Always-on Fuzz for classic rock? Anybody do this successfully?

[ThinCrappyTone2]

I play in a classic and modern rock cover band and only use fuzz for a few songs. But dang it sounds good to me.

What I find is that I don’t really notice the dirtyness of the fuzz when the whole band is playing. It just sort of sits in the mix just nice, and has a big full impact without seeming overly distorted.

When the bass is soloed though, it’s very fuzzy. Almost extreme. Seems inappropriate for what we are doing. Almost Lemmy territory. But in the mix, I love it.

For reference, this is the signal chain:
• Passive Soapbar humbuckers
• LP/HP filter (set at 35hz and 5k)
• Wampler Ego Mini compressor, set relatively gently, with clean blended about 60%
• EHX Bass Big Muff Pi in “clean blend” mode, fuzz at noon
• Genz Benz Shuttle 9.0 (has a tube in preamp, set pretty gainy)
• A pair of Genz Benz NeoX 12T ported 12" speakers, tweeters turned off

So I’m thinking of trying to have it always on, but since I have not yet tried this in a gig situation, only at rehearsal, I am concerned about a few things. All of them come down to my personal perception standing in front of the amp vs the reality of how it will sound to the audience.

Concerns:
1) How will it sound Di'd through front of house?
2) Similarly, does it only sound good in the onstage mix, standing 2 feet in front of the amp?
3) Should I consider using a cab sim for FOH?

My question is, are any of you all using fuzz all the time, in a classic rock band setting? How has it been received, if so?

Another consideration, I do love the tone of Dusty Hill’s bass, which is pretty heavy and dirty, IMO, on songs like “Cheap Sunglasses”.

Thank you for any info, insights, experience, advice and thoughts.

 

[Jeff Mock]

I'm using a Big Muff, and will kick that on mostly during the guitarist solo's, along with an octaver with a side of 5th. As a 3 piece, I use it to fill in the empty when the guitarist is in his solo. Otherwise, unless the song calls for it, I don't really keep it on. With a 4 or 5 piece though, I bet you could get away with leaving it on. It just sticks out too much with a 3 piece, for me. Only compression and the microtubes stay on full time.

 

[bassbrad]

I was using a @johnk_10 FET-F2B for a long time until discovering the @Sushi Box FX Underground Accelerator that lets me get as warm as needed for a given situation.

I think one of the reasons that preamps have become so popular is because so many folk are looking for those vintage warm just saturated sounds that modern amps given their added clean power and preamps just don't have any more. Not saying that in a bad way bass players have needed the full fidelity clean machines we have today but there were some sonic charms we loved in those old amps.

 

[n!k]

As a lover of heavy rock music, I assure you on points 1 and 2 that hearing a fuzzy bass in the audience sounds great. I don't think you need to overthink it too much, especially since you're going for a lower gain kind of woolly sound and not something really ripping or aggressive.

 

[Snaxster]

What I find is that I don’t really notice the dirtyness of the fuzz when the whole band is playing. It just sort of sits in the mix just nice, and has a big full impact without seeming overly distorted.

Hello. By chance, recently I read the description of a bass overdrive pedal, the Bass Blaster BB-2 by Free the Tone, in which the designer mentions this sort of context-based sound.

It was consistent with my experience of any sort of multi-sound source arrangement (instruments in a band, voices in a modular synth, whatever). The principle is not specific to bass guitar, but the bass example is characteristic. In other words, what you're experiencing there is a classic.

From BASS BLASTER BB-2 OVERDRIVE for BASS:

“The design of the Bass Blaster started as an idea from the Tube bassist Mr. Hideyuki Kakuno. In order to give a strong impression of the existing bass sound, similar the driving sound of a tube amp, with a slight amount of distortion audible if you listen to the bass by itself, but without being able to hear the distortion when listening to the bass with the whole band, I was asked to create a pedal that could recreate this kind of sound.”​

 

[Michedelic]

I play in a classic and modern rock cover band and only use fuzz for a few songs. But dang it sounds good to me.

What I find is that I don’t really notice the dirtyness of the fuzz when the whole band is playing. It just sort of sits in the mix just nice, and has a big full impact without seeming overly distorted.

