Which fuzz pedal is the least similar to what I use already?

It seems like the four eyes covers a lot of muff/tonebender territory and I know that the unpleasant companion is an FY-2, so I’d wager something like a super fuzz? Maybe a Depth Charge or a BSRI FZZ. I own a Life Pedal clone that gets me a really nice octave up clang, and was looking at the Mask Audio NO recently for a different octave fuzz flavor. The Roger Mayer Axis is cool on bass, it’s like an Octavia circuit minus the octave. It’s a little gated in a good way at maximum, but can get a bit muddy & squelchy sometimes. I missed the boat with the Broughton Bass Box, and I’ve also been interested in his Dystopia fuzz. I think those are a couple good spots to get started! Fuzz Face, Octave up fuzz, or lightly gated fuzz are what I’d recommend

EDIT: Filter fuzz!!! Death By Audio Evil Filter, Blackout Fix’d Fuzz, Daredevil Cocked n Fearless, etc. can be great to experiment with and inspire creativity

 

I misread unpleasant surprise, sorry! I don’t have experience with that one

 

What's the Four Eyes like? I don't have any frame of reference to compare it to.

I've had the Unpleasant Suprise, so I know you can get a gated, industrial fuzz out of it.

If the four eyes covers the Muff/Tonebender stuff as Evil_Druid mentions above, then I also echo the Superfuzz sentiment. You could also look at distortion pedals or "combo" pedals like the MXR Sub Machine (fuzz and octave down)

 

If you want octave up, hiero effects BEAD fuzz is cool...
mxr bass distortion on led mode turned up is almost fuzz but also has a bit of clarity?
Not for me but the Kangra filter fuzz seems like a good one if you like filter fuzz?

 

How about something in the Brassmaster family? Malekko does the B:assmaster and Diabolik if you can find them.

 

And hiero effects bead brassmaster

 

I've never tried an original, just the Diabolik.

Patrick Hunter's video captures it the best:



And he did the B:assmaster too:



I think what sets it apart is the midrange more than anything. It's a really unique sound. The Diabolik I can say preserves the low end 100% thanks to the clean blend. I really like that it's two separate volume controls for the fuzz and the clean, rather than a single blend knob. To me the fuzz and clean marry really well and you sorta can't tell there's clean being blended in. It's more like one unified sound. The fuzz itself is very midrangey and doesn't have the sort of high fizz of other fuzzes, nor any real subby lows. It doesn't change your position in the mix like a Big Muff does for example. A lot of fuzzes kinda widen you out or turn the bass into a big fluffy pillow (I love that too) but you basically stay in your place with a Brassmaster, albeit with a zany fuzz sound attached.

I think the #1 thing a Brassmaster does that I've never heard another fuzz do is the unbelievable analog synth lead sound in the high register. There's nothing else like it. It has such a cutting but rich sound without any harsh treble at all, and it's incredibly audible and powerful in a band mix. I mean it just blows people away when they hear it, especially if you run it into a mid boost and some delay or reverb. Not too many people know that a bass can make a sound like that, not even most bass players.

 

it has been a blessing and a curse though... like even on low gain just beware it’s still a freaking chainsaw and will cut like anything. At the same time yeah that synth / super saturated sound can’t be replaced AND it just sounds so good with wah!