Let's talk about fuzz..

[DetroitBlues]

The fuzz pedal... So many variations, its hard to know where to start.

I've had a couple fuzz pedals over the past 20 years or so.  Mainly because of the whole Hendrix or Smashing Pumpkins tone.

However, being a primary humbucker player, I really do not like the sound of it.

What are the tip, tricks, usages, etc people use?  When and why do you use a fuzz pedal?

What are the differences in the options? 

I'm rather curious here.

[TalismanRich]

Lets see.....  

I had an original Fuzz Face.  Got stolen around '72.   I didn't think it was great, but it was one of the few pedals that you had back then.  You didn't have 247 different fuzz pedals!   Replaced it with a Jordan Boss Tone that plugged into the front of the Jaguar.   Great for doing Satisfaction and Inna Gadda Da Vita.   I eventully traded that for an EEPROM burner many years later.   The knobs were broken where the whammy bar would swing around and hit the plastic.    I covered it up later with a piece of Erector set with electrical tape on it to protect it.

Got a Fender Blender.   Very fizzy.  It did fuzz and octave.   I don't know where that pedal went.   I probably left it at the bass players house.   

All told those 3 would probably fetch you 2 or 3 grand today.   At the time,  I was out about $100 total.  Pedals back then were much cheaper!    

Most of the time,  I simply turned my Guild Thunderbird amp to 10 and if you toggled the 3 way tone switch between two settings, it was almost like doing the jumper on a Marshall.   The amp was only about 35 watts, so it would really distort when full up.

Today,   I don't use fuzz,  I prefer the OD.   Klon style and Tube Screamer have been my mainstays, although I really like the Blues Driver that Pete Farmer lent me at PSP.   It wasn't so midrangy like a TS.   Haven't bought one yet but it will happen.   I haven't decided if I'll get the standard or WazaCraft model.  

I have a Soul Food, but I replaced it with a NotaKlon.   It sounded smoother to me, and was less noisy.    

My preference is for a smoother, creamy overdrive, not a harsh biting sound.   I like the sustain for soloing.