally, rather than something fully saturated and compressed..

 

[popinvasion]

Ah another fuzz that sounded great was the fulltone octafuzz with the octave off.

 

[jimbugg]

I'm really loving the Walrus Audio Jupiter through my Lightning. I believe it's based on a Muff, so you'll probably like the tonality, plus it's super versatile and they can be found for not a whole lot more than $100 used (I got mine for $125 I believe). Check it out!

 

[melvins]

Any more recommendations?

Just put a few pedals up for trade looking for a pedal that plays nicely with the Matchless Lightning.

 

[Guinness Lad]

Just get a BYOC off ebay. Should be able to find a few variations. Same basic stuff as the big money players. You get a good builder it won't be much different. The problem is which one.

 

[tubetone74]

Skreddy Hybrid Fuzz Driver

 

[van_delay]

Skreddy Hybrid Fuzz Driver

Agreed. HFD sounds great through my Vox. The pedal is not very "fuzzy" until you reach the top 3rd of the gain on tap. It reminds me more of an overdrive most of the time, so just keep that in mind.

 

[melvins]

I ended up getting a EQD Hoof for my Lightning. Sounds pretty darn good. Still messing with the dials a bit, has quite a range of fuzzy tones that are usable for sure.

 

[leblanc74]

I kept fultone soul bender (1st version) on my board... a space man sputnik, skreddy Mayonnaise Mk3, and soon to have skreddy lunar module mini on the side for swapping...all the rest if Fuzzes I tried was not worthy...