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Looking for an Envelope Friendly Fuzz...

Joe Gress

Joe Gress

Dec 22, 2005
11,863
37
Pueblo, CO
#1
...that is smaller than my big muff and under say $150. :help:

I have an EHX Qtron+ that has a big muff in the effects loop to make some cool squishy synth type sounds. It sounds exactly what I'm looking for except I have the sustain all the way down so that I can keep the bass lines as tight as possible. The tone is set at about 11 o'clock. This gets me the sound I'm really after.

The problem is is that the big muff is huge, and more space than I would like it to take up. I tried using my messdrive with it, but I have the Qtron on Low pass, and the messdrive really lives in the bottom end instead of the top. So I guess I'm looking for a big muff sound on the top end and mids, but with less sustain. And maybe switchable mids. When I tried my friends blowtorch (I did not like it that much) switching the mids around seemed to change the character of the squelchyness of the envelofuzz. And I would really like to keep it down to less than 150, preferably less than 100 though.

Oh, and I tried a guitar specific fuzz/distortion (I think it was a boss DS-1) and I did not like it. All top end and the mids were gone. :scowl:

And as for the size I'm kinda looking to get even smaller than the little big muff. ;)
 
#3
joeinsprings said:
...that is smaller than my big muff and under say $150. :help:

I have an EHX Qtron+ that has a big muff in the effects loop to make some cool squishy synth type sounds. It sounds exactly what I'm looking for except I have the sustain all the way down so that I can keep the bass lines as tight as possible. The tone is set at about 11 o'clock. This gets me the sound I'm really after.

The problem is is that the big muff is huge, and more space than I would like it to take up. I tried using my messdrive with it, but I have the Qtron on Low pass, and the messdrive really lives in the bottom end instead of the top. So I guess I'm looking for a big muff sound on the top end and mids, but with less sustain. And maybe switchable mids. When I tried my friends blowtorch (I did not like it that much) switching the mids around seemed to change the character of the squelchyness of the envelofuzz. And I would really like to keep it down to less than 150, preferably less than 100 though.

Oh, and I tried a guitar specific fuzz/distortion (I think it was a boss DS-1) and I did not like it. All top end and the mids were gone. :scowl:

And as for the size I'm kinda looking to get even smaller than the little big muff. ;)
Click to expand...
what about a little big muff?

or the new bass big muff?

edit: my bad i didnt realize you asked for smaller than the lbm...
 
#6
chicago_mike said:
maybe the new polish love pedal? Thats pretty small I think. maybe google for big muff clones and see what you get. =)
Click to expand...

I tried an overdrive, but it was to "dynamic" and responsive for what I'm looking for. The envelope controls all the dynamics when I'm using the fuzz anyways. DO you think I should look for something with a more synthy type fuzz? (more buzz with not much responsiveness to my dynamics?) But I kinda still want a bit of grunt, and not just buzz.

I did a google search for big muff clones, and I was wondering if any of them have the same sound, but with less sustain in the note. I have the sustain knob all the way down to keep the notes from ringing. I'm actually thinking maybe one of the BYOC beavers.
 
#8
my earthbound audio supercollider v2 is still on it's way to my doorstep, but from the review i've read...it totally kicks major butt. as for the polish love od, i received mine today and have nothing negative to say about it. this polish love machine delivers all the hype, but the only thing that i would say is that it doesn't retain all of the low end yet it still does the job well. the reason i recommend the supercollider is because Mark, the owner/builder, has made a mini version with an integrated mid-blend knob and well....from the clips i've heard it retains low end and generates awesome mids/highs. good luck with the search.
 
#9
Supercollider rocks. Here's a clip of it with a Tonefactor 442 / Boomstick Bottom Feeder filter:

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This is on full gain so I can a get nasty drum'n'bass style synth sound. It doesn't have an fx loop like the qtron so it's not as easy to control, so I'm going after either a Robot Factory Meatwad or Photron as my next filter pedal which both have an fx loop as well as an expression pedal controlled low pass filter.
 
#10
The Supercollider 1290 (not sure if that's the correct number?) sounds like a good choice, there was a recent thread about it. There are also clips of the normal Supercollider around here somewhere so you'll know how big it is (it's quite small, like an MXR Phase 90 size) and how it sounds :).
 
#12
The only problem with the supercollider is that I would have to order two! One for the loop, and one for a regular fuzz from the sounds I have heard from it. :D It may be on my list though.

thefruitfarmer said:
If you have the sound you want then why not stay with the smallest muff?
Click to expand...

Well, I really like the muff sound, but I'm looking for a little less sustain in the sound. To me, the big muff does the wall of sound very well, and I love that sound, but only in quick tight bursts.
 
#13
I know what you mean - I love the Muff sound but there's only one setting and it's "Go nuts". Great for when you want to go nuts, but otherwise a bit... nutsy.

FWIW I've ordered a Pickle Pie 'B' in an attempt to replace my Muff (which was shipped today apparently, so I should see it in a couple of weeks... :() but it will have to be a special pedal to make me take the Muff off my board. That's $50 the wrong side of your price range though, and currently there's a long wait for them.

Currently got a Blowtorch on there too, to do the stuff the Muff can't do. Don't really love the Blowtorch but it's very versatile so it gets a lot of use. You could probably find one used for decent money, and like me you'd probably find it fits quite well when you've had time to mess with it properly.

Or... re-house your Muff? The circuit board is pretty small, you could fit it in a box less than half the size. Then you've got Muffy goodness without the giant silver doorstep hogging your board.
 
#14
joeinsprings said:
The only problem with the supercollider is that I would have to order two! One for the loop, and one for a regular fuzz from the sounds I have heard from it. :D It may be on my list though.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. I pondered this when talking to Mario of Robot Factory about ordering one of his Meatwad pedals. He offered to fit a toggle switch that would allow the signal to pass through the fx loop when the pedal is in bypass mode so that you can use the fuzz minus the filter. I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to do the same mod to a QTron.
 
#19
dannybuoy said:
Supercollider rocks. Here's a clip of it with a Tonefactor 442 / Boomstick Bottom Feeder filter:

Link Removed
Link Removed

This is on full gain so I can a get nasty drum'n'bass style synth sound. It doesn't have an fx loop like the qtron so it's not as easy to control, so I'm going after either a Robot Factory Meatwad or Photron as my next filter pedal which both have an fx loop as well as an expression pedal controlled low pass filter.
Click to expand...

Was the supercollider in front of the boomstick, or after?
 
#20
Supercollider going into the filter. The fuzz reduces your dynamic range making it harder to control the envelope precisely but it sounds much better placed afterwards (which is exaclty why some filters like the QTron have an fx loop). You can hardly hardly hear the filter sweep if placed before the fuzz as the Supercollider obliterates everything before it!
 

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