Non-Muff EHX Fuzz

[DhanoSuzuki]

Thoughts? I don't have much experience with non-Muff EHX stuff, but I do have their Octavix.

I actually quite like it, though it is the only genuine octave up fuzzes that I have personal experience with.

It gets a pretty impressive array of tones for having such a limited feature set. You've got volume and fuzz knobs, of course. The octave is also on a knob, which is cool and is part of the reason for being able to dial in such a wide range of tones. Outside of that, you've got a switch to turn the rail power from 9v to 24v. This alters the sound pretty significantly, and is a cool feature.

I think EHX made a mistake marketing it as a 'Hendrix" fuzz. It does a good Hendrixy octave tone, but to me it sounds a bit more harsh and ornery than most Hendrix Octavia clone type pedals I've listened to, and it seems to turn some people off.

I love how ugly it is, though. Kind of an unexpected, inexpensive crazy melting tubes, torn speaker type of a deal. The ring mod undertones are pretty nice as well.

Also, it kind of does very limited oscillation if you have it on 24v mode with all the knobs cranked. Makes a tone, and you can alter the pitch slightly with the guitars volume knob. Though, compared to my Wolf Comp, Sonic Shroom, and Antichthon it is pretty limited as far as the osc goes, and not really worth using for that purpose.

The overtly "psychedelic" font looks kinda lame, but the blue indicator light is nice.

I've gotta say, I actively use all of those aforementioned oscillating fuzzes, as well as a DeviCraft Soda Meiser, and the Octavix continues to earn a spot on my board. Also, running the Sonic Shroom into it makes one of the best octave up fuzz tones I've heard, IMO.

Anyone else have experience with an Octavix? Or a Graphic Fuzz, or a Satisfaction fuzz?

I'm a bit curious if the Satisfaction is a decent Maestro clone or not.

Any other EHX fuzz that I am not aware of?

Opinions on EHX in general? Awesome? Horrible? Meh?

[fcknoise]

This thread is gonna go like dis: some people don't like EHX bc quality, some people kinda like ehx.

I like the Graphic Fuzz, but I haven't tried any of the newer non-muffs from them. The GF is barely a fuzz though, unless you boost it with something. Your description of the octave thingy sounds cool though.

I've been interested in the double muff before, would probably buy one given other economic conditions

[friendship]

I wanted to try one of those Satisfactions since they're so cheap and trashy, like my Personal Lifestyle Brand.

[Jero]

Me too! It's actually closer to the Jordan Boss-tone, not a Maestro as they'ed have you believe.

[echoraven]

I have 13 EHX pedals and had a problem with 1. When I ordered the EHX silencer, I got a dud. Outside of that they all have worked and love using them.

[casecandy]

I like EHX.

Regardless of what anyone thinks of them now, credit to them as pathfinders/forebearers of the industry must be absolute. The Muff(s), Small Stone, Small Clone, Electric Mistress, etc., are the sound of rock music, period. It's easy to forget how much they did first or did well first or made affordable first.

Now, back to today, I think that their quality has been surpassed by a lot of other companies, but they do still continue to innovate here and there. Some of their pedals are extremely useful for the modern pedalboard (Freeze, Superego, HOG, POG, Pitch Fork, all classics).

Ultimately I like them a lot, not love, but like a lot. Currently I use an NYC Muff and Small Clone (for sale, BTW), and would love to pick up a POG2 in the near future.

P.S. I love the giant-ass "big box" enclosures. Sue me

[friendship]

Me too! It's actually closer to the Jordan Boss-tone, not a Maestro as they'ed have you believe.

Yeah misleading name but Bosstones are supposed to be pretty cool. Would like to get one and maybe add a fatter cap to its idiot-friendly board. Or just leave it in stock transistor radio setting.

[casecandy]

Me too! It's actually closer to the Jordan Boss-tone, not a Maestro as they'ed have you believe.

Yeah misleading name but Bosstones are supposed to be pretty cool. Would like to get one and maybe add a fatter cap to its idiot-friendly board. Or just leave it in stock transistor radio setting.

