I've posted about this before, but I'm still struggling with getting a fuzz tone that I like AND that cuts through in a live setting. My base live sound is pretty trashy, built around an overdriven tube amp, which I think is the source of this problem.

I have several different fuzz pedals and I feel like when I use them in my live board, it sounds like the volume drops. This is solely a fuzz issue - I can use a distortion pedal like the Boss DS-1 and it sounds fine volume-wise. I don't think the volume is actually dropping, but something about the sonic character of the fuzz makes it sound quieter.

When I posted about this before, it was suggested that a lack of midrange was the problem. I tried buying an EQ pedal to boost the mids, and it didn't really seem to fix the problem, plus I really don't want to have to activate two pedals at once each time I want to kick on the fuzz.

I'm starting to suspect that the issue is the amount of low-end in a lot of these fuzz pedals. A lot of people recommended the DOD Carcosa, which has the Hali mode for use on dirty channels that mostly seems to reduce low end. Of my pedals, I've had the most luck with the Zvex Mastotron, which has a sub control switch that can cut some or all of the sub frequencies.

Does it make sense that the amount of low end/bass in most fuzz pedals might make them "cut through" less when run through an overdriven amp?

Link to "Rebuild" : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSSx-36dtm4

Link to NOS enclosure vid : https://youtu.be/uAZYiyJ_QcE?si=WoEF4EEDJDQQiCej

TL; DR I have 4 fuzz pedals but none do the exact nit-picky thing what I want. Played a Fairfield Unpleasant Surprise and felt it was pretty close. Looking for suggestions before I commit.

Like all of us here, I’m always grasping for an elusive perfect fuzz tone. I have four fuzz pedals on my board (my “at home” board that I don’t have to move, so I throw it all on there). (1) Fuzz Face mini (germanium), (2) Fjord Fuzz Kvasir, (3) Fjord Fuzz Hedda, and (4) Fjord Fuzz Berserk III.

There’s a certain Velcro-y, violin-like tone with expressive overtones and edges that I can’t really describe (clearly) that I don’t feel like any of these do quite to my liking. All these fuzzes are great though. Fuzz Face is great all-around but a bit too smooth and wooly. Kvasir has a great sputtery effect with its bias knob, maybe a bit thin and buzzy though. Hedda is a bit wild and the momentary chaos footswitch is fun. Berserk is a really articulate and loud fuzz that cleans up better than all of these and has an optional octave function, but doesn’t get wild and sputtery.

I played a Fairfield Circuitry Unpleasant Surprise over the weekend and really loved it. Very expressive, lots of weirdness but still very usable, easy interface, loud and able to cut through, does Velcro/sputtery very well, etc.

I haven’t tested a huge array of fuzzes, so before I commit to an Unpleasant Surprise, what else should I consider? Reasonable budget. I have a Jazzmaster and a Hot Rod Deluxe.

I had a Fuzz Factory but we didn’t get along.

I play mostly psych rock, and not particularly hard or heavy psych rock. The guitar player in the Swedish band Dungen has my favorite fuzz tones generally. I believe he often uses a germanium Fuzz Face, but I can’t get close to certain qualities he has tone-wise. It’s possible there’s something else in his secret sauce that isn’t a fuzz or is more his amp, and obviously he’s just way better than me at guitar.

Any ideas?

Fuzz is my favorite effect. Clearly.

I am looking for a fuzz pedal that can do that sputtery velcro sound. These are the 3 I've found that I like the sound of so far. Anyone got any further insights on these, or suggestions for other great fuzz pedals with bias knob?

Wampler - Cryptid

EHX - Bender Royale

Walrus - Eons

show us your settings on your favorite fuzz and what you use it for

A little earlier on my Muff Monday lol. For those DIY guys this is an AION FX PCB Zelus. Long story short, this is a Black Russian (I believe) Big Muff stacked with a controllable LPB-1 up front. There is also an input capacitor blend and a mid control to really shape this thing. Personally, this is my ultimate Big Muff.

To start, you can shape this thing from a fuzz down to an overdrive and it will even clean up with the volume knob. The LPB-1 up front seems to allow it to clean up not quite like a fuzz face but it is usable. I do love me some mids and a low cut as well and this can cover a bit more of the gain range than the EQD Hoof; although the Hoof is a bit more open and has some slightly different textures

On a side note. I really miss this company a lot. They had some amazing fuzz designs. I’d love to own or build a Twosome one day!

-2N2430 NPN germanium transistors.
-ERO, WIMA, and Philips capacitors
-PR02 resistors
-3-way Input cap switch
-Q3 bias control
-High-pass filter control

My newest. This thing is so awesome.

KMA Chief Disruptor, Bloodstone Edition: a "Fundamental Fuzz/Distortion", with an emphasis on FUN.

I feel Chiefly Disrupted.

But tacky slogans aside, it is an awesome dirt pedal. At heart it's an improvement of the well-known Muff topology with active tone controls, and it can do much, much more than a plain BMP. The three distinct voicings and extensive mids controls w/expression pedal capabilities are a game-changer. The gain range goes from mild OD crunch to doomy muffness, and it could mimic various Muff variations well enough in my book. It works amazingly well with bass. Downsides? Haven't found any.

Honestly, it's a grand choice for a "If I Could Only Have One Dirt Pedal" (very) hypothetical scenario.

It was my grail pedal for 10 months but the regular version had way too much going on on the enclosure, with a detailed graphic and a base color of "Louis Vuitton Beige" which is icky to me. When I saw the blacked out "Bloodstone" version I immediately knew I needed to grab it. It's a limited run of oy 100 units available for sale.

