Fuzz (..and other animals) recommendations

Bellycaster

Suhr Rufus, I'm selling one

Seriously check out demos though, I have the MK1.

SunDevil

Right then ..Germanium fuzz face isn't quite hitting the mark..

With the amp wound up to compress (7-8), the fuzz on 10 and a Strat rolled back to 3-4, I can get some of what I'm after - ie a touch of dynamic hair on what is otherwise a clean sound - but played like this, the amp's background hiss is pretty annoying

With the amp at a more user friendly volume (4-5), the fuzz is giving me full on fuzz with guitar volume on 10 and turning the guitar down to 9 is quite literally a buzz-kill (ie 2nd transistor is switching off)

Turn down the fuzz control on the Fuzz (attempting to get a more gradual taper) and it looses all of the high end

So.. what I'm looking for is a pedal that I can leave on at a setting and that will allow me to ride guitar volume, so at 10 I'm getting a dumbly type of lead tone and that cleans up to the amps tone once I get down to 7 - 5

Basically how I'd use the amp at stage volumes (ie with amp on 7-8 rather than 4-5)

Does such a pedal exist? ..doesn't need to be a fuzz, but it does need those dynamic characteristics and preferably cost less than an amp! ;-)

..yep, I can attenuate, but I really don't get on with the attenuated tones with 6L6s and other beam or kinked tetrodes (although they rock for pentodes)

Klon type-thing? (no experience with 'em)

Baz

soma1975

Run the fuzz face intro a drive pedal that gives your amp the compression/gain characteristics it needs at the volume levels you need.

A bunch of fuzz faces have an input gain trimmer to set the max input gain - the equivalent of turning your guitar down to 9 to so can not have to deal with the fluffy woolly tone when full up - also good for using humbuckers. 

For the record I don't feel the Dunlop germanium fuzz face is very good but it should at least be a ballpark for the tones you are hunting. 

SunDevil

Thanks @soma1975 ;

Genuine Question - I know zip about pedals ..If I can find a drive pedal with the right compression / gain character (as you say) then what does the Fuzz give me over an above that?

soma1975

SunDevil said:

Thanks @soma1975 ;

Genuine Question - I know zip about pedals ..If I can find a drive pedal with the right compression / gain character (as you say) then what does the Fuzz give me over an above that?

Basically you're using the drive pedal as you'd have your amp but at a lower volume, then on top you get the glorious sound (and cleanup) of a fuzz face, which is very different from most regular overdrive tones. 

For cheap something like a Caline Pure Sky which is a Timmy Clone. Fairly transparent with good eq 

Moe_Zambeek

Being honest I don't really like the FF minis i've tried either. They don't have the clean up of other FFs I have used nor enough gain. But they are variable unit to unit and rig to rig, like all fuzzes.

I also don't really like Ge FFs either as they get too woofy at full fuzz and don't have enough gain either. Actually come to think of it I just don't like FFs other than for that little bit of clean sparkle you can get with them rolled down a bit.

You say:
"what I'm looking for is a pedal that I can leave on at a setting and that will allow me to ride guitar volume, so at 10 I'm getting a dumbly type of lead tone and that cleans up to the amps tone once I get down to 7 - 5"

Why not get a pedal that sounds like a dumble when on, then switch it off if you want your amps tone? that's a whole different ballgame from fuzz though. In fact in my head Dumble-tone is almost an anti-fuzz sound. Compressed, controlled, smooth, edgeless. Not a bad thing but different to fuzz.

monquixote

Moe_Zambeek said:

Being honest I don't really like the FF minis i've tried either. They don't have the clean up of other FFs I have used nor enough gain. But they are variable unit to unit and rig to rig, like all fuzzes.

I also don't really like Ge FFs either as they get too woofy at full fuzz and don't have enough gain either. Actually come to think of it I just don't like FFs other than for that little bit of clean sparkle you can get with them rolled down a bit.

You say:
"what I'm looking for is a pedal that I can leave on at a setting and that will allow me to ride guitar volume, so at 10 I'm getting a dumbly type of lead tone and that cleans up to the amps tone once I get down to 7 - 5"

Why not get a pedal that sounds like a dumble when on, then switch it off if you want your amps tone? that's a whole different ballgame from fuzz though. In fact in my head Dumble-tone is almost an anti-fuzz sound. Compressed, controlled, smooth, edgeless. Not a bad thing but different to fuzz.

Yeah, I'd agree with all of that.

