Adrian Utley Portishead fuzz

JJ72

I'm after a fuzz pedal (preferably under £100) that will give me the Utley Portishead sounds on Glory box, Over etc solos. 
Ive never owned a fuzz pedal so would appreciate any recommendations .
I believe Adrian uses a fuzz face clone but not 100% on this.
I have been looking at a zvex fuzz factory clone,  they sound great in demos but believe these can be quite hard to tame?

robinbowes

JJ72

Interesting....im not on instagram so haven't seen this pic, thanks for posting it
Something in the tonebender or fuzz face realm would be the way to go by the looks of things

robinbowes

Glory box was a fuzz face with a Rat, apparently.

JJ72

Yeah, just scrolled down the Instagram comments and the man himself said fuzz face and rat.
Great help thank you

EricTheWeary

Probably just stating the obvious but I watched an interview with Adrian and he said he had a wah on for a lot of the Dummy album, he’s using a wah in the Glory Box video so that’s part of getting that quite focussed sound.

Edit: the live version versions on YouTube are real wah fests. 

gatheredinsong

I wish I still had my Double Beat 

Supportact

@JJ72 thanks for posting this, I love Adrian Uttley and those Portishead lead sounds in particular. I think he's a great player. 

I've not tried to nail his tone exactly but I have recently been experimenting with wah into fuzz (namely Thorpyfx Veteran, Tacit Blue, and Greer Black Fuzz). It's great fun, but bear in mind if you put the wah first it can cause problems with the fuzz sound due to the wrong impedance for the pedal. In my case I ended up putting a buffered pedal (boost) between the two which isn't a perfect solution but does help. You can also get a wah with a buffer built in but I've not got one of them. I'm not totally sure of the science behind it all but you might find you have to experiment a bit to get it to sound good.

Anyway I'll be interested in what you get and any insights into getting that sound. 

JJ72

Thanks @Supportact .
Since my initial post. I've actually been looking at the thorpyfx fuzzes ( mainly the field marshal).
How are you liking the tacit blue? Would that be a good direction for my needs?

Supportact

I really like the Tacit Blue, it's one of those pedals that's quite inspiring to play for whatever reason. I believe it's based on a Fuzz Face but with various modifications, so I suppose it would be in the right area if that's what you're aiming for. I've never tried the Field Marshall. 

That said there are cheaper options if you're just wanting to dip your toe in to see what you like. I'd certainly recommend Thorpy pedals in general for sound and build quality, I don't think you can go wrong with them. But honestly there are so many options with fuzz from dirt cheap to silly expensive if you want to try some different ones. 

Mr_Claw

robinbowes said:

Glory box was a fuzz face with a Rat, apparently.

Correct. Just listened to an interview with him about a week ago where he said exactly that. Fuzz-face into Rat - but with all the bass and mids shaved off in the mix. Scratchy top-end only. So maybe: 

Fuzz-face > Rat > EQ pedal w treble only. 

...would get you in the ball-park. Not sure what amp he used on that session. Might've been a simple BF Fender Deluxe or Twin as i think he used one for Dummy. But he's known to use 50s Tweed Deluxes, Champs, a 60s Watkins Westminster, etc in the studio. He uses Oranges for live work. 

NelsonP

Well, that led me here. What a performance!

Supportact

NelsonP said:

Well, that led me here. What a performance!

It really is. They are certainly one band I'm sorry not to have seen live. 

I see Beth Gibbons has a solo album coming out soon though, and a few live dates being released for sale soon. Nice to see her recording again. 

Basher

So nice to hear some love for Adrian Utley. He's a fantastic player and always comes across as very  knowledgeable and intelligent in interviews.

Saw Portishead on the first couple of tours and they were quite something live. A very special mix of influences and styles that worked so well. They seemed to have great integrity too - just releasing what they wanted to in their own, sweet time.

Blueingreen

I saw him in a jazz band at an outdoor thing when I was living in Bristol. 1990 iirc so just before or around the time he started playing with Portishead so he wasn't yet a name player except maybe in some jazz circles.  I was interested in getting into jazz and was really impressed with his playing and wondered if he did any teaching.  I can't remember how, but I got his number and phoned him.  We had a nice chat and he said he did teach but wasn't able to take anyone on at that point, and suggested I phone back at the end of the summer.  Before that happened I accepted a job offer elsewhere and moved away from Bristol.  One of those "what if" moments.

Greatape

I once sold Beth Gibbons a Lighthouse Family cd when I worked in a record shop. Shocking. 

As you were. 

BlackbirdCabs

I have to believe that it was a present for an older relative otherwise nothing will ever mean anything ever again.

DannyP

My partner used to work in the industry, and often ruins bands for me by telling me what a bunch of arseholes they really are.

However, she says Beth Gibbons was about the nicest person she ever met.