Need a good Fuzz pedal recommendation

[varlogtim]

Another possibility to consider is the "Team Awesome Fuzz Machine" by "bigsound / smallsound."

It is a germanium transistor fuzz but allows you to blend any amount of clean signal into the mix.

I find that I have to play the guitar differently when using fuzz due to the way fuzz reacts to right hand dynamics and chord complexity. Being able to mix some clean in helps with some of this as well as just gives you a whole other range of tones to play with.

Also, +1 to Big Muffs. I especially like ones with a forth knob which controls the mid scoop.

I feel like Big Muffs, since they use a diode in a feed back loop in order to make the fuzz sound, are smoother than Fuzz Faces, which use transistor saturation to produce the tone.

 

[Highway Chile]

I think that you should try a Fulltone Octafuzz. That pedal simplifies things a lot because it gives you a normal sounding fuzz (with a touch less warmth and cleanup ability than a fuzz face) and an octave fuzz in one small pedal. It’s awesome for a small board if you can commit to using a battery (otherwise the Octafuzz is not so pedalboard friendly as it takes reverse polarity power supply). Ymmv.

 

[hchoe741]

I really dig my animals pedals rover fuzz. It was designed by skreddy pedals, and features a "wool" knob to control, well, wooly-ness. Based on a tone bender i think

 

[Strummer9]

I just pulled the trigger on a DOD Carcosa. I figured it's versatile enough to experiment with different fuzz sounds and get some direction as to what I like. Does anyone know if it can get close to big muff sounds (ala Smashing Pumpkins)?

 

[bluesuede]

Are there any pedals out there that get both the wooly muff sound and a can clean up like a fuzz face? I've heard the Wampler Velvet Fuzz can do that but I've never played it.

I've got a Velvet Fuzz and a Fulltone '69, which is a germanium Fuzzface. The VF cleans up but not like a Fuzzface. When I back off the volume on my Strat, the '69 gives off beautiful cleans. The Velvet Fuzz sounds by itself and even better running into a Tubescreamer.

You could listen to some records with fuzz tones to get an idea of what you're looking for. Or you could order a few from Amazon and return the ones you don't like. You have until the end of January to decide.

 

[Junco Partner]

I just pulled the trigger on a DOD Carcosa. I figured it's versatile enough to experiment with different fuzz sounds and get some direction as to what I like. Does anyone know if it can get close to big muff sounds (ala Smashing Pumpkins)?

The Carcosa is one of my favorite fuzzes and it can do a lot of tricks, but IMO sounding like a Big Muff is not one of them.

 

[CRWolf]

The Carcosa is one of my favorite fuzzes and it can do a lot of tricks, but IMO sounding like a Big Muff is not one of them.

Agreed on all this. That said, don't be shy about stacking it with some of your other pedals. You might find something close enough to scratch that itch. Enjoy the Carcosa!

 

[TP Parter]

Start at the beginning. Get a good Tone Bender. My recommendation would be a Ramble FX Twin Bender, or if not that a Muff with mid control and switchable clipping options like the Black Arts Pharaoh. Most Fuzz Face variants and clones all lack that cut and tend toward being flat out unusable for me with humbuckers.

The Twin Bender not only nails the traditional Mk 1.5 and Mk II Pro sounds (the only 2, and maybe 2nd most popular 3 transistor Tone Bender versions), but flipping the "Fat" switch on Mk 1.5 mode takes you into Fuzz Face Territory, and doing the same on Mk II Pro mode is like a having a Ge Muff with better cut and palm mutes that punch like Tyson instead of squishing like a wet fart (all the splat and velcro you could want is there though with a turn of the bias knob). If I could only have one fuzz, I would choose this one on versatility, but not feel I lost anything in terms of tone compared to some of the best boutique vintage purist pedals out there.

 

[IanRubbish]

I just scored a Ramble FX Twin Bender, i love it. The only one I've ever liked more was the EQD Cloven Hoof Reaper, I sold that like an idiot and have regretted it since.

