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shin ei companion tr-8 fuzz wah vs Ibanez standard fuzz

Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2014 9:27 pm
by JonathanFIII
heey guys i'm new here and I have a question.
I wanna add a superfuzz pedal to my board and these two units are for sale in my country.
both in great condition and both are in the same price range [ibanez one is a bit more expensive]
So I know that shin ei builded pedals for a lot of brands but I would like to know if these two units are much alike or different circuits.
If they are different, can anybody tell me what those differences are/

thanks a lot,

-John

Re: shin ei companion tr-8 fuzz wah vs Ibanez standard fuzz

Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2014 10:28 pm
by digi2t
The Shin ei's fuzz circuit is similar to the Ibanez, except the Ibanez first stage is a fet, whereas the Shin-ei is all transistors. I find the Ibanez a bit less splatty versus the Shin-ei, with more definition. The Shin-ei's fuzz generally packs a bit more bite, with a touch more top end. I must add though, this does tend to vary, since slight variations in transistors will alter the character of either pedal somewhat.
As for the Shin-ei's wah, it tends to be a love hate thing. You either love it... or down right hate it. On it's own, it's not that expressive. Quite dull really. Combined with the fuzz, it can be OK, but again, it's no 535Q, and in the long run, can be somewhat limiting.

Personally, I would go with the Ibanez, and then look for a good wah to pair it with. The wah can always be used with other pedals in a chain, and the Ibanez tends to stand pretty well on it's own if need be.

Re: shin ei companion tr-8 fuzz wah vs Ibanez standard fuzz

Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2014 8:36 am
by Ben79
I've owned several of both original models and I agree with Digi2t - the Ibanez is a more focussed sound; very aggressive but not as clangy and noisy. It has more 'FZZZAAAAIRNG' compared to the FY6's 'FSSSCHZZAAIIING'......if that makes sense to anyone :facepalm: I've noticed more variation between the Ibanez circuits than the Shin-eis.

The Ibanez was built by Maxon, not as is often thought, by Shin-ei.

I don't think anyone buys these for the wah but I find them perfectly decent, usable wahs (both the 8TR and the Wau Fuzz).

I don't think you'll be disappointed with either, they're great pedals...the FY6 is what got me into fuzz in the first place.

Re: shin ei companion tr-8 fuzz wah vs Ibanez standard fuzz

Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2014 11:37 am
by JonathanFIII
Thanks guys, I think i'm going with the shin ei fuzz wah. it's a bit cheaper and I look at the wah as a bonus feature.
I may or may not like it, i'm more interested in the fuzz feature.
I like the sound of the standard fuzz but I hear also a lot of spitty splatter fuzz tones from this unit on certain yt demo's
but thanks! I appreciate it.

Re: shin ei companion tr-8 fuzz wah vs Ibanez standard fuzz

Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2014 4:42 am
by Gracehoper
I've had both but ended up selling the fuzz wah. The mid boost tone setting was a lot better on the Ibanez and overall the Ibanez just... I dunno, made its purpose clearer? The fuzz wah was sorta: "You like Jesus and Mary Chain? Alright, I guess I can kinda do that" while the Ibanez was all: "We're doing Psychocandy and we're doing it right f***ing now!"