Best Distortion/Fuzz For Synths?

[worra]

To echo some of what's been said in here: SSBS dirt (pretty years, mini, etc), PLLs, and RML dirt like the 432k

[sylnau]

Something with a mix control.

[JM Charcot]

Mix control is necessary with drones, not a lot of fuzz do have this, I personnaly have a loop with an EQD Hoof fuzz in a Boss LS2, works fine.

[K2000]

I tried a bunch of pedals again with my EHX Random Tone Generator... the Gristleizer was a good tip.

The Fat Sandwich did basically nothing... warmed up the tone a little, made it a little brassy. Some pedals which absolutely ruin a guitar signal like Devi Ever Destructo Noctavia or the Electro Faustus Guitar Disrupter did almost nothing - added a little 'zizzle' but didn't really change anything. Not the awesomeness I'm looking for.

[crochambeau]

Yeah PLLs are great for this, that's what I'd recommend first. So are the RMA distortions I've tried.

I'd classify wavefolders as being a good ones for synth as well.

Thanks for the plug! I'm working on optimizing the circuit values for the Mudlark and I've got a V2 prototype almost unusable for guitar (unless you're a maniac) but I don't want to push it over because it's doing neat stuff in the non-dynamic signal class. My current line of thinking is to get one optimized for guitar and then analyze the circuit differences and find a way to bridge the two states with minimal controls.

This sort of shit is why my output is a trickle.

Anyway..

I'll take any and all recommendations. My bandmate is looking for a distortion/fuzz that will work well with his synths (He uses a DX7 as his main, if that helps). Thanks for your time!

Is the synth run in stereo ever? This opens doors to what sort of manipulation/degradation one can exact, but also really narrows the options of what is available in a single control set.

If he's happy in the realm of mono running the synth into a step down transformer (2:1 to 4:1) will put the output nearer to nominal guitar range, though your low frequency stuff may suffer depending on the circuit (and some synths don't like directly driving a transformer). Mix controls do help in this regard. If you're open to the DIY custom build route voicing the circuit is also an option, but can easily incur another type of distortion which may be good or bad, depending on taste.

Lots of good suggestions here of course, I'm not going to add to them (as I'm biased and have limited experience with the offerings of other lines) beyond piping in to say there are a ton of ways to skin a cat and synth stuff benefits from thinking outside the box.

Regarding drone synth stuff, a lot of the drone synths I've seen are based on timer chips, and once you're dealing with a square/pulse you've thrown out all the delicious slopes where non-linearity lives, so looking into something that'll offer up waveshaping capabilities will open the doors to getting more results from standard circuits. Beyond that you're at the mercy of just filtering and modulation for the most part.

Anyway, I drove into town and back since I started my reply here, so my mindset has been interrupted. Sorry about the long ass read that probably goes nowhere, hahaha.

[UglyCasanova]

Something with a mix control.

This. TAFM is my person favorite.

[resincum]

tell them to get a rat so they can sound like tim hecker

[sylnau]

tell them to get a rat so they can sound like tim hecker

Earthbound Audio Iron Pig is a Rat based pedal and it has a mix knob.

[coupleonapkins]

Boss Xtortion, Dod/Digi Grunge, EHX Cock Fight?

The Fat Sandwich did basically nothing... warmed up the tone a little, made it a little brassy.

I almost picked one of these up for the same reason, but then I found out about the three trimmers inside, which made it seem impossible to deal with, even for a guitar (but maybe better for a synth?) The Mini always wins every argument, anyway.

The DOD Carcosa sounds pretty good through a Wurlitzer as demoed by this non-synth lover, though:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7bBsR_snWo[/youtube]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7bBsR_snWo

[K2000]

Boss Xtortion, Dod/Digi Grunge, EHX Cock Fight?

The Cock Fight works well on a synth! (I haven't tried it with simple oscillators - my friend has one). Has a filter, voltage starve, and drive capabilities. And if you have a free hand, you can ride the knobs with good results. (It might have an expression pedal or CV input, I forget). Also, reasonably priced on the used market.

[D.o.S.]

tell them to get a rat so they can sound like tim hecker

Earthbound Audio Iron Pig is a Rat based pedal and it has a mix knob.

To be a total nerd about it the Rat seems to be mostly for reamping so you need a proper amplifier, too.

[fcknoise]

The HM-2 EQ is really cool with anything. I do agree with people saying a mix control would be preferable though.

Also I want to mention seppuku memory loss as an option because it gets really ugly distorted and does the chip reset glitch thing better on synths than on guitar imho

[actual]

Honorable mention: old mixer/console dirt.

[Warpsmasher]

A lot of fuzzes that make things sound like synths will squarewave the input signal, so a lot of the time synth will still just sound like synth and it seems like the fuzz is doing nothing. Also, just a little low volume going into a fuzz pedal is all you ever need, and it will always sound better than a fully cranked keyboard blasting the input. Ample filtering in front of overdrive/distortion is the way to get distorted guitar and bass sounds out of synth voices, if that's the intention. You'll be surprised how much high end you need to shave off before the dirt a lot of the time, seriously. A good amp & cab sim will also help a lot with the guitar/rock sound, especially if the synth is going straight to a mixer, so multi-fx and Sansamps are good options, and AMT pedals, and any Digitech distortion pedal with a cab sim/mixer out jack - Grunge, Death Metal, Bad Monkey, Tone Driver etc. Death Metal is definitely more awesome in the loop with some dry mix. Bitcrushing and wavefolding are cool and useful too, but probably not what you want for traditional rock dirt sounds, unless they're followed by some regular overdrive/distortion. A wah is also very useful for tuning the highs out of keyboard sounds and getting them more dirt-ready in a second.

Filtered wogglebug oscillators through muff fuzz and vox amp/cab sim (multi-fx):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5vGF29DO8o

ISD Sampler grainy trashbits through Digitech Grunge (the dirt/cab "rock" sound is very dominant here):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22Cw31-RYns

[fcknoise]

Honorable mention: old mixer/console dirt.

yes! and added to this is old tape recorders