The official forum for all things Joe Bonamassa, guitars and blues music
You are not logged in. Please login or register.
Joe Bonamassa Forum → Joe's Guitars, Amps and Gear → Whats the best fuzz pedal out there?
I'm feeling fuzzy as I write this in hopes to find the perfect fuzzzzzz. Fulltone makes a couple and has discontinued a couple as well that I hear are bad ****. I like the 69' but Geranium is expensive now days. They also just quite making the 70' but you can still find them cheap enough. They do have a octivefuzz that doubles as both octive and fuzz seperately which would be cool. Ben I need you on this one pal you always have the ear for things.
I've heard the Fulltone Catalyst is really good.... I have my 69' and I do love it but sometimes its just a #@$@# to get it to sound good.... I wish there was a fuzz like the 69 but which was more reliable in the sound department? or maybe its because I'm running it using batteries....
I have owned many fuzzes, as there is no shortage of them out there. The only two that stayed are the Fulltone Soul Bender and the Seymour Duncan Tweak Fuzz. If the output of the SD was a bit higher it would be my favorite.
Swollen Pickle ;-)
Funny name, but a great Fuzz pedal.
I really like the Fuzz Face by Dallas-Arbiter. It's the classic Hendrix tone. Its rugged and reliable on the road. It has the same specs and design as the original Germanium vintage pedal. Try one out.
My favorite fuzz is a Tone Bender. I have a JMI MkII thats awesome. There are so many fuzz's, but what I think the problem with most of todays pedal makers that make fuzz pedals, its just a cheap fuzz box, there isn't any clarity in the note because its masked behind a wall of fuzz (more fuzz noise instead of a note that has some chubby on it). The 2 brands that seem to do it right are JMI (favorite ever) and Color Sound. JMI makes a few different fuzz's and Color Sound makes some new Tone Benders that are good. Be prepared to spend money with these though. Less expensive you can try the Throbak stuff. I know he makes quality stuff, but I never tried them. I think Page has a Stone Bender on his board now. I'm picky about fuzz pedals, but I don't know a whole lot about them... More or less I found out that Page used Tone Benders and I always wanted that Tone Bender sound on How the West Was Won Disc 1 DVD so I just went straight for the JMI Ri (more like NOS) and never looked back. I think they are hands down the best you can get. I wish JMI would make a 3 knob Tone Bender... I'd be all over that.
http://www.pedalgeek.com/cgi-bin/new_sh … d=link--tb
http://www.jmiamplification.com/
Pedal Geek has very few JMI things left, its just not posted on their site.
Ben
PS - I have JMI's Ri of the "box" Rangemaster too - its glorious... who knows I'll probably end up buying one of everything from them lol.
O just got a germanium ox fuzz last week and I love it. It sounds great with my micro vibe! It cleans up really well as long as it is first in line. I just picked up one of the new mxr 108 classic fuzzes with the switchable buffer on ebay yesterday at a great price. The same as the hendrix fuzz face they are doing but with a few tweaks. There is a guy in the UK Dennis Cornell (made amps for clapton) who does a pedal called the 1st fuzz. This guy was involved in the originals back in the day. They would be worth checking out.
If you are after hendrixy type sounds you can;t really go wrong with the dunlop fuzz face reissue. Red or the hendrix one. Do a quick search on youtube for a guy called vintagetom (all one word) and hear the hendrix sounds he gets. Proof that you don't need the most expensive gear and that most of it is in the hands.
Fuzzblues.
AH I was going to bid on that Classic 108 you got it for like $50 didn't you? I was having married life issues to tend with and forgot all about that pedal. Let me know what you think about it.
O just got a germanium ox fuzz last week and I love it. It sounds great with my micro vibe! It cleans up really well as long as it is first in line. I just picked up one of the new mxr 108 classic fuzzes with the switchable buffer on ebay yesterday at a great price. The same as the hendrix fuzz face they are doing but with a few tweaks. There is a guy in the UK Dennis Cornell (made amps for clapton) who does a pedal called the 1st fuzz. This guy was involved in the originals back in the day. They would be worth checking out.
If you are after hendrixy type sounds you can;t really go wrong with the dunlop fuzz face reissue. Red or the hendrix one. Do a quick search on youtube for a guy called vintagetom (all one word) and hear the hendrix sounds he gets. Proof that you don't need the most expensive gear and that most of it is in the hands.
Fuzzblues.
I'll always recommend the Hendrix Fuzz if that's the type of fuzz you're after...
AH I was going to bid on that Classic 108 you got it for like $50 didn't you? I was having married life issues to tend with and forgot all about that pedal. Let me know what you think about it.
Fuzzblues wrote:O just got a germanium ox fuzz last week and I love it. It sounds great with my micro vibe! It cleans up really well as long as it is first in line. I just picked up one of the new mxr 108 classic fuzzes with the switchable buffer on ebay yesterday at a great price. The same as the hendrix fuzz face they are doing but with a few tweaks. There is a guy in the UK Dennis Cornell (made amps for clapton) who does a pedal called the 1st fuzz. This guy was involved in the originals back in the day. They would be worth checking out.
