Big Muff or RAT every time

Fuzzfaces are great too if you can find one-I had a box of them back in the 70's--Hendrix used them a lot-and as I'd read above-you can't go wrong with a Big Muff-especially the silver and black ones from the 70's-there is an AMAZING one out in recent years-out of Japan-called the "Venemous Snake"-sounds like 'Over Under Sideways Down' Jeff Beck--I might be spelling 'Venamous' wrong-can't remember how it was on the fuzz-I used one awhile ago

i have built a couple kits with verying degrees of success. some dissapointments maybe due to the kits not being that great component quality and some due to builder error.

the kits from BYOC look pretty nice, especially the Tone Bender and Fuzz Face kits with the premium trannies but the kits are almost at the pricepoint of a good finished pedal from a reputable builder.

if you have the time for tweeking around it is a lot of fun and rewarding.

i have a hard enough time sifting through all of the varieties finding the perfect fuzztone i like, let alone building it.

Has anyone built a fuzz from a kit. Id like to make one but want to make a good one. Any suggestions out there?

Has anyone built a fuzz from a kit. Id like to make one but want to make a good one. Any suggestions out there?

I stumbled on this when researching fuzz and, to my ears, the FZ-1A nails the "Satisfaction" sound almost as much as the original FZ-1 Keef used...

Maestro Fuzz comparisons

I'd never heard of NORTH EFFECTS until this post but the pedal AND prices look great... though I don't get why the Primitive only has one sound clip (what with it being more expensive than the Rite which gets like 5+. Not to mention that 1 sound clip doesn't sound majorly like Satisfaction, Valleri, Keep On Running, etc territory.

I'll either get the Rite or take a chance on the Primitive.

I don't have many fuzz pedals, but the Land of the Rising Fuzzz to me captures 60's fuzz.  It's based on the shin-ei companion with a couple extras for you to tweak around with.  I dialed in the guitar tone to the intro on the MC5 version of "I can only give you everything" effortlessly.  I can't say it's the most versatile pedal, but it nails that agitated electricity sound that screams 60's to me.  I love my Black Russian Muff but that's for meatier tasks.

i have bought and sold enough fuzz pedals over the years to rival the entire effect pedal inventory of any Guitar Center store (not really bragging, just sort of a fuzz enthusiast).

one pedal i came across that will give you a very convincing 60's sound is a Catalinbread Merkin Fuzz, here's a youtube clip that's pretty impressive - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMe2Sfe8c9A

i currently own one and it is raw and raspy as all hell (i.e. no smooth fuzz) and has a lot of adjustablilty. they can be found well under $125 used which ain't bad for a very reliable 'boo-teek' pedal.

I just received my North Effects Rite pedal today.  Man, I got to thank you waveclipper for hipping me to this great pedal.  Yeah, this is the fuzz sound I was looking for.  I've been terrorizing the family with this pedal.  To cite my 10 year old daughter, "It sounds too ugly to listen to."  Gotta love it.

Give a try to the ProCo You dirty Rat effect...I've just bought used and it sounds great in my opinion

No problem! The 'Rite' sounds really good, can't remember exactly what trannies he uses but they are silicon anyway. I reckon fuzzrites seem to be somewhat easier to clone than maestros, they seem more tolerant of different transistor choices from what my ears tell me. The more commonly heard recorded version of the fuzzrite would be the silicon version anyway (as opposed to the earlier germanium versions). It's generally a more stable pedal and sounds really nasty and grindy with a fair amount of sustain. The earlier fuzzrites were germanium loaded (that Ventures sort of stuff) but they are more inconsistent from what I hear (although DAM apparently do a very good version but costs a lot of $$). I tend to mentally associate the silicon fuzzrite with later 60s more psychedelic sort of stuff...

My preference for trash garage has to be a Maestro for sure. They were easily the most commonly used fuzzbox at the start of the fuzz explosion, you'll hear it all over nuggets, back from the grave, quagmire, pebbles, texas flashbacks, teenage shutdown etc etc. Frank Zappa used one in his early stuff, Billy Gibbons, Hendrix apparently in his mid 60s gigging days (he used fuzzrites too), Seeds, Electric Prunes, 13th floor elevators - maestros were everywhere!! Problem is that (considering it was the first commercially produced circuit) it seems to be very difficult to replicate without using the original transistors. The 'primitive' has a little internal trimpot (that North Effects advised not to tinker with - ha!!) that helps to tune in the 'gating' effect that maestros have so it is capable of getting close to the feel of an original. But being honest I think the 'rite' sounds closer to an original silicon fuzzrite than the 'primitive' sounds to an original maestro.