When the bass is soloed though, it’s very fuzzy. Almost extreme. Seems inappropriate for what we are doing. Almost Lemmy territory. But in the mix, I love it.

For reference, this is the signal chain:
• Passive Soapbar humbuckers
• LP/HP filter (set at 35hz and 5k)
• Wampler Ego Mini compressor, set relatively gently, with clean blended about 60%
• EHX Bass Big Muff Pi in “clean blend” mode, fuzz at noon
• Genz Benz Shuttle 9.0 (has a tube in preamp, set pretty gainy)
• A pair of Genz Benz NeoX 12T ported 12" speakers, tweeters turned off

So I’m thinking of trying to have it always on, but since I have not yet tried this in a gig situation, only at rehearsal, I am concerned about a few things. All of them come down to my personal perception standing in front of the amp vs the reality of how it will sound to the audience.

Concerns:
1) How will it sound Di'd through front of house?
2) Similarly, does it only sound good in the onstage mix, standing 2 feet in front of the amp?
3) Should I consider using a cab sim for FOH?

My question is, are any of you all using fuzz all the time, in a classic rock band setting? How has it been received, if so?

Another consideration, I do love the tone of Dusty Hill’s bass, which is pretty heavy and dirty, IMO, on songs like “Cheap Sunglasses”.

Thank you for any info, insights, experience, advice and thoughts.

Like this?


Not a fuzzbox but an example of a tube amp(KT88 power)driven into hard clipping, which is what a fuzz does.

 

[ThinCrappyTone2]

Hello. By chance, recently I read the description of a bass overdrive pedal, the Bass Blaster BB-2 by Free the Tone, in which the designer mentions this sort of context-based sound.

It was consistent with my experience of any sort of multi-sound source arrangement (instruments in a band, voices in a modular synth, whatever). The principle is not specific to bass guitar, but the bass example is characteristic. In other words, what you're experiencing there is a classic.

From BASS BLASTER BB-2 OVERDRIVE for BASS:

“The design of the Bass Blaster started as an idea from the Tube bassist Mr. Hideyuki Kakuno. In order to give a strong impression of the existing bass sound, similar the driving sound of a tube amp, with a slight amount of distortion audible if you listen to the bass by itself, but without being able to hear the distortion when listening to the bass with the whole band, I was asked to create a pedal that could recreate this kind of sound.”​

awesome, exactly what im thinking about. Thank you for the info!

 

[ThinCrappyTone2]

Like this?


Not a fuzzbox but an example of a tube amp(KT88 power)driven into hard clipping, which is what a fuzz does.

love this tone, thank you for the examle!

 

[ThinCrappyTone2]

As a lover of heavy rock music, I assure you on points 1 and 2 that hearing a fuzzy bass in the audience sounds great. I don't think you need to overthink it too much, especially since you're going for a lower gain kind of woolly sound and not something really ripping or aggressive.

cool! thank you for the encouragement!

 

[knumbskull]

If you’re sending fuzz straight to FOH, I would say just make sure the top end is nicely rolled off and not too fizzy.

You may already know this but I learned it the hard way!

 

[ThinCrappyTone2]

If you’re sending fuzz straight to FOH, I would say just make sure the top end is nicely rolled off and not too fizzy.

You may already know this but I learned it the hard way!

Thanks @nnmbskull!

 

[ThinCrappyTone2]

I'm using a Big Muff, and will kick that on mostly during the guitarist solo's, along with an octaver with a side of 5th. As a 3 piece, I use it to fill in the empty when the guitarist is in his solo. Otherwise, unless the song calls for it, I don't really keep it on. With a 4 or 5 piece though, I bet you could get away with leaving it on. It just sticks out too much with a 3 piece, for me. Only compression and the microtubes stay on full time.

Thanks for the feedback @Jeff Mock !

 

[Tommy Sparks]

I definitely do with a 3 piece.
Well…. Kind of. I drive a tube amp and get what you’re talking about. With 2 guitars and playing by myself so much.

 

[Newmarket]

re DI to FOH. It might sound too harsh with a "straight DI". Maybe some sort of cabsim function after it ?

