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Favorite Fuzz into overdrive combinations

W

wilmerflax

Aug 5, 2007
15
0
Carbondale, IL
#1
I have done some searches and come across some good discussion, but I am either too lazy or too ignorant to find a really substantial thread about this topic.

At the moment I am using an LS-2 to blend my clean signal with a signal running a Russian Big Muff into an Ashdown Bassdrive Plus, and I really like how that sound sits in the live mix. The blended sound is a little awkward when I play by myself, but in the band context it really helps fill some space. From some of the threads I have found, it looks like a fuzz into an overdrive set for low gain is a pretty sweet set up that many people have discovered.

I have been dabbling with some diy stuff and am considering building a maximally awesome fuzz into overdrive setup, and I am wondering if anybody has any specific favorite fuzz into overdrive combinations. Of course, it would be most advantageous to me if the combinations were of easily cloned circuits, but I would love to hear about any particularly awesome combination you have discovered.
 
#4
I don't like stacking dirt pedals because of the multiple filtering that occurs when you do that. Lots of times the sound becomes very unnatural and over-compressed or just over-processed or over-saturated. If you want fuzz into more dirt, what I've found works best by a long shot is a fuzz into an overdriven amp, and I don't mean amp modeler.
 
#7
Mark Olson said:
I don't like stacking dirt pedals because of the multiple filtering that occurs when you do that. Lots of times the sound becomes very unnatural and over-compressed or just over-processed or over-saturated. If you want fuzz into more dirt, what I've found works best by a long shot is a fuzz into an overdriven amp, and I don't mean amp modeler.
Click to expand...

If I could afford a low powered tube amp, I would take your advice. Sadly, playing in church does not pay. I'm stuck with cloning what I can and scouring ebay for the rest.

In a best case scenario, though, I think you're right.
 
#9
You could probably score a vintage Ampeg V2 on the cheap. One of my friends has one and loves it on bass cranked up with an Analogman Beano Boost. I have a Bass Beano Boost that I use with already overdriven tube amps to get that amp about to explode sound, but it's amazing how dynamic your sound remains when you go that route.
 
#10
Xotic Bass BB -> EHX Bass Big Muff (especially on the dry setting)

The boost pushes the BBM into super heavy gain without overloading it, and with the BBM in dry mode you get the overdrive sound of the BB blended with the heavy fuzz. Sounds glorious.
 
#13
I like running unblended overdrives that don't cut lows into fuzzes with a blend. Some I'm using are Xotic BB pre into Wounded Paw Attack Goat OR KP OR EH Blogger (never both) into Blowtorch, always with about 60% "clean" blend. I can also run a Prunes and Custard or my new (yay!) Cross Drive into the BB Pre, that brings out more brightness and distortion. I think some distortion circuits work well together and some don't. The Xotic BB into Blowtorch does not work as well as it doesn't change the sound much. Just about any dirt sounds great into the Attack Goat...it adds upper octave harmonics (again, 60% clean, drive at 10 o'clock, tone full midrange pass = full left)
 
#15
bassman1185 said:
In my experience, running OD->Fuzz works a whole lot better than Fuzz->OD, although the Bass VT and similar "amp OD" pedals can add a lot of balls to fuzz.
Click to expand...

OD-->Fuzz is a nice sound, but I've found that for my setup (p/j with quarterpounders into an ampeg combo) Fuzz-->OD sits better in the mix.

The real trick is to keep the OD at a low gain setting, which produces a fairly unique dirty sound in my experience.
 
#19
If I do something like this the overdrive is basically set like a boost
usually i do USA or Russian Muff into Boss BassOD set as a boost. With the settings I like for my Guv'nor pedal it's a little too noisy for my liking to run a Muff into it. Also since I only use the BassOD as a boost anyway it works better for me like that.
I'd like to see what I could do if I blended in a clean signal.
 

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