ilovefuzz.com

Confession time: I have never owned a fuzz. I don't think I've even played through one. But I think I need one.

I'm not really into harder rock music. I tend to like lush sounds. My board is currently all delay + pitch shifter or a combination of the two and then a SSBS Mini. Ran through a Fender PA135 + 15". Going to be using the fuzz for keyboards, bass, guitar, everything.

Leaning towards either a DBA Fuzz War (lots of people I like use one) or a Zvex Fuzz Factory (seems like a good first fuzz since I don't really know what I want and it seems to have a wide range of sounds in it). Or maybe go a different route and just get a EQD Bit Commander for a different type of dirty fun?

Help shape my fuzzy future?

Team Awesome Fuzz Machine. Very versatile. I had one for a bit and sold it to get a specific fuzz I wanted at the time, but I will own one again for sure. Look into it.

Fuzz Faces and relatives, including Fuzz Factory and (non-Jumbo) Tonebenders, tend to be touchy about the input signal. Active basses, probably a bunch of synths, and outputs of buffered pedals, can make them behave poorly. The Dunlop Classic 108 Fuzz is designed to do the Fuzz Face stuff in a buffered context, so that might be worth a go if you want that sound. Some other derivatives are more accommodating, like the ZVex Mastotron with its "Imp" control.

I'm not a big Big Muff fan, but those and derivatives do tend to work better with varied sources.

I love the Muff. NYC, Ram's Head, Russian, IC; I love them all. Try a Muffoid of some flavor.

neonblack wrote:Team Awesome Fuzz Machine. Very versatile. I had one for a bit and sold it to get a specific fuzz I wanted at the time, but I will own one again for sure. Look into it.

I'll second this. It's a great fuzz on literally everything

I don't think tafm is a good start...
Fuzz Factory is cool but you should invest time. Lot of sounds and possibilities.
A big Muff or face face would be my Suggestion. Kill your Idols. Use what you want.

Algal Bloom

The great destroyer was my first fuzz.
I suggest that.

I'm not sure I'd recommend Big Muffs for someone that isn't into hard rock styles, as that's where they seem to shine. I'd do like a lower gain germanium circuit like an old Fuzz Face since it will be creamier and less hard-edged. Maybe you could elaborate a little bit on the kinds of textures you hope to use?

For keyboards/basses/guitars it's harder to recommend something that isn't a Big Muff: they play well with everything.

Oh that's true.

Thanks for all the suggestions / comments. It's helped expand my research process a bit. Also possibly made me a bit more confused...

Mainly because I'm not really entirely sure what I want. I'm looking to expand my sound palette a bit with this. I've realized my pedalboard has very little in the tone shaping department and would like to get some new sounds out of my soundmakers. Not entirely sure of what nature, yet. Do I want a nasty lead or to make big sounds bigger? Is a fuzz better suited for a certain purpose vs an overdrive?

I'm not sure I understand how the different pedals will react with different types in inputs. Is it simply a matter of getting the input volume to be similar? What will it sound like when behaving poorly? Just weaker or more intense or something else entirely?

If you didn't already have a Mini I'd recommend going big for dem cracklefuzztones.

Team Awesome Fuzz Machine does sound amazing on everything.

I might look into Earthquaker. Good place to start imo.

(youtube embed isn't working for me for some reason )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q9cnzgk0V8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujGlqzPFgMA

Nick does a really good job at explaining imo.