Either choice is a good one though imo, you get a pedal which easily sounds like boutique boxes twice (or more!) the price, as long as you don't care about fancy paint jobs! The chap that runs North Effects is a really easy dude to deal with too, quick postage and professional attitude. Good luck and happy fuzzin'!

Waveclipper,

Thanks for the insightful input!  Yeah you are right it does cost a lot to sound cheap.  I've been on a quest for the right fuzz.  I do love that mid-60's fuzz sound.  I checked out North Effects website.  I really like the way the Primitive and the Rite sound.  Either one gets me the sound I'm looking for, and it seems that will get me the sound I want at a price that works for me.  Due to budget constraints, I'll probably lean toward the Rite.   

Fuzztone vs Fuzzrite tone, what is your preference for trashy garage rock?

waveclipper said:

Costs a lot of money to sound this cheap!

Hey James,

The original run of Maestros (the 3 volt and 3 transistor FZ-1) was from 62-65 where Gibson made roughly about 5000 of them. They didn't sell as Gibson had anticipated until Keef recorded 'satisfaction' with one after which they became highly sought after by guitarists and studios of the time so they then released the updated FZ-1A which runs on a 1.5V power supply and has different transistors (3 x 2N2613 or 2N2614). They made roughly in the region of 35,000 of these. The FZ-1 is therefore harder to find but recognisable by it's lower serial number and 2 x pencil battery holder. Prices for the occasional ones that come up on ebay would be in the region of $650-$1000. FZ-1A boxes (which very many of the garage punk/psyche kids would have used from '65-'68 ish) come up reasonably frequently on ebay and would usually cost around $350-$600 depending on condition. Problem is that so many of these originals have been butchered to 'improve' them as short sustain became a problem for the newer generation of blues rock wailers. As long as they have their original transistors that still function they can be restored to their original glory but if the trannies have been replaced you're in trouble! Originals are a gamble for sure, and even perfectly functioning ones can sound quite different as consistency was not easily acheivable in those days. The early noughties reissues were apparently pretty good but they actually sell for in the region of $170-$250!

A modern day, accurate (original NOS transistors) clone of an FZ-1A that will be both reliable and sound pretty much bang on would be the Creepyfingers 'fuzznugget' which I believe would be in the region of $250, and Jerms builds a frighteningly accurate FZ-1 clone for about $350 or thereabouts (if he agrees to make one!) Of the various clones I have using non-spec transistors I would recommend the Ghost Effects FZ-1 clone which costs approx £120 - it captures the 'feel' of a maestro really well. But for the cheapest cheerfullest yet pretty decent FZ-1A clone then the North Effects Primitive. Only £75 which is honestly as cheap as you'll ever get to come reasonably close to an original.

As far as other fuzzes go to try to acheive the Maestro sound, I suppose something that has a voltage starve, bias or gating type of control will help get in the ballpark of that short sustain grindy buzz, which could be helped along if you can drastically cut bass frequencies. You'd be struggling with a fuzz factory as it often gets too synthy sounding on the gated settings, and most other fuzzes based around other classic circuits (perhaps with the exception of the MkI tonebender...) just aren't really going to get you into the right territory. The MI audio 'neofuzz' has a bias knob that helps get close to the right sort of feel and I'm sure that with a bit of tweaking you may be able to get a rough approximation with many other modern designs (Basic Audio does some pretty cool sounding buzzy fuzzes at a very reasonable price, unfortunately I don't have any of his boxes).

Costs a lot of money to sound this cheap!

How easy are these coveted FZ1 pedals to find?  I know the reissues have been discontinued and the originals are out of my price range.  What currently available pedal gets you close to the Maestro FZ1 or FZ1A?

waveclipper said:

