fuzz, tiny terror and smooth distortion

B

bluesmonkey

New member
Hi guys,

Im new to pedals(I normally go straight from guitar to amp).Read an article on fuzz, so I thought I should get one. Its a tweak fuzz, pretty good however I have some questions, and would like another kind of distortion to use sometimes instead of the fuzz.

My gear, jap fender copy, orange tiny terror.

1. when I have the volume on 5, and gain at 7(how i like it normally), and kick on the fuzz, it sort of breaks up(not a nice break up), i need to have gain on very low for the fuzz to come on clean. Anyway around this, and any suggestions?

2. The tt overdrive is crunchy,and frizzy, old school overdrive, which is nice sometimes, though I want a smooth sort of distortion, eg Eric Johnson-Lonely in the night, is this possible with pedals and this sort of gear setup? I know which pedal he uses, not sure if I can justify that kind of expense though


Thanks in advance!
 
Probably a case of matching.

Fuzzes are notorious on this issue.

Some sound great thru a fender... but get too muddy on a Vox/Marshall.
Sound sound great into marshals but sound like velcro on a fender.

Its just a matter of mixing.

The type of fuzz (many many ingredients and recipes) will interact differently with an amp's drive too.

So don't worry. Its all a matter of matching.

Google around for these and delve into them a little bit... do some research on these words - Fuzz Face, Tonebender, Big Muff. Then look up Silicon transistors and Germanium transistors. This is kind of like a blind search but hehe, you never know what you might fine... do that for a while first.
 
Why don't you use different pedals for different tonal options?
Personally I'm using my Jimi Hendrix Systems Classic Fuzz along with a Rocktron Sonic Glory..
The OD helps boost the higher frequency of the fuzz, so that it doesn't have too much bottom end. I use this as my main lead tone if I want some creamy goodness.
For grittier stuff, I rely on my EHX Metal Muff.. For Blues : my OD..
And if I want something in between, I'd use my neck pickup to add more treble into the Fuzz+OD combo..

I specialize all my pedals to a certain tone I need man..
 
thanks guys, actually it was probably ur post shredcow that got me to try a fuzz!

read about those, tried a big muff and little muff before, I think little was better.

I think germanium is the one i want, but I havent heard them side by side so cant tell, Im guess the tweak fuzz is silicon tho.

so there is no way around the dirty breakup if my amp is already overdriving?

godspeed im thinking i do need another pedal for smooth distortion aka EJ, is it possible to have a distortion pedal add to the amps overdrive without killing it(not sure if you know what I mean)
tried a boss ds2 but I dont like it
 
i thought of just adding sustain and a smooth character to the amps OD, but I still love guitar to amp overdrive, nothing beats pure valve buttery goodness
 
bluesmonkey said:
thanks guys, actually it was probably ur post shredcow that got me to try a fuzz!

read about those, tried a big muff and little muff before, I think little was better.

I think germanium is the one i want, but I havent heard them side by side so cant tell, Im guess the tweak fuzz is silicon tho.

so there is no way around the dirty breakup if my amp is already overdriving?

godspeed im thinking i do need another pedal for smooth distortion aka EJ, is it possible to have a distortion pedal add to the amps overdrive without killing it(not sure if you know what I mean)
tried a boss ds2 but I dont like it
Click to expand...

So I am at fault for your grief! Hahaha, I hope you are finding it a fun, educational journey!

When it comes to fuzz - you have to understand - these things are old school. This is where the components can matter SO MUCH. I mean, you have like what? 7 components in a fuzz face? Change one and the overall sound/feel can alter drastically. This is where "mojo" matters, where dunno-what-get-from-which-side-of-siberia-some-1960-transistor can be the main ingredient in the mix. Its stupendously simply yet frighteningly complex at the same time.

That's why... there's a ridiculous variety of fuzz tones out there... take amp matching and you have a really insane variety now.

Monumental? Sort of.


Back to your question on the Tweak Fuzz and stuff.

Yes, the TF uses silicon transistors. And in general, silicon is better than germs for stacking especially in the case of Fuzz Face circuits. However, I don't know what circuit the TF is but I found it stacks better when you cut off more bass - try that.

Now what mixes well with amp dirt to give you some EJ?

What does EJ use?

A fuzz face. What's in his fuzz face? Silicon? Germ? If Silicon, is it the standard BC108? Of which I think there are several grades...

That's one key to his sound. On his records, you can hear the silicon FF in action... and when he stacks with his Tube Drive, ah, that's his violin tone.

Also, he uses single coils.

That's sort of a summary of his tone recipe.


Again, amps and fuzz = mix and match, a lot of guesswork or simply just trying it out to know.

I can tell you though, several tips that can help achieve a more tradition boost - that is, more gain, more harmonics, (hopefully) less bass/mud and more compression/sustain.

1) Cut bass on fuzz unit
2) Reduce gain on fuzz unit
3) Reduce gain on amp

Try those things and mess around with them - then report on your progress with the TF.

