Tone Bender, Muff, Fuzz Face... Wats the Diff?

[Player99]

I am buying a lightly used Analogman Sun Face 108... I bought a Barber Trifecta, and I have an orange Boss Fuzz from years ago.

 

What is the difference? I never liked the Barber, and the Boss was not super. I hope I like the AM Sun Face...

[Player99]

I can hear an echo the voice in my head makes in this big, empty forum...

[t_e_l_e]

in my humble opinion, for me the difference is, i don't like fuzz faces, i have some use for a tone bender and i love the muff sounds, all of them

[WWW]

You aren't new to the game man. We need to know your setup and intended use.

 

In my humble experience the search for the perfect fuzz is equal to or greater than the search for the proverbial "needle in the haystack".

 

Are you digging through the haystack with a pitchfork, or chopsticks?

 

The Barber Trifecta is on my all time list of favorites. I'll never sell it.

 

[Player99]

Gibson 137 / 335 / SG / LP Recording-->Hardwired Tuner-->JHS Orange Peel Comp-->Aluminum Falcon 2-->Aluminum Falcon 2-->Barber Tone Pump Dual OD-->Xotic X-Blender with Arion SCH 1 Chorus-->Fulltone Clyde Wah-->Strymon Timeline-->Voodoo Lab Tremolo-->Fuchs Overdrive Supreme 30 (or Bruno Underground 30) All powered with 2 Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 units.

 

I will take out the 1st or second A Falcon and replace it with the Sun Face.

 

I found the Trifecta buzzy... Is a Tone Bender different than a Muff? Than a Fuzz Face? Are these the 3 different fuzz circuits?

 

I leave both Aluminum Falcons on set with very little to no overdrive. I may have the Timeline last not the Tremolo. The Orange Comp is also almost always on with a 60% blend. I get a pretty heavy OD with the Barber Tone Pump.

[Phil O'Keefe]

First of all, you need to define "which ToneBender" - the MkI was a three transistor circuit based on the Maestro FZ-1, but has more sustain. The Mk1.5 is essentially a two-transistor germanium Fuzz Face - the Fuzz Face was based on the 'loaned or borrowed' Mk1.5 circuit, and the two are nearly identical. The MkII Professional is similar, but adds a third transistor... and is even heavier sounding. The MkIII's started using tone controls, and have a different sound and circuit...

 

A Muff is a completely different and unrelated design, with tons of different variants and versions over its history - not to mention the clones, etc.

[Mr.Grumpy]

.. Is a Tone Bender different than a Muff? Than a Fuzz Face? Are these the 3 different fuzz circuits?

...

Basically, YES, they are three different circuits. Actually, more than 3 because there are several different versions of the Tone Bender. The breakdown isn't always so simple, but here's MY take. There could be errors....

 

Fuzz Face: Two transistor circuit. The Vox Tonebenders used the same 2-transistor circuit, but with different caps so their tone is different. The early ones used germanium transistors, later Fuzz Faces (including the ones Hendrix used) use silicon transistors. The silicon transistor versions have more treble and 'bite'.

 

Tone Benders: Most versions use 3 germanium transistors. And there's at least 2 versions of the circuit. One is basically the Fuzz Face type circuit with a single transistor 'boost' in front. The other version is the Fuzz Face circuit with the boost AFTER the fuzz. I have a homebuilt clone of both versions, the "3 knob" version even with germanium transistors sounds almost like a big muff.

 

Big Muff: The "latest" and most complex fuzz circuit, with 4 transistors and using diodes to provide the clipping. The first transistor is a booster/preamp stage, the middle two transistors are the "fuzz stages" and use diode feedback to clip the signal. The last transistor is an output buffer "recovery stage" for the tone control.