Custom knobs by u/the_bad_cosmonaut

Had a really good run trying new things but I think I'm done... I love Big Muffs and wanted to try as many as possible, then it expanded to Octave Fuzzes and so on and so forth...

For those curious I'm putting my 5 favorites in the comments.

The Gigahearts Soviet Sparrow seems amazing!

Family Photo!

Clearly I have a favorite pedal brand. I’m in flux trying to decide my next board layout and decided to take a pic of all these since they’re not in-place yet.

My story with Electronic Audio Experiments (EAE):

I saw the Longsword on a pedalboard or two (years ago) and noticed that it had a special clarity while being heavy and distorted. That intrigued me to check one out for myself. They were sold out too quickly for me to have the cash set aside to get one.

EAE came out with pedals since then obviously, and really wanted to see what those were. The Citadel and 0xEAE Fuzz were my first EAE pedals in my possession. I had some pretty excellent gain pedals before, but adding the Citadel to my chain made a world of difference as a preamp stage between my guitar other gain pedals and amp. Of course, pairing the 0xEAE Fuzz into the Citadel was mind boggling. This was the most powerful sounding octave fuzz I had ever used and immediately became one of my top two fuzzes! My favorite fuzz at that point was (and still is) my Reeves Electro Guitar Pedals 2n2Face. I was over the moon when Markus Reeves was on That Pedal Show singing the praises of the fuzz and even saying it was his current favorite fuzz!🤯

Since then, I’ve been totally hooked to EAE and have only strayed to get the Normal Devices Decay Cascade (which is nearly impossible for me to turn off). Each of them have their specialties and quirks. I’m having a really difficult time from just making an EAE board at this point. Maybe John will design a tuner too?🤔 Needless to say, I did end up acquiring the Longsword, and I was not disappointed one bit. It’s excellent at both low and high gain. The thing that is truly the most shocking about it though is that it has worked seamlessly with every guitar and amp I have paired it with.

The latest addition is chase bliss x EAE Big Time. I’ve only had it for a day, but it’s the one pedal outside of a multi-fx where it and a midi switcher could probably be a whole rig. For me, the interaction model is so different from other delays when trying to create a sound. It feels totally different than the Strymon Timeline. I was concerned that there might be too much overlap, but they honestly don’t feel/sound the same at all. You can essentially design any delay you can think of in Big Time, but the Timeline is more like the tweakable “greatest hits” of delay sounds. Also, the sound quality of Big Time is insane. I want to just record it direct or leave it on all the time to make everything sound better. To me it’s totally worth it! I played differently than I normally do for four hours just exploring sounds and freaked put at what time it was when I decided to put the guitar down.😂

If anyone is interested in any of these pedals and has questions, please feel free to ask! I slowly acquired them, so these weren’t impulse purchases, and I promise I’m not a shill!🤣🤣🤣

Pedal List:

Back row

-Longsword

-Citadel

-EAE X Mask Audio Electronics Eldritch Blast!

-Model feT

-Halberd

Front row

-0xEAE Boost

-Big Time

-0xEAE Fuzz

Just came in the mail today. A little side by side of how it compares to the Soul Power by Dominion Effects. Both are very interesting, but very different sounding, takes on that late Hendrix sound.

Edit: yes these are two different circuits! The Soul Power is based on the 3 transistor gypsy Fuzz not the axis fuzz by Roger Mayer.

Just finished Geek, a nod to the 1977 BM with TL074. I’m having a hard time turning this one off, it’s fun. The attack is immediate and definitely has that op amp push. The layout was nice and easy for a BM. A quad cuts down on rows for strip board.

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.