If you are after hendrixy type sounds you can;t really go wrong with the dunlop fuzz face reissue. Red or the hendrix one. Do a quick search on youtube for a guy called vintagetom (all one word) and hear the hendrix sounds he gets. Proof that you don't need the most expensive gear and that most of it is in the hands.
Fuzzblues.
Just got the MXR this mornign and fired it up for a quick 10 minute blast. start - fuzz - amp and got a great tone. Fuzz all the way and volume at 3. prefer it without the buffer engaged but will see when I hook my wah up. Selected the neck pickup and rolled the volume back on the guitar a touch. Cleans up nicely and instant philip sayce type sound! A bargain at £65. Good Ol Ebay!
the fulltone catalyst has worked good for me. it blends well into the od channel for that kick to thicken things up. i also like the mjm london fuzz germanium. the mjm 2 knob brit bender is germanium & bright, but just use the tone control on the guitar. i do want to find the jmi--the clips of it sound very good 
I'm no fuzz expert but these can be some of the most fussy and personal pedals out there. One pedal in someone else's rig can sound fantastic while in another rig sound like total garbage. Cables, amps, buffers, adapters, batteries, guitars, volumes, and EQ settings all play a major role in how each individual fuzz performs. I own the Fulltone Octafuzz, Fulltone Catalyst, and an old UK Arbiter England Fuzzface. I like them all for different guitars, amps, rigs, etc. The most tweakable is the Catalyst and would probably work well in most rigs. It really seems to stack well with overdrives or in front of Master Volume amps. My Fuzzface and Octafuzz like my non-MV amps better. The Octafuzz is very early '70s Hendrix with tons of fuzz on tap. The Dunlop Hendrix fuzzes are very nice from what I hear and are similar to Hendrix's older tone. I'd love to try a Tonebender type fuzz as well as get my hands on some of the nicer boutique fuzzes too.
Anybody heard of Barber Trivecta Fuzz? Gearmanndude on youtube demoed one and it looks pretty sweet. Also like what I heard from Analog Man Astro Tone.
Cornell 1st Fuzz. Excellent tone and build quality. Denis Cornell uses original stock NKT-275 germanium Transistors and he should know his way around Fuzz Face pedals as he used to build them at Dallas-Arbiter in the sixties. These are basically the same circuit in a new shiny metal box. I've got two of em 
Fuzz Face is THE one in my book- if you can find a good one (as they differ so much) then that's the Eric Johnson / Jimi Hendrix tones right there... I have several and they all sound slightly different... I prefer the BC108 silicon version - more gain, sustain and downright NASTY!!! Also the trick with 'em is to send an already cooking amp into meltdown...
I've had a dunlop Fuzz Face and really wasn't impressed or blown away by it. They charge a awful lot of money for those when you could get into a handwired job for about $50 more. I'm convinced Fuzz Face isn't in my future. I also had a Big Muff PI from america and it was worlds better. I guess I'm looking for a more focused Fuzz thats a bit more predictable then the Fuzz Face. Fuzz can get muddy quick and I want the fuzz power but with more clarity. Think David Gillmoure. When He Fuzzed up you could always hear every note of a chord with power and clarity. Fuzz Faces only sounded good to my ear when you really cranked them and then having a Big Muff next to it I found that Fuzz Faces sound thin too, at least mine did.
I am a bit of a Fuzz head....
The king of all fuzzes to me is the original 73-75 EH Big Muff Ram's Head. Get a good one (they're very variable) and they're heaven. Think Gilmour in a box. Nothing but nothing comes close to that wall of sound. Be warned- loads of messing needed as the controls are very interactive with each other. Do not be fooled- the newer Big Muffs are awful in comparison. It's like comparing instant coffee to freshly ground. You'll get a ram on ebay for $500 or so.
For gigging, I use a Pete Cornish P2- which is Pete's take on a Ram. It's built like a tank and is as sweet as a nut. I am very good buddies with Reeves Gabrels and he drools over my P2! And boy oh boy, that guy can play. My Ram is a tad delicate for the road. However, pls note the P2 is over $700 but worth every penny!
I also love the very first edition Sovtek Muffs- known as Civil Wars. Again, loads of Gilmour heritage- he used one on Pulse- it's not as powerful as a Ram- smoother. Again $500 or so on Ebay, but the in/out jacks are soldered directly to the pcb which can cause a lot of problems.
David G had 2 muffs/fuzzes on his On an Island Tour- the P2 and the Ram's Head - go figure!!
And- the fall back pedal- for bang for bucks a LM308 chipped ProCo Rat is a sweet, sweet pedal. I think they're reissuing them now. I highly recommend them. Must be the BC108 model- you need to look inside.
Last but by no means least- the BYOC Large Beaver is awesome too- but you need to solder it yourself and the Skreddys are fabulous but totally overpriced on the 2nd hand market.
Joe Bonamassa Forum → Joe's Guitars, Amps and Gear → Whats the best fuzz pedal out there?
Powered by PunBB, supported by Informer Technologies, Inc.
Currently installed 2 official extensions. Copyright © 2003–2009 PunBB.