Poll results: Fuzz

Once again, thank you for participating in the fuzz edition of the poll installment. I'm trying to 'see' how's the fuzz climate like here. The fuzz, unlike its close relatives, the drive & distortion, doesn't command an immediate following. The way I see it, it's largely due to definition; the lack of clarity & the propagation of sonic sludge, especially in the lower frequencies, would put players off. I find the fuzz rather repulsive but over the years, I appreciate its application despite not favouring it for my kind of playing. If you own a fuzz unit & totally hate it- keep it. Over the years, as your ears become more attuned to drive & distortion, especially the ones which are tube-based coming from amplifiers, you'd understand what the fuzz has in store for you- warmth. You won't find this degree of warmth with your typical overdrive or distortion units due to different clipping responses as well as the lack of transistors (or the lack of specific ones in there).

This is my recommendation quickie, definitely not exhaustive, but an arguably sufficient intro to what a fuzz can do in terms of application, mind you, not immediate appeal:

1. Mudhoney: Superfuzz Bigmuff Despite being an EP & recorded in the early stages of the band's career (also notwithstanding the fact that the album was named after 2 of the industry's most celebrated fuzz pedal names), this is, in my opinion, the best intro to all things fuzz. If you are a fuzz fan & you know nothing about Mudhoney or Superfuzz Bigmuff- you are probably a nobody.
2. Paul Gilbert: Fuzz Universe OK, the name suggests the obvious but take note of how the fuzz could be applied tastefully to shred.
3. Korn: Self-titled debut And this is how the fuzz could be made relevant to tunes which are peddled by the 7th string.
4. Sepultura: Roots The Sepultura chaps bunked in the same recording studio as the Korn chaps & decided to use the same effects to different results. So this, essentially, is a bold statement of intent- it's how you use the fuzz.Very metal fuzz, this one.

Happy weekend, every one. Happy last-day-of-November as well :-)