*YOUR* list of the top-ten fuzz pedals of all time

[Phil O'Keefe]

Lovetone Big Cheese. I love the flexibility. The cases and whole design approach (Big Pedals To Trip Over ™) was pretty brilliant too. Props to the OLC Chunky Cheese for doing such a good clone.

 

Fuzz Face. Seriously. How can this one NOT be on the list? Mine's a BYOC that I put together. Works great.

 

Tonebender MkI / MkII / MkIII. All different. All classics. Pick your favorite. I like my Monsterpiece MkII. Would love a good MkI that didn't cost a kidney.

 

Maestro FZ-1. Again, so classic that leaving it off the list would be criminal. Or sacrilege.

 

Univox Super Fuzz. Dude, it was the 70s man... Malekko Fuzz works great for me.

 

Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi. We can argue over which version or clone, but it has to be on the list. I use a Pink Flesh MkII. It rules.

 

Tycobrahe Octavia. Should have been mentioned by now, but I didn't see it on anyone's list... I gave one away in the 80s.

 

ZVex Fuzz Factory. Haters gonna hate, but it's a brilliant mix of classic and chaos.

 

Mosrite Fuzzrite. Nasty. And I like that in a fuzz.

 

 

I'm keeping one in reserve in case I think of something that absolutely HAS to go on the list.

[spentron]

DOD Super American Metal -- DI'd, no cab or anything, instant awesome fuzz tone. Through amp, a somewhat thick and fuzzy, mild-mannered distortion.

RP155 -- Try DS-1 > Acoustic Sim > EQ. Or external dirtbox>single coil sim>acoustic sim. I've even made the unit go nuts, overflow or something, could have blown my speaker. The Muff>JCM900 stack is also enormous.

SubZombie -- almost everything

Big Muff -- well.

Colorsound/Buzzaround/etc. Pedals I haven't Played -- there is evidence there is something better than I've tried along this direction, I liked the Colorsound mode on the Muff Diver (pretty much only). Superfuzz, fuzzrites -- ditto. Regular Fuzzfaces, no thanks.

Mystique (fuzz mode) -- nice overdrive there (click) WTF?

Supra Zombie -- surprising

French Toast -- well they are cheap. Intense enough but kind of a Tubescreamer EQ range?

Fuzz factory -- yeah I ought to get one

Devi Ever -- played the Disaster, solid enough, though most intrigued by the Godzilla ($200 )

Synth Wah -- how could I forget, though now this list goes to 11.

[imbuedblue]

Vox Tone Bender

Jordan Bosstone

Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi

Z.Vex Fuzz Factory

Shin-ei Companion FY-2

Burns Buzzaround

Sola Sound Tone Bender Professional Mk II

fOXX Tone Machine

Lovetone Big Cheese

Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ1-A

[Cougar Hunter]

SUF Civil War - HUGE. This has been my most used fuzz for over a year.

SUF Red Army - sounds identical to a Sovtek Tall Font Green Russian Muff I used to own. Amazing. not as bassy as SUF Civil War

SUF Violet Ram's Head - Sounds like Gilmour. SO smooth. It practically plays itself, and cuts through the mix well for a Muff.

Wren & Cuff Tall Font Russian - VERY similar to SUF Red Army, except grittier. Highly recommended

Wren & Cuff Tri Pi 70 - HUGE. This pedal just has "something". Loud and alive in all of the right places.

Wren & Cuff Pickle Pie B - Interesting pedal. It has the best clean blend control of any fuzz pedal. very clear.

Fuzzhugger Ab-Synth - very musical pedal for being so crazy.

Fuzzhugger Velcroar - sounds kind of like Rolling Stones - Satisfaction. cheap. looks cool. sounds great.

Dunlop Bonamassa Fuzz Face - I got a good deal on this, and they are actually going up in value. I was playing the intro to China Grove, and the lightbulb came on. Now, I know why people play Fuzz Faces.

Devi Ever Torn's Peaker - Although I sold this, it sounded pretty awesome. Kind of like a brash, LOUD waterfall of velcro. Pretty cool.

[Sovtek50]

1. Monsterpiece NPN

 

The NPN is really all I need, but if I'm going to play others just for fun, I like these...

 

2. EQD Zap Machine

3. Vintage FX FuzzRiot (Mosrite Fuzzrite)

3. EQD Tone Reaper

4. EHX Big Muff w/Tone Wicker

5. Devi Ever Torn's Peaker

6. EQD Dream Crusher

7. EHX Double Muff

8. Pharaoh (don't own, but have played it)

9. EQD Hoof

10. EQD Dirt Transmitter

[seifukusha]

i cant make a number one but ill do the faves off what ive had

 

maxon d&s 1974

maxon od801

fuzz factory

maxon double sound

roland beebaa

roland double beat

colorsound powerboost

green sovtek muff

colorsound dipthonizer (fuzz with envelope filter)

the dano french toast (its so small and cheap, and i like the regular dirt mode as well)

 

ive had more and played alot more, but these are the ones ive kept and remembered.

[-TJ-]

in no particular order

 

Diamond Fireburst

Basic Audio scarab deluxe

Spaceman Gemini III

Lovepedal Karl

Zvex Fuzz Factory

EWS Fuzzy Drive

Maxon D&S

Divided by 13 Joyride (overdriver clone) with gain cranked

EHX Big Muff (most versions sound great to me, really liked the tw)

Analogman sunface nkt

[Hiwatt Bob]

1. DAM Fleshhead

2. Fuzz Face NKT275

3. Gooby Bag of Dicks--version of Jordan Bosstone

4. Zvex Fuzz Probe (old one with warm trannies)

5. Tonebender MKII

6 DAM Meathead

7. Wattson Superfuzz

8. Tonebender MK1.5

9. Roland Bee Baa

10. Lovetone Big Cheese

[9520575]

My experience is very limited. I've owned 4 only liked two . Getting three more soon...

Liked mid fi demo tape fuzz, dwaftcaft devicees secret destroyer. People tell me those aren't really fuzzes. Whatever.

[christianatl]

M'kay. Here goes:

 

1. Green Russian Muff-been on my board since I've had a board, put a clean boost behind it and listen to it sing.

 

2. Fuzzhugger (fx) Algal Bloom-one of the first boutique fuzzes I ever bought, and I'm still madly in love with it. With the tone rolled back on the guitar and stacked with a fixed wah it's an unbelievably beautiful tone.

3. Secret Seasons Snowdrift-As most of you know, it's a pimped out Penny Pedals Fingerprint circuit, and it has an awesome overdrive-y quality to it that sounds killer with power chords.

4. Zvex Vexter Mastotron-total robot box. I have the subs set to one, so I don't use it in the traditional way, but it's got a gated AM radio-type tone that I really dig.

5. Zvex Octane 3-I wanted one of these forever, and it doesn't disