How to put a fuzz in front of overdrive?

[Zork]

So most of my fuzzes sound much better in front of my overdrive than after it. But since the overdrive has the volume control at the end, the fuzz will never be louder than the overdrive when I stack them. It doesn't matter how much I crank the fuzz, it all comes down to where the level of the drive is. Is there a common workaround for this problem? I searched up and down the internet but couldn't find any hint. Still it seems that most people recommend fuzz into drive. Am I the only one who wants the fuzz to be really loud?

[Pepe]

An overdrive works like a compressor, so your volume will always be limited somehow. I would recommend to crank the overdrive's level knob and tame the gain until you're happy with the dynamics.

[Blackened Soul]

Wait… how you put fuzz into OD with out it sounding mushy, cloudy, dull and mulled? I always have to really spend a lot of time finding the right match to do that.. OD into fuzz is easy… you get a nice bity sound most of the time and if you run a rat into a bmp you can crush most things…

[MechaGodzilla]

An overdrive works like a compressor, so your volume will always be limited somehow. I would recommend to crank the overdrive's level knob and tame the gain until you're happy with the dynamics.

yep this is exactly what i do. not all overdrive/distortions work but i have had varying but dece results with such dirtboxes as klones, red llamas and bluesdrivers

i use many fuzzes, basic two transistors, diode clip octave fuzz, muffs. i do the same thing with all of them and use them in the same way

[D.o.S.]

An overdrive works like a compressor, so your volume will always be limited somehow. I would recommend to crank the overdrive's level knob and tame the gain until you're happy with the dynamics.

yep this is exactly what i do. not all overdrive/distortions work but i have had varying but dece results with such dirtboxes as klones, red llamas and bluesdrivers

i use many fuzzes, basic two transistors, diode clip octave fuzz, muffs. i do the same thing with all of them and use them in the same way

Yep. treat the overdrive like your clean tone, essentially, and hit it with a big boosted fuzz. It'll feel louder. Same as if you didn't use an OD, tbh.

[Zork]

Hm, okay. I will try higher level, less drive. I can't put my Big Muff after the drive because I want it before my splitter which is before drive and I would like my Ibanez Standard Fuzz in front of my drive to tame the highs a bit. So both of the fuzz pedals would need to be before drive for one reason or another but it just doesn't work with the dynamics.

[D.o.S.]

Hm, okay. I will try higher level, less drive. I can't put my Big Muff after the drive because I want it before my splitter which is before drive and I would like my Ibanez Standard Fuzz in front of my drive to tame the highs a bit. So both of the fuzz pedals would need to be before drive for one reason or another but it just doesn't work with the dynamics.

Can you give us a rundown of your whole signal chain? Might be easier to make recommendations that way

[Zork]

Yes, sure:
Bass VI -> Volume Pedal -> Big Muff -> Splitter

Output 1 -> Wah -> Boss LS2
(Loop A: Caline Pure Sky -> Ibanez Standard Fuzz)
(Loop B: Rat)
-> MXR 10 band EQ -> Line 6 MM4 -> Delay -> Reverb -> guitar amp

Output 2 -> TRex Møller -> Boss GEB7 -> bass amp

[Zork]

Yeah, so I swapped out the Big Muff for my Fuzz Face. The Fuzz Face gets super loud through the overdrive. Standard Fuzz and Big Muff don't and I really wonder why. I mean, it can't be only a thing of more mids in the Fuzz Face as the Standard Fuzz is basically all mids and still it will only be as loud as the level is set on the overdrive. It's confusing...

[friendship]

Gain staging can be weird, and you have a lot of gain stages in there. Maybe the Fuzz Face is just pushing the whole line harder than the Big Muff was. Is it getting the result you were looking for?

[coupleonapkins]

Is your Fuzz Face an OG spec germanium? That may also be the case here?!?

And unless I'm reading your path upside down (it could happen!), whaddabout those Boss buffers? (crowd: BOOOOOOOS!)

I would try reassembling your chain per channel/line separately, then rearranging everything with the LS2, by channel, path by path, to figure it out.

And if you've already done that....are they all powered by one PSU? Mix n' match batteries & PSU? Are your batteries low? This is more applicable to the fuzzes.

I will also echo the "make your chosen OD sound your clean tone", as well, ahem

[Zork]

Gain staging can be weird, and you have a lot of gain stages in there. Maybe the Fuzz Face is just pushing the whole line harder than the Big Muff was. Is it getting the result you were looking for?

Yes, so far it makes me quite happy. Another proof that gain staging IS weird!

Is your Fuzz Face an OG spec germanium? That may also be the case here?!?

And unless I'm reading your path upside down (it could happen!), whaddabout those Boss buffers? (crowd: BOOOOOOOS!)

I would try reassembling your chain per channel/line separately, then rearranging everything with the LS2, by channel, path by path, to figure it out.

And if you've already done that....are they all powered by one PSU? Mix n' match batteries & PSU? Are your batteries low? This is more applicable to the fuzzes.

I will also echo the "make your chosen OD sound your clean tone", as well, ahem

The Fuzz Face is a silicon JHF1 Hendrix Fuzz Face. I run it on a carbon zinc battery, the rest is fed by an isolated PSU. The Boss LS-2 is no problem, it has plenty of headroom. Only the Pure Sky compresses the signal like crazy on apparently not all, but some pedals in front of it. So, the Pure Sky is basically my clean tone. I only had feedback problems when stacking with the Rat, so I use the LS-2 to toggle between Rat and Pure Sky.

For now it all seems to work the way I want it. The Ibanez Fuzz is much more piercing when after the Pure Sky, it sounds better to me in front of it but it's not totally bad. I might add a simple LPF as a tone control since it's a rehoused Fuzz Wah version anyway.

Here's a pic of the board:


(how can I post a pic at full width so it doesn't cut off the right side?)

[dubkitty]

you need to upload it as an attachment to your post and then use Place Inline to put it in your preferred spot within the post. you have to size the photos in an editing program so they're no more than 700 pixels on the longest side.

[Zork]

I figured I might not make another thread for this: add a status LED to the fuzz face yes or no way? I've read they'll change the sound in a germanium fuzz face because they draw too much current from the fuzz circuit. But what about a silicone ff? They are less delicate, right?

[dubkitty]

no offense intended, but can't you tell when the FF is on just by playing a couple of notes? it seems like it would be more obvious than my similar situation with an old Distortion+. i'm pretty lazy and hate soldering so don't take my word for it, but it seems like more hassle than it'd be worth.