What's the FUZZ about?

I'm not a fuzz fan. Don't see myself embracing 'em fuzz pedals & abandoning distortions & drives. Yes, I understand the fact that drives, distortion & fuzzes are the products of signal clipping. The music genre that I'm inclined to, renders some of these clippings unsuitable. So why the FZ-5?

Currently, I'm on a doom itch & nothing supplements doom better than the fuzz. In the mean time, I own fuzz pedals by EHX & Seymour Duncan but my current fav is the RAT pedal. Purists would argue that the RAT is a distortion that sounds fuzzy so it's not a bona fide fuzz unit. Whatever your perspective on the matter, I needed more tone references to finally decide what works best. I still believe BOSS is the standard to beat when it comes to drives, distortions & fuzzes hence the FZ-5 acquisition. Still testing it with some guitars in the mean time. 

Hot deals: BOSS FZ-1w

Folks, some of us are already in the market for good deals at this year end. Swee Lee's Hot Deals section has some stuff for your consideration. The pedal depicted above is one of them & I recommend it to players who are in search of a good fuzz unit (with a Japanese pedigree) without the obligations to embrace the Electro Harmonix name. Then again, EH is the standard to beat when it comes to all things fuzz. 😅

Dinosaur fuzz

If there's any fuzz fanatic who deserves a signature pedal, J Mascis has to be the one. This signature Big Muff is a belated tribute, really.

My Dinosaur Jr. staple are these three releases, Where You Been being my personal fav. These collection of songs opened up some perspectives as to what being guitar-inclined means. It's the other side of shred-till-you-drop guitar dedication; magnificently introverted. 

Pics: EHX / stereogum

Selling: EHX Green Russian Big Muff Pi

Letting this go to fund my chemo bills which seems unending. That's the price for falling sick.

• EHX: Green Russian Big Muff Pi (box included)
• Condition: 9/10 (no velcro at base plate)
• Self-collect: CCK / Yew Tee mrt station
• No trades / reservations
• Query / confirmation: subversion.sg@gmail.com
• Price: $99 (final)

Goodbye, July...

Selling: EHX Big Muff Deluxe

  

It's that time of the month where I have medical bills to clear. I've been trying not to sell gear to see this through but that's not a wise thing to do considering the circumstances. The Big Muff Deluxe here is my go to fuzz pedal when it comes to saturation & more gain. That noise gate feature is also a plus especially if you are using single coils to play this one. It's seldom used because I'm still not a fuzz fan after all these years. Might be clearing more fuzz pedals in time to come. My price is final, thank you for understanding. I believe I'm offering this at the lowest price compared to other listings in the after-market. 

• Selling: EHX Big Muff Deluxe (9/10 condition, box included)
• Query / confirmation: subversion.sg@gmail.com
• No reservations / trades
• Self-collect: Yew Tee / CCK mrt station
• Price: $105 (final)

Ripped

Latest in the line up of all things fuzz - EHX Ripped Speaker. One more time, I'm not a fuzz fan but I appreciate how fuzz pedals are used in context. In this case, I like how it cleans up with the guitar volume rolled down & that smooth tone for slide play. Watch this:

Pic: EHX

Tone Bending

This happened last weekend; BOSS released the Waza Craft Tone Bender pedal in collaboration with Sola Sound. In guitardom, the TB is a celebrated fuzz pedal in similar reverence to the Big Muff & Fuzz Face.

Compared to the original TB, the Waza version is virtually half the size & will attract interest from the pedal geeks in view of its space-saving dimensions. It also features voltage variation to alter tone & of course, a germanium transistor for all your preferred fuzziness. Note the original label font & colour / texture were brought over to the Waza incarnation for that much needed nostalgia. 

I'm not much of a fuzz fan. I'm just not into its lack of clarity especially for muted notes but I know fuzz units are preferred for some sonic applications. I will be checking this out nevertheless. If you are interested, be informed that only 3,000 units are manufactured for worldwide distribution.

Pics: Boss

Ram's head

The EHX name is rather synonymous with fuzz. It's only natural that one of the leading pioneers in all things fuzzy is keeping up with the times. One of the good things which they are doing right is keeping the fuzz pedal in check. OK so some of it translated to be an iteration of what's already out there but Gibson & Fender are doing it with aplomb & it's a good business plan. There are some things that remain sentimental with the players out there & getting them to re-embrace that is quite easy; tell them it's still relevant & that they should want one. It's the case with the Big Muff Ram's Head iteration. So it's another fuzz pedal but it's a recreation of the manufacturer's coveted achievement. It's so good, David Gilmour swears by it & there's a good chance that today's players don't know who Gilmour is as opposed to BTS. 

Anyway folks, at my end, I'm here to tell you that this might be the shredder's preferred fuzz pedal. The pedal simply sounds good when playing so many notes at breakneck speed is your thing. It doesn't muck your definition out while retaining that signature rounded, fuzzy, top end. Need convincing? Here's something from the EHX people themselves:

Triangulating

Final pedal purchased for 2018- the EHX Triangle Big Muff (TBF). I'm not a fuzz fan, was never one. The fact that I actually forked money out for this one shows that I'm not averse to appealing tones regardless of the implement. There's a little history to this one, the 'triangle' monicker being the key i/d to the pedal's origin; it's actually referring to the knobs' arrangement forming a triangular formation. Also, the TBF is Mike Matthew's initial foray into the fuzz zone & it's timely re-introduced in this smaller format to commemorate the manufacturer's 50th anniversary. 

