Guidance on Choosing A Fuzz Pedal!

KareemMonzer

Hello!

So I've decided to buy my first fuzz pedal and t be honest, I'm extremely unexperienced with the varieties of fuzz pedals (although I play a lot of metal). My inspiration to buy a fuzz pedal is mainly from guys like Hendrix (where he rolls down the volume while using the fuzz face) and Gilmour (soloing). But I'm also looking for a fuzz pedal that can also do some Zeppelin and Sabbath (to which I think is just a normal fuzz).

I've seen online that one of the best for Gilmour stuff is either the standard big muff or the green russian. For hendrix, I'm assuming any variation of the fuzz face or Dunlop's "Authentic Hendrix" should put me in the right tonal direction for his sound. I'd really appreciate if any of you could advise me on any fuzz pedal that could suit my needs.

Also, there's a fuzz pedal that I've been seeing on instagram pages recently; its the AC Noises Esplora. Does anyone have any experience with it? If so, could it cover the bases I'm looking for?

Thanks in advance!

Winny_Pooh

The Hendrix tone only works into a loud Marshall IMO, into a clean setup your fuzz face will sound raspy, nothing like what you expect.

Similarly with Gilmour there is a pedal and signal chain that smooths the edges off and takes alot of work to duplicate.

If you want a Gilmour lead tone then get a Skreddy Lunar Module, brilliant. Smooth and fat. 

For something more riffy (where the top end is raspy but has low end crunch) try the Suhr Rufus (one in the classifieds) for higher gain. Its fairly controlled.
Or for more vintage-y any one of the boutique fuzz faces. 

For lower gain riffing try something like a Hudson Broadcast or Harmonic Percolator clone (Catalinbread karma suture/frederic effects http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/149712/fs-fredric-effects-utility-perkolator-and-deeply-unpleasant-companion-last-of-their-kind-sale#latest ).


For something more messy like White Stripes or Black Keys get a Fuzz Factory or Shin-e fy2 (Frederic effects)

MattBanshee

Check out the new Triangle Big Muff reissue. It'll probably do Gilmour better than the others, and is likely to be the closest muff to a Hendrix sound too.

Fishboy7

Earthquaker devices hoof reaper covers a lot of bases and includes octave .

Moe_Zambeek

Fuzz is a minefield. I like plenty of gain (usually rules out standard fuzz faces) and I like plenty of cut and not too smooth (rules out most muffs) but not ear-piercing treble (rules out the Carcosa). I generally like a tone control of sorts and some interaction with the volume knob.

If I was recommending a do-it-all starting place for fuzz I’d say start with a Zvex Mastotron. 

EricTheWeary

I’m it sure there was ever any fuzz in Sabbath, not that much in Led Zep either I think. Although yes they certainly sound fuzzy at times. 

I’m not sure I’ve ever quite figured out fuzz. It also tends to be amp dependent and vintage styles will need to be first in your pedal board chain. Something modern with a level of EQ is probably a good idea otherwise it can just disappear in a mix. The Magnetic Effects White Atom gets a lot of love on here as a versatile fuzz without some of the quirks of vintage designs

http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/123104/magnetic-effects-white-atom-fuzz

EricTheWeary

...and FWIW I have one of these, partly as it cleans up well which is not true of all fuzzes and it’s also modern, no fuss like the White Atom.

https://youtu.be/DcWzGkh6vOo

White Atom:

https://youtu.be/0UKrW_whUl8

soma1975

Get a fuzz face. Seriously. If your main reference is Hendrix just get a Fuzz Face and go from there. Nothing else quite does what it does, and yet it can get almost muffy, almost tonebendery etc. 

rico

Black arts toneworks do some great muffins style fuzzes

Corvus

If the amp doesn't dirty up a fuzzface type can work well into a Marshally-sounding pedal; though not all work great at that.
As above Lunar Module is a great fuzz-face type pedal that works into clean amps. There's other good sounds in there too.

If you wanted a ticket to Planet Muff without breaking the bank there's someone who sells a range of types on ebay, I got a Black Russian to try out as a flavour and it's very good. Cost £25. OtalgiaFX is the name.

Re which Muff in particular I think DG boosted Muffs or ran them into other dirt, and probably had more of them than Ron Jeremy.

tone1

soma1975 said:

Get a fuzz face. Seriously. If your main reference is Hendrix just get a Fuzz Face and go from there. Nothing else quite does what it does, and yet it can get almost muffy, almost tonebendery etc. 

Tis true... I’ve just got  a Cornell Fuzz face and have been A/B with a muff... Fuzz face cleans up better and does a good enough Muff impression... I’ve never tried a Tonebender though 

lukedlb

Thorpy veteran silicon. It does fuzzface, of course but there’s so much more under the hood. Fantastic overdrive. And there’s the treble booster side too. 
All I play is Hendrix and the veteran covers his silicon years well. 

soma1975

tone1 said:

soma1975 said:

Get a fuzz face. Seriously. If your main reference is Hendrix just get a Fuzz Face and go from there. Nothing else quite does what it does, and yet it can get almost muffy, almost tonebendery etc. 

Tis true... I’ve just got  a Cornell Fuzz face and have been A/B with a muff... Fuzz face cleans up better and does a good enough Muff impression... I’ve never tried a Tonebender though 

Tonebenders are related to fuzz faces but a lot more aggressive and without the sparkly clean up clean you get with a fuzz face rolled down. A great sound but for me don't really do the Hendrix thing. 

JD50

I'd recommend the Deluxe Big Muff, very tweakable does Muff and beyond , also cheaper than anything else with all the features.

builttospill

Seriously! buy a used Boss FZ-2 two modes of fuzz madness and a great clean boost 

builttospill

https://youtu.be/Ssr_a9atxzU

The grin on Andy’s face made me buy this

Th4fonz

Ive been looking at fuzzs also   What about one of these.

King tone Mini fuzz

NorthernStomps

I seem to spend my life recommending the Magnetic Effects Black Moon at the min. Ive got a couple in stock and one on my personal board and it sounds great. Based on a fuzz dace but sooooo much more flexible!

crunchman

How have we got this far without anyone mentioning the Thorpy Fallout cloud?  It's a great pedal.  Maybe not so much for the Hendrix type stuff, but a great Muff inspired pedal.

Sassafras

Fuzz Factory.
With a bit of patience and determination you can get it to sound like most of the different fuzz types. Not much good for adjusting on the fly since the controls are very sensitive but it's a lot of fun.

TateFX

It's a very hard question to answer I think I've got over 10 fuzzes at last count. 

It sounds like you're after a modern take on the Fuzz face really, Id suggest the ThorpyFX Veteran and the Magnetic Effects Black Moon. 

The new EHX reissues series gets an honourable mention.