Guitar Nerds Anonymous

Silicon Fuzz Faces are great, they are brilliant overdrives (believe it or not) at the low gain end with the volume slightly rolled down and can get very woolly cranked up. There's different shades of it though, from the more traditional ones to the more doomy stuff like the DAM Meathead, which has no gain control but responds well to the guitar's volume. Clones are available too (and very easy to build if you're inclined).

The variation of it known as the Axis is a great middle ground and very dynamic but somehow not the most popular so not easy to find cheaper clones.

Tone Benders are definitely rowdier and somewhat more lo-fi. They do the Tone Bender thing great (duh) but maybe not what you're after.

Otherwise go green Russian Muff for that Kyuss-like fuzz tones, just don't expect it to clean up.

Not quite a fuzz, but I love Rats and my T Rex Mudhoney, they do get fuzzy at the high gain end but do a lot more too - if you can get your hands on one to try it might.

Finally, at the very cheap end of the spectrum, the Behringer SF300 SuperFuzz and the TC Rusty Fuzz are great sounding fuzzes, both inspired by Boss fuzzes which in turn are respectively inspired by old Shin Ei fuzzes (the Behringer/Boss FZ2) and the Fuzz Face (the TC/Boss FZ3). Somehow, these two might be amongst your very best bets come think of it, and yours for no more than £50 for the pair...!

Much appreciated, great video and that pedal sounds ace, certainly a contender.

I don’t really have the vocabulary to describe tone but it sounds like the Matcha is at the boomier/woofier end of the spectrum(to my ears at least).
I rather like a tighter/brighter fuzz sound, think recent fu manchu, white dog etc as well as the wild scratchy lead sounds like Isiah from earthless gets. A little doom is good but not looking for full blown sludge or chainsaw tones…

I know Bob from fu uses a Creepy Fingers which is made by his bandmates company and very much above budget.

Seems all the cheap pedals review fairly well just a case of deciphering which original they’re a copy of.

@RonAsheton yep, I imagine there’s far too many potential variables to give a definitive answer.

Wow thanks for the detailed post, muchos gracias. A lot to take on lol.

Basically my little orange micro dark with 8” cab sounds ace when you turn it right up but it’s a bit anti-social, especially from a beginner so would be nice to get the fuzz without turning everything right up :/

Yeah, the tone you’re getting can be wildly different due to pickups/amp/playing, all sorts of factors can change it massively. Some fuzzes I’ve tried just don’t work for me despite them sounding amazing in other people’s hands / setups.

Unfortunately that means it’s very easy to keep collecting more and more fuzz pedals to see what they can do…

A few cheap options I’ve got my eye on.

Axis fuzz clone

Woolly mammoth clone

Dr J Planes Walker apparently the fuzz is gentle and a bit more like a drive pedal

Matcha Cream

Joyo Tiny Huge muff varient.

Based on random yt videos these all tickle my fancy.
My mate is trying to convince me to find a real zvex fuzz factory. Apparently they’re endlessly variable and fun. Can’t see one cheaper than £105 though.

Can second the Behringer SF300 recommendation. And dirt cheap if you're just after dipping your toe into fuzz pedals.

the wild scratchy lead sounds like Isiah from earthless gets

I've got his Tym pedal, the Seaweed, it's a Mk3 Tonebender on one side and a Triangle Big Muff with a mid boost switch on the other. Sounds great but very easy to emulate with much cheaper pedals.

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Noise Engineering doing a madness in pedal form!

https://youtu.be/iGtSu4j3IAI?si=dintUB5lyO4PJJad

Bought the woolly mammoth clone. Looks like it should cover most ground with plenty of low end if required.
Will give it a fresh coat of paint and label the knobs

Picked up this on ebay.

Spot on for someone who only really plays acoustic becuase of the zero faff factor, but has a tele thats been sitting lonely on the wall for 10 years.

Who cares if the tones arent perfect? It got me playing stuff i havnt thought about for years.

Anyone used one with a wireless system?

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Hive mind suggestions please! my new band is really coming together now, but its the only time Ive ever played in a trio, and when it comes to solo time the sound really thins out and the momentum kind of disappears. Have any of you lot ever dealt with this issue, and have any tricks of the trade to recommend? Bass player has some kind of sansamp multi-button pedal for adding dirt and stuff, though I haven't specifically directed his decision making in aid of not being a autocratic despot

I'd suggest doing 'less is more'with the rhythm so that when it drops away there's not such a gaping hole. More space is going to be easier than 'try and over compensate for no rhythm guitarist or keys'

That kind of blurring chords into lead lines playing is done really well by people like Graham Coxon and Pete Townsend even if you dislike their respective bands, even early U2 worth cribbing from.

Ripping in with 25 effects pedals to try and fill the sound during those moments isn't generally the best approach, assuming you're not in Slowdive

Even Zep were a great power trio ruined by a vocalist ;)

Building an amp kit. Moving on to the fun stuff, i.e. populating the boards next.

I absolutely don't need this.

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Very cool. I quite like the idea of maker up a pedal kit eventually but never done much more than wire a plug :/

Could you do something with a looper pedal? I've never used one in a live situation but musicians do. And so does Ed Sheeran.

Try building in more double stops, faux pedal steel bends, open strings ringing through and sweep picking into your leads... I always find those techniques add a lot of texture instead of just wailing on individual notes... you don't have to get too indulgent with the likes of sweep picking either... I know it can be a bit wanky but it's a great way to get from point A to point B with a bit more girth sometimes...

Could also be a good idea to try downtuning or alternate tunings... the opportunity to just shapes in a lead run to thicken it up would be good?

In terms of hardware I'd look into the following:

• EQ pedal
  
• Whammy / harmonising pedal
  
• Octave pedal / octave fuzz
  
  

mk.gee

mk.gee has some thick sounding guitar tones... worth checking this out for some inspiration too...

I'd sort of considered it, but I'm pretty hamfisted (and footed) so i anticipate it only going wrong haha

mmm yeah this all sounds good to me. im quite predisposed to open strings clanging around as it is, i can definitely lean into that

I have been thinking that an eq pedal probably is my next addition to the board too.

Man that looks great! What is it going to be?

A Sunn Model T clone. Rated at 150W. I don't have any excuses 😬

Love it. Keep us updated.

My projects - such as they are - are all going a bit wrong. Decided to put a shim on the Scourngeocaster as the saddles needed to be all the way down to get the action decent which meant height adjustment screws poking out into your hand. Found a 1 degree shim, smallest one i could find - and sanded and trimmed to fit. Result there isn't enought upwards travel in the saddles to get the strings off the fretboard. Bleh. Might just revert to how it was rather than go down the pieces of paper route.

The tele is awaiting a new neck which is awaiting hopefully some sort of small annual bonus so that's hanging in bits too.

Also -I've been meaning to finish refnishing my Guild acoustic for probably about 5 years. need to get the sanding done in the garden before winter.

In more positive news, those old DiMarzios turned out to be proper late 70s Super Distortions and appear to functioning at 13.8k and 14k respectively. HAWT.

Sell or install? Don't have a receipient for them at the moment. I'm leaning sell and fund new neck.

Put them in a nice lawsuit Les Paul. You can thank me later. 😋

PS That's the first one I found, loads more to choose from. More guitars always fixes the problem.

PPS Happy to report I had the opportunity to buy an inexpensive pink paisley tele this week and I did not pull the trigger. 🏆

This is a spectacular display of self control. Well done!