It's all semantics imo. Lot of pedals blur the lines between overdrive distortion and fuzz. Some are designed to do two or all three. That's why I regularly use the term "dirt pedal"
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When is a fuzz not a fuzz?
- Thread starter monkeyfinger
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Deleted member 165050
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For me fuzz is a square wave generated from but not including the original signal. Unless it's blended in. Distortion on the other hand is exactly that - distortion of the original signal. Of course you could argue that one equals the other, and maybe or maybe not, but I think that message is clear.
Here's how I think of it (I am a cis guy, feel free to adjust):
overdrive is when she's a little annoyed, and you can just hear it or hear some edge in her voice;
distortion is when she's about to or is actually yelling, and I'm gonna lose some sleep;
fuzz is when she's about to or is actually screamin', keeps me up all night.
overdrive is when she's a little annoyed, and you can just hear it or hear some edge in her voice;
distortion is when she's about to or is actually yelling, and I'm gonna lose some sleep;
fuzz is when she's about to or is actually screamin', keeps me up all night.
"Fuzz" is whatever the seller says it is. There is no fixed, standard definition; everybody interprets it as suits them. Doubt that? Just read this thread!
I feel the same about my MXR Submachine which can make the rafters vibrate in my studio.
The bottom end can disturb your DNA.
The bottom end can disturb your DNA.
I've been playing with the Photon II a lot today. (I bought a new amp, and wanted to check out what sounds would work with the pedal.) It is very versatile and touch sensitive for a fuzz. I was able to get a very soft vintage fuzz sound out of it. The kind of fuzz sound you would associate with bass fuzz from the 60s. Never got that before. The thing about this pedal is that it is very sensitive to settings changes. That makes it very flexible, but also hard to use without some practice. I also agree that it can do dirty pre-amp very well too.
Was researching pedals within this last week or two and found this article helpful:
https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/boost-overdrive-distortion-fuzz-pedals-whats-the-difference/
There are other articles out there on Google and the Interwebs, but I figured this was probably the best summary I read (bonus points for that article calling out the use of a fuzz pedal on Siamese Dream...
Didn't know he [Corgan] used that specific pedal to get that over saturated monstrous distortion sound for that album, but after reading the article I found myself listening to the first few tracks on that album and with a new found respect for how he got such an "in-your-face" level of distortion...
Also made me remember how much I love two of their 90s albums and how Smashing Pumpkins became a gateway drug to harder music in high school for me...(I don't really like anything past Mellon Collie, but that riff to Cherub Rock still sounds pretty phenomenal all these years later)...
Was pretty convinced I wanted a Darkglass pedal, but after reading that it made me wanna consider a Big Muff Pi Deluxe...
Thanks! \m/
https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/boost-overdrive-distortion-fuzz-pedals-whats-the-difference/
There are other articles out there on Google and the Interwebs, but I figured this was probably the best summary I read (bonus points for that article calling out the use of a fuzz pedal on Siamese Dream...
Didn't know he [Corgan] used that specific pedal to get that over saturated monstrous distortion sound for that album, but after reading the article I found myself listening to the first few tracks on that album and with a new found respect for how he got such an "in-your-face" level of distortion...
Also made me remember how much I love two of their 90s albums and how Smashing Pumpkins became a gateway drug to harder music in high school for me...(I don't really like anything past Mellon Collie, but that riff to Cherub Rock still sounds pretty phenomenal all these years later)...
Was pretty convinced I wanted a Darkglass pedal, but after reading that it made me wanna consider a Big Muff Pi Deluxe...
Thanks! \m/
FWIW, the BMPDlx doesn't really sound like the Op Amp Muff - if you want that Corgan sound the Op Amp is spot-on, and is 1/2 the price (I have a few Muffs.)
I'm an old geezer who grew up when everything was a fuzz. I now try to be politically correct and call everything a distortion.
I seem to recall he used a Fender Blender fuzz too, which is the most insanely abrasive nasty harsh fuzz ever made, though I absolutely love it.
It's an octave fuzz and sounds exceptionally nasty on bass.
It was reissued for a short while by Fender for the same reason, but has been out of production for years.
Some pedal builders still make clones though.
