NPD - Team Awesome Fuzz Machine (TAFM)

[96Brigadier]

The first of three pedals I have on the way arrived yesterday... a green TAFM. This is my first fuzz pedal, my only comparison point, which is not a fair comparison, is the MXR Bass Distortion. All I have to say is wow, the TAFM definitely is awesome. I played around with it for an hour last night, the tones out of this little green machine (see picture) are fantastic. I can definitely see why there is love for fuzz, it's the sound I've been looking for that I could never dial in with the MXR (the MXR does still have its place though!).

I'm still figuring out how the dials work together, but one thing that surprised me is how different the tone is with the gate turned on. I thought it would leave the tone the same and just gate it but it is considerably different with it on vs off. The first settings I used I liked more with the gate on vs off, but I was able to dial in what I wanted with the gate off (which is what I eventually preferred). For those who have a TAFM, is it normal for the tone to be so different with the gate on vs off and if so, what causes that to happen?

 

[Crazy Otto]

The only time I used the gate on mine was when I used it low gain and then wanted to bring in more/different fuzz. As to the science behind it, I'm not sure

Enjoy, amazing pedal!

 

[blindrabbit]

The first of three pedals I have on the way arrived yesterday... a green TAFM. This is my first fuzz pedal, my only comparison point, which is not a fair comparison, is the MXR Bass Distortion. All I have to say is wow, the TAFM definitely is awesome. I played around with it for an hour last night, the tones out of this little green machine (see picture) are fantastic. I can definitely see why there is love for fuzz, it's the sound I've been looking for that I could never dial in with the MXR (the MXR does still have its place though!).

I'm still figuring out how the dials work together, but one thing that surprised me is how different the tone is with the gate turned on. I thought it would leave the tone the same and just gate it but it is considerably different with it on vs off. The first settings I used I liked more with the gate on vs off, but I was able to dial in what I wanted with the gate off (which is what I eventually preferred). For those who have a TAFM, is it normal for the tone to be so different with the gate on vs off and if so, what causes that to happen?
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When you turn on the gate, it also dimes the gain, which definitely is going to change the tone of the sound.

Congrats on the purchase, the TAFM is truly an amazing pedal, and has stood the test of time and weathered many dirt wars on my board. Definitely one of my fave fuzzes, and top effect of any kind, of all time.

 

[96Brigadier]

When you turn on the gate, it also dimes the gain, which definitely is going to change the tone of the sound.

Thanks for the explanation, I didn't realize turning on the gate also increases the gain all the way. Now I'm curious what the purpose of doing that is, time to search the forums again

 

[DDXdesign]

Thanks for the explanation, I didn't realize turning on the gate also increases the gain all the way. Now I'm curious what the purpose of doing that is, time to search the forums again

From the very limited experience I've got with gated fuzz, basically if you turn the gain down past halfway, the gate kills literally almost everything. So this is probably a foolproof way to make sure your gate switch doesn't double as a mute pedal =0)

 

[Crazy Otto]

I just repurchased a used one....never should have let it go.

 

[96Brigadier]

From the very limited experience I've got with gated fuzz, basically if you turn the gain down past halfway, the gate kills literally almost everything. So this is probably a foolproof way to make sure your gate switch doesn't double as a mute pedal =0)

Ah ha! That makes total sense, now that I think about it when I played with the gate on last night I remember thinking it did a pretty good job of not cutting the sound off early, now I know why.

I just repurchased a used one....never should have let it go.

Early impression is the TAFM will be a keeper. I'm looking forward to the Rogue One showing up to hear the difference between them though.

 

[blindrabbit]

Ah ha! That makes total sense, now that I think about it when I played with the gate on last night I remember thinking it did a pretty good job of not cutting the sound off early, now I know why.



Early impression is the TAFM will be a keeper. I'm looking forward to the Rogue One showing up to hear the difference between them though.

The TAFM will sound totally different than the Rogue One. Totally different. TAFM is a modded fuzzface, Rogue One is a muff with an added octave effect. Two totally different kinds of fuzz. Both are great to have though!

 

[Cazman]

In search of MY (its all subjective) ultimate fuzz... got off the line with Brian yesterday and a TAFM is on it's way! I'm really looking forward to hooking this one into the chain and be blown away..... hopefully.
Cheerios!

 

[spufman]

As they say, you're either on Team Awesome or you're not. I'm a member for life.

The gate is so cool to have for bad-@ss bursts of synthy tone. The only thing that kicked my old TAFM to backup status was getting a new one with the gate.

Try the input buffer in both on/off modes, you may have a preference.

 

[dinoadventures]

I had no idea the gate dimed the gain on that. I'll have to check out demos again because for me that sounds like a very bad thing.

