Which fuzz for me: Keeley vs Fulltone vs other?

[skier]

I need a fuzz pedal and I am overwhelmed by the choices!! From what I
read somewhere Germanium might be better for me but I don't know. I'm
considering the Keeley Fuzzhead, Fulltone '69, '70, and Soulbender.
What other Fuzz pedals do you recommend to go with humbuckers into a
Blues Jr?

I don't want too much fuzzyness or fizziness. But it needs more balls
than a tubescreamer clone. Just a sweet rockin pedal for lead guitar.
I dig Hendrix but don't know him well enough to answer whether I want
Band of Gypsies style sound or whatever? Other slightfuzzlike sounds I
like: Page, Clapton, Santana, Allman Brothers.

Dan Kamps Custom Jazzman (with Dimarzio Humbuckers) or Samick Royale3
->Nobels ODR1->TS10->Magicstomp->535Q wah->GigaDelay->TU2
tuner->Fender Blues Junior

[Rich Johnson]

skie...@excite.com (skier) wrote:

> I need a fuzz pedal and I am overwhelmed by the choices!! From what I
> read somewhere Germanium might be better for me but I don't know. I'm
> considering the Keeley Fuzzhead, Fulltone '69, '70, and Soulbender.
> What other Fuzz pedals do you recommend to go with humbuckers into a
> Blues Jr?

Germanium transisters are a little warmer (IMHO). Silicon are fuzzier.
But germanium components are notorious for being unpredictable. This
doesn't give you much to go on, but it's the best I can do in writing.
The best thing you can do is find pedals and try them out- with your
own guitar and amp. That's the only way you'll know if you'll be
happy.

> I don't want too much fuzzyness or fizziness. But it needs more balls
> than a tubescreamer clone. Just a sweet rockin pedal for lead guitar.
> I dig Hendrix but don't know him well enough to answer whether I want
> Band of Gypsies style sound or whatever? Other slightfuzzlike sounds I
> like: Page, Clapton, Santana, Allman Brothers.

I tried a used Soulbender in a store once. It did a pretty good Jimmy
Page sound, if I remember correctly. I was using a Tele-ish guitar at
the time, so it might sound totally different with humbuckers. If you
want an early Santana sound, try a Big Muff.

- Rich Johnson

[Phoenix Flying Low]

> considering the Keeley Fuzzhead, Fulltone '69, '70, and Soulbender.
> What other Fuzz pedals do you recommend to go with humbuckers into a
> Blues Jr?

For the record, I dont think you can go wrong with a good old boss DS-1
Distortion. Kurdt cobain used it on Smells like teen spirit, but John
Frusciante also used it on Cant stop and theres barely any fuzz to note!
Basically, It can do anything you want! another advantage is that its only
£39 I think thats about $50????? I dont think its beatable

[Rick Wilson]

"skier" <skie...@excite.com> wrote in message
news:c67a953e.04052...@posting.google.com...

I don't currently own a fuzz pedal (though a Big Muff is on the way - a
trade for some spare parts I had lying around), but I have had some
experience with them. I mostly played with the cheap stuff, cuz I couldn't
afford the good stuff back then. The Boss DS-1 is okay, and is pretty hard
to beat for the price as far as distortion pedals go. I had a Boss Hyper
Fuzz for awhile, which is now out of production, that was great. It was
essentially two different fuzz pedals in one box. It could also be switched
to a third mode - a clean boost.

Like Rich said though, you really ought to just take your axe and amp to a
store and play with a bunch of pedals. I've spent hours upon hours at a
local store (Rainbow in Tucson, AZ) just trying overdrive pedals.

Rick

[D.R.]

"Phoenix Flying Low" <ak...@zsword.fsnet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:c8j5cq$cvq$1...@newsg4.svr.pol.co.uk...

I've got a Robert Keeley DS-1 Ultra. It is sooo
much better than the stock DS-1. However, after
A/Bing with a Rat, the DS-1 is not what I am
after.

[Mark McDonald]

I use a Radial British Tone Bone into both a Blues Jr. and a Deluxe. Also
in my chain is a Keeley Modded TS-9. The Tone Bone is definitely the
highest quality pedal I have ever used. Very rich and creamy, perfect for
the LP into a Marshall sound, if that is what you are looking for. I use it
for that Duane Allman like sound, especially slide.
--
Mark McDonald
m...@sonic.net
http://www.markmcdonaldblues.com

[StompboxMan]

Those Fulltone 69 and 70 Fuzz pedals are great for the standard fuzz sound
another being an NYC Big Muff. The wild one is a ZVEX Effects Fuzz Factory.
It's one of my personal favorites and can get a Fuzz Face sound that cleans up
to fuzz sustaining feedback. You set the feedback pitch so as the note fades
into that pitch. The Fuzz Factory has many sounds to choose from. It's a fun
pedal to play with.
www.ehx.com
www.fulltone.com
www.zvex.com