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Pretty much retired but I still need fuzz

Apr 11, 2005
127,260
125,191
Plymouth NC
Disclosures
Endorsing: Yamaha, Ampeg, Line 6, EMG
Long story short...Covid retired me from music, had a bake sale to get over the hump, then I went corporate, except I work from home so I don't have to dress corporate.

Only two pedals I sold have I ever missed, the JohnK Animato clone and the MXR M85 Bass Distortion. Got another Animato but I had been kicking around whether to get another M85 or go full-on Fuzzrocious with the Cat Tail, now that I found out he can put them in a smaller chassis.

That decision got made for me today by Corporate America. I was awarded a crazy amount of reward points this morning, who are very nearly a dollar-to-dollar exchange but you have to spend on goods that are included in the reward company's catalog. Almost as good as money, and I'll darn sure take it!

One of the things we can order as rewards are GC gift cards. So today after work, I ordered a couple and I'll be using them to buy another M85. And since you all need pretty pics or you won't ever comment, it will look like this:

csm_mxr_m85_bass_distortion_005fin_63f5df41bb.jpg


On one hand, I would have happily paid Ryan directly for a Cat Tail since it's not that much more money and it's more feature-laden. OTOH, I had to spend these points on something, so unless I buy stuff they're worth nothing. So after my wife got done ordering a new fancy handbag and ordering a couple gift cards of her own, I ordered a GC gift card. Will take a little while before I see it, but where am I going?

So what have we learned?

1. Covid sucks for musicians, but we all have to get on with things the best we can

2. Not all corporate jobs are the bomb, and they always make you work hard for it because customers suck, but I've had MUCH worse jobs and MUCH MUCH MUCH less positive work environments. And I can do it in my skivvies. I often do.

3. Doesn't matter if you're retired or not...you have to have more fuzz.
 
@JimmyM i totally feel ya. I'm 63... been working a state gig and hope to retire in about 4 year.

Been playing music on the side for a long long time. And fuzz bass is an essential part of my life.
Word. It's not essential at all in my musical world but it is when I play Dance To The Music :D
 
No pics, no new handbag.

(Sorry. I couldn't help it.) :cool:

Glad the job is working out for you. I never reached the level you did. But I played bass for a living for quite a while. But these days I have a day job, steady income, more time with my family, and I'm happier than ever.

Also, my TAFM fuzz is the only pedal I have ever regretted selling. I agree. You gotta have the fuzz.
 
I work for a Fortune 100 corporate behemoth, and while I'm sure my corporate masters wouldn't so much as piss on me if they saw me rolling around on fire, the pay and perks are sometimes worth it. Nice pedal, and you just go right on ahead and play Dance To The Music to your heart's content.
Yup... that's where I'm at too, except I work for the state of Cali.
 
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Wow, only 5 likes in nearly 3 hours? I thought this post was one of my better ones. Relatively short, to the point, added a pic...too corporate for this crowd?

Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy, I always like you !

Props for da fuzz being essential in 'Dance to the Music', but my 'Sly's Greatest Hits' has a worn spot at 'Sing a Simple Song'.

I saw Sly live once in Houston (unfortunately, he couldn't see anybody, his long addiction(s) already in full swing), the band was pumpin', and it was easily the loudest show I EVER went to, so loud I'd have never heard a .45 go off if the guy had used my shoulder to steady his aim.

So at the house are you one of those guys on Zoom in a shirt and tie . . . . and your pajama bottoms ?
 
Hi JimmyM, I'm feeling hopeful after a couple restaurant gigs in the last fortnight. I agree, fuzz needs to be available even if not often used!

On tonight's board, I had my Wren & Cuff Pickle Pie B fuzz, the rare Chicago Music Exchange version with a switch that could scoop out the mids and deliver a classic Muff fuzz vs the normal Pickle Pie sound that is fairly mids-heavy. And dialing everything down, it could turn into just a nicely mean distortion.

Switch engaged, it's fairly close to the Tall Font Russian style fuzz. Disabled, it's, well, the Pickle Pie B, which is a fuzz with actual mids. I remain befuddled why it's not a top item for us, when mids are the truth of good bass tone, but.. c'est la vie.

Also my gig tonight included my Mustang PJ, which I've kitted with the Geezer Butler P and JHZ pickups from EMG. Your endorsement helped me decide to wire those in, and that bass is absolutely soul-crushing in its dominance over the low frequencies.
 
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I agree JimmyM, this weird season / year has all been about survival. Not just from the dreaded Covid Bug but also from the harsh lockdown and disaster that it's had on our commerce, economy and our communities. Do what you need to my friend to survive and thrive.
Fuzz wise, every one is different. We all play differently with different guitars, amps and genres. I like my fuzz as filthy and dirty as I can get them...however my Church playing basically likes a clean P bass. So I guess we play to our crowd's wishes. So for that gig 90% of my pedal boards more indulgent and exotic offerings are not required. EQ, volume and compression are all that's needed in that context. If I'm lucky a wee bit of chorus. If I threw them my tastes...it would be way way too much for them to cope with. I'm not here to change them, that needs to come from the top down. However, I do which they would get with the program / 21st Century. The good news is that I can make all the grinding, wobbly, synthy noises I like when I get home. So I can always scratch that particular itch. The down side is that outside Church playing...all bands are still banned here in the UK. Hopefully this will change soon. The upshot is that my filthy self indulgent 10 mins long noisy warbling bass solo skills are now off the chart...but my regular playing will need some re-work to find my context again!

Fuzz wise, I think there are three general areas I like to cover: A creamy Muffish tone, a bright Ratish tone and then a Gated fuzz tone like a Titan II or a Mammoth. Those are my three corners I like to have. The fourth corner is a nice transparent Overdrive that I shove into overdriven Fuzz territory. So for me, dirt has 4 corners, three are fuzzes.
So for me, if I was stranded on a desert Island situation with a cherry picked pedal board (call it Covid Lock down if you wish), those are the directions I would need to go for Fuzzy contemplation. I'd also need a volume pedal in there...so I can swell all that filth if I needed to.