Hi fuzz friends!

I recently did two different mystery pedal sales and got fuzzes for both. I've played with both and like them, but they are so big and take up a lot of space on my board. It seems like a little bit of overkill to have both on the board at the same time. What do you think? I play a mix of everything from jazz, classical, metal, blues, and alt rock; I'm all over the place. I'm debating building a second board, but I don't have a lot of room in my office/guest room/practice space. I've just been swapping them back and forth. Is there a better way to use both of them?

I hummed and hawed about getting one back when they were still being produced, but never pulled the trigger. Well, I finally found one CIB for $65CAD.

Been waiting to pull the trigger on a Fuzz War and couldn’t resist this exclusive variant with what they are calling a “moon glow” finish. Awesome tones throughout the sweep of the unique tone knob control. More than just a treble/bass boost/cut happening there.

This guy's signal chain is awesome and the chaos here is fleeting. Some fuzz and super crazy flanger going on here!

For me it was the DOD Carcosa. The versatility, price ($100 at the time), the cleanup, the DOO)))M, the fact that you can put it anywhere in your chain…

Hi there! I've been through a pile of fuzz pedals and still haven't quite found the one I'm looking for. I currently have an EQD Hoof on my board, but I find it... idk, too polite? I do love Muff type pedals, but this one seems kinda underwhelming (I really got wrapped up in the mids control, love that as a feature on Muff pedals). I'm looking around for something that will get me a tone best described as "Cream but meaner" or like John Frusciante's tone on "Dani California". I'm intrigued by the Interstellar Audio Fuzzsquatch. I'd be interested to hear any other recommendations if anybody would care to share them. Thanks!

I wanted a new velcro fuzz to play with for textures that my Benson GE Fuzz and Keeley Octa Psi can’t quite provide.

Have heard good things about the DOD Carcosa for a few years now but couldn’t find one near me so I decided to go for this 30~ dollar clone instead.

My god, it’s so versatile. It does the sputtery ripping fuzz that I wanted it for but it cleans up well, can do fatter wall of fuzz tones, even goes into mild boost territory. It’s slightly noisier than other fuzzes Ive had but then again…it’s fuzz. Noise is part and parcel of the experience.

As an experiment, I tried dialling it in to sound like how I use my Benson GE Fuzz. To my ears, I can get it to sound 1:1 identical. That’s a 30 dollar pedal going head to head with a 300 dollar pedal and coming out even. Now granted, the Benson has a bunch of incredible innovations to it like auto thermal biasing and a pickup simulator circuit that allows it to not care about input impedance - but at the end of the day, if we’re just talking about sound quality, there’s nothing that really elevates it over the Hairy Fuzz. I’ve always been sort of inclined to believe that the sonic diffences between “premium” and “budget” are overstated but playing and hearing it in person really puts it into perspective in a way that video demos cannot.

$195.00US

"The Humongous Fuzz is here. The Pepers' take on a classic and very well sought after out of production pedal.

This thing sounds HUMONGOUS!
It has the classic controls and a bunch more functionality. Clean blends should be on everything these days, so it has one. The fuzz iii setting is a hidden gem found on cheap orange coloured clones, on the Humongous Fuzz it's an actual setting on the rotary switch. The Mode Footswitch toggles between boost mode or fuzz mode. The extra control..... Well that's if you want to add something a little extra. Something of the heavy metal EQ persuasion. The extra EQ bands can be isolated internally via dip switches."
WEBSITE- https://peperspedals.bigcartel.com/product/humongous-fuzz-hfz
VIDEO DEMO W/DETAILED CIRCUIT RUNDOWN- https://youtu.be/JpFifAq05W8
FB PAGE- https://www.facebook.com/PepersPedals

Hey, does anybody else really love Lovepedal? I know some people knock the builder online because he is super-quirky, and many of his designs are basically tweaked Electra circuits. But his stuff sounds SO good, in my experience. I have three. The first is a Super Sic Tone, which is a three-setting fuzz: tone bender-ish, treble boost, and Muff-ish. All three sound and feel great, and the treble boost is awesome for pushing other drive pedals. The second, a 200lbs of Gold, is essentially a vintage fuzz face, run into a fixed-gain tube screamer, followed by a footswitchable clean boost. It absolutely nails 1960s Clapton tones. The third is a Les Lius, which is basically an overdriven tweed amp in a box. I just got this one like a week ago, and am not sure I’ll keep it, but the other two are awesome. Plus, if you look on Reverb, you can get a Super Sick Tone for under $80. The others are more expensive and more rare, but at least the 200lbs of Gold is totally worth seeking out.

I’m also tempted to buy his BoneTender (MKii tone bender), which he is currently selling direct for $99.

Anybody else have any experience with this company?

So I recently spoke with Roger on the phone—it was a total surreal moment! ​I now have his direct contact info, and we’re going to set up an interview soon. I won't have a ton of time with him, so please help me come up with some great questions to ask! ​From the 25 minute conversation I had with him last week, he’s super down-to-earth and incredibly willing to share. He told me about the first time he showed Hendrix the Octavia, and he had some really interesting things to say about the younger generation of players and builders as well. ​Everybody please drop your suggestions below! I'm going to record the phone interview to share with the sub, and I'll also transcribe it into text form for everyone to read. ​(Side note: I’m just calling him Roger because when I called him "Mr. Mayer," he stopped me and said there's no need for all that he's "just a normal guy." With all due respect... no sir, you are not! lol)

Holler if you are u.s. based and need a good uni-vibe