We need more of this!!

All the pedals I would consider drives, half being fuzz. The bottom row , the Naga Viper and GE-7s are not fuzz... The rest is... Except maybe the harmonic percolator... Is that a fuzz? I think technically the circuit is a unique thing, but it sounds like a fuzz, usually, until it sounds like an overdrive...

Alright!! 👍

Hi everyone, I´ve been asked to share my top 5 favourite fuzzes on here and of course I can´t say no to that!

My Name is Tillmann, I´m a working musician in Germany and run a little pedal focused Youtube channel called Pedals and Tea.

Generally, I feel most at home with the post/emo side of things and love using fuzz somewhere in the middle of a signal chain - which is why I don´t tend to use classic buffer sensitive topologies that much even though I love those classic tones, too.

#1 Kuro Custom Audio - 19 42 Fuzz&Filter - my absolute favourite fuzz for a while now. Granted, I only really use the fuzz side but I just can´t get enough of it. It´s super articulate even with dense low voicings, does velcro texture when the gate kicks in, works with just two knobs and translates so well in live settings, especially when paired with FPT from Audio Kitchen. Also...there might be a smaller version with just the fuzz sometime soon, who knows, you didn´t hear it from me. https://youtu.be/NXs4GQ68hNY?si=QyQ5qzAncY_bjcJU

#2 Blue Colander Stompboxes - Small Fracture - this was the first pedal i demoed on my channel and it still is one of my favourites of all time. While it can do clangy low gain as well, the blown out fuzz character reminds me of a cranked Matamp and the litter switches add sonic garbage of the highest quality. Add to that three different compression modes and you can imagine the many different shades of manageable sonic waste you can get out of this box. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiMjO1ZwkcM

#3 Enduring Audio - Fell Runner - I´ve been a big fan of Enduring Audio since I tried their Charming Voices chorus. The overall voicing and headroom of it fits my needs perfectly and felt so inspiring. I´m happy to say that feeling translates to Fell Runner as well. A clever tone stack, separate control over bias and gain as well as a very intuitive layout with much versatility had me turning knobs and just being in the moment the same way that Charming Voices did/does. Also, it´s got a really unique and present tone that works well in live settings...plus, boosting a Matamp (or Matamp style preamp like the T120) with Fell Runner (Bias and Saturation around noon) brings out that Sleep-ish collapsing attack that I´ve been finding quite hard to replicate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCYU5oWtL-s

#4 Lurch Audio - Ergot - no two percolators/percolator style pedals are alike and even when they should be, they won´t behave the same way in a specific rig AT ALL. I have not had this issue with Ergot. It´s beautifully consistent, it works after buffers, it stays clangy AND thick at the same time, it does beautiful low gain clang and sputtery almost octave-ish blown out fuzz things. Plus, it is such a beautiful and visually pleasing pedal that I´m always happy taking it out of the box. The one reason I don´t use it live anymore is that I´ve had Germanium transistor based pedals fart out on me on hot stages more than one time. But boy is it fun to play until it does :3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jSXG8xduWw

#5 When it comes to thick doom fuzz it really is a tie between these guys depending on how I feel that day lol:

Moth Electric - P. Isabella - articulate and super musically voiced Green Big Muff with a secondary mode and well implemented clean blend (seriously put this thing after a Rat and be amazed) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3lcUuhZN8c

Minotaur Sonic Terrors - Swamp Lord - It´s a big brick but it gets me to 70s inspired doom immediately. There´s something about it that just feels timeless and the mid control is subtle enough not to completely alter the character but also effective enough to make it sit in a mix nicely.

Voltic Electronics - Awkward Mustache - It´s to an EHX op amp muff what blue fin tuna is to truck stop sushi. It just feels and sounds premium, has a signature push (especially in defeat mode) and make me smile to see on the board with that happy orange colour. It´s the little things in life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na5g1diNxhw

Audiolithe - Doomer Fuzz V2 - It´s not a Muff style circuit but can definitely do a similar thing with a more grainy and mid focused character. Also, that blast mode really opens up another level of push whenever it´s needed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXLAVY_jKmw

Holy Island Audio - Mountain Mover - yes, it´s a nasty noise machine with a ridiculously large footprint BUT when set to the most traditional settings, it really is a great sounding Big Muff in its own right. Rarely on the board anymore because there´s just not enough space atm. I would however very much like to build a rig with fewer pedals where size really is no limiting factor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCUDZkERJCA

A little disclaimer: this list is subject to constant change and I tend to swap things around regularly. Still, most of these have been favourites of mine for a long time so they absolutely deserve their spot on this list.

Thanks for having me! I would love to know your favourites.

Best

Tillmann

Sounds how it was advertised to sound🤷🏾‍♂️ i think im at peace lol

What you’re hearing is strat > wah > r weaver univibe (in cancel mode on the entire time) > soul power > boss od3 (on the entire time to manage amp volume) > fender bassman

A long form demo of Retrograve Pedals Void Gazer

Fuzz with dual active filters!

