NFD (New Fuzz Day) - Maxon Fuzz Elements Fire

Bucket

This arrived today:

http://i1022.photobucket.com/albums/af347/ConnorF1995/Maxon Fire/DSCF1762_zps22885dc3.jpg

Hmmm... well, without further ado, let's get it opened up:

http://i1022.photobucket.com/albums/af347/ConnorF1995/Maxon Fire/DSCF1765_zpsa7906816.jpg

A lot of hacking and slashing later, the box is open and most of it is full of air - but what's that black box in the corner?

http://i1022.photobucket.com/albums/af347/ConnorF1995/Maxon Fire/DSCF1767_zps9c664b90.jpg

Got that box opened up and found this little thing inside:

http://i1022.photobucket.com/albums/af347/ConnorF1995/Maxon Fire/DSCF1768_zps7bf17910.jpg

Then I took it out of the plastic bag:

http://i1022.photobucket.com/albums/af347/ConnorF1995/Maxon Fire/DSCF1769_zpsb6fc80f1.jpg

Plugged it in, and fired it up.

It's good!

Seems really well built. And there's a psychotic amount of gain available, and a lot of tonal variation. As you may know, it's based on the Roland Bee Baa fuzz circuit from the early 70s, but in a much smaller enclosure, with the convenience of a 9v socket. The "Notch" footswitch changes the tone abruptly from a mid-boosted, thick fuzz sound to a very scooped, bottom-heavy grind. That mode is more usable than I suspected it would be, although it never sounds as good as the other setting. No matter what mode it's on, it sustains for days with the gain cranked - and when you hold a high note, it blooms into a lovely upper-octave sound. I haven't had a proper play with it yet, my sister is downstairs revising for GCSEs so I can't be making too much noise. But from my quick test, a couple of concerns I do have:

1) Those footswitches are pretty close together. It remains to be seen whether this will be a pain in the arse.

2) It's not actually very loud. I've set it with the volume absolutely cranked and it still feels like there's a little bit of a volume drop when I kick the pedal in from clean. It may be something wrong with my individual example (it was a B-stock item from Thomann) or just a quirk of the circuit, but it might be a problem. I wonder if there are modifications you can do to get more output from it.

I'll report further once I've spent more time with it.

impmann

You may just find its like a lot of Fuzzes... they don't have the volume boost built in like most Distortion/OD pedals. For example a real FuzzFace doesn't have the same output as your guitar unless the volume is at around 90% (IIRC) of the sweep.

Need a volume boost? Stack it with a booster - such as a Colorsound OD/Powerdriver. Gilmour knows best. ;-)

Bucket

impmann said:

You may just find its like a lot of Fuzzes... they don't have the volume boost built in like most Distortion/OD pedals. For example a real FuzzFace doesn't have the same output as your guitar unless the volume is at around 90% (IIRC) of the sweep.

Need a volume boost? Stack it with a booster - such as a Colorsound OD/Powerdriver. Gilmour knows best. ;-)

I've got it next to my compressor on the board but that doesn't really boost it. Maybe if I dialled in more volume on the compressor?

Dave_Mc

Nice

mark_jwedge

Have a word with @Forge effects. He has a crazy amount of fuzz know how and may be able to help with a mod for more output. I would be happy to vouch for the quality of his work! Top drawer!

Bucket

mark_jwedge said:

Have a word with @Forge effects. He has a crazy amount of fuzz know how and may be able to help with a mod for more output. I would be happy to vouch for the quality of his work! Top drawer!

Thanks From what I can tell so far I really like the sound, so I probably won't be taking advantage of Thomann's 30-day money-back returns thing. I suppose I could set about voiding the warranty soon enough

Really I just want a mod that will give me a shedload more output without changing the sound or compromising the reliability of the pedal. The level it's currently at with the volume all the way up is where I'd like it to be when the knob is halfway up, I want it to be able to blow my bleedin' head off every time I turn it on.

I suppose I've been spoilt somewhat by my Rainger fuzz, which is loud enough to wake the dead.

Forge

Nice one, I did not know Maxon had a bee baa clone out. The lack of output I recall from owning the Black Cat Bee Buzz, unity gain is definitely higher than you would find it on a Fuzz Face.

Bucket

Forge said:

Nice one, I did not know Maxon had a bee baa clone out. The lack of output I recall from owning the Black Cat Bee Buzz, unity gain is definitely higher than you would find it on a Fuzz Face.

