Dialing in the Fuzz

[Jawbone]

I've been doing a lot of experimenting with a variety of fuzz pedals trying to find the perfect fuzz. The laboratory is as follows: Mesa M6, Eden 410xlt, Gibson T-bird.

Fuzz pedals: EHX BBM, Russian Black, Green and Mod'ed black with the Indy mod, Assmaster (silicon), Fredrick shin-e and a pickle.

Let's say they all have three pots: sustain, tone and level. (yea, I know some of these have more and some less).

Basically, I've been using each of the variants and trying to emulate the fuzz tone of several songs. Problem is I can't seem to get close.

My question: is there a proper way to bring a fuzz into the mix, i.e, start with all setting to their lowest possible state or start with the sustain all the way CW and the tone CCW, start with both in the center, etc. Does anyone have ideal settings for any of the pedals I've listed?

I even tried to search the "pedal boards of the stars" and copy their settings (that i could recognize) and that hasn't worked. I'm beginning to think a majority of the tone we hear is from the studio engineers wizardry, producers, soundboards, etc. (after all that's why they get the big bucks)

[bongomania]

Originally Posted by Jawbone

I'm beginning to think a majority of the tone we hear is from the studio engineers wizardry, producers, soundboards, etc. (after all that's why they get the big bucks)

Yep--that's one of the key "real answers". I mean, some people here have posted samples showing that they can in fact cop their hero's sounds, so it's not impossible with "mere pedals". But more often than not the sound on the record has as much to do with studio wizardry as the bassist or his gear.

[fu22ba55]

To me, fuzz is one of the simplest tones to get, but you might need a different amp if you don't want it to sound like a "pedal." The M9 is a clean machine.

-Make sure the tone is rolled all the way off on your bass.

-Use the neck pickup only.

-Find someone local with an old ampeg B15, V4 or V4B (or SVT) and ask them if you can turn up the volume past noon.

-Enjoy.

(Use that sound as your baseline, for what you're trying to emulate.)

I also find I prefer the fuzz sound I get from 15s rather than 10s, but you can get there with 10s.

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Either the Black Russian or the Green Russian should deliver the sound you're looking for in spades. Just make sure you roll the tone (middle?) knob all the way off on the russians. All the way. If that tone knob creeps up at all, all the low end disappears immediately.

Then just add how much gain you want (right knob) and adjust your dirty level to match your clean. (left knob.)