Fuzz in front of a dirty amp

[zzwish]

Anyone using Fuzz in front of a dirty amp? I'm going through a very gainy single channel Friedman Modded Plexi and most fuzzes get very dark in front of dirty amps. Normally I don't run any gain pedals in front of the amp, but for a few new tunes I'm going for that Smashing Pumpkins / Torche kind of fuzzed out tone. This sound is kind of muffled anyways but still retains some bite. Fuzzes I've tried so far that have been ok but not ideal for this application:

Earthquaker Devices - Hoof Reaper Fuzz
Black Arts Toneworks - Pharaoh Fuzz

 

[mrcak]

Check out a Fulltone Catalyst. Now discontinued. Most fuzzes do not like seeing a dirty amp.

 

[halebox]

Just turn down guitar volume and should sound better

 

[tripstan]

Cusack Fuzz Screamer

 

[stephen sawall]

Most fuzz pedal do fine with a distorted amp.... But too much distortion on the amp sounds like shit.

 

[godgrinder]

Most fuzz pedal do fine with a distorted amp.... But too much distortion on the amp sounds like shit.

+1

Dial down the gain on BOTH the pedal and the amp. And the gain from both should add up into what you need without turning into mush.

 

[mrcak]

Most fuzz pedal do fine with a distorted amp.... But too much distortion on the amp sounds like shit.

+1

Dial down the gain on BOTH the pedal and the amp. And the gain from both should add up into what you need without turning into mush.

The problem is, when you turn the fuzz/ gain down on alot of fuzzes, it sounds like shit. I got TONS of fuzzes and 99% sound like shit in front of a distorted amp.

 

[GOHOINC]

I run a Blackout Effectors Very Special Twosome in front of my Ecstasys. I tend to run mine with the level pretty high and the fuzz wherever I want for what I'm playing. I find that with the level low it muds up and I cant hear the fuzz from distortion of the amp. I also tend to run my fuzz kinda low so the very special is great because I kind the blunderbuss side low which on the clean channel of the amp gives me a great bluesy tone. If I want that nasty spitting fuzz I switch over to the Fix'd side of the pedal and I can run them both for crazyness. On the dirty side of the amp the lower gain setting of the blunderbuss just causes the amp to fuzz up instead of getting muddy.

On my Atma rig I have a Keeley Dark Side. I also run the fuzz pretty low and level at just above unity. Again the low gain setting gives me a bluesy fuzz on the clean channel and fuzzes up the gain channels without getting muddy. If I need more fuzz out of it I can lean over and turn it up or I hit a clean boost/ OD pedal on along with it.

 

[stephen sawall]

Most fuzz pedal do fine with a distorted amp.... But too much distortion on the amp sounds like shit.

+1

Dial down the gain on BOTH the pedal and the amp. And the gain from both should add up into what you need without turning into mush.

The problem is, when you turn the fuzz/ gain down on alot of fuzzes, it sounds like shit. I got TONS of fuzzes and 99% sound like shit in front of a distorted amp.

I would be more likely to turn down the guitar volume than the gain on the fuzz with a lot of pedals.

There is also a ton of fuzz that sounds like shit on clean amps. Fuzz that have a lot of output to get the right sound can be compressed by a overdriven amp. Fuzz that have too harsh of highs can be smoothed out by a overdriven amp.

If your getting mud you have too much gain and / or bass somewhere in your rig.

A other way to control a fuzz is to put a overdrive pedal after the fuzz. This is the method David Gilmour and many others use. Finding the right combination of pedals can be difficult. Best pedal I have for this is a Zvex Distortron.

 

[mdc1mdc11]

crunchy ish marshall voicing, fuzz pedal -> (choices!) treble booster/timmy/beano boost/KOT/naga viper/color sound overdriver and many more, roll back the guitar volume a bit and accomodate with amp volume...learn to use the volume knob on the guitar. Serious players do this quite a bit. Or you could buy cornish pedals and stop fucking around with this stuff.

also position of the fuzz in your board makes a difference or buy a fuzz that has design features that avoid vintage Hendrix era challenges with Fuzz placement.

 

[zzwish]

Thanks for the great info everyone! I'm using the Pharaoh Fuzz right now and it's working pretty well but it would be cool to have a bit more definition. I know the issue is that the amp is set too gainy for optimal use with fuzz but the problem is, since it's a single channel head, I need that gained up sound for 99% of our set. And that gained up Friedman sound is wicked! I ride the volume knob on my guitar a bunch to clean the amp up a bit, but we're a pretty heavy band. Riding the volume with the fuzzed turned on doesn't make much of a difference. Anyways, I was just throwing it out there to see if anyone was in the same boat and found that magic pedal.

https://nakedpicturesrichmond.bandcamp. ... d-too-cold

 

[mrcak]

Thanks for the great info everyone! I'm using the Pharaoh Fuzz right now and it's working pretty well but it would be cool to have a bit more definition. I know the issue is that the amp is set too gainy for optimal use with fuzz but the problem is, since it's a single channel head, I need that gained up sound for 99% of our set. And that gained up Friedman sound is wicked! I ride the volume knob on my guitar a bunch to clean the amp up a bit, but we're a pretty heavy band. Riding the volume with the fuzzed turned on doesn't make much of a difference. Anyways, I was just throwing it out there to see if anyone was in the same boat and found that magic pedal.

https://nakedpicturesrichmond.bandcamp. ... d-too-cold

You're looking for a fuzz that you can add to your amp's gain without mushing into a mess. There are some fuzzes where you can use the level control and add in how much fuzz you want. Fuzz Faces, Tone Benders, Muffs, aren't the best for that. I mentioned Fulltone's Catalyst and also Analogman's Astro Tone. Either will work with a distorted amp.

 

[JerEvil]

Yeah I generally ALWAYS run fuzz in front of an amp set crunchy.

Here are some vids I did for Patrick Gentile

 

[fusedbrain]

I use a Suhr Rufus fuzz in front of a BE100 with good results. There is enough control of the bass and fuzz on the pedal to dial in something that works for me in BE mode with the gain on 6 or 7.

 

[zzwish]

Yeah I generally ALWAYS run fuzz in front of an amp set crunchy.

Here are some vids I did for Patrick Gentile

Those sound killer! Thanks for the tip. That Quickrod is sounding nice as well. Been a while since I owned one of those.