Hi! folks,
who makes a real garage 60's fuzz pedal replica now? -Not with too much gain: two germanium transistors will be enough. I'm dissapointed with MKII Tonebenders with 3 transistors. -Not bassy sounding like a Fuzz face or MKII. Lots of treble. I dig Jeff Beck with the Yardbirds or "Satisfaction" tone.
Thanks for your help!
P.s.on most sound clips or video demos, they play full chords instead of one note riffs, so it's difficult to have an opinion...
Hey tb, give JBGretschguy aka Josh Bradshaw a PM and see if he is interested in building you something. I'm sure he could build a massive 60's style garage fuzz.
He made me the guts of an Roger Mayer Octavio style pedal with a Fuzz switch and I love it! I made my own enclosure:
I don't know if it's the particular horrible 60s fuzztone you have in mind ("horrible" isn't a bad thing in this context), but the re-released Fender Blender does the Octavia thing in spades, and blends in plenty other ugliness as well.
I HAD one in the 60s, so I know it hails from the era, AND I used it in a dank dirt-floor garage where a '52 Dodge was rusting and leaking oil.
The reissue is just as nasty.
Highly recommended...
I like the Fuzzbrite Ashbass, which is a copy from Mosrite fuzz pedal... It has that 60s horrible sound.
That's it folks! I'm not after Jimi Hendrix(octavia/fuzz face round tone) or Jimmy Page first Led Zep sound(Tonebender MKII).
Really a Fuzz face with a treble pot or a replica of the Vox Tonebender is more in that "horrible" sounding area of tone.
Having ordered a Fuzzbrite Ashbass for a friend, I'll check it, maybe that's what I need. Isn't it close of the Maestro Fuzz which Keef used on "Satisfaction"?
I've never been a huge fuzz fan, but they sound cool on a bass guitar. I'm sure I like some tones from the late beatles that may have incorporated fuzz. For me, the proco deucetone gets all of the tones I'm looking for. Anyone have a good video that shows the difference between fuzz and say a rat distortion? What is the fundamental difference anyway?
Hi! Wenzel,
in a chain starting in the sixties with:
-two germanium transistors fuzz pedals(Maestro/Vox Tonebender/Fuzz face).
-and next adding more gain(Solasound tonebender II/III).
-next changing for silicium transistors(around 69).
The Ratt is the latest in that evolution with 4 transistors. Ratt pedals are modified Big Muffs, which were basically similar to Fuzz faces but with 2 more gain stages.
There's this organic unpredictable character from germanium that gives life to that bumble bee buzzing sound. Silicium fuzz sounds more refined and "harder" in comparaison(think "Revolution" from the Beatles).
Chaping the sound depending on voltage applied to the transistors you can go from singing beautiful "Axis bold as Love" Hendrix era sound to nasty gnarly Mosrite garage sound.
Yes, the Fuzzbrite is close to a Maestro Fuzztone. It sounds like the amp speaker is being destroyed... Zvex Fuzz Factory has some interesting settings on these sound directions.
the fender benders have been reissued,good place to start.never played a real fuzz face,just the reissued ones-nah!didn't dig it. i like the oct'o fuzz mixed with other boxes cool high whines, i use my hyper fuzz-2 for that " green door" sound of course if i'm just being annoying i'll break out the dreaded buzz box-
I own a 68 Fuzzrite that's awesome coupled with a Gretsch Jet firebird, really lots of treble, but don't know about the replicas. I know an italian maker who makes really good pedals, various kind, fuzz pedals included, and the pedal can be custom tailored on your specs; it's a little bit expensive. The name of the brand is T-pedals and I think he has a website.
treble, I didn't say get a Octavio. I said PM Josh and I bet he could build you a horrible sounding garage style 60's fuzz pedal the way YOU want it.
I was just showing you what he did for me. I asked him if he could build me a Octavio and he did...the guts at least! I wanted to have some fun making the funky case.
Throbak makes a killer pedal called "sTONE Bender"
and I also recommend the Fuzzbrite from Ashbass like Regis is saying.
I have, A limited edition Fuzzmite, made by D-67 Audio if you can find them would be my first choice. Used by the Ghastly Ones for that buzzing fuzz.
I have a VintageFX Fuzzriot and it might be what you are looking for. It will get into Davie Allan territory without breaking a sweat. And the price is reasonable.
edit: I just listened to the samples at their website and I just wanted to say that it can get much nastier than what they posted there.
I love having the options of the different vintage fuzz boxes on the Line 6 DM4. I know that some folks around here don't like the Line 6 modelers but I think they sound great! Plus, if the fuzz sound is too thin, you can just jack up the bass a little bit. The only vintage pedals I have to compare are a Vox Tone Bender and an EH Big Muff, but the modeled pedals sound "just like the record" to my ears, especially the Colorsound, the Maestro and the Big Muff.
"think "Revolution" from the Beatles"
the distortion on the 45 of "Revolution" wasn't a fuzz; it was added later by over-levelling to the point of distortion in the mastering stage. you can hear the tape-distortion artifacts if you listen closely, especially in the vocals and drums.
dubkitty said: the distortion on the 45 of "Revolution" wasn't a fuzz; it was added later by over-levelling to the point of distortion in the mastering stage. you can hear the tape-distortion artifacts if you listen closely, especially in the vocals and drums.A lot of great guitar sounds were created this way: overloading the console input (usually tube). On the first three 10cc albums, Eric Stewart used this technique almost exclusively. With the advent of solid state consoles, that sound was no longer achievable.
i've been seriously considering mixing tracks to 2-track cassette to bring in some tape distortion...i read an interview with Keith Richard back in the 70s where he said that "Street Fighting Man" came from a recording of him on acoustic and Charlie Watts on a little drum kit that was recorded to a portable cassette machine. he also said that the Stones had used the mix-to-cassette thing on other tracks. this is also one of the many techniques that Boards of Canada use to get the aged/distressed effect that is one of their hallmarks.
anyway, i suspect that the folks recommending a custom-build or boutique option are on target...i can't think of anything offhand in the mass market that even does the Fuzz Face very well, much less the Maestro fuzz era.
Hi! dubkitty,
my comparaison about "Revolution" was intended to diferenciate silicium tone of the fuzz which is not the same as the one with germanium transistors. You get(few or less)that sound overloading trim inputs if it's a Fostex 4 track or a tube recording console(as used by the Beatles).
As you mention the Stones cassette trick, you've certainly heard about Ritchie Blackmore plugging his guitar into one to get some compression in front of his amps.
It's not the way you do things(be inventive), as long as the results sound good for you.
Back on fuzz pedals topic:
-I think the D.A.M."66" is the real thing but they're not available anymore, so it makes it as expensive as vintage models.
-the Vox germanium "Tonebender" reissue could be o.k., if I find one on Ebay.
The Vox Tonebender reissues are OK, but to my ears, they're a little thin sounding. I find that I need a graphic EQ placed after it to give it a little balls sometimes.
