Effect for heavy metal distortion/fuzz (Twiggy Ramirez, etc)
 

I'm wondering what type of distortion or effect would be used to mimic Twiggy Ramirez's sound on a lot of Marilyn manons's recordings. Some recordings sound punchy and clean , while others have that fuzzy growl. I know he used primarily Gibson t-birds and ampegs but I don't have much info on effects. Any info is appreciate

The MXR M-80 has a Twiggy setting listed in the manual. Maybe try that one.

According to his Bio:

Twiggy Ramirez: Bass
Gibson Thunderbird basses (5, in standard, drop D, and drop B tunings)
Ampeg SVT-2PRO amp heads (3)
Ampeg 4×10 (3) and 1×15 cabinets (3)
Dunlop overdrive, distortion, and wah pedals
Whirlwind Multiselector
Samson 660 Wireless
Behringer SNR2000 Denoiser gate

http://www.funksheet.com/2012/07/mar...gear-2012.html

Not to sound stupid here, but what's the difference between overdrive and distortion exactly?

The degree of clipping. Distortion involves more clipping of the wave than overdrive, but both are less clipped than fuzz.

So which effect has more "effect" on the sound? Fuzz...overdrive...then distortion? So does twiggy actually use this pedal or is this just a setting to imitate him?

Overdrive is generally the least distorted, then distortion is in the middle, then fuzz is most distorted or fuzzy. The only problem is that some pedals labelled with these terms are actually closer to some of the others. Go to a big box music stores and try out a bunch. Try the ones labelled for bass but some that are supposedly for guitar work for bass as well (I use an OCD clone which is a guitar overdrive that works fine for bass).

OK...so when you say signal clipping, the fuzz is basically letting more of the clipped signal through?

If you're interested, this video shows some decent shots of the pedalboard of current bassist, Fred Sablan. It appears to be Boss TU-2(3), Ernie Ball VPJR, Fulltone Bass-Drive, Dunlop 105Q. A very simple, yet very efficient board!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ2o2v4do4Y&NR=1