MI Audio neo fuzz or Subdecay flying tomato?

[emjazz]

Which do you prefer and why? Have you compared the two?

[David Wilson]

I've owned the neo and the v1 flying tomato in larger housing, still own the neo. Don't know if anything fundamental changed when they put it into the smaller casing.

What sort of fuzz sound are you looking for?
The neo is a really fat creamy sounding fuzz, the flying tomato had less character to the sound. I felt I didn't have enough control over the tone on the FT, iirc the v1 only had a tone control, whereas you have a huge amount of control with the Neo. On the other hand, the ft has some cool gated sounds available via the bias controls.

They did add hi/lo eq knobs to the FT v2, so maybe I'd like that one better. But for me, I've tried a LOT of fuzzes and the Neo stood out for me from the moment I plugged it in.

[emjazz]

I'm definately looking for something that can get a gated sound. It sounds like maybe the FT does this better than the Neo?

[Jared Lash]

I had the second version of the Flying Tomato and a Neo Fuzz. I've actually had the MI Audio GI Fuzz too, since the Neo was out of stock at both places I buy pedals from so I gave the GI a whirl.

Now, I like a big, thick wall of fuzz so take my comments with a grain of salt. I found all three a bit on the nasal side. It was hard for me to dial in a fuzz tone that I really liked, but I found settings on each that I liked. But I'm guessing that like me you have active basses, which limited my choices. Again, that's jus my preference. (It's why I hate the MXR Blowtorch) For me, I felt that the MI pedals had a bigger range of sounds and that the tone knob extended further in either direction (if that makes sense) though I generally had it rolled almost completely off.

To answer your question, I thought the Subdecay did the gated sound best though they could all do it.

That said, I actually liked the tone of the Neo more than the Tomato. The GI was a lot of fun to play around with, but being a harsher fuzz it was a little more limiting as to where I could use it in a band setting which is why I sold it.

I'm not sure how helpful my rambling is, but here's a good bottom line:

If you want a harsh, crazy fuzz that can also do gated sounds - get the GI Fuzz
If you want a smooth, creamy fuzz that can also do gated sounds - get the Neo Fuzz.
But if your main purpose is for gated fuzz - get the Flying Tomato.

[emjazz]

Originally Posted by TheBigO

I had the second version of the Flying Tomato and a Neo Fuzz. I've actually had the MI Audio GI Fuzz too, since the Neo was out of stock at both places I buy pedals from so I gave the GI a whirl.

Now, I like a big, thick wall of fuzz so take my comments with a grain of salt. I found all three a bit on the nasal side. It was hard for me to dial in a fuzz tone that I really liked, but I found settings on each that I liked. But I'm guessing that like me you have active basses, which limited my choices. Again, that's jus my preference. (It's why I hate the MXR Blowtorch) For me, I felt that the MI pedals had a bigger range of sounds and that the tone knob extended further in either direction (if that makes sense) though I generally had it rolled almost completely off.

To answer your question, I thought the Subdecay did the gated sound best though they could all do it.

That said, I actually liked the tone of the Neo more than the Tomato. The GI was a lot of fun to play around with, but being a harsher fuzz it was a little more limiting as to where I could use it in a band setting which is why I sold it.

I'm not sure how helpful my rambling is, but here's a good bottom line:

If you want a harsh, crazy fuzz that can also do gated sounds - get the GI Fuzz
If you want a smooth, creamy fuzz that can also do gated sounds - get the Neo Fuzz.
But if your main purpose is for gated fuzz - get the Flying Tomato.

You're right, I'd be using an active bass most of the time, which certainly limits my choices. I do wish that I could try these two before I bought them. Difficult to find them both in one shop. Maybe MuiscToyz? I'll have to check them out. I did listen to the clips of the FT in the Wiki and I liked them a lot, especially the gated sound. I would love to find out if the neo does that sound well enough for my needs though.

Thanks for the responses from both of you. They certainly helped.

As an aside, have either of you tried the MI Audio Blue Boy Deluxe?

BigO...I saw in your profile that you're interested in the Empress Delay...I'm hoping to pick one up myself. It looks great.

