How many fuzzes/distortions is "enough"

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MrJagsquire
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Re: How many fuzzes/distortions is "enough"

Post by MrJagsquire » Fri Oct 30, 2020 1:35 pm

peterherman wrote:
Tue Oct 06, 2020 4:14 pm
It definitely is a different sound. It's for sure not an overdrive, and it sounds rather unlike "amp distortion" to me. I like it, but I can't think of anything you've listed that I would hear and go "hmmm...is that a Rat?"
I went for a RAT clone in the end; a Mooer Black Secret. I've found that I prefer the 'Turbo' mode and I keep the gain below about 10 o'clock. I use it when we play Black Keys 'Lonely Boy' and will probably use it for some 70s punk songs we plan to add to the set list. Sounds different enough to the SL drive and the dirty channel on my Marshall, so worth getting for £32.

I've also replaced my EHX Soul Food with an MXR Timmy. I found the SF sounded a bit too nasal, but the Timmy is adding just a nice low amount of grit on top of my Marshall (which is set just on the beginning of crunch with the gain at about 2 o'clock on the clean channel).

I'm late to the party in terms of stacking, but I found that the Timmy into my Xotic SL drive works well (and I can use either one alone for various songs). I also like my Xotic SP compressor into the Timmy as well: This sound is more like using the Timmy with the switch to the left, but it means I can use the middle switch position, which is more 'open' sounding, then kick the SP in if I want a more compressed sound. It's easier than bending down to fiddle with small switches mid set.

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Re: How many fuzzes/distortions is "enough"

Post by mazzjaster » Mon Nov 30, 2020 2:09 am

I personally run a Hudson Electronics Broadcast (24v dual foot switch) into a JHS Muffuletta or Magnetic Effects White Atom. That combo covers all the gain I need (with a compressor) but if that doesn’t help then the answer is simply “yes.” 8)

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Re: How many fuzzes/distortions is "enough"

Post by del » Tue Nov 23, 2021 8:50 am

Revitalizing this lovely thread!

I'm contemplating adding an EQD Terminal Fuzz (maybe a clone) to my collection, but I already have a Super Fuzz (Behringer SF300). Would these be redundant? Do I already have enough?

Thanks for your thoughts!
The Kinks - The Fall – The Bad Seeds - Spacemen 3 - The Gories - Royal Trux
"The idea is to put a pick in one hand and a guitar in the other and with a tiny movement rule the world." - David Fair

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Re: How many fuzzes/distortions is "enough"

Post by tune_link » Mon Nov 29, 2021 5:06 am

del wrote:
Tue Nov 23, 2021 8:50 am
Revitalizing this lovely thread!

I'm contemplating adding an EQD Terminal Fuzz (maybe a clone) to my collection, but I already have a Super Fuzz (Behringer SF300). Would these be redundant? Do I already have enough?

Thanks for your thoughts!
Not redundant at all. I have a few Super Fuzz variants (the Smallsound Bigsound Buzzz and the Berhinger one you already mentioned to be specific) and the Terminal sounds like neither of them. It's really it's own thing. I'm sure it's based on something but I'm not entirely sure what. I don't use the Terminal on my main board as (at least for me) it doesn't play nicely with some of the other things I use. But I use it in the studio on a regular basis because there are a few specific settings you can dial in where if you double track a fuzzed out lead or riff it will make them really stand out in a very nice way. It can do some other tones a lot closer to something like a Shin Ei (think Jesus & Mary Chain - Psychocandy) but I think you'll find it very different for the most part from the SF300.

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Re: How many fuzzes/distortions is "enough"

Post by marqueemoon » Mon Nov 29, 2021 9:45 am

marqueemoon wrote:
Thu Jul 23, 2020 1:21 pm
As far as how many I “need”, a good Klone, a Rat, and a good silicon Fuzz Face variant covers all the bases for me.

I’ve been moving away from dirt pedals and towards low watt amps I can run hotter and kick with a boost.
Lol. I bought two more dirt boxes since posting this (a White Atom and a Plumes). Used both quite a bit when recording.

Still just have Rat/Archer/boost on the board though.

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del
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Re: How many fuzzes/distortions is "enough"

Post by del » Tue Nov 30, 2021 10:55 am

tune_link wrote:
Mon Nov 29, 2021 5:06 am
del wrote:
Tue Nov 23, 2021 8:50 am
Revitalizing this lovely thread!

I'm contemplating adding an EQD Terminal Fuzz (maybe a clone) to my collection, but I already have a Super Fuzz (Behringer SF300). Would these be redundant? Do I already have enough?

Thanks for your thoughts!
Not redundant at all... It's really it's own thing... I think you'll find it very different for the most part from the SF300.
Thanks for the in-hand comparison!
The Kinks - The Fall – The Bad Seeds - Spacemen 3 - The Gories - Royal Trux
"The idea is to put a pick in one hand and a guitar in the other and with a tiny movement rule the world." - David Fair

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Re: How many fuzzes/distortions is "enough"

Post by jorri » Tue Nov 30, 2021 12:56 pm

mazzjaster wrote:
Mon Nov 30, 2020 2:09 am
I personally run a Hudson Electronics Broadcast (24v dual foot switch) into a JHS Muffuletta or Magnetic Effects White Atom. That combo covers all the gain I need (with a compressor) but if that doesn’t help then the answer is simply “yes.” 8)
The Hudson certainly multiplies the stacking possibilities!

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Re: How many fuzzes/distortions is "enough"

Post by countertext » Tue Nov 30, 2021 5:33 pm

I’ve noticed over the years that the more I gig, the fewer distortion/fuzz pedals I keep around, and the less I gig, the more of them start to pile up.

In my busy days, long ago, I was down to just a RAT, then just a catalinbread DLS. Now I don’t really get to play out, and I’ve got about five different fuzzes and five or six distortion/ODs. I barely plug any of them in.

:( :unsure: :bored:

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Re: How many fuzzes/distortions is "enough"

Post by jorri » Thu Dec 02, 2021 12:37 pm

countertext wrote:
Tue Nov 30, 2021 5:33 pm
I’ve noticed over the years that the more I gig, the fewer distortion/fuzz pedals I keep around, and the less I gig, the more of them start to pile up.

In my busy days, long ago, I was down to just a RAT, then just a catalinbread DLS. Now I don’t really get to play out, and I’ve got about five different fuzzes and five or six distortion/ODs. I barely plug any of them in.

:( :unsure: :bored:
Makes sense to me- gigs often go better simplified with something reliable and less nuanced - things may get lost in the noise of it all. Sometimes just remembering which one to push and set is a distraction...

But in a recording or more intimate setting then wecan tell the nuances, they might matter, tone searching might matter, and doing cool stacking with strange fuzz is something that can work a lot easier unlike live where it can be a bit lost! Plus time to be a bit of connoisseur or collector i guess and go into that rabbit hole.

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