 

[HBob]

I’d watch some YouTube videos of comparing all the current Dunlop Fuzz Face pedals out now and all the Big Muff Pi pedals Electro Harmonix is making now. That’ll narrow things down a lot. I think my favorites are the Ram’s Head Muff Pi and the Hendrix Fuzz Face.

 

[gaelicsolus]

Lots of good suggestions here. Based on what you already have, I wouldn't necessarily recommend a Big Muff or Fuzz Face - *maybe* a Tonebender. I think I'd recommend one with octave overtones or controllable octave, but maybe a Maestro or Colorsound (not Tonebender) circuit.

Wall-of-sound Big Muff with tone-shaping options, the Black Arts Pharaoh is indeed killer. Almost just bought one but didn't get to it in time. Pharaoh Supreme, better yet.

But I did go through a number of boutique Big Muff options (Way Huge, Blackout Effectors, Wren and Cuff, SolidGoldFX) before the current EHX Russian and Ram's Head were released, and they are the hands-down best reissues and just best sounding pedals in their categories IMHO.

You might also consider a treble booster. A lot of them are reminiscent of fuzzes when turned up. E.g. Rangemaster.

There are also a number of pedals that go from OD to fuss or distortion to fuzz territories, such as the Lovepedal Super Sic Tone, Fulltone Mas Malo, Skreddy Hybrid, and Jam Rattler (although this might be a bit similar to your Rat). There are many others. These tend to be the types I put on my board.

My most musical fuzzes are Skreddy's Hybrid and the SolidGoldFX If 6 Was 9, suggested earlier, which is a great Fuzzface-style on par with Analogman's Sunface and the Basic Audio Scarab Deluxe - yet more brands mentioned that do fuzzes right. I tend to go with only 1 x boost/OD and only 1 x dist/fuzz/treble booster on my board at the same time. I need to tweak some knobs but that generally gives me a decent range of sounds. And I've gone back to using an EQ pedal, so that's about all the tone-shaping and gain I need at the front end of my chain.

Old Blood Noise Endeavors, Earthquaker Devices, BAE, and Blackout Effectors all make combo Muff/Tonebender or Muff/Fuzzface style pedals, but I honestly don't think you'd find them as useful given your other pedals and because you're trying to keep your board trimmed down.

I have about 30 fuzz pedals. I think my most versatile pedal is the Fuzzhugger Algal Bloom.

Thanks! Adding this one to the list!

 

[BJS]

Is there a pedal that has multi-fuzz capability?

JHS Muffuletta and Zander Circuitry's American Geek are both multi fuzz, but only just offering variations of the big muff circuit.

 

[Hired Goon]

JHS Muffuletta and Zander Circuitry's American Geek are both multi fuzz, but only just offering variations of the big muff circuit.

Actually I chumped out and went with a Helix stomp for modulation, fuzz, tuner, compression. I'll use actual pedals for overdrive, delay, and reverb, and leave the rest up to the Helix

 

[T92780]

This for $135.00.

CHASE TONE® FUZZ FELLA™ -BLUE BC108C ~NEW HQ DEMO~ - Chase Tone®

chasetone.com

 

[Tabor]

Start at the beginning. Get a good Tone Bender.

but if you really want to go to the beginning shouldn’t it be a Maestro FZ1 and not a Tonebender?

 

[TP Parter]

but if you really want to go to the beginning shouldn’t it be a Maestro FZ1 and not a Tonebender?

Fair enough, I just imagined they wanted something usable for more than 1 or 2 specialty tones, and some Mk I's get pretty close in tone. They are almost the same pedal, aside from the voltage difference and a cpl components.

 

[Tone chader]

I like the Lovepedal 200lbs. It would be worth listening to a video to hear what it does. I love mine.

 

[goodhonk]

if you are recording or playing alone, i suggest the muff. if you're able to crank your amp up, the fuzz face.