Chunky Cheese: Am I missing something?

[Ginsly]

Fantastic fuzz pedal, just didn't work out in my setup. It's a very versatile fuzz pedal, and the it's gate is one of the best I've heard. Think I might have to let this bad boy go soon, though.. Thanks for the input, everybody! If you have any questions about the Chunky Cheese, feel free to write me - I might be able to help you out

[Jared Lash]

I don't think you're missing anything per se. The Chunky Cheese (and obviously the Big Cheese it is based on) are just fuzz pedals and there are countless different variations and options because tastes differ so widely.

For me the attraction was that it checked almost all the boxes I was looking for with a fuzz:

• It worked well with active basses
• It was more aggressive sounding than "farty" or too nasally.
• It didn't have a built in mid scoop that made me disappear in a mix.
• And it could do gated sounds that were still stout and not "dying battery" like tones.

The only thing it didn't have was good low end retention or a built in clean blend.

Personally I totally dig the sound of a blended Chunky Cheese - just raw and biting. In fact tonewise I liked it more than the Brown Dog that I kept. But the need for the blend and the Chunk's greater versatility led me to sell it.

That said, if there was a Chunky Cheese modded with a good clean blend I'd absolutely give it a whirl again.

But that's me. If you don't dig it enough to deal with the hassle of a blend then don't worry about it and find a fuzz that works better for you.

Hope that helps.

[Ginsly]

Thanks a lot for your input, Jared - you make some very good points. I checked out your Chunky Cheese vs. Brown Dog thread before, but your post in this thread kind of sums it all up in a very concise way. Now it makes more sense to me why bassists go for this fuzz pedal over others - maybe I just haven't found the right settings for the band I use it in. Awesome reply, thank you! -Matt

[Eric!]

also, ask warwick.hoy
he cleanblends his with a suprecollider as well, I think

[warwick.hoy]

No, no,...the Supercollider requires no clean blend. I cascade a CC into a Dwarfcraft Devices Shiva and have that in a clean blend. The gate on the CC goes a long way to tame the Shiva for some pretty slick; but not over-bearing synthy sounds. The Shiva on it's own goes from "normal" fuzz to an almost heinous amount of lowend and nastiness but that's a different thread.

I will admit it does suck lowend which is why I use a clean blend (LS-2, don't seem to have phase issues), but the main appeal to me with the CC is the gate; that it is happy working with active and passive basses; as mention by Jared (who's old chunky cheese is now mine by way of Freaky Freq.) and it is incredibly versatile; has a wide range of tones. If I played mainly passive basses (and could afford it) I'd be Woolly Mammoth for gated fuzz all the way.

But to each his own,...if it's not working out for you Ginsly then I see no need for you to hang on to it. You should give it to me so I can give it to my guitarist.

[jetofuj]

I had two custom Big Cheese's with clean blends.

This is very unique sounding box. I loved it on guitar, but on bass it simply wasn't for me. I guess I would dig custom germanium version though.

[Ginsly]

I agree. On guitar it sounds absolutely incredible, and I'm sure there's a lot of people that would love it on bass as well. Aside from the low-end loss, it really is a rich-sounding bass fuzz - I'm just backing off of the fuzz a bit these days (not completely, though )

Originally Posted by jetofuj

I had two custom Big Cheese's with clean blends.

This is very unique sounding box. I loved it on guitar, but on bass it simply wasn't for me. I guess I would dig custom germanium version though.