I go by the wave form thing:.. ie fuzz is square... but yep so many can achieve "almost there or all three" that dirt pedal is it now..
if it's a pedal then it's fuzz. if it's a blown speaker/bad tube/bad cable etc or something vibrating in the room it's not fuzz.
From my understanding that any dirt can be labelled / called a Distortion. All dirt pedals fall under the "Distortion" category because they produce "harmonic distortion". Dirt is generally split into two sub categories, Over-Drive and Fuzz. Overdrive is circuit that is trying to emulate a variety of amp distortions found in old fashioned tube amps. The term comes from "Over-Driving" your amp. Generally, if you are going to stack distortions, Fuzzes go early and Over-Drive pedals are placed on the end of an array of dirt because a distorted/ tortured valve amp would be last in the dirt chain. The fuzz pushes the overdrive. Overdrives generally have multiple light clipping stages and tend to compress as well as distort. Red LED clipping diodes then to sound best on bass.
Fuzz is pretty much any distortion that sits in the "extreme" category. It's often marketed differently as a Fuzz, Overdrive or Distortion. It can be square wave, triangular, multiwave, gated, Overdriven into fuzz...it really doesn't matter. It's the intensity that tips it into Fuzz.
Some pedals are marketed as a Bass fuzz, when in reality they are heavy overdrives that can produce fuzz. Dam Ezekiel for example. Where as other Fuzzes just can't do light at all (Muffs etc). Some light / transparent overdrives can't do fuzz unless you hit them hard with a clean boost before.
In terms of overtones, any of the above pedals are capable of producing harmonic distortion.
Fuzz is pretty much any distortion that sits in the "extreme" category. It's often marketed differently as a Fuzz, Overdrive or Distortion. It can be square wave, triangular, multiwave, gated, Overdriven into fuzz...it really doesn't matter. It's the intensity that tips it into Fuzz.
Some pedals are marketed as a Bass fuzz, when in reality they are heavy overdrives that can produce fuzz. Dam Ezekiel for example. Where as other Fuzzes just can't do light at all (Muffs etc). Some light / transparent overdrives can't do fuzz unless you hit them hard with a clean boost before.
In terms of overtones, any of the above pedals are capable of producing harmonic distortion.
@Nephilymbass has the same idea as I when it comes to dirt. So many pedals are marketed/designed to encompass such a wider range of needs/consumer wants. The "only dirt pedal you need" ploy. I chuckle a bit at that, do I really want to bend over and change settings every song?
I think the fuzz being a square wave is the only well established notion (and I could be way off, being a non expert) besides that all 3 are a distortion of the input wave function.
Outside of that I wouldn't be surprised if soft clipping (smoother sound) were the first types of overdrives and hard clipping (harsher sound) were the first types of distortions made, which lead to how they were differentiated. But really, IMO its just the degree of clipping and harmonics added/boosted that dictates whether a pedal is called or marketed as an OD or distortion. If I remember correctly, how hard the clipping stage is hit and what clipping method is what largely pushes a pedal into one category or another.
I think the fuzz being a square wave is the only well established notion (and I could be way off, being a non expert) besides that all 3 are a distortion of the input wave function.
Outside of that I wouldn't be surprised if soft clipping (smoother sound) were the first types of overdrives and hard clipping (harsher sound) were the first types of distortions made, which lead to how they were differentiated. But really, IMO its just the degree of clipping and harmonics added/boosted that dictates whether a pedal is called or marketed as an OD or distortion. If I remember correctly, how hard the clipping stage is hit and what clipping method is what largely pushes a pedal into one category or another.
I disagree with quite a bit of your post, but will take this opportunity to note that the Nano Green Russian with tone and sustain down makes a very nice overdrive - it's how often I use it, before, during and after various chains. The Sovtek Deluxe, in fact most Muffs IME, can be very good in that role.
It's a generalisation not a hard rule. Take an OCD, it's called a fuzz and it certainly prefers to play in that arena...however it can be dialled quite light....it's just a bit tricky trying to hold it there. But essentially it was intended to be a fuzz by design. A Rat is a heavily boosted overdrive circuit. Sure, you can coax a light break up out of it, but that wasn't want it was intended to be when it was designed. However, take something like a woolly mammoth and there are no light overdrive sounds in that particular box. It's all fuzz and nothing else. There are lots of mis-labelled fuzzes and distortions that aren't what they say on the tin too.