The pedal per se is aggressive & a little louder than its other counterparts (or is that my ears going a little bonkers?). Also, your scooped metal tone won't benefit from having the TBF generating the bulk of the signal's distortion; it just needs crucial midrange to, dare I say, hold everything together in terms of notes definition. Yes, it's the harder clipping type of fuzz that could be easily tamed to produce that smooth, violin-esque top end, something Eric Johnson would be proud of. I maxed the fuzz out & maybe (just maybe) there's a little gating going on in the circuit but don't quote me on this. Anyway, it's heard at higher fuzz settings only so all you fuzz geeks sporting vintage single coils won't be bothered by what's going on there. 

Coming from a non-fuzz favouring player like yours truly, this pedal is a likeable unit. It won't mush out your tone at higher volume setting & on that note, it's indeed something that thrives on being loud.

PS: Thank you, Lisa the cat, for posing willingly. 

Sovtek Deluxe BMP

Another EHX Big Muff variation but this one has some intelligent features on board. Surprise- it works for bass as well. Watch:

Triangular

So what do we have here? It's another fuzz unit from the EHX camp. Despite not being a fuzz fan, I do make it a point to check their fuzzes out. I dislike fuzz tones because of the lack in definition; the rounded treble & squashed bass end are just not the thing for me. However, I find that the EHX fuzz units are among the most pleasant in this aspect. Ok here:

What the Fooz?

A new one from the SD camp- it's a fuzz/ trem/ synth pedal. For those of us who love the beeps & tweets in our playing, it's something to look forward to. As for me, I'm not even a fuzz fan. 😁 OK here's some persuasion:

New trio

So folks, more new Fender pedals in the market Summer NAMM 2018), this time it's a booster, distortion & fuzz serving. It's a waiting game, really. Despite constant visits to the stores, I don't see them in store till I gave up & dismissed them as unavailable that I get personal updates on availability. Hopefully these three won't be subjected to such lesser treatments. Interested in the boost. 

The op

I have a limited tolerance for fuzz units. It's down to the fact that the guitar's lower notes sound rather repulsive through a fuzz pedal. I hear lots of ill definitions which aren't suitable for heavy music. However, the fuzz is the preferred unit for doom- Cathedral has loads of fuzz going, Enslaved's Isa album has some juicy, fuzz-laden tones for the solos. It has its applications, not for the picky though. The Op Amp version by EHX you see here- I like. It has 2 channels, one giving me that extra prick for leads & that's what I use it for. That setting is quite repulsive if one sports a Les Paul because it makes the overall tone sounds thin. 

Comrade Muff

While geardom is celebrating EHX's shrunken Russian Muff, I'm still rocking the bigger manifestation. Unlike the standard Big Muff, the Russian version sounds grizzly, it's like a saturated distortion that fuzzes out when saturated rather than sounding like a fuzz unit to begin with. This affects the clarity of lower notes which can be undefined under higher fuzz settings.

Darn turd!

If you've got that crappy feeling because it's a Monday, then Dr. No effects feel you. In fact, they reckon that by offering theirs to you, it would somehow make life a little happier, especially when you plug your instrument into one. With reference to the following video clip, you'd agree that it sounds kinda awesome with single coils:

Selling: Ibanez OD850 (SOLD)

Contrary to the 'overdrive' label, the Ibanez OD850 is a fuzz unit. It was conceived in the same era as a certain muff-y pedal in direct competition, of course. As far as fuzzy tones are concerned, I'm not a fan. The pedal you see here is a mere 2 month old.

• Ibanez OD850
• Box, adapter cable included as seen above
• 2mth old, 9/10 condition
• No reservations/ trades
• Self-collect @ CCK mrt station
• Further queries/ confirmation: subversion.sg@gmail.com
• Price: $140 (final)

Item SOLD off- thanks ☺

Fuzzing drive

Picked this one up just hours ago from Swee Lee :-)

Ibanez's OD850 isn't new, in 1974-1975, it's touted as one of the 'better' interpretation of EHX's Big Muff pedal, manufactured by Nissin Onpa (Japan) till 2002. It's now back for your consideration but that OVERDRIVE label there is a little deceiving (just like the Super Metal). 

The OD850 is what I refer to as a range defined drive unit; it starts out demure & ends in beast mode. However, a good spread of it is just fuzz & more fuzz. Don't blame the 850 for not being something else because it was conceived in the Muff image & that's what it's dishing out. 

So the 850 is a drive in its initial stages but it has nothing extensive to offer & I must say it's not the real parameter of the 850's true identity. It's rather forgettable. Turn it (the SUSTAIN control) up & it starts to fuzz out in anger. The maximum fuzz offering will easily obliterate low notes, the type some germanium units would do. The shred dweebs will have limited applications with this lack of definition but if you peddle some doom in your metal, this might be your break. That's not all because if you couple this with some tone tweaking, you could get some of those super smooth Cliffs Of Dover fuzz tones.

Ibanez: OD850

Availability: Swee Lee Co.

List: $219

... of doom!

A new one by Randall amps- the EOD 88. It's a seemingly simple amp with a singular objective- heavy tones, no compromise. This is a first by the manufacturer to incorporate a fuzz circuit so in addition to the regular gain, one can inject instant Sabbath-esque tones just by dialing the fuzz in. Hear it in action:

Empress: Multidrive

Finally, what I wanted- the Empress Multidrive. I'm not a boutique brand fan, in fact, I urge you to find a standard equivalent of what a boutique brand offers if it's within your means & invest in that alternative instead. Too many boutique brand names wax lyrical about the superior components featured in their products only to fall below your tonal expectations when you hear it in action. The Multidrive pedal here is a favourable product not because it's a boutique brand name item but it was conceived with practicality in mind. It offers the player 3 drive modules so one need not carry 3 individual pedals instead. Even in distortion mode, the player has 3 voicings to choose from. Together with a 3-band EQ, it's endless tinkering, tone-wise. Bonus- the pedal isn't heavy at all.