How in God's name do I get this fuzz sound?

[grindhead]

Bit of a noob, so I'm not sure if this is fuzz or overdrive, but in any case, I heard this a couple of days ago and I've tried to contact the band, but they haven't responded yet. So I figured I'd try here. I want this fuzz sound. It's filthy and trebly. What I want to know is if this can be achieved with any pedal that you can think of, or is this the work of an amp or a particular type of pick up etc?

The band is Disco Pansy. The particular song in which the fuzz occurs most is "Not You" but I think they've all got the same fuzz, but it's more prominent in this one. I'm sorry if I'm not supposed to post URLs, but if you want to take a listen its - http://discopansy.bandcamp.com - and it's the first song there.

I've tried with my friend's Big Muff on his Fender Twin Reverb and also with a BOSS Mega Distortion on the same amp, as well as my own Marshall. Both with a Telecaster.

What do you think was used here and how can I replicate it?

[edkoppel]

doesn't sound like fuzz to me/

But I think you could get the same sound from the Mid-Fi Demo Tape Fuzz into something loud.

[sonidero]

Your Telecaster and a loud ass Fender Amp...

[Casavettes]

what sonidero said.
plus recordings can be tricky and it can be more than one thing. unless of course the actual band says otherwise

[sonidero]

what sonidero said.
plus recordings can be tricky and it can be more than one thing. unless of course the actual band says otherwise

Bands like that really Thrive on "Pluggin Straight In" so it's probably just Loud Amp...

[Casavettes]

[excane]

^^ Still love that every time I see it

[fetch]

I don't think it's "just a loud amp" at all

It's definitely done either at the desk or with a pedal but that's just my opinion, YMMV, etc. Kind of reminds me of the "Roosevelt Room" sound which I've been trying to cop since the album came out and pretty much failed and gave up in a live capacity.

I can definitely get those sounds with the Penny Pedals Fingerprint though which is kinda similar to the Demo Tape Fuzz.

[grindhead]

Hi guys,

Thanks so much for your input. I did get a response from the band just now, so I figured I'd let you all in on it for those that are curious...

"Hey. thanks for your email and your kind words. i dont actually use a fuzz pedal at all. its actually a combination of things which may not be easy for you to replicate, but you can always try! i actually installed an old Teisco single coil pickup in my korean made cheapy cheapo strat copy which has such a low output that i have to completely crank both the guitar and amp way past what i'd set it on for any other guitar for any decent sound to come out. this pickup does NOT do cleans. it pretty much goes from nothing to crazy treble. i usually run this guitar through a boss super overdrive and a bbe green screamer either at the same time (one gives me my tone and the other makes it crunch) or one or the other depending on the song. i hope this helps. thanks for checking us out. if you want a cd you just send us your details and we'll send one out. tell your friends! carl"

So there you have it. I just eBayed Teisco pickups. Not cheap. lol. Hopefully I can find a similar overdrive pedal to go with my BOSS and get something close with my Tele's single coils.

Thanks guys!

[kosta]

Ah, the magic of the gold foils....

[sonidero]

[grindhead]

Do you think it has to be a Goil Foil to get that sound? There are some others on there that are a fair bit cheaper. They're a different shape, but surely a vintage pick up is a vintage pick up? Treble was all the rage back then. lol. As for the BBE pedal, does anyone know anything about them? They seem pretty average from what I've seen so far. Nothing particularly special about them

[theavondon]

really, just get two overdrives (in this case, a SD-1 and a TS clone) and put them into a clean ass amp (by the looks of that bandcamp, prooooobably a fender deville).

[Chankgeez]

Do you think it has to be a Goil Foil to get that sound? There are some others on there that are a fair bit cheaper. They're a different shape, but surely a vintage pick up is a vintage pick up? Treble was all the rage back then. lol. As for the BBE pedal, does anyone know anything about them? They seem pretty average from what I've seen so far. Nothing particularly special about them

It probably doesn't have to be a gold foil, those're just the ones everybody's always fawning over, but don't make the mistake of thinking that all vintage pickups sound alike. Some of those other pickups aren't going to sound anything like gold foils.

Also don't get caught up in thinking that people can't sound amazing with pretty average gear. The player has a lot to do with it. You give a great player some pretty average gear and they'll still manage to make it sound simply divine and supremely fine.

If you wanna get all geeky about it, ask him to take a snap of the pickup.

[grindhead]

Well yeah I'd like to think so, but they always say "A player is only as good as the instrument he plays with" or something. lol

I think the guy is an okay guitarist, but I don't think that he's really doing anything too flashy (?). I just really like the sound.

But yeah maybe you're right. It could have something to do with attack too maybe?