A lot of the Sonics sound was acheived by pushing the amps and red-lining the mixing desk I believe. That Outsiders track (and most of the fuzz sounds on the BFTG series) is almost certainly a Gibson Maestro Fuzz-Tone (probably an FZ-1A), judging both by the sound and the year ('66). The Seeds used a Maestro fuzz-tone. The Mosrite fuzzrite is a really fantastic fuzz but is more along the lines of Dave Allan and the Arrows, the Ventures and of course Iron Butterfly. The Ashbass clone is a pretty good and great value clone but I reckon the Mahoney fuzzrite clone, Jerms, DAM stuff is better, although it will cost more. The Boss FZ-5 maestro patch is to an original maestro as a mobile phone photograph of a Van Gogh is to the original painting, imo. It will give you a flavour of the maestro and the way it changes your approach to playing but has some ugly background digital artefacts, gates absolutely and abrubtly (unlike an original) and has no depth of character to the sound - a 2D rendering of a sculpture perhaps?! As far as FZ-1/FZ-1A clones go, the best I have heard use the original transistors and that would really be Jerms or Creepyfingers. Ghost effects makes a very good FZ-1 clone using non-original transistors and is consequently much cheaper. A Big Muff was really a late 60s/early 70s fuzz after Hendrix convinced the guitarists of the world that they needed loads of wailing sustain and I don't personally feel it will get you anywhere close to the tones you are describing. The best resource regarding the early fuzzboxes that I have found would be the DAM forum, frightening amount of knowledge held within those pages!

Conclusion? Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ-1A or FZ-1. Good luck with your quest anyways!

Just remembered - North Effects based in London does a pretty decent FZ-1A clone (he calls a 'Primitive') for only about £70 or so. It has no fancy paint job, just a good sounding box using non original trannies but powered by a single pencil battery just like the originals. He's a great guy to deal with (I'm not affiliated) and it destroys the Boss facsimilie of a maestro...

A lot of the Sonics sound was acheived by pushing the amps and red-lining the mixing desk I believe. That Outsiders track (and most of the fuzz sounds on the BFTG series) is almost certainly a Gibson Maestro Fuzz-Tone (probably an FZ-1A), judging both by the sound and the year ('66). The Seeds used a Maestro fuzz-tone. The Mosrite fuzzrite is a really fantastic fuzz but is more along the lines of Dave Allan and the Arrows, the Ventures and of course Iron Butterfly. The Ashbass clone is a pretty good and great value clone but I reckon the Mahoney fuzzrite clone, Jerms, DAM stuff is better, although it will cost more. The Boss FZ-5 maestro patch is to an original maestro as a mobile phone photograph of a Van Gogh is to the original painting, imo. It will give you a flavour of the maestro and the way it changes your approach to playing but has some ugly background digital artefacts, gates absolutely and abrubtly (unlike an original) and has no depth of character to the sound - a 2D rendering of a sculpture perhaps?! As far as FZ-1/FZ-1A clones go, the best I have heard use the original transistors and that would really be Jerms or Creepyfingers. Ghost effects makes a very good FZ-1 clone using non-original transistors and is consequently much cheaper. A Big Muff was really a late 60s/early 70s fuzz after Hendrix convinced the guitarists of the world that they needed loads of wailing sustain and I don't personally feel it will get you anywhere close to the tones you are describing. The best resource regarding the early fuzzboxes that I have found would be the DAM forum, frightening amount of knowledge held within those pages!

Conclusion? Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ-1A or FZ-1. Good luck with your quest anyways!

I use an Ibanez Sound Tank 60s Fuzz (FZ5).  They were inexpensive when they came out.  I picked up a new one for $25 back then.  Like everything old or discontinued (except me) the have become "collector's items" on eBay.  I really like the sound of the pedal, despite the plastic housing.  You can get a real convincing mid-sixties "back from the grave" style fuzz sound.

Crank it through a fender tube amp with tremolo, you'll get a way cool pre-summer of love (i.e. pre-hippy) psychedelic sound.

Any one know how to get the pushin too hard solo fuzz tone???

Try one of these, serious, it's ridiculously flexible.

I'm serious try the Modtone mini Fuzzer. It's Grrrrrrreat! I'd love to hear someone else's opinion on it. It's solid, affordable and tasty!

what do you guys think about the boss fz-5's maestro patch, it any good? worth the 90 quid and disgusting 'boost' concept (and the shame of having a digital pedal)

a big muff, is a famous oldtimer that will do , but in my opinion too much woolly sounding. and a muff sounds slowly. but you can get some good noise out of em for a nice price.

me myself got the zvex fuzzfactory for about 7 years. still loving it, very loud (volume wise, a lot of fuzzboxes havent got a large output) and all sort of extreme sounds can be created. but you can also go for the wooly 60s fuzz tone using the zvex, its all there. wide range of sounds.

I just checked out the mossrite fuzzclone on youtube, boy , awesome cruel sound!! but impossible to find and expensive.

I would say checkout youtube vids. or go to your local dealer.