After an old school fuzz… Isley Brothers, Cream, etc.

Stratavarious

My current fuzzes are a Boss FZ and a TC Rusty Fuzz but I find them more like fuzzy distortions…

I am after the more obvious old 60’s 70’s fuzz sound… don’t need to pay boutique money.

What has that simpler, raspy tone?  Summer Breeze, Strange Brew…

EricTheWeary

Ernie was a Big Muff and a phaser into a clean amp I believe.

As I understand it Clapton said he never used a fuzz pedal, the sound of Strange Brew was overdriving the mic pre-amps on the mixing board. The Hudson Broadcast is, I think, closest to this in theory. 

Stratavarious

Been looking at Big Muffs but still seem a bit polite. The JHS 3 series with a bias control to get it more sputtery looks good.  

Anyone used one? 

Neilybob

PM'd 

ecc83

Driving the nuts off a couple of Germanium transistors (OC 71, OC45, AC128) would probably be close.

Dave.

Stratavarious

Tempting me to make one

Stratavarious

Neilybob said:

PM'd 

Thanks. 

Fiddlesticks_

Stratavarious said:

The JHS 3 series with a bias control to get it more sputtery looks good.  

Anyone used one? 

I've got one and I've been really happy with it. Like you I was after an old school fuzz and it achieves it for me.

The bias control makes things spitty and spluttery and goes from a subtle little bit to a gated rasp.

I think it's essentially a silicon Fuzz Face circuit, and it sounds as such to me but with a slightly different tonality. With the 'fat' switch off, it's a more cutting than a Fuzz Face to my ears.

Teyeplayer

I’ve just been browsing random pedals on Etsy, there’s a fella in Devon who is essentially doing the silicon fuzz face thing in a wood and metal pedal: 

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1562118427/fuzz-handmade-guitar-pedal-by-kiplonti

ecc83

Teyeplayer said:

I’ve just been browsing random pedals on Etsy, there’s a fella in Devon who is essentially doing the silicon fuzz face thing in a wood and metal pedal: 

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1562118427/fuzz-handmade-guitar-pedal-by-kiplonti

Oh! I always found "wood" semiconductors had far too high an impedance and "metal" far too low!

Dave.

Cols

Ram’s Head Big Muff for the Isley Brothers.  

Cream era Clapton does sound very fuzzy - especially Disraeli Gears - but EC is adamant that the only pedal he used at that time was a wah.  The fuzziness is coming from overdriving the mic or the inputs on the recording console.  

As @EricTheWeary has noted, a Hudson Broadcast is your best bet.  Or you could really lash out and get an Aclam Woman Tone.

soma1975

Cream tones are very easy to get with a germanium treble booster into a cooking amp. 

Mr_Claw

EricTheWeary said:

Ernie was a Big Muff and a phaser into a clean amp I believe.

As I understand it Clapton said he never used a fuzz pedal, the sound of Strange Brew was overdriving the mic pre-amps on the mixing board. The Hudson Broadcast is, I think, closest to this in theory. 

I thought Ernie Isley used the Roland Jet Phaser (a fuzz & phase in one unit). 

Mr_Claw

I take it back. Big Muff it was. As this GuitarWorld article points out, the Roland wasnt available at the time. That said, the Jet Phaser does totally nail that sound. 

https://www.guitarworld.com/features/ernie-isley-that-lady-guitar-tone

lento

'Who's That Lady' by the Isleys was a Big Muff into A Maestro Phase Shifter.