@Forge Is there anything you'd think of that could be done to improve output then?

Forge

Hard to say without the schematics, have you tried a boost before and after? That would be the easy way to solve this.

Bucket

Would that I had a schematic... and a boost

Having played with it some more, the volume is just about alright when absolutely cranked (totally disappears in the scooped Notch mode, but I expected that)... I've backed the tone right off which seems to give me the most mids, and means I perceive it as being louder. What a fantastic tone as well, it really is brilliant. So now I have the gain and volume both dimed and the tone rolled totally off

Kicking in my overdrive afterwards gives me a big volume boost but does nasty things to the tone, I never like the sound of a fuzz followed by an OD. For want of a better phrase, it makes everything very woolly and actually kills sustain instead of adding more.

It's on my small pedalboard. How would I compare it to my Rainger Son of Freakenstein which currently sits on my big board? (This may be of interest to @ThePrettyDamned)... well as expected, it's a lot more vintage-sounding and not as mad. It's still pretty wild, but it isn't as wilfully over-the-top as the SOF. Even with the gain at 100% it isn't as dirty, but it does sustain longer - the Freakenstein has a built-in noise gate, which cuts in quite aggressively when the signal dips below a certain level. That's a cool sound, and as a bonus means that the Rainger is totally silent when you're not playing (the Maxon isn't noisy btw), but it means long notes don't always work. The Maxon obviously doesn't have that, so the notes ring out a lot more. And I can't get enough of the higher octave that comes out with long-held single notes. It's not that overt but you definitely notice it - it seems to swell in volume as the octave fades in, like controlled feedback. Lovely.

And I haven't hit the wrong footswitch yet.

Forge

I had the full blown Rainger with the Igor expression pedal...whacky to the extreme but fantastic! Thanks for the great review, I'll have to build a bee baa now.

monquixote

Get some video up!

stonevibe

Shove an SHO in front (or after) of it. They usually kick a fuzz up a notch or two. 

Personally I abuse fuzz boxes with boosts all the time and they are all a little different, you have to experiment.

I find compression just rounds out a signal and levels it, whereas a boost in mids and treble can really push a fuzz box more. You have to experiment with where you place them in the chain though.

Bucket

I'd like to try a boost but my small board is pretty tight for space, I doubt I could fit one on!

I've rewired my board so the overdrive now comes before the fuzz. I shall report on my findings in due course (ie when my mum and sister aren't trying to get to sleep).

Bucket

So having the fuzz after the overdrive sounds REALLY fucking good. Brings out the treble, adds more gain and a touch more volume.

And introduces background noise similar to that of a plane taking off, but I'll live with that.

ThePrettyDamned

Sounds like freakenstein is more for me.

I've been using a fuzz pedal with a boost after recently (that's a clean boost, not od which sounds like bum). It works great - I'll see if I can find out what the circuit it for you, but it's just a single knob so possibly a super hard on type?

Bucket

An update.

I've struggled with the volume issue for a while now, but last night and today I've had the opportunity to play the Maxon through some different amps and it's MUCH louder, for whatever reason. I'm currently borrowing my dad's mate's Mesa Mark IV and when I plugged it in through that, even at bedroom volume, it damn near took my head off. I can get a properly useful volume lift out of it now, which is great. And the tone. Fuck me, what a sound.

The issue being that the only amp it seems to misbehave through is the one that actually belongs to me. Bugger It really is significantly quieter through my Blackstar than it is through the other three or four amps I've tried it through, all of which enabled me to get a significant lift out of the fuzz. I have no idea why, none of my other pedals (including my other fuzz) have this problem with the amp.

Anyway, good to know the pedal isn't faulty.

Why the hell would it only be quiet through my own amp though? Any tech-savvy folks able to explain?

Dave_Mc

Bucket said:

The issue being that the only amp it seems to misbehave through is the one that actually belongs to me. Bugger

)

Which Blackstar is it?

Bucket

Dave_Mc said:

Bucket said:

The issue being that the only amp it seems to misbehave through is the one that actually belongs to me. Bugger

)

Which Blackstar is it?

HT Club 40.

Dave_Mc

ICBM or someone like that will know more than me (so basically wait and listen to him). I wonder is it because it's hybrid, maybe the fuzz doesn't like going into an SS input stage or something like that? I dunno.

Bucket

Ok, any ideas @ICBM?