So there are two very specific questions in the OP with a much more general question for a title. I'll see if I can answer each.
1)Will the Woolly Mammoth have the same problem as the Mastotron? If any Mammoth owners could post here I would be grateful.
The Woolly Mammoth has a different TONE than the Mastotron but if you aren't cutting through now, I don't think a WM will be the fix you want. The Mammoth does have more of a square wave, "chunky" tone vs the more "velcro" fuzz sound of the Mastotron. Whether that makes a difference in your band's mix I have no idea.
2)If the Mammoth won't cut through, or at least be heard, in a mix, what other fuzzes can get a high gain fuzzy, even synthy, sound? I play in two bands, a rock band and an electronica two piece band, so sometimes I need a wall of massive, gated, fuzz.
A number of fuzzes can get the sound you want (I like and use a Chunk Brown Dog for all my fuzz needs, including synthy, gated sounds and love a blended Big Cheese or OLC Chunky Cheese as well). But the reality is that again, if you aren't cutting through now I don't think a different flavor of gated, synthy fuzz is your answer.
This leads to the question in the title:
Fuzz that doesn't get lost in the mix?
There are several factors at work when your fuzz tone is getting lost in the mix.
One is that by nature a fuzz pedal is clipping your tone and reducing note definition. There's no fuzz that by itself will help you cut through a mix it will ALWAYS give you less clarity. Muff type fuzzes often exacerbate this by additionally scooping your mids which are the frequencies where bass "cuts through" in a mix to begin with.
So how do you make a fuzz better heard in a mix? There are a couple ways:
1. Have the fuzz louder than unity. When practicing by myself the settings I have for my fuzz often seem WAY too loud, but in a mix it very often helps to have it significantly louder than your clean tone.
2. Blend in clean tone either with a fuzz with a built in blend or a blender pedal. This doesn't make the fuzz "cut through" any better, but gives the bass overall more presence in the mix.
3. Work with your bandmates to carve out appropriate sonic space. This is the most important aspect. If you want fuzz to be heard you need to have room in the mix for it. Otherwise it will just sound like the bass disappeared among the cacophony. It's why I often discourage metal bassists who are asking for a distortion or fuzz for their bands. If you're competing with two heavily distorted guitars, the best way to cut through is to be clean with a bump in the low mids.
Likewise, if you ARE going to use fuzz on bass, the best time is when your guitar player is relatively clean and not stepping on your frequency range.
My two cents anyway.
. I will edit it right now.
