Basic Audio Kay Fuzz?

[eyobeez]

Hey all. First-time poster here.

I thought I wanted a Vitruvian Mod and a Z. Vex III, but turns out the YouTube demos of the Basic Audio Kay Fuzz srsly got me GOIN. The tone of the fuzz, the octave thing, the clangorous beauty of it...

I don't see anything about the pedal on the BA website, so does this mean they're a custom order?

More importantly, how do YOU like them? And are there other alternatives (in case BA doesn't make these anymore) aside from buying a $400 old Kay treadle thing?

Specifically, I am looking for a filthy, oddball "third channel" for my rig. Channel One is the high input of a JCM 800, and channel two is Channel One boosted with an OD.

Thanks for reading!!

[eyobeez]

W/r/t the YouTube videos, I can't not mention David Torn's playing. O M G

[Chankgeez]

I haven't tried the BA Kay Fuzz, but almost all the Basic Audio fuzzes I've tried have sounded great.

Yeah, I think they're a custom order. Pretty sure John'll build you one if you ask. Just e-mail him.

[eyobeez]

Very cool

[sylnau]

I haven't tried the BA Kay Fuzz, but almost all the Basic Audio fuzzes I've tried have sounded great.

Yeah, I think they're a custom order. Pretty sure John'll build you one if you ask. Just e-mail him.

This wasn't in the tour box you sent me last year? I'm pretty sure it was.

[Chankgeez]

It was, but that was a Canadian tourbox. Being that I'm a U.S.American, I didn't get a chance to play those.

If you remember your impressions, why don't you tell eyobeez what you thought of it?

[Seance]

I played the BA Kay Fuzz in a tour box last year (thanks chankgeez!) and I liked it.

Here are some of the things I wrote about it:

The Kay had some of that octavish metallic sheen when notes are played high up the fretboard.
The Gnarly does this too, but the Kay unleashes a concertina razor barbed-wire version that is
very cutting. Which, conversely, makes the Gnarly more friendly to complex chords. But the way
the Kay achieves those '60s attitudinal grinder notes... the chords might as well be handled by another
guitarist or the keyboardist or something.

http://soundcloud.com/caesarshift/asparagus


EDIT: I just wanted to clarify that the metallic octave grind on the Kay is A LOT more evident
than on the Gnarly. On the Gnarly a whiff of these tones is available on certain pickup selections
with certain settings. On the Kay it is there in a more or less in your face way based on how the
tone and fuzz level are set. On the Kay the octave push is audible up and down the neck,
but mostly high up the neck. On the Gnarly it is only audible when playing high up the neck.

The Kay fuzz....
is a searing box of sharps and angular concussed aggression. The Gnarly fuzz can
approach a light version of this octave sound, but only with certain pickup selections
and settings. With the Kay the octave splendor is laced throughout. Lowering the
fuzz level seems to sometimes accentuate the octave, whereas raising the fuzz level
sometimes makes "the meat" of the fuzzed tone come out more clearly. (This ironically
seemed to be what I was doing to get more chord definition with the Kay—turn the
fuzz up to get less octave and more fuzzy fuzz).

With the Kay it's as if the octave part of the signal is a thicket of sharpened spears and
the fuzzed out brutal bloom of the deeper notes is "the meat" that gets either thoroughly
skewered or held aloft and more gently impaled by the sharp octave tones of those spears.

I made a sloppy demo of the Kay fuzz. There are two guitar parts. One starts by
mimicking the other but one octave up. With the Kay at certain Tone & Fuzz settings
the octave grind is over-the-top apparent and makes your guitar sound like an
interesting riff off of what you are playing. Like a face in a funhouse mirror—still
recognizable, but warped. I don't know whether this clip captures that Kay magic or not.

Perhaps I would have been better served to pair the Kay with something else so
that the peculiarities of the Kay stood out in sharper relief? Anyhow. This is what I did.
I apologize for the bad recording and for the flubs and wrong notes sprinkled throughout.

http://soundcloud.com/caesarshift/on-a-nerve-1

[Chankgeez]

Seance to the rescue!

[Seance]

Seance to the rescue!

[eyobeez]

Holy sh***t, thanks Seance! Any chance you are a fellow English major?

Will be ordering the Kay once I collect the funds from my newly sold Boss DD-7.

On another note, saw Big Thief last night. Adrienne Lenker is wonderful and so was her band. Buck Meek was missed, but Adrienne held down the guitar fort with aplomb.

[Seance]

Holy sh***t, thanks Seance!

Will be ordering the Kay once I collect the funds from my newly sold Boss DD-7.

No problem. Those words/reactions are from a while back. So your experience
may vary. I do recall the BA Kay Fuzz being a lot of fun to play—sort of brash,
looking to buy some shake and ready for action.
As a fuzz the Kay has the attitude (but not the sound) of this song:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIcmk8WA10A[/youtube]

Any chance you are a fellow English major?

I consider English my major language and try to put it into daily usage.

[sylnau]

It was, but that was a Canadian tourbox. Being that I'm a U.S.American, I didn't get a chance to play those.

If you remember your impressions, why don't you tell eyobeez what you thought of it?

It's not a sound I like... it wasn't for me. I didn't liked it as much as I don't like superfuzz... but that's me, it doesn't meen that it's no good.

[eyobeez]

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

[eyobeez]

Update: Got the Kay yesterday, and gigged with it. Good Lord, is it wonderful! Seance, you did a great job describing the pedal's tone and attitude. I believe the Kay is a Keeper.

[Seance]

Update: Got the Kay yesterday, and gigged with it. Good Lord, is it wonderful! Seance, you did a great job describing the pedal's tone and attitude. I believe the Kay is a Keeper.

Awesome! Enjoy it! The Kay is a fantastic fuzz.