• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Need an aggressive fuzz

#23
6-3-2 said:
From what I can tell, gated fuzz is not my sound. Love it when people like Jack White use it, but it colors the sound too much for me.

The Black Arts Tone Works pedal sounds great though! You still get the flavor of the instrument, which is what I don't like about the Aguilar. It scrubs all the instrument's tone away and the blend knob just adds string noise to my ears.
Click to expand...
"Doesn't color your sound" is a pretty restrictive quality to seek in fuzz. What are sounds you can point to that you would like to sound like?

Also... if the blend knob on the Fuzzistor just seems to add fret noise, turn down the tone control at your bass, then re-adjust the blend control and some of the other controls to taste. Clean blends frequently don't sound great when they blend in the highs of your bass, and so the best solution is either a) turn the tone control down, b) have a pedal with a low pass filter built into the clean blend, or c) run the pedal in a loop where you can filter the clean sound for this.
 
#27
I gonna go +1 on the Pharaoh fuzz, it's my main fuzz and covers everything I need. It's very versatile, lots of low end, mids to help you cut through, and doesn't drown the sound of your bass. It plays extremely well with a boost in front if you want to get really nasty.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 6-3-2
#28
Aidenn7 said:
your looking at an octave fuzz like a super fuzz.. brassmaster.. sprite box.. fox tone machine.. fuzzrite fuzz..
Click to expand...
The best in class for that I've found is SSBS Buzzz. It has a scooped eq setting that rules with low end clobber. Wounded Paw Attack Goat is amazing after a dark overdrive, has a blend and eq that allows the high superfuzz sizzle to sit with whatever other sound.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 6-3-2
#33
To my ears gated and brassy ones are the most angry sounding ones, and I like the Woolly Mammoth/Mastotron the best. Having a mild overdrive before it makes it even angrier :cool:
 
#34
i built an Animato type fuzz with treble and bass controls that can be very aggressive.
Baximato-01.jpg
 
#35
With fuzz, you have to concede to yourself that you're going down a rabbit hole of weird noises; I'd start cheap and move to expensive over time. I had a lot of luck a few years ago exploring the cheaper reaches of Reverb, and buying one-offs and clones and such, so use your imagination. That EH ripped speaker seemed pretty gnar to me.

I prefer octave fuzzes on bass, especially if they have some subby energy in addition to the octave. I currently have the ubiquitous Behringer SF-300, which is not to be ignored, along with a Bardic Audio Oathbreaker, which carries a bit more presence into the mix.

I also have a DOD Carcosa, which isn't the gnarliest of fuzzes, but you can get some nasty sounds.

The Mastotron is a fantastic gated, synthy fuzz. I have its offspring, the Fuzzolo, but I think that on bass, you need the superior control of the Mastotron.

But many of my fuzzes are literally one-offs where I'll literally see some guy playing guitar or bass (often quite incompetently) and think that I could make it work. My fave fuzz for humbucker guitars is called the Weedwacker. I bought it because it really looked as though the guy who made it couldn't draw a cannabis leaf correctly. Sometimes the oddballs are useless, sometimes they're incredible. Just don't spend too much.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 6-3-2
#36
For pedals not made by me: Damnation Audio has several great bass pedals. SSBS Team Awesome is also a ton of fun but getting harder to find.

Tooting my own horn: I make a Brassmaster called the Greenseer with some tweaks/modern conveniences that is actually readily available. Hiero Bead is great but I haven't seen any for sale in a long time so I decided to roll my own take.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 6-3-2
#38
bones91 said:
For pedals not made by me: Damnation Audio has several great bass pedals. SSBS Team Awesome is also a ton of fun but getting harder to find.

Tooting my own horn: I make a Brassmaster called the Greenseer with some tweaks/modern conveniences that is actually readily available. Hiero Bead is great but I haven't seen any for sale in a long time so I decided to roll my own take.
Click to expand...
Checked out your pedal and it sound sensational! Reminds me of the Team Awesome in that you still hear the character of the bass. Putting it on my list.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back