I think I want a fuzz...

But have yet to like a single soundclip posted here or on retailers' sites.

With absolutely no disrespect intended to those who take the time and effort to try and bring us samples and reviews, I'm left wondering if it's the recording process or the fuzz "genre" itself that's leaving me cold.

Am I misunderstanding what a "fuzz" should sound like? Is the big slab of biting, but thick and brassy, slashed speakers, but gated and still thoroughly controllable goodness in my head more in the distortion family?

Does fuzz into a soundcard lack all the special speaker and amplifier qualities that transform it into something special instead of the oversaturated sound of fizziness?

Andrew Seward gets a great tone at the end of "Animal" and searches have led me to believe he uses a Prescription Electonics Depth Charge on this track, however, any clips of the Depth Charge seem lacking in whatever studio magic was there during Against Me!'s recording, and I'd prefer not to drop $250 on a pedal I only assume I'll like...

Oh, and dare I mention that I really love Tim C's tone on Evil Empire or will that derail this thread?

I know I'm not looking for smooth. I know I'm not looking for sustain. I know I'm not looking for excessive bright overtones, but at the same time don't want something dark that will fall into the bottomless chasm of a rockband mix...

Something that grunts. Something organic. Something that's controllable, and still allows for the rhythmic aspect of the bass to play its role. Something with enough clarity to hear the notes.

Help me Fuzzy Talkbassers, you're my only hope.

Justin

 

Sustain doesn't have to be a dealbreaker for me, but I really want something that's got enough chop to it that I can control the notes when needed.

I know there's gray areas over how much clipping qualifies as fuzz v. distortion and that's part of my question, since there doesn't seem to be an international convention over where the official boundary lies... perhaps I like more distortionl-like fuzzes but less extreme versions?

Absolutely. And on the other end of the spectrum home hobbyists recording bass samples directly to their soundcard are likely not going to sound as good as a quality bass and rig live in person will. I'm just trying to figure out how much of the issues lies in the limits of home recording ease, and how much of it is me not knowing which end of the distortion v. fuzz spectrum I think I want.

Would you consider the Tendbender and clones to be a fuzz or distortion?

 

I think the cheapest pedal I own is $150 street price, I'm aware I'll need to drop dough, and prepared to go the boutique route if need be.

I'm open to suggestions, and while cost will likely play some role in making a decision, I mostly used the example of the $250 for the Depth Charge to complain about the difficulties of experiencing and hearing the pedals. I'm okay with spending $250 on a pedal I like. I just don't want to make it a habit of dropping that on pedals I don't.

Yeah, that's my issue. I have a feeling I'm writing off quality pedals because of what I may presume are unflattering clips.

 

Ah, I think that's actually what I'd been thinking of. There's a clip of it on youtube sounding very much like what I have in mind.

I've been curious about the Barber Trifecta because it's a clone of the Tonebender as well as two other fuzzes if it can comp the tone in a smaller and more convenient package as well as have more versitility then it might be worth picking up.

I definitely want to retain low end, but tone is equally important to me. I have a blender that I can run it through if need be to get fundamental back -- the Guyatone TZ-2 clips are promising for that reason. There's a youtube clip of a guy biamping one and it sounds great.

 

Used to own a Blowtorch. Felt it was too "fizzy" and not nearly organic enough for my tastes. The samples suggest the Chunk Systems is too, but again, that's my issue, how to tell if the samples are doing a pedal justice?

I've checked that out before, it's hard to imagine the pedals actually being run into the tone changing qualities of an amp/speaker set up, there's a lot of potential for coloration...

Found what was perhaps the worst sample of the Bass Juice (for my tastes at least) on youtube by what sounds to be a talented bassist...



Definitely the opposite sound of what I'm going for, again hard to tell if it's the active bass, the poor eq, the recording itself, or the pedal....

I'll check it out. I've got a good local boutique pedal dealer I've gone to before to check out bass fuzzes from and that time I ended up buying my BassDrive. Happy with the bassdrive, but getting that craving for a fuzz again to expand the possibilities.

Yeah, I didn't want to say outright in my first post that I'm not looking for a muff clone, but was hoping it was kinda implied...

 

Found some clips of the Devi Ever stuff on youtube. It sounded as if it had some boominess added on and the tone wasn't quite what I'm looking for.

I've tried the Mammoth out twice with high expectations, neither time was what I was hoping for. I remember having issues with it using a G&L bass, probably because of the high output, and it wasn't a standout, especially for being a $300 one trick pony.