The Fuzz Thread

[gearJunkie]

The KingTone Mini Fuzz is pure awesomeness. Powered by a 9V supply, its power circuit emulates battery sag. Plus it has both Si and Ge settings along with 3 different fuzz modes. Add the bias knob and HUGE volume dial, it looks as good as it sounds.

Is it the perfect fuzz pedal? I can't say, but it has turned me into a fuzz fan.

 

[EOengineer]

I've been really into fuzz for the last two years, mostly self built at this point.

Sun Face clones - BC183 and germanium

Tone benders Mk 1 and II. The mk1 is absolutely brutal. It's a fantastic drive pedal.

Zonk Machine - Weird take on a Mk1 Tone bender that does it's own thing but definitely worth having alongside a Mk1. This pedal was a bitch to tune. You need to get the gains and leakage just right to have any sweep on the gain control.

Thorpy Muffroom Cloud clone. First big muff I've really liked.

I've also been collecting parts for a few special builds, I've even got some custom made enclosures, but haven't had a lot of time for building recently. When I finally get them started I'll put threads in the DIY section.

A JHF1 fuzz face (easily my favourite silicon FF, the clean up is incredible)
A Nkt275 Sun Face clone
A Tone Bender MkII with OC81Ds.

Coming from someone who took a 10 year trip down the “building fuzz faces” rabbit hole - IMO the best fuzz face design for practical players is Joe Gagen’s EasyFace circuit.

It replaces the fuzz knob with a 1k or 2k resister IIRC, and then that knob position on the pedal gets replaced with a 250k pot that effectively sits in for your guitars volume pot coming into Q1 so you can back off your guitar volume from the pedal. The traditional fuzz knob on a fuzz face is pretty useless.

 

[dronerstone]

It might be blasphemy to some, but the fuzz algos that are available in Source Audio's One Series pedals (Kingmaker/LA Lady/Aftershock) sound forbiddenly good.

And yes, they even react to the guitar's volume knob and everything.

First day and it looks like honeymoon should be one of the best ever.

 

[2112]

Swollen Pickle is life

 

[SubApathy]

I'm a big fan of the Bliss Factory by Chase Bliss/ZVex but this "new" addition to my fuzz category is going to send me down a rabbit hole.

Univox Super Fuzz

 

[greatmutah]

I’ve had a few:

EQD Hizumitas - modified Triangle Muff based off the Elk BM Sustainar. Smoothest sounding Muff I own. Love this thing.
EQD Dirt Transmitter - silicon fuzz that can go from thick and wooly to sounding like it’s dying. Amazing.
SUF Astoria - a bit more grit than the Hizumitas and some more mids. Supposedly cloned from a Ram’s head that Pete Cornish owned that may have been owned by Gilmour. It sounds awesome.
SUF Cosmic Queen - their take on a Double Muff circuit? It’s an interesting pedal for sure.
SUF Red Army Overdrive - pretty exacting clone of the Sovtek Mike Matthew’s Red Army Overdrive. First Russian muff. Super cool pedal.
Mortatone Coyote Fuzz - Germanium Fuzz Face from a small builder. Bought it from itchyfingers.

I still need to add some tone benders into the mix and I’d love to get a Sunface of sorts.

 

[FuzzyAce]

Still thinking about a good octave fuzz similar to what I use in HX. And I've actually come around on the Fuzz Face in HX. I sorta badmouthed it a bit because my initial impressions weren't favorable. Basically I just put some more time into it, and while it doesn't react exactly the same it gets some convincing tones when used with a vintage Marshall and cab model. I feel like I've been able to get some decent EJ style tones going (without the deafening volume).

 

[jellodog]

I'm no collector but I do like a good Fuzz Face.

 

[Dave Lewis]

I’ve got a nice Fuzz Face that matches my Fender Strat.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

I've been using a zonk machine for past month or so now. Haven't really used anything else. Really great circuit when it's biased correctly.

 

[Whizzinby]

Anyone ever try the Beetronics Vezzpa?

 

[dronerstone]

It might be blasphemy to some, but the fuzz algos that are available in Source Audio's One Series pedals (Kingmaker/LA Lady/Aftershock) sound forbiddenly good.

And yes, they even react to the guitar's volume knob and everything.

First day and it looks like honeymoon should be one of the best ever.

Well, one and a half months later, I still stand with this. People are sleeping on the Source Audio drives, especially the fuzz crowd.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

Well, one and a half months later, I still stand with this. People are sleeping on the Source Audio drives, especially the fuzz crowd.

I'd like to try one in person. I've never tried a digital fuzz I really liked. The best I've had is "that's usable but not great"

 

[dronerstone]

I'd like to try one in person. I've never tried a digital fuzz I really liked. The best I've had is "that's usable but not great"

The stock voices are good, but the deep tweaking, parallel/stacked/whatever features are what makes these real flexible.
They sound and "feel" analog, and behave like a modern analog fuzz would. No impedance screwery, etc.

 

[Dave Lewis]

I’m itching to get my hands on the new HIWATT Fuzz pedal that had its first outing at the German guitar show last weekend .
No retailers have it listed yet though .
Hopefully we will see some release dates soon
I already have a shed load of different fuzz pedals and don’t really need another one but I love Fuzz

 

[maguchi]

I got a older Keeley Fuzz Head that I had since about 2016. It gots both silicone and geranium diodes or transistors or whatever they're called inside of it. And a Si/Ge switch that I assume goes back and forth between the 2 modes. Don't know how that all works, but It gots a old school classic sound but without no noise like the older ones.

 

[la szum]

I've been using a zonk machine for past month or so now. Haven't really used anything else. Really great circuit when it's biased correctly.

Cool! Is yours a bit honky? I had one made by John Lyons from BA, and it had the Mids
in spades. Something many fuzzes can struggle with, in my experience.

 

[Life Eats Life]

The only fuzz currently own is a PLX FX FZ-2 clone for those electric wizard tones


But I've had crippling fuzz addiction in the past. So many different ones I couldn't even begin to try and make/remember a list. Most of them were muff variants but I've had some fun with a number of other circuits too

LOVE your choice of words dude:
“Crippling Fuzz”
RAD!!!
For me, the fuzz depends on the amp.
One critical word… MIDS.
Get the tone control or IF it has a tone control
dialed into the midrange control on the amplifier.
That tells you if it’s a solid match.
I played that Friedman Fuzz Fiend and it was f’n killer man!!
Owned herds of fuzzes.
Now I just use the EH Billy Corgan fuzz ( orange one) and have been modding the snot outta it.
Who the fuzz know’s man?

 

[SillyOctpuss]

Cool! Is yours a bit honky? I had one made by John Lyons from BA, and it had the Mids
in spades. Something many fuzzes can struggle with, in my experience.

Yeah it cuts through really well, it's not as bloated as a vintage style muff or fuzz face. How gated is your zonk?

I'm working on a special one at the minute. I like the gated sound a lot of the good sounding vintage models are known for but also want to be able to have the sustain that Doyle Bramhall's original zonk seems to have.

I've made a test unit on vero and have been auditioning transistors and mods. I've added two switches, one to add in more sustain and switch between the two styles of zonk I like and the other is the mids control from the DanDrive secret weapon pedals.

I'll do a build thread on it in diy when I'm ready to do my final version.

 

[Dave Lewis]

I bought these 4D pedals back in April for the novelty factor and a bit of fun.
The black star is the Fuzz.
Red Star distortion.
Blue Star Blues overdrive.