Buying a Fuzz Pedal this week, looking for a bit of advice before i spend my pennies.

[CormacBass]

I've recently joined a band thats a lot louder than my usual style. I've been asked to get a more "fuzzy" sound from my bass to "fill out the sound" as the band is a three piece.

My current recording setup is a
- Roscoe Beck IV with flat d'addario chrome 50s, I usually have the pickups set to parallel
- an analog man chorus with dept switch running @ 18v
- a fulltone bassdrive mosfet (I can't get a good fuzz sound with this)
- an Orange Crush 35b with a Eminence delta 12a speaker

I also own a homemade 400 watt amp which I'll be replacing soon.

I've done a lot of research over the last few weeks, in particular on bassfuzz.com and I like the sound of the Bass Big Muff Pi. It has an option to layer the fuzz sound with your original bass sound which sounds great. This pedal is also only €75 which is very reasonable.

I have a Boss ODB-3 in storage somewhere that I hated because I couldn't get any lowend out of it and it wasn't true bypass.

My questions are:
Do you recommend me buying another fuzz pedal instead?
How will the fuzz sound with my setup?
Will it work right with my flats?


Thank You.

[HolmeBass]

Originally Posted by CormacBass

I've recently joined a band thats a lot louder than my usual style. I've been asked to get a more "fuzzy" sound from my bass to "fill out the sound" as the band is a three piece.

My current recording setup is a
- Roscoe Beck IV with flat d'addario chrome 50s, I usually have the pickups set to parallel
- an analog man chorus with dept switch running @ 18v
- a fulltone bassdrive mosfet (I can't get a good fuzz sound with this)
- an Orange Crush 35b with a Eminence delta 12a speaker

I also own a homemade 400 watt amp which I'll be replacing soon.

I've done a lot of research over the last few weeks, in particular on bassfuzz.com and I like the sound of the Bass Big Muff Pi. It has an option to layer the fuzz sound with your original bass sound which sounds great. This pedal is also only €75 which is very reasonable.

I have a Boss ODB-3 in storage somewhere that I hated because I couldn't get any lowend out of it and it wasn't true bypass.

My questions are:
Do you recommend me buying another fuzz pedal instead?
How will the fuzz sound with my setup?
Will it work right with my flats?


Thank You.

I might also look into Pickle Pie B which is a boutique Muff clone, also with a clean blend knob, and is more flexible than the Muff, although opinions do vary. It will be more expensive than the Muff.

Another Muff clone is Way Huge Swollen Pickle Mk II, which I own. It is *radical* and pretty menacing, especially when you adjust the internal controls to open it up more. That would be a bit more Euros than the Muff, but really not too much more. It doesn't have a clean blend, but it inherently has lots of subby low end.

There are many *many* more options. If you search on here for fuzz pedals you'll get polls and lots of threads.

[Gero]

The cheaper fuzz's that come to mind, are variations of big muffs, the mxr grande, etc. You should check out http://www.noisemakereffects.com too if you haven't. LOTS of options and all very cheap.

To answer the questions...yes, more fuzz! I have no idea the sound with your set up. Should work fine with flats.

[Laurent]

I use several fuzz pedals with flats and they all sound great.

EH Big Muff Bass is a great place to start. Swollwen Pickle (same pedal than Pickle Pie) will also do it.

[A Strohman]

Originally Posted by Laurent

EH Big Muff Bass is a great place to start.

I agree with this. I know the BBM gets a lot of "meh" opinions in this forum but as a first step into the fuzz world, I think its a great place to start. They're cheap, easy to find and will serve as a nice gateway to other fuzzes.

[DeadPoet]

I'd say don't overthink it too much, get something your gut tells you to buy and live with it. If after a while it turns out that that particular fuzz isn't the end-of-all-fuzz-quests for you you can always trade it for something else..

My first fuzz was a EHX LBM and while it wasn't the best I tried living with it for a year or two. When redesigning my board the last time it turned out its footprint was too big to fit on the new incarnation so I got something else, pure on reading and reviews (EQD Hoof) - couldn't been happier with it but I do realize maybe in a couple of years I get fed up with that as well... (lucky for me I have 4 other dirt pedals on the same board backing up that hoof )


Herwig

[CormacBass]

Thanks for the great replies.
I love the sound of the Pickle Pie B, really nice sound. It's pretty expensive though.
I think I'm going to start with the BBM, there is some great threads about modding it which looks like a lot of fun.

[Mikhail]

The September issue of Guitar Player magazine has a feature story, "All About Fuzz". You might find some useful information there.

[CormacBass]

Thanks for that, I bought a BBM and modded it with the volume and feedback mods, sounds great!

[Charley Umbria]

I play a passive P-Bass with flats and love the Frantone Lo-Tone Classic Fuzz.

It doesn't have a blend, but the bottom end is so heavy that you don't need it. You can also use it for thickening without a huge wall of distortion. The Lo-Tone is out of production, but they occasionally pop up for sale in the TB classifieds. One sold last month for $135.00.

I don't know what your budget is, but there's one on eBay right now for $234.95.