Saw one for $150 once and passed. I wasn't into effects at the time. Feel stupid now.

[popvulture]

I'm not so into EHX now—as people have mentioned recently, they seem to throw a shit ton of spaghetti at the wall and hardly any of it sticks. The Soul POG is pretty much the epitome of what's wrong with the company. In addition to that, I always LOVED the original designs and think their shit's hideous now, basically beginning with the Nano stuff. I know they were big and clunky, but to me that's what made them so unique and great... sure, a pain on your board, but whatever.

But I still love who they are, and especially who they were—I think there's still some of that essence in there, just wish they'd get their shit straight a little bit and stop pandering.

To the point, though: like most people, I pretty much associate them mainly with muffs. The Graphic Fuzz is cool too, though—lots of fun to be had with the sculptability. I also like the Micro Synth for getting some pretty weird ass tones. Obviously you've got a lot more there in terms of envelopes/octaves/all that, but It can do some pretty crafty stuff before you get to that.

Speaking of Bosstones, I think Toe Tags makes a fucking great one, and I don't really ever hear anyone talking about them. They look good, too... simple/clean, great knobs. Well there's my verbal diarrhea for the day that may or may not have actually contributed to the thread

http://toetagselectronics.com/project/ef1-fuzz-pedal/

[DhanoSuzuki]

Regardless of what anyone thinks of them now, credit to them as pathfinders/forebearers of the industry must be absolute. The Muff(s), Small Stone, Small Clone, Electric Mistress, etc., are the sound of rock music, period. It's easy to forget how much they did first or did well first or made affordable first.

In a sense, they kind of set the archetype for "crazy boutique pedals." I mean, they blazed a trail for pedal building in general, but they always seemed to push the limits a bit, way back in the day.

Its a shame about their current quality issues. I haven't come across a problem personally, but I haven't messed with too many EHX pedals.

I have their Holy Grail Max, and so far that's been a really good pedal. Bought it for the reverse reverb, kept if for the plate.

I really want to mess around with their Micro Synth. The guy who does repairs at Front Porch Music says he uses one as a fuzz pedal. I guess using a guitar synth is a pretty smart way to get a synthy fuzz sound.

Also, the bastard got it for like 50 bucks.

[bigchiefbc]

The only non-Muff EHX fuzzes I have experience with are the Germanium OD (which is marketed as an overdrive but can easily get into fuzz territory by playing with the volt and bias knobs) and the Bass Micro Synth (which has a "square-wave" slider which is a pretty awesome sounding fuzz). I was a pretty big fan of both, I still own the BMS, but sold the Germanium OD. The only thing I didn't like about the Germanium OD was that you had to crank the gain knob to get it really fuzzy, but there was no separate volume knob to bring the volume back down. It's a minor quibble, because being blisteringly loud is what I should have been going for the whole time anyways. I'll probably buy another one at some point honestly.

[friendship]

Oh yeah the Germ OD is a lot of fun. Lots of weird interplay between the volts and bias. Also very stackable.

[penelope tree]

I've got a Double Muff and a Germanium OD. The latter is the more fuzzy and eccentric but the DM is a very good heavy overdrive. Maybe the Hot Tubes is worth investigating too?

[casecandy]

I know Takeshi from Boris had/has a Graphic Fuzz on his board... a huge big-box fuzz with build in 8-band EQ

Everything Boris uses is good; I've never seen anyone disprove this rule of thumb

[CrookedRainJr]

I've had various EHX pedals since I became more of a pedal guitarist. For non Muff fuzz, I'd say the Double Muff is excellent, the Germanium 4 was also very solid from what I remember, but mine had a fair number of issues from the original owner. Hot Tubes can get pretty fuzzy, I'd like to mess around with one since that and the Red Llama are so similar.

Build quality is a strange thing. Some have no issues, others have a problem with every EHX pedal they've owned. I've had two shoddy pedals from them, but both were pre-owned, so it's hard to say definitively, though right now the only EHX on my rig is the Pitchfork, which is incredible.