One Fuzz to Rule Them All

[Jwar]

I'd have to say the Prescription Electronics Depth Charge. It's the perfect fuzz as far as ton and blend to me. It's either that or the DMB Bumble fuzz. I'm a bass player though, so I take a few things into account before making that decision. One of which is low end loss. Both of these have zero low end loss and seem to add lows. They don't have a huge range like some of the other, but they sound fucking amazing.

[alexevansohio]

Wow! Thank you so much for all these replies. So many pedals and builders I haven't encountered before - I'm very excited to start reading and watching demos.

As for the compressor issue - the fuzz is probably going to be right next to the compressor on my board physically, so I could certainly knock the compressor off at the same time as engaging the fuzz. Since I'm mostly a recording guy, there's a limit to the amount of major tone shifting I need to do on the fly anyway. Would anyone be willing to give me a 10 second explanation of why fuzzes and compressors / buffers are a poor (or at least complicated) idea?

I'll check out all these recommendations and ask more questions as they come, but thank you all so much for the kind words and advice. This is a good corner of the Internet.

Cheers,

A

[Jwar]

If you have a good comp, it won't mess with your fuzz choices. I have an FEA Opti Fet and everything sound identical with or without it on. If anything it sounds better with the comp on. It's just boosts and levels the signal, so it shouldn't have any coloration unless you're squashing the signal.

[Jwar]

If you ever feel the need to nerd out on comps. Here's a lot of reviews by one guy that most trust.

http://www.ovnilab.com/

[popvulture]

I tend to gravitate a little less towards oscillating/heavy fuzzes, so just for shits n' giggles I'll add Tone Benders and Bosstones as some alternatives. They both have nicely aggressive, cutting tones with a perfect amount of fucked up wooliness. On either I usually play with fuzz maxed and dial back the volume on my guitar by 1, or even 0.5. There's a magic thing that happens right there, esp with the Tone Bender (the one I've used most is a Mk 1.5, fwiw).

[Invisible Man]

Fat Fuzz Factory for me.

[Chankgeez]

If you have a good comp, it won't mess with your fuzz choices. I have an FEA Opti Fet and everything sound identical with or without it on. If anything it sounds better with the comp on. It's just boosts and levels the signal, so it shouldn't have any coloration unless you're squashing the signal.

I should note that jwar and I use compressors very differently. When I use a compressor it's always as an effect rather than for level control or whatever people usually use compressors for. For me, it's more about getting more sustain or getting things really squishy.

As for the compressor issue - the fuzz is probably going to be right next to the compressor on my board physically, so I could certainly knock the compressor off at the same time as engaging the fuzz. Since I'm mostly a recording guy, there's a limit to the amount of major tone shifting I need to do on the fly anyway. Would anyone be willing to give me a 10 second explanation of why fuzzes and compressors / buffers are a poor (or at least complicated) idea?

Combining fuzzes with compressors and/or buffers isn't necessarily a bad idea. It just depends on what you're trying to achieve with it. Some people don't like what they do to the sound of certain fuzzes. It definitely changes the character of a fuzz and they way it responds. All depends on what the end result of what you wanna hear is. jwar likes high quality, transparent compressors. I like shitty compressor that color the sound. I don't really like compressors though.

If you ever feel the need to nerd out on comps. Here's a lot of reviews by one guy that most trust.

http://www.ovnilab.com/

I trust that guy.

[alexevansohio]

So, I started listening through demos and stopped when I got to the Algal Bloom. While I don't know that it would be a complete end all / be all fuzz, it seems tonally to be a really good compliment to my current drives in a smal, affordable, and versatile package. I scored a small enclosure one online that has the two extra switches on it. I have a suspicion I'll still end up buying a Buzzz and probably half the other options mentioned, but this seems like a very strong starting point. I'll do some tests of this with and without the compressor and see how it does. I keep the compressor set to a very transparent place just to tighten things up, so it wouldn't be the end of the world to not use it when the fuzz is engaged.

Thanks so much, folks. If you have other ideas, keep them coming - the major thing that's clear from this thread is that one fuzz is perhaps not enough fuzz, haha.

[frigid midget]

Damn yeah...Almost forgot about the fatt fuzz factory. Too bad it's sorta pricey for what it does though. And fat or not, it's still a pretty moody mahfakker imo, with a lot of squeel and bleeb and noise, for not that many different straight forward fuzz sounds that can be used in a more chord friendly context

But yeah, the bottom line would indeed be: Fuzz peds are like beers. You can't just have one and call it a day. Come to think of it, fuzz peds are more like crack

[Invisible Man]

Yeah it's crazy expensive. I picked up a used Vexter FF for $100, then sent it to them to be modded for fatness. So it was $150 all told, and it has ended my fuzz journey (at least it's ended that side quest). The Gate control is underrated--there's a lot of control if people want it, but because it can get so talkative and noisy, that's what it's famous for. Dial back the drive, dial in some gate...lots of usable sounds there.

[01010111]

The Algal Bloom is super sensitive to your setup, I'd recommend trying it before your compressor.

compressor -> fuzz can sound really bad

fuzz -> compressor can bring out interesting textures dynamics without hurting how the fuzz responds to your playing

[alexevansohio]

The Algal Bloom is super sensitive to your setup, I'd recommend trying it before your compressor.

compressor -> fuzz can sound really bad

fuzz -> compressor can bring out interesting textures dynamics without hurting how the fuzz responds to your playing

Ohhh interesting! I'll try it in both spots and see how it fares. I've been keeping my other drives post-compressor thus far but Fuzz>comp>drives seems like a logical chain. Very stoked to try it out!

[worra]

I'd echo vid and say pretty years but yeah, not exactly something you can walk out and buy.


Otherwise I think the Algal Bloom (maybe the XS version) is a great choice, I have a regular one and it's super versatile. Also check out the SSBS team awesome fuzzmachine, and if you're looking at a buzzz but find there is too much low end for guitar, you might want to see if you can find an older ssbs pedal called the Super Puzzle

(psssst, one here:http://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/In-Sto ... t-Pedal.gc )

[D Rock]

The new Frazz does look super heavy. I have a Buzzz and it is great. Super heavy with the octave and mid scoop but I may replace it soon. Been playing with some harmonic peculator variants with NOS PNP transistors and I must say this thing sounds heavy as fuck when maxed. Can't even explain it, running it with no clipping diodes and it just slays, but needs a little refinement before it makes the board.

[frigid midget]

^ I've got a nice HP clone which I don't plan to part with any time soon, but even though it sounds sick, I doesn't really saturate all that much, even with the gain maxed
It's pretty much my main 'always on' pedal these days, I love the subtle hint of octave down inthere and the completely non-fizzy mids, but for really heavy stuff I always fall back on my fz-2 or fabtone...