[David Wilson]

Originally Posted by TheBigO

If you want a harsh, crazy fuzz that can also do gated sounds - get the GI Fuzz
If you want a smooth, creamy fuzz that can also do gated sounds - get the Neo Fuzz.
But if your main purpose is for gated fuzz - get the Flying Tomato.

having tried the GI also, I'd agree with this summary

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by emjazz

I would love to find out if the neo does that sound well enough for my needs though.

Thanks for the responses from both of you. They certainly helped.

As an aside, have either of you tried the MI Audio Blue Boy Deluxe?

BigO...I saw in your profile that you're interested in the Empress Delay...I'm hoping to pick one up myself. It looks great.

As for the Neo, it does gated, though it's a bit harder to dial in. I figured you'd just put the bias at 0 but then you just get sputtering like a dying battery. When you do dial it in, it doesn't sound quite as synthy as the Flying Tomato, but it sounded alright.

Nope, unfortunately I've never tried the Blue Boy.

One other thought is that you might want to check out the Chunk Systems Brown Dog. More expensive than the Neo or FT but it also plays nice with actives and does a great gated sound. And while I'm not the biggest fan of blends with dirt pedals, I thought the Brown Dog's worked well. A pretty versatile fuzz.

Yeah, I want a Super Delay badly. My stimulus payment just arrived so I'm resisting the urge to order one (I'd get the mod for expression control of delay time) but what I really want to see from Empress next is a reverb. Preferably one that could do gated and/or reverse sounds.

[emjazz]

Originally Posted by TheBigO

As for the Neo, it does gated, though it's a bit harder to dial in. I figured you'd just put the bias at 0 but then you just get sputtering like a dying battery. When you do dial it in, it doesn't sound quite as synthy as the Flying Tomato, but it sounded alright.

Nope, unfortunately I've never tried the Blue Boy.

One other thought is that you might want to check out the Chunk Systems Brown Dog. More expensive than the Neo or FT but it also plays nice with actives and does a great gated sound. And while I'm not the biggest fan of blends with dirt pedals, I thought the Brown Dog's worked well. A pretty versatile fuzz.

Yeah, I want a Super Delay badly. My stimulus payment just arrived so I'm resisting the urge to order one (I'd get the mod for expression control of delay time) but what I really want to see from Empress next is a reverb. Preferably one that could do gated and/or reverse sounds.

Sounds like I may want to try the Flying Tomato first. I'd love to get that synthy/gated sound to use with my Moog Lowpass Filter.

As for Empress.....you should let them know that. I'd bet they're a company that really listens to what cusomers are looking for. Although....I hope they never make that....my wallet can only take so much.....I'm about to receive money for my echolution and I'm thinking about just turning around and getting the Superdelay.

[emjazz]

I got the Flying Tomato today. It seems to me that when you turn the bias way down to get a gated sound that the low end drops completely out.....anyone else have that happen? I'm really bummed because I like the general character of the pedal. I emailed Subdecay to find out if there's anything that I can do..or they can do. If it doesn't work out than I'm going with the Neo Fuzz.

....and Big O....I got the Empress Superdelay....it's all that my friend. Amazing delay.

[emjazz]

Also, other than the Brown Dog and the Mammoth, can you tell me of any other gated fuzz's out there?

[emjazz]

Here's my question to Brian at Subdecay and his answer:

Question:
Hey Brian. I just got a Flying Tomato Fuzz today for my bass. I got it specifically to use the gated sound and I'm dispointed right off the bat. The standard fuzz sound with the bias all the way up sounds great but when I turn the bias way down to get a gated sound the low end drops completely out. Is there a way to modify the pedal so that I can retain the bass signal when I gate the sound? Am I doing something wrong? There aren't many options for a gated fuzz out there and I'd love to make this pedal work for me. Any ideas? Thanks.

Answer:
When you turn the bias down on the tomato, it starves the circuit for voltage. This makes the signal go for sort of a square wave, to a pulse wave. Pulse waves just don't have as much energy as square waves.If you are unhappy with it, most of our dealers have pretty liberal return policies.


Looks like I may be sending it back....I'll give it another try tomorrow.

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by emjazz

I got the Flying Tomato today. It seems to me that when you turn the bias way down to get a gated sound that the low end drops completely out.....anyone else have that happen? I'm really bummed because I like the general character of the pedal. I emailed Subdecay to find out if there's anything that I can do..or they can do. If it doesn't work out than I'm going with the Neo Fuzz.