Have fun.
 
try rolling down the tone knob on the tiny terror and boost it with a tubescream with its tone knob rolled off?

it sounds pretty smooth on my set up
 
For me, I want the noise kinda fuzz because of the music I play.. The fuzzier, the better for me.. Great fuzz tone is half of what I need but the great noise fuzz in it is what Im looking for in it..
 
fuzzmusick said:
For me, I want the noise kinda fuzz because of the music I play.. The fuzzier, the better for me.. Great fuzz tone is half of what I need but the great noise fuzz in it is what Im looking for in it..
Click to expand...

Buffer in front of traditional/vintage/old-school type fuzz?
 
fuzzmusick said:
For me, I want the noise kinda fuzz because of the music I play.. The fuzzier, the better for me.. Great fuzz tone is half of what I need but the great noise fuzz in it is what Im looking for in it..
Click to expand...

effector13 and lastgasplaboratories. :twisted:
 
A big part to EJ's tone is the amp. 68' Plexi.

He doesn't stack Fuzz Face and Tube Driver. They are separated by a A/B box. The Fuzz is used in his rhythm overdriven sounds and the Tube Driver for the leads. Sometimes he alternates between both, but both are really smooth sounding... Why? It's the amp.

Similar results can be gained with your setup there, you just have to be really willing to tweak. Starting off with the warmest sound you can get with the Tweak Fuzz will get you closer than otherwise.
 
hmm. Since the discussion here is on fuzz maybe I'll share about my experience.

I'm using guitar > Boss OD1 > Pink Flesh > other pedals > Roland JC50. What I did is set the OD1 to boost, more vol, minimal drive and Pink Flesh to around sustain 20%, vol 40%, tone 50%. I'm using the JC50 clean, distortion off. The pink flesh is on for rhythm and when soloing I on the OD1. However fuzz seems pretty inconsistent and picky on amps. This setting does not work well with a Line 6 amp I used at the jamming studio I frequent. It sounded too harsh and almost unusable. As time is limited, I did not spend time tweaking too much and just continue jamming.

Right now I changed my settings, still with same sequence of pedals. OD1's Level and Drive both at 50%. Pink Flesh sustain 0% (yup). Vol 50% Tone 60%. This time on the JC50, I turned on the distortion (just clicked on but drive to minimal). This time I used the OD1 for rhythm work instead and kicked in the pink flesh for solo. When both pedals are stacked, the result is quite similar to the previous setting. But then, I had to try it at the jamming studio this coming weekend to see if this setting works better.

Then again, with the fuzz's inconsistency, it might not work well with yet another amp, say for a gig. So I guess there's no end to tweaking. Hurhur.
 
ok thanks for the replies guys! Shred you are the cause lol, but It great finding new sounds, but still love the guitar-lead-amp sound, thats hard to beat. did all the readings tho, its good stuff. may need to try an ibanez tubescreamer, though its probably an overrated vintage nostalgia kind of pedal

had a decent blast using the TF. Turns out it can get very muddy(like the speaker is broken with high gain settings). I have tried different combos, and have turned down the gain on teh amp. Sounds good with this though, because there is only one channel on the TT(and I like to play semi distorted(vol 5 amp, gain 4-5) normally for clean tones there had to be a way around it. so now my settings are:

clean
vol 6, gain 7 on the amp

vol 6 on guitar

distorted - i just switch the vol on the guitar to 10.

with light fuzz vol 6 or 7 on guitar.

if i want an all out fuzz fury i just go 10 on the guitar, this seems to be on with no muddines on vol 7 and gain 7 on TF, with tweak on middle setting, but didnt try for too long as this is damn loud, will try on the weekend with the band where i can crank it out.

Ok for pure valve tones, I find the fuzz cuts out some of the creaminess of the TT overdrive.
Its not as warm as if its plugged straight in, but it gives some nice sounds, sustain which is great and feedback(which i control to my liking, beautiful)

But still looking for that smooth, 10 tube, rich overdrive, do I need a plexi for this? Or is there a pedal along with my gear that will do this? I dont think I could justify the money on a butler pedal, but read about ibanez tubescreamer, now is there a huge difference between ts7, ts9, ts808 haah so many variants, im after something real smooth..and dont want to "clip" tone from the amp

oh well Im back to playing
 
Well, if you want a certain tone, you gotta look at the ingredients.

If its EJ, then check - what pedals, guitars, amps.

To start off first, I'd say - get a fuzz face. Check up the reissued Dunlop Fuzz Faces with NOS components and the original BC108 trannies. Those can get you start... cheaper than MJM which will also provide period correct component Fuzz Faces.

I have a nice silicon fuzz face and with the right amp settings, mainly with warmer, thick tones, I can get a nice singing tone with a nice bite that responds well with vol knob.



Abt the Tweak Fuzz, I'm not sure its exactly the best for running with that kind of amp. If you can, loan a dirt pedal... something like an SD1, DS1 or something... just run with that. Should work pretty well that way.
 
yeah, I might play around with it, im not overly impressed wiht the TT also, might need a full revamp. Have a ds2 but not too keen on it
 
ok edit tried the ds2 again, its not bad, doesnt clip the distortion from the TT, and adds to the tone when dist is way down and level is up, just dont really like the colour of the distortion tho, a bit too nasal sounding, need something with smoother mids i think, oh well ill keep experimenting
 
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