Fuzz Pedal Tips and Tricks - Get the Best Tone - Problems and Solutions
What is a Fuzz Pedal?
On the inside, a fuzz pedal is a relatively simple circuit that has so much gain, it clips and distorts your guitar signal. Although simple, it's still an untamed monster that has appeared on countless albums and a sound that should be in every guitar toolbox. It is very similar to a cranked tube amp when the tubes are breaking up. There are not a huge number of components in the main circuitry or anything extremely complicated electronically going on. The simplest Fuzz pedal designs only have two transistors! But, because they are so simple, each component plays a role, just like the specific tubes in your amp.
What are the different types/brands of Fuzz Pedals
There are a few all time famous Fuzz pedals which I will describe a little about. By no means is this list comprehensive!
Fuzz Face: This is the classic Fuzz made famous by Hendrix and others. It is a very simple two transistor design and they were originally germanium transistors. Because the fuzz is so dependent on individual transistors there can be huge variation in the way these sound. Supposedly Hendrix would go through a box of new Fuzz Faces to pick the one he liked best. Most of the newer Fuzz Faces and some of the re-issue ones are built with silicon transistors which have more gain and aren't as smooth sounding.
Big Muff: Big box, pretty big tone. One of the classic pedals many people use. The price isn't bad and from my experience, it works well with a wah. The recent ones I have tried were a little tinny but you can dial it back and get a good sound. Overall good tone and the box is so big you can't miss it on the stage.
Fuzz Factory: This is an over the top fuzz that can be difficult to reign in. However, if you are looking for that out there crazy sound its worth looking into.
Analog Man: Analog Mike builds some really great pedals that are well worth the money. Get your hands on one. He does germanium and silicon.
1954/1948 Fuzz: These are the fuzz pedals I build at ScreaminFX that include an on/off buffer to make them work well with a wah wah.
The 1954 is a tuned silicon Fuzz that I designed to be very playable and sound like a vintage germanium fuzz. It is one of the better sounding fuzz pedals on the market for the price.
The 1948 fuzz is a hand matched germanium transistor fuzz. I measure transistors one at a time so that I can pick the best ones for the actual fuzz circuit. This is the key and was what Hendrix was looking for when he tried many different ones. You will hear the term matched transistors, which means transistors of the correct gain to make the fuzz sound good. I also built a fuzz tuner to design the bias networks to make sure they sound the best. This pedal costs more because it is very labor intensive to build. It's very similar to the original Fuzz Face but hand made to ensure each sounds amazing.
What is the best place for a Fuzz Pedal - Right after the guitar into a tube amp (guitar -> wah(maybe) -> fuzz -> time FX (maybe) -> tube amp:
The answer to the question "where is the best place to put my fuzz pedal" is right after your guitar with it ultimately feeding into an all tube amp. The guitar volume knob controls the voltage and current into the pedal which really effects how it sounds and how clean it is, so it's often best to keep it right after your guitar. The way the pedal interacts with the amplifier preamp stage really makes a difference in the way it sounds. I think the wah sounds best in front of the fuzz and you will often need some sort of buffer to keep it from oscillating (see next section).
New Video: How to Fix Wah and Fuzz Problems
This video explains why a wah and fuzz oscillate and make a screaching noise (resonant circuit). It then shows a simple method for fixing this with a buffer pedal. Finally, I show some pedals I designed that work really well to fix the wah fuzz problem.
Oscillation Problems with a Fuzz Pedal - Why and how to fix
So you have your wah plugged into your fuzz and you are about to wail on some lead but there is a screeching sound. Usually a single toned oscillation that sounds like a lower frequency mic feeding back. The reason is the input impedance of the fuzz. It is relatively low input and interacts with a pedal before the fuzz such as a wah. This then creates a positive feedback. I wrote a whole article devoted to this here. There are two simple fixes, 1) put your wah after the fuzz although the wah wah won't be as expressive or 2) find a good pedal or buffer to put in between that doesn't ruin the fuzz. I design my fuzz pedals (1948 and 1954) with a buffer for this reason. I like the wah first. I also designed a stand alone buffer to help with this if you already have a fuzz and wah you like.
There is another type of oscillation, one is just plain feedback from either too much gain or standing too close to your amp. This is a tough one and depends on your gear. Usually turning down just a little will get rid of the ear piercing sound. Grounding is also important but is tougher to do if you don't have a multimeter. The way to do it is to check to make sure the ground wires are all connected to the out shield cable of your guitar cord. This is the larger metal part of the guitar cord connector.
Cleaning Up a Fuzz with the volume knob.
Many people don't realize that your fuzz cleans up very easily with the volume knob of your guitar. The reason is that you are controlling the current into a low input impedance. Top players will play rhythm on a crunchy 7 or 8 and the roll the knob up to 10 for a full out lead. Try it out. If you don't get that much response with your volume knob, you may have a buffer in your guitar (does it have a battery?) or there may already be a buffer in your fuzz pedal. You should hear a drastic reduction in fuzz between a guitar volume knob on 10 and a rolled back lowered volume.
Pick Response
Especially with the volume knob rolled back, the fuzz is very expressive as you pick. This is very important and can really add to and enhance your playing style. The harder you pick, the more it will fuzz (distort) and it's great for clean but crunchy passages. You can hear this sort of playing in many Hendrix tunes.
Sometimes a Fuzz sounds bad - Why?:
There are several reasons that a fuzz just doesn't sound good. Here are some common ones:
- 1) A pedal before the fuzz, even if turned off buffers or boosts the guitar signal and causes the fuzz to get a crackling sound. Try moving the fuzz further up in your chain closer to the guitar.
- 2) The fuzz is too fuzzy to use. The reason is that the circuit probably has too much gain or the circuit networks inside don't pass the frequencies of your guitar correctly. If its too fuzzy for you to use, sell it on ebay. This is usually too hard to fix.
- 3) Picks up every radio station in the local area. The reason this happens is that the pedal has a lot of gain but is also nonlinear and produces distortion. At the same time, there are wires which act as antennas. This is hard to get around to some degree because it is the main property of a fuzz, but one thing to do is to check the grounding. The pedal has so much gain, if there are really long wires such as point to point wiring or a bad ground this problem gets worse. To check ground, you will need a multimeter and basic electrical skills. What you want is for the pedal box and local grounds to all connect to the ground shield of your cable. Sometimes, you just can't do anything about it because there is so much gain or the local radio station signal is too strong. Another thing to try is to move the fuzz around or turn it 90 degrees.
- 4) Just sounds bad. Some are made of cheap parts or little attention to design. Many of the ones below $100 aren't worth the price. Sadly, some of the others that cost an arm and a leg also aren't worth it if the designer didn't know what they are doing. It's actually a pretty tough pedal to make sound very good. I guess there's always ebay. I recommend selling out and trying a new one until you find what you like.
How to test if your other pedals are ruining your fuzz
The easiest way to see if something is ruining your fuzz is to start with only a guitar, fuzz and amp. Plug them in and see how it sounds. Then add another pedal in front and see if the fuzz changes. Many of them will, especially if you have a true Fuzz Face type circuit. You'll hear a distinct cracking sound or too much fuzz. The solution is to move it around in your signal chain.
How do I get it to feedback at the end of a song
This one is simple, get your guitar close to the amp and let go of everything. A hollow body is even better for this. If you've got cash and a few fans, throw your guitar in the general direction of the amp and walk off the stage. Maybe go out and repeat once or twice.