Need Ideas: stacking the harmonic percolator

[phantasmagorovich]

Hey there guys,


I need help stacking my harmonic percolator. Currently I use it as my only fuzz in one band but I want more! The problem is that with this specific circuit it seems to be very hard to stack it. Pushing it with other pedals doesn't seem to work, which I attribute to the insane compression the perc pumps. From what I tried, doing that will just start insane feedback and noise.
Pushing other pedals with the percolator often yields either the same results, or when the second pedal is dialed back, the perc might just overpower it. The one result that was not either of these was when I tried to run the perc into my Superfuzz. That shit was probably the most aggressive, nasty, plain evil tone I have ever encountered in real life or on record. Too bad that I am looking for a tone that is just a little nastier than the percs relative smoothness.

I was imagining something like the Squarewave + or maybe the Fairfield Barbershop OD as a sort of sound I could see in that band situtation. I was also considering if the sparkle motion would be a solution to my problem.

So, are there any tips for stacking this antisocial beast? Or should I just leave it and get one pedal for each sound and turn one on and the other off as needed. (But I like stacking - whine whine)

[Bassus Sanguinis]

sounds to me You really should do the Super fuzz thing, with any octave up fuzz with enough headroom to take it.

...or how about parallel signal chains, if stacking doesn't seem to work? Blend it in with an fx loop box with a blend. Like BOSS LS-2 has the option of blending the loops A and B, Morley and some others too have the option. If You can come up with one without a bad buffer that kills Your fuzz (like the BOSS has, the only reason why I'm not using it anymore ) it's pretty awesome: You can do two different dirt tones simultaneously, and stacking shit with that REALLY opens some fancy doors...

[bronzetalon]

Yea try parallel stacking. Either by the method mentioned above or with a fuzz with a clean blend. You can also try good overdrives after the percolater like a fuck overdrive, and aardvarks, or a elements.

[phantasmagorovich]

Yea try parallel stacking. Either by the method mentioned above or with a fuzz with a clean blend. You can also try good overdrives after the percolater like a fuck overdrive, and aardvarks, or a elements.

Yeah, I've been thinking about a clean blend too. So I would put a pedal with clean blend in front of the HP? I will try it with the TAFM and see how that goes. Then maybe the Squarewave + with the clean blend like Behndy has it. (Maybe even Behndys...)

[bronzetalon]

Try it both ways the tafm responds well after fuzzies too.

[phantasmagorovich]

Try it both ways the tafm responds well after fuzzies too.

I know man, I need the TAFM on my other board though. This is just for experimenting with the idea.

[jrmy]

Parallel stacking can be great - my guitarist is doing that with a SLOstortion, Triple Wreck & Swollen Pickle - they all offer up different flavors, so mixing and matching them in parallel yields great results.

In my experience, the And Aardvarks! sounds best at the end of the chain, being pushed by other pedals. And since that has a "semiclean" option (the bottom setting on the 3-way switch on the side, which lets clean lows through), you could possibly get the sound of the Perc overloading the Aardvarks with extra sizzle on top.

[oldangelmidnight]

I like mine before a Muff. I run it like a boost that makes the muff brighter and raspier.

[univalve]

Try it both ways the tafm responds well after fuzzies too.

I know man, I need the TAFM on my other board though. This is just for experimenting with the idea.

need me to send you a second one?

[Bassus Sanguinis]

Yeah, I too returned just to suggest the And Aardvarks (or similar with a clean blend) but guys were ahead me.

You could also try borrowing some mundane bass OD (Boss, DOD, whatever) that come with a clean blend. Put the buffered meh OD after the more sensitive percolator and use it just to blend a dirty boost with a tone stack. I haven't tried that myself with a percolator BUT it was a worthwhile experiment with DE SM and with Super Fuzz and Fuzzface.

[futuresailors]

I haven't tried a perc, but I've yet to find a pedal that a boost from a Rat hasn't made awesome.

[kosta]

RAT >> PERC >> TAFM would be the gateway to another fuzzy universe. I am almost certain of this.... Glad you're still playing that HP!

[theavondon]

Try a RAT somewhere around it. Can't go wrong. OR, a muff variant.

Or, maybe a clean boost after it to just molest your amplifier? I love doing that with my more vintage fuzzes (best doom tone is Tone Machine into like 30 dB of boost so it just sounds HUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE).

[coldbrightsunlight]

Arc Flash is reeeeeaaally good after fuzz, just for extra boost, I guess any overdrive that can take a hot signal would do similar things.

[grindonomicon]

Or, maybe a clean boost after it to just molest your amplifier? I love doing that with my more vintage fuzzes (best doom tone is Tone Machine into like 30 dB of boost so it just sounds HUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE).

Clearly, you are a genius, and I need to subscribe to your newsletter. And try that ASAP.

For the HP, a brassmaster style pedal would prob work with it's fugly fuzz + 'clean' blend. As long as I don't hit it with too much of signal from the fuzz before it, my Jerms stacks great with the fuzz and boosts I've tried.