 

[Driven Crane]

There is no ultimate fuzz as i know it of so many years in search for... But TAFM is in my list, for sure. Yes i know, space in my board (and strength of my back, too) can not be expanded. That is why i think about second board.

 

[blindrabbit]

I had no idea the gate dimed the gain on that. I'll have to check out demos again because for me that sounds like a very bad thing.

For me it isn't, since I can't imagine wanting a low gain yet gated fuzz sound. I tend to run my TAFM set such that I have a low gain, almost OD like tone, then when I punch the gate on, it goes cahones out on the gain too, so I have essentially two different pedals in one.

If your "regular" sound is high gain, then all the gate switch will really do is turn the gate on or off for the most part.

 

[smllsnd/bigsnd]

uuuh yeah i can chime in here a little bit. the gate is usually pretty consistent from unit to unit and shouldn't change the tone *too* much when the fuzz is maxed out vs when the gate is engaged. that being said it can vary slightly from unit to unit the tone can seem slightly thinner and brighter when gated. note: it doesn't max out the "gain" knob when engaged, it maxes out the "fuzz" knob. when the gate is engaged though, you can use the gain knob to dial in a little more preamp gain to let a little more signal through and get a slightly longer decay.

 

[Jared Lash]

uuuh yeah i can chime in here a little bit. the gate is usually pretty consistent from unit to unit and shouldn't change the tone *too* much when the fuzz is maxed out vs when the gate is engaged. that being said it can vary slightly from unit to unit the tone can seem slightly thinner and brighter when gated. note: it doesn't max out the "gain" knob when engaged, it maxes out the "fuzz" knob. when the gate is engaged though, you can use the gain knob to dial in a little more preamp gain to let a little more signal through and get a slightly longer decay.

I was going to jump in to make that same correction about the gate maxing out the Fuzz control but hard to beat getting info straight from the man himself.

As somebody that likes to use the TAFM with and without the gate about equally I personally keep the fuzz nearly dimed so there isn't a big jump in volume between having the gate on or off.

 

[blindrabbit]

uuuh yeah i can chime in here a little bit. the gate is usually pretty consistent from unit to unit and shouldn't change the tone *too* much when the fuzz is maxed out vs when the gate is engaged. that being said it can vary slightly from unit to unit the tone can seem slightly thinner and brighter when gated. note: it doesn't max out the "gain" knob when engaged, it maxes out the "fuzz" knob. when the gate is engaged though, you can use the gain knob to dial in a little more preamp gain to let a little more signal through and get a slightly longer decay.

Thanks Brian. Better to hear it from the man himself.

 

[96Brigadier]

uuuh yeah i can chime in here a little bit. the gate is usually pretty consistent from unit to unit and shouldn't change the tone *too* much when the fuzz is maxed out vs when the gate is engaged. that being said it can vary slightly from unit to unit the tone can seem slightly thinner and brighter when gated. note: it doesn't max out the "gain" knob when engaged, it maxes out the "fuzz" knob. when the gate is engaged though, you can use the gain knob to dial in a little more preamp gain to let a little more signal through and get a slightly longer decay.

Thanks for jumping into this thread, awesome to hear from the brains behind the pedal! My newbishness got the best of me, I was comparing the non-gated tone & volume with the fuzz not maxxed out to the gated tone & volume, which I now know maxes out the fuzz. I'm going to play with the gate some more tonight with the fuzz already maxxed.

Thanks again for the info!

 

[spufman]

I was afraid that the non-adjustable gate would be a problem, but the execution is perfect. Bass volume knob gives all the fine tuning I need on the fly.

And I just want to say, my two TAFMs are the best laid out and built pedal circuits I've seen. Thanks for that, the tone and the relatively excellent pricing!

 

[96Brigadier]

uuuh yeah i can chime in here a little bit. the gate is usually pretty consistent from unit to unit and shouldn't change the tone *too* much when the fuzz is maxed out vs when the gate is engaged. that being said it can vary slightly from unit to unit the tone can seem slightly thinner and brighter when gated. note: it doesn't max out the "gain" knob when engaged, it maxes out the "fuzz" knob. when the gate is engaged though, you can use the gain knob to dial in a little more preamp gain to let a little more signal through and get a slightly longer decay.

I've had a chance to play around with the pedal some more, and it works exactly as you described With the fuzz maxxed there is very little change in tone between having the gate on vs off.

Gotta say, this pedal truly is awesome, I'm loving it.

 

[smllsnd/bigsnd]

I've had a chance to play around with the pedal some more, and it works exactly as you described With the fuzz maxxed there is very little change in tone between having the gate on vs off.

Gotta say, this pedal truly is awesome, I'm loving it.

great! glad that cleared things up. much love to everyone else who popped in here before me and offered assistance and kind words - you make the internet a wonderful place.