Hmm. I did notice some low end loss but I don't remember it being that bad. Then again, I never took this pedal to band practice to play through my real rig, only my practice amp. Personally I just found the Tomato too nasally for my tastes on all settings. I've since decided that what I need is really bassy fuzz.

Anyway, other gated fuzzes that I can think of besides the Mammoth, Brown Dog and MI Neo or GI: Zoom Ultra Fuzz, OLC Chunky Cheese (a Big Cheese clone it will also lose some lows), and some Devi Ever pedals - I believe the BIT is one. Hope that helps.

Originally Posted by emjazz

....and Big O....I got the Empress Superdelay....it's all that my friend. Amazing delay.

Damn you. I need to be saving money. Actually, when I was really considering it a few weeks ago, I realized that if I did, I would miss the Swell setting on my Echo Park. Still, I may get one in the not too distant future.

[emjazz]

Originally Posted by TheBigO

Hmm. I did notice some low end loss but I don't remember it being that bad. Then again, I never took this pedal to band practice to play through my real rig, only my practice amp. Personally I just found the Tomato too nasally for my tastes on all settings. I've since decided that what I need is really bassy fuzz.

Anyway, other gated fuzzes that I can think of besides the Mammoth, Brown Dog and MI Neo or GI: Zoom Ultra Fuzz, OLC Chunky Cheese (a Big Cheese clone it will also lose some lows), and some Devi Ever pedals - I believe the BIT is one. Hope that helps.

Yeah, I'm finding the FT to be too "nasally" for my tastes as well. When I turn my overdrive on (Analogman modded TS9DX) it retains the sound of my bass but makes it overdriven. When I turn the FT on it gives my bass and the fuzz a more midrange character that just isn't doing it for me. By your comments I'm concerned that the Neo may do the same?

By the way, I did get more bass response out of the FT, but I had to turn the volume up on the pedal....at that point the volume is louder than my clean bass signal. I'd have to get a pedal to take the volume down after the FT....I don't like the tone enough to do that.

I'm almost willing to get a Wooly Mammoth at this point, but I've heard from some that it doesn't play nice with active basses.

[David Wilson]

Originally Posted by emjazz

I'm almost willing to get a Wooly Mammoth at this point, but I've heard from some that it doesn't play nice with active basses.

That's putting it mildly

[emjazz]

Originally Posted by David Wilson

That's putting it mildly

Ah...oh well.

David, do you find the Neo to be more midrange focused? Does it retain the low end of your bass?

[David Wilson]

no shortage of low end with the Neo, you can adjust the midrange with the body knob.

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by David Wilson

no shortage of low end with the Neo, you can adjust the midrange with the body knob.

The Neo doesn't lose low end though it's actual fuzz wasn't bassy enough for me personally. (I hope that makes sense)

The Neo had some good things going for it: it works with active basses, it is compact, it has a very vintage fuzz tone and is pretty tweakable. The only problem I had with it might be a problem for you too and that's that it doesn't do the greatest gated fuzz sound. But I'd definitely try it for yourself before deciding.

My eventual solution was to get a very thick fuzz (Frantone Bassweet) and then get a Chunk Brown dog for my buzzy, gated fuzz needs. But now with the Octavius Squeezer set to hit the market this summer I've just left room on my board for it.

[basswave]

Hey Andy

Now this is kind of different but for active basses it works.

The EBS Multidrive (I had one and kind of miss it now) they work great.

Granted its a different animal but for active I think it sounds killer.

[emjazz]

Originally Posted by basswave

Hey Andy

Now this is kind of different but for active basses it works.

The EBS Multidrive (I had one and kind of miss it now) they work great.

Granted its a different animal but for active I think it sounds killer.

Thanks Tony. I think I have my overdriven sound taken care of with my Analogman TS9DX, but now I'm looking for a deeper sounding fuzz pedal that I can gate. I just saw that Analogman does a Fuzz Face pedal that has a bias knob so I may look into that.

[kevteop]

I was tempted to buy a Brown Dog from the samples on Chunk's site, but the lack of any EQ control put me off.

If it's the gate effect you're after, couldn't you just find a fuzz that you love and add a gate pedal? I've got an old DOD FX30B that I leave on my board for that sort of thing.