Your Fav Fuzz (BMPish circuit) with Loud Amp

[Faldoe]

Whats your favorite BMP circuit that works well with an amp that is loud and already naturally breaking up? I've built some Muffs in the past that sound great at bedroom/semi loud volumes but don't cut it at loud volumes - they take away from the fullness of the amp; there will be a loss in low end. I'm looking something that is heavy and carries well at loud volumes.

Using a Fryette Deliverance 120.

[Blunderbus]

For me it is my 100 superlead with a Hoof in front of it. But keep switching between the Pharaoh and Hoof! Both pedals are DIY.

Both these pedals can handle loud amps really good IMO.

[mathias]

Op-amp muff like the Pumpkin Butter (which I don't think has been available for awhile), although I don't have a Pumpkin Butter (gave one as a gift years ago, tried it before sending out)

I use my Hoof with a boost in front and already-breaking-up amp occasionally. Prefer my Hoof when amp is set to sparkly cleans to be honest.

[Faldoe]

Right on. I had built a Pharaoh before and thought it sounded pretty good. How do the two compare?

Mathias - is the Pharaoh better with a dirty/semi dirty amp?

I'm actually thinking of building an RC booster as I've read people like them with the Fryettes, so I may set the amp a little more clean, or slightly less gain and use the RC to really push it.

[mathias]

The Pharoah might be good with a dirty amp (and I would always say try it and see with both dirty and clean on your amp to be sure, if you can demo one somehow)

My concern is that muffs and other fuzzes might get muddy when both the amp is overdriven and the fuzz is cranked, especially depending on the particular muff pedals mids or lack thereof. But J Mascis makes the cranked muff into a cranked amp sound great so I always say try it and see.

The RC booster is an opamp-based boost/overdrive. That's going to be way different than putting a muff in front of a clean or slightly dirty amp. Or are you thinking muff -> boost -> amp?

[Faldoe]

The Pharoah might be good with a dirty amp (and I would always say try it and see with both dirty and clean on your amp to be sure, if you can demo one somehow)

My concern is that muffs and other fuzzes might get muddy when both the amp is overdriven and the fuzz is cranked, especially depending on the particular muff pedals mids or lack thereof. But J Mascis makes the cranked muff into a cranked amp sound great so I always say try it and see.

The RC booster is an opamp-based boost/overdrive. That's going to be way different than putting a muff in front of a clean or slightly dirty amp. Or are you thinking muff -> boost -> amp?

I brought up the RC because (depending on whether I like it) I would reconfigure my amp's gain settings so it would be a little cleaner than it already is now and the RC would be used to push the amp into the crunchier territory. I wasn't thinking of using the RC with a Muff circuit (though one can always try), I was pointing out that the amp may just be set a little cleaner and less dirty. Cause currently I have the gain set to where when my guitar volume is up, that is my distortion sound, and everything else is done with the guitar's volume.

[mathias]

Gotcha, that makes sense.

[mathias]

Follow-up since I've had this tab open and thought about it: I guess the two things to decide are a) whether you prefer your pedals on a clean setting, b) whether you like your amp's distortion sound. Because those are both factors with how I'd set it up. Sounds like the Fryette is a good high-headroom single channel (might be dual channel? couldn't tell) tube amp, though, so you've got a lot of flexibility to work with pedals in front of it. My preference would be for near-clean pedal sound and then prefer my amp's distortion:

Amp set loud, but still in jangly-cleans into country lick overdrive gain area.
Mild overdrive in front of the amp (last in pedal chain -- I like a Fuck OD for this) to get it to that jangly-nearly-overdriven spot, if necessary.
A boost or overdrive set with a lot more volume to really push it towards overdrive.
Fuzz / etc. goes with the mild overdrive, kick in the other overdrive to really get loud and get the amp's distortion.

If you don't like your amp's distortion, then set it loud and clean and go for a distortion pedal that you really like, and use other pedals as well.

Hope this helps?

[Faldoe]

Follow-up since I've had this tab open and thought about it: I guess the two things to decide are a) whether you prefer your pedals on a clean setting, b) whether you like your amp's distortion sound. Because those are both factors with how I'd set it up. Sounds like the Fryette is a good high-headroom single channel (might be dual channel? couldn't tell) tube amp, though, so you've got a lot of flexibility to work with pedals in front of it. My preference would be for near-clean pedal sound and then prefer my amp's distortion:

Amp set loud, but still in jangly-cleans into country lick overdrive gain area.
Mild overdrive in front of the amp (last in pedal chain -- I like a Fuck OD for this) to get it to that jangly-nearly-overdriven spot, if necessary.
A boost or overdrive set with a lot more volume to really push it towards overdrive.
Fuzz / etc. goes with the mild overdrive, kick in the other overdrive to really get loud and get the amp's distortion.

If you don't like your amp's distortion, then set it loud and clean and go for a distortion pedal that you really like, and use other pedals as well.

Hope this helps?

Thanks. Yes, those are options to consider. The Fryette is a single channel and very touch sensitive. I wouldn't say it has high headroom but it can be set to where it has a fair amount.

I've grown to dislike dirt pedals for distortion tones as I feel they're never good enough as a tube amp creating the distortion, so I want most of the gain/breakup to be natural. Someone on the Fryette forums said they like the RC booster for what I wanted to do, which is use a pedal to push the amp into higher gain territory but not take away from the Amps EQ settings or add gain in the flubby sense. Said Fryette forum poster said the RC is good candidate for that.

The fuzzes I've tried in the past sound great at lower volumes but when used with an amp at loud volumes don't cut it - bass is lost, doesn't sound "huge" compared to the amp's sound prior to the pedal being engaged.

So the fuzz circuit in question with definitely be mixing with an amp's already breaking up sound (even without the RC booster). I don't think I'd be using too much of the Fuzz (gain) on the pedal, though I might. I do like those broken/glitching/fucked up sounds.

[mathias]

I think some of the modern Muff circuits (see this other thread for discussion: http://www.ilovefuzz.com/viewtopic.php? ... 68#p934809 ) have great bass response and can get really loud. Maybe look at the Supercollider or the Megalith? Those aren't super-common so it may be hard to demo one or the other before buying, but might be worth buying with the potential to flip just to see.

And it's worth mentioning the op-amp Muff circuit again but it's completely different than other Muffs and has better (in my opinion) cut through for live, loud sound, which is maybe what you want there.

[Faldoe]

I may get a Fuzz God II again. I liked that one and shouldn't have sold it