 

[Killing Floor]

Run through a set and see if you get any feedback. If it’s negative you can pretend it was an accident. But you won’t get any feedback. So do it if you like it. Bass tone is self validating.

 

[MotorCityMinion]

As a lover of heavy rock music, I assure you on points 1 and 2 that hearing a fuzzy bass in the audience sounds great.

I too am a heavy rock music fan and I can assure you that I can not stand fuzz/distortion on bass, either playing the bass or listening to it.

 

[ThinCrappyTone2]

Run through a set and see if you get any feedback. If it’s negative you can pretend it was an accident. But you won’t get any feedback. So do it if you like it. Bass tone is self validating.

Wise words my friend

 

[H K]

From BASS BLASTER BB-2 OVERDRIVE for BASS:

“The design of the Bass Blaster started as an idea from the Tube bassist Mr. Hideyuki Kakuno. In order to give a strong impression of the existing bass sound, similar the driving sound of a tube amp, with a slight amount of distortion audible if you listen to the bass by itself, but without being able to hear the distortion when listening to the bass with the whole band, I was asked to create a pedal that could recreate this kind of sound.”​

Was gonna say something along these lines. A small-medium amount of OD/Fuzz/Distortion will help you cut through the mix. I'd say, get a double OD/Fuzz pedal (such as Hot Wax by EHX for example), and you can keep one set relatively low, and keep that one on, and the other one set higher, so when you pump them both on, you go from well-mixed to mayhem.

 

[No Malarky]

I like a fuzzy bass.

I remember reading an interview with Geezer Butler about the recording of the "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" album. He related how he started out with the the Fuzz on for every track. After a while Tony and the rest of the band began to sabotage him. They removed the fuzz unit, which he promptly replaced, and finally they removed the strings from his studio basses in protest.

Geezer jokingly said he finally got the message.

Ya gotta love it!

 

[NKBassman]

I play in a classic and modern rock cover band and only use fuzz for a few songs. But dang it sounds good to me.

What I find is that I don’t really notice the dirtyness of the fuzz when the whole band is playing. It just sort of sits in the mix just nice, and has a big full impact without seeming overly distorted.

When the bass is soloed though, it’s very fuzzy. Almost extreme. Seems inappropriate for what we are doing. Almost Lemmy territory. But in the mix, I love it.

For reference, this is the signal chain:
• Passive Soapbar humbuckers
• LP/HP filter (set at 35hz and 5k)
• Wampler Ego Mini compressor, set relatively gently, with clean blended about 60%
• EHX Bass Big Muff Pi in “clean blend” mode, fuzz at noon
• Genz Benz Shuttle 9.0 (has a tube in preamp, set pretty gainy)
• A pair of Genz Benz NeoX 12T ported 12" speakers, tweeters turned off

So I’m thinking of trying to have it always on, but since I have not yet tried this in a gig situation, only at rehearsal, I am concerned about a few things. All of them come down to my personal perception standing in front of the amp vs the reality of how it will sound to the audience.

Concerns:
1) How will it sound Di'd through front of house?
2) Similarly, does it only sound good in the onstage mix, standing 2 feet in front of the amp?
3) Should I consider using a cab sim for FOH?

My question is, are any of you all using fuzz all the time, in a classic rock band setting? How has it been received, if so?

Another consideration, I do love the tone of Dusty Hill’s bass, which is pretty heavy and dirty, IMO, on songs like “Cheap Sunglasses”.

Thank you for any info, insights, experience, advice and thoughts.

I like a dirty tone in the mix. My base underlying tone is always a bit dirty and I almost never go for clean-clean in a live setting (studio recording is a totally different matter). Then I add more drive as needed within the context of each song, from dirty boost to overdrive to full on fuzz.

To answer your specific questions directly:

1. Depends on the sound guy and his competency in tuning a dirty bass signal in the FOH system. Could vary from room to room.
2. Doubt it. Once you get guitars and cymbals going, I usually find that some grit on the bass helps it all gel together.
3. Perhaps. Sending a cab-sim DI signal to FOH would provide more consistency with how it sounds from room to room. Maybe start by putting your HP/LPF after the fuzz. If you have access to any kind of headphone amp, try listening to your DI signal and tuning it with the LPF with headphones, then see how that sounds back through your stage rig.