I don't like Germanium Fuzz Faces either (Jimmi used a silicon one I believe) the Silicon ones are far less mushy and have a more cutting sound which I prefer.

If you want more of a Dumble sort of a sound into a Fender then you probably want something more like a: Timmy, Zen Drive, ODR-1, or one of the stacks of clones out there.

soma1975

Jimi used Germanium until Silicon came out. So Monterey = Ge and Band of Gypsies = Si. He got iconic tones with both. I have fun with both. Generalisation but SI tends to cut more. Ge tends to be fatter.

Check out the tones (both Ge and Si) Emerson Swinford gets in this demo and see/hear how he sets his amp up. 

soma1975

Also agree a Dumble tone is sort of the anti FF tone except they can both get a bit compressed. 

SunDevil

Thanks Gents - appreciate the info and suggestions

I'm used to going straight into the amp old school style (only not doing so on this occasion due to the buzzy-ness I always get attenuating 6L6s) 

So I'm used to breakup and overdrive coming in gradually over a range rather than having a 'quantised' clean / dirty setup and really looking to replicate that as much as poss, but still get something recognisably Blackface Fender

Maybe I should just dime the crap out of it and where some cans Johan Segeborn style and fek the neighbours? 

soma1975

I say it every time he is mentioned but while I really love Johan Segeborn's videos, he absolutely 100% has a sex dungeon in his house. He looks like every single sex tourist you ever see when abroad.  

soma1975

SunDevil said:

Thanks Gents - appreciate the info and suggestions

I'm used to going straight into the amp old school style (only not doing so on this occasion due to the buzzy-ness I always get attenuating 6L6s) 

So I'm used to breakup and overdrive coming in gradually over a range rather than having a 'quantised' clean / dirty setup and really looking to replicate that as much as poss, but still get something recognisably Blackface Fender

Maybe I should just dime the crap out of it and where some cans Johan Segeborn style and fek the neighbours? 

I'll add that I pretty much have my FF on all the time and run clean to crazy all on the strat volume control. 

LastMantra

Imo fuzz face pedals sound best with the controls maxed into a dirty amp. On their own they don't have much balls. 

Moe_Zambeek

I think we're into overdrive territory now then - maybe something dual-stage, maybe FET-based? Even a dual-stage TS might work too (heresy I know). All the dumble-y things mentioned above as well.

soma1975

LastMantra said:

Imo fuzz face pedals sound best with the controls maxed into a dirty amp. On their own they don't have much balls. 

Amp definitely needs to be cooking a bit as per the video i posted doesn't need to be distorted, just compressing slightly. 

SunDevil

Cheap Timmy clone incoming ..will report back to base

Thanks again all for the input - really appreciated!

soma1975

Excellent. Report back. 

SunDevil

So.. Timmy style pedals are definitely getting me in the ballpark..

First up was a £25 Caline Pure Sky from Amazon - pretty good dynamics and a tone I really like / extension of the amp ..only downside of it, is that it it negatively flattens out the straight guitar tone when not switched on

..onto something here, so how about another pedal with similar circuit, but with a true bypass?

Pedal No 2 then, is an MXR Timmy Mini - bypass tone is now back to normal and a tad more definition (less mids / less compression, but  a bit less dynamic?) when engaged 

But here’s the thing ..I think I prefer the tone of the Caline ..if that bypassed properly, it would be the clear winner at this point

 ..but I reckon the MXR would sit in a mix better 

..more testing needed, but at £25, the Caline is staying regardless

monquixote

SunDevil said:

So.. Timmy style pedals are definitely getting me in the ballpark..

First up was a £25 Caline Pure Sky from Amazon - pretty good dynamics and a tone I really like / extension of the amp ..only downside of it, is that it it negatively flattens out the straight guitar tone when not switched on

..onto something here, so how about another pedal with similar circuit, but with a true bypass?

Pedal No 2 then, is an MXR Timmy Mini - bypass tone is now back to normal and a tad more definition (less mids / less compression, but  a bit less dynamic?) when engaged 

But here’s the thing ..I think I prefer the tone of the Caline ..if that bypassed properly, it would be the clear winner at this point

 ..but I reckon the MXR would sit in a mix better 

..more testing needed, but at £25, the Caline is staying regardless

I found that too

I sold my MXR Timmy and kept a cheap clone.

Try a Nobels ODR or Wampler Belle.

Dave_Mc

SunDevil said:

But here’s the thing ..I think I prefer the tone of the Caline ..if that bypassed properly, it would be the clear winner at this point

true bypass looper?