In the world of effects pedals Fuzz brings most players minds way back or to the tone of specific players. The '60s or '70s. Jimi Hendrix, Eric Brann in Iron Butterfly, Pete Townshend, Keith Richards, David Gilmour and on into later guitar greats like Eric Johnson. All Fuzz pedals have a shared target tone. A distorted guitar tone heavy on overtones and harmonics all rolled into something that delivers a thick rich guitar voice. True. Fuzz sacrifices attack and string definition but, in return, delivers a rich mash of distorted overtones that give an electric guitar a voice that's raw and primeval. In your face and demanding your attention. Rich in unexpected harmonics. Rich in unexpected lots of stuff that's hard to define. Unexpectedly magic and of great interest to the minds of players and listeners alike. I doubt anyone, prior to the arrival of the Fuzz pedal, would have hired a pedal builder to create one. The negatives would seem to vastly out weigh the positives. Yet ....... sometimes because of fateful accidents or recordings made when all else failed or shots in the dark that delivered raves from a fan base ...... Fuzz pedals came to be.
Of all the gain pedal types available Fuzz pedals are still my favorite. I know. They don't work with all types of a guitarists needs. I too own boosts, overdrives and distortion pedals. All three of these offer a more defined tone that cuts through a mix of multiple instruments much better. But, in a one guitarist band, Fuzz pedals are still my favorite type of gain pedal. They fill up the single guitarists voice so much better than any of the others. They can cry or scream. They add a raw emotion to the performance that other gain pedal types don't. It's an odd voice, similar to a cocked Wah voice, that came about through guesswork and experimentation. It wasn't planned or searched out yet came to be.
Do any of our other members like / prefer Fuzz pedals? Sometimes today's Fuzz pedal builds don't identify what they are. Fuzz pedals are not as popular as they used to be so they get listed as overdrives or distortions. A good example is the Mad Professor Amber Overdrive. It's a Fuzz pedal through and through and is a wonderful example of current production.
I own Fuzz pedals / Fuzz voiced gain pedals built by Mad Professor, Dazatronyx, JAM pedals, etc. Some are based on the 2 transistor Fuzz Faces. Most are based on the 4 transistor Muffs. I don't own any of the 3 transistor Tone Bender types like Jimmy Page used with his Tele all over Led Zeppelin 1 but I do like the tone.
I figure most Fuzz lovers are probably getting pretty long in the tooth but I wonder if any of our younger members share an appreciation for Fuzz pedals. Old, young or somewhere lost in the middle ages ....... what's your opinion on Fuzz pedals? Do you own any? If so .... which ones do you own? Which build type is your favorite? If you could own an original from way back when which Fuzz pedal would it be? To help younger members understand what we're discussing do you have particular recordings that exemplify the contribution of a Fuzz pedal to a guitarists tone?
Thank You for your contributions to this thread.
Of all the gain pedal types available Fuzz pedals are still my favorite. I know. They don't work with all types of a guitarists needs. I too own boosts, overdrives and distortion pedals. All three of these offer a more defined tone that cuts through a mix of multiple instruments much better. But, in a one guitarist band, Fuzz pedals are still my favorite type of gain pedal. They fill up the single guitarists voice so much better than any of the others. They can cry or scream. They add a raw emotion to the performance that other gain pedal types don't. It's an odd voice, similar to a cocked Wah voice, that came about through guesswork and experimentation. It wasn't planned or searched out yet came to be.
Do any of our other members like / prefer Fuzz pedals? Sometimes today's Fuzz pedal builds don't identify what they are. Fuzz pedals are not as popular as they used to be so they get listed as overdrives or distortions. A good example is the Mad Professor Amber Overdrive. It's a Fuzz pedal through and through and is a wonderful example of current production.
I own Fuzz pedals / Fuzz voiced gain pedals built by Mad Professor, Dazatronyx, JAM pedals, etc. Some are based on the 2 transistor Fuzz Faces. Most are based on the 4 transistor Muffs. I don't own any of the 3 transistor Tone Bender types like Jimmy Page used with his Tele all over Led Zeppelin 1 but I do like the tone.
I figure most Fuzz lovers are probably getting pretty long in the tooth but I wonder if any of our younger members share an appreciation for Fuzz pedals. Old, young or somewhere lost in the middle ages ....... what's your opinion on Fuzz pedals? Do you own any? If so .... which ones do you own? Which build type is your favorite? If you could own an original from way back when which Fuzz pedal would it be? To help younger members understand what we're discussing do you have particular recordings that exemplify the contribution of a Fuzz pedal to a guitarists tone?
Thank You for your contributions to this thread.
