Help Getting This Tone: Jessica Lea Mayfield - Oblivious

[JustGlyphs]

Hello fuzz professionals,

I'm trying to get somewhere in the neighborhood of this tone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZaU_n4LKj8

Any tips appreciated!

[Paul_C]

https://magnetmagazine.com/2014/04/19/from-the-desk-of-jessica-lea-mayfield-guitar-pedals/

[JustGlyphs]

I appreciate the link but don't see any pedals there which would get me that sound. I'm also more interested in general technique than specific pedals but it sounds like a fuzz to me and not just a cranked tubescreamer. Sounds like very scooped mids.

Do you think this is a high gain amp and the Full Drive? It sounds hollow in a way too. Maybe the POG? Or an octave fuzz?

[coupleonapkins]

That pedalboard (full drive & EHX worm) into a filtron'd gretsch may just be it, or else I can't imagine anything else other than a slightly breaking-up amp:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuhLpDnDCg4

[JustGlyphs]

The Worm is only a modulation pedal I think, right? It sounds much heavier than just overdrive/amp breakup to me but idk. Maybe I'll try out a Gretsch at high gain and get kicked out of a Guitar Center sometime...

[Velcro Bottom]

Noble goal.

[Chankgeez]

Definitely sounds like something heavier on the record.

Why don't you ask her?

I liked this vid she did:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2_yxeDuCmk

[Dandolin]

great sound in the OP's link

aside from the obvious detuned chorus sounds, it sounds like there is distortion coming from multiple parts of the signal chain
it might be worth experimenting with stacking or paralleling different fuzzes

pretty sure full drive or tubescreamer aren't going to be a big contributor sonically, but you never know - if you really push out the level from one of those into a fuzz it can create some of the crumbly irregularities apparent in the recording

regardless of what she used in the studio or uses live, i feel like the Midfi Demo Tape fuzz could be useful in getting near that tone. also velcro type fuzzes like the Fuzzhugger Velcrobot...and the SS/BS Fuck Overdrive. or Death By Audio stuff, or...this could degenerate into another long list of really cool fuzzes (i'm sure other people can list some others like #rip, Part Garden, Failed Transmission etc. )

also, def try voltage starving any fuzz, whether it's got the ability to do that in the box, or by using a power supply with a starve function, or a separate starve pedal like Dwarfcraft used to make....

also also - blast the front end of the fuzz either with an od/distortion or a boost. imo opinion the pure volume/gain from the boost is the critical factor here, although any inherent eq or shaping on the boost/od can be used to coax out the over-gained crumbly qualities in the fuzz (bass boost being better than treble boost for this use ime). Clipping in the boost isn't as important, and can actually be counter-productive depending on the stack. you'll have to play around with this some to find the zone - too much and you're going to get synthy sounds and squelch and feedback, but usually there's a spot where the attack starts fragmenting but it still just sounds like a fuzz sounding like an amp about to explode

[JustGlyphs]

Great suggestions Chankgeez and Dandolin thank you both!

Love to hit the sag control on a fuzz

[coldbrightsunlight]

Got no real thoughts that others haven't covered well enough (chorus + a couple of stacked fuzzes / fuzz into dirty amp for the texture - personally I wouldn't be too worried about any specific fuzz other than just trying a few out! It's not one of those highly specific sounds to me just something that needs a bunch of gain and stacking for texture ), but I hadn't heard of her before and I love this song so I'm happy to discover a cool new musician!

[voerking]

that sounds like a Big Muff (plus the wobbly modulation) to me.
it has that fat low end girth, the scooped mids, the crispy high end...i used to use a 90's green Russian Muff into the dirty channel of an amp for years & that's the sound!

[coldbrightsunlight]

yeah that'll probs do it!