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I love fuzz, but I find it hard to use in live settings. While playing by myself at a reasonable volume, everything sounds great, but whenever I turn my amp up to an appropriate volume for band practice/shows, the feedback from my Big Muff Pi is insane, along with my ZVex Fuzz Factory.

I know that micing your cab will help with this, as then you don't have to turn your amp up to the point of feedback, but until then what am I to do?

Also, I have trouble with my fuzz cutting through the rest of the band. You just can't hear me!

Common problems with a muff: because of the midscoop, you'll often disappear in a band.
Try some other fuzz maybe? 4-knob hoof?

Git sum Hyperion!

Mid boosted is a different sound though; sounds a bit like a Vox or Orange, or a fucked up Marshall.

I think part of the problem though is Fletcher Munson, so in theory you won't be getting a mid boosted sound at the end if you do it right. But the actual lack of mids is a bit much in some cases. Really hope my Russian Muff doesn't drop in the mix. Keep in mind though in many ways pedals like the Big Muff are there to create a "Wall around" the mix which it won't do if you start trying to get it to "cut" live.

remedies to your issues often depend on what type of fuzz you have, type of guitar/bass and electronics, and how eq and gain are set on everything...

some fuzzes are much more likely to feedback because of how the gain works... sticking with EHX and my experiences on bass, the Bass Big Muff gives me it's full range of gain with almost no feedback. very usable. the big box Metal Muff is great - nasty, harsh distortofuzz - surprisingly, feedback is very tameable with gain and three-band eq, even with active pickups/electronics. i got an NYC Big Muff Pi reissue once and sold it soon after because of the same issue you have mentioned.

also, like devnulljp said, most big muff type fuzzes scoop the mids and mids are prime in getting good articulation. that saying goes: if you sound great by yourself, you will get buried by the band; if you sound biting and harsh, you will cut your space... something like that... anyway, there is a degree of truth there, especially if the rest of the band is fuzzed out too. during one solo "tone workshop," i sculpted my sound right where i wanted it. the band came in, and after the first song, both guitarist and drummer said they couldn't hear me. i was concerned about harsh mids and highs and had dialed them back earlier by myself. reckon they got dialed back in.

My Vox AC4 essentially sounds like a Big Muff without the mid scoop on higher settings, but a bit more "Overdrivey".

I asked at my local shop and they agreed that Fuzz Factories are not for live use really... He recommended a Red Witch Fuzz God. He says it's more tamable and usable live. Any thoughts?

tune your FF to spitty bright gate fuzz, and feed it into big muff. riffing:FF(bright and cutting) chording:big muff(thick but not overwhelming) soloing:both(thick and cutting). you don't need another similar fuzz IMO.

legoperson813 wrote:I asked at my local shop and they agreed that Fuzz Factories are not for live use really... He recommended a Red Witch Fuzz God. He says it's more tamable and usable live. Any thoughts?

My suggestion: Embrace the feedback. Feedback is good.

I'm being honest, too...

Well, I wish that suggestion was good enough for everyone else... sorry I'm no help... ever!

Well, both of those are known for horrible usage live, not every fuzz is bad live. The big muff has a huge drop in mids, so if you're one of those dudes who keep it on always just crank your mids. Otherwise, send it in for a flat mids mod. Fuzz Factory... Er... That one's not so useful live... or in the studio... But if you like it, you'll probably need to find a good graphic EQ to make it sound acceptable live, and then a looper so you can have both turned on at once.

fuzz factory live:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ6gyYZpbzg[/youtube]

muff live:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhJqKpKqg5I[/youtube]

Fuck the mix.

As much as I love to diss Vexy, Matt Bellamy certainly thinks the FF is usable live. So much so that he has them built into his guitars.

bigchiefbc wrote:As much as I love to diss Vexy, Matt Bellamy certainly thinks the FF is usable live. So much so that he has them built into his guitars.

That's also why they break down a ton....

Could the feedback be a pickup problem too? I probably need to get my humbuckers waxed...

legoperson813 wrote:Could the feedback be a pickup problem too? I probably need to get my humbuckers waxed...

Probably not... Every fuzz will feedback unless it's gated.