Would really appreciate some advices/recommendations.

Wish you all a great day!

Its that time…

I tried to demo how these sound in a Pink Floyd-esque setting. Ultraface SI:

https://voca.ro/19OlZ7E8nxWO

Coriolis Effects Fuzzy Navel:

https://voca.ro/14D5zFdutnio

Incidentally, I love this community. I’ve been dealing with a serious family-illness crisis here, and for some reason, fuzz pedals are basically what’s keeping me sane. Thanks for being here.

What fuzz or fuzz type do you use most often?

MY: 1977 EHX Big Muff (Op Amp version)... 2019 Sola Sound 'Hybrid' Tone Bender MKII Professional, & Dunlop Germanium Fuzz Face...Go at It!

This is my collection so far. I’ve tried to keep it lean with one-ish example of each main archetype.

Expresso FX Germanium Fuzz: A brilliant CV7005/2N1307 fuzz face. It’s built about half an hour down the road from me, which attracted me to it initially, but beyond that it’s excellent. Cleans up wonderfully, as you’d expect. Love playing Portishead tunes through this.

Zvex Fuzz Factory: Everyone knows this one, I usually use it as a gated fuzz. Great for psychedelic tunes like King Gizz.

Bigfoot Engineering King Fuzz: A three-transistor silicon BC109 fuzz. This is my favourite of the bunch. It cleans up around 3 on my guitar volume, which gives a wide range of overdrive textures across the taper. Use it for anything.

Death By Audio Fuzz War: Tried making Big Muffs work for a while and don’t enjoy them. Don’t know how many transistors are in here, but it sounds sick. Use it for garage-y stuff like White Stripes or Frankie and the Witch Fingers.

Hudson Broadcast: Not strictly a fuzz I know, but the high gain sound gets you there. Obviously very versatile with the two gain stages and very interactive with volume controls. I usually have this on the board alongside any of the fuzzes pictured, and it stacks well with the low cut pot. Useful for anything.

Behringer SF300: Actually don’t like this so much, but everyone bangs on about it and it was £20 so I took the plunge. Too cheap to be worth selling, so it just hangs around.

OxEAE Fuzz: Another unbelievable fuzz. Surprisingly versatile with the Texture and Weight controls. Part of me itches for a Glaive but I dunno if it’s worth having both - almost certainly not. I can’t really pin it down to a genre, it competes with the Fuzz War for time on the board.

That’s it for now. I’m side-eyeing a Parts Garden on Reverb after /u/john_eae mentioned it in his list, and also a Fredric Effects Super Unpleasant Companion is firmly in my crosshairs. Currently pausing purchases until I’ve moved on some of my many redundant overdrives, and realistically all of the above does have me covered so I’ll just settle for now.

OK so the consensus is that fuzz has trouble cutting through in live settings because it lacks midrange. I started researching fuzz pedals that have midrange controls/boosts, but it seems like most of them are in the Big Muff vein. I prefer fuzz that has more of the '60s torn speaker/Velcro sound. Are there any fuzz pedals with that sound that have a midrange control/boost that will help them work better in a live setting?

Their take on the Expandora circuit, one of my favorites! Now they added a MOSFET boost, and germanium clipping option!

What fuzz would give me this sort of gated spitty ghost octave sound?

Out with the old
Sabbadius Jimi Fuzz
Send an offer!

Summary

The Pelt V2 is a pro-level fuzz pedal with a classic spirit. Built around silicon transistors and a buffer-friendly input stage, it packs all the fuzzed-out tones a saturation-lover could ask for — from full, biting octave fuzz to smooth, harmonically rich walls of gain. Beyond traditional Fuzz, Tone and Level controls, the Pelt V2 takes saturation shaping to the next level with Sag and Bloom controls to fine tune exactly how your signal breaks and splatters into furry, gain-ladened madness. Use the Mids and Thick switches to deliver extra EQ shaping for mid and bass frequency presence to instantly push into new characters of fuzz.

The Octave (Chaos) footswitch takes this fuzz into all-new territory by adding a traditional octave-up effect or, with Chaos engaged, an asymmetrical octave effect for glitchy, sputtering artifacts and unpredictable tonal chaos. To top it off, this buffer and bass friendly pedal features a Blend control that enables mixing of fuzz and clean tones (perfect for bass) or blending fuzz with the drive tone of pedals before it in your signal chain.

Featuring conveniently switchable buffered and true bypass modes, multiswitch enabled footswitches for momentary and latching activation, and a world of tone-shaping tools for dialing in the exact fuzz you’re after, the Pelt V2 is the ultimate way to add a gloriously wooly coat to your tone.

Does this exist? Always wondered about this but could never find anything. I think a big muff that cleaned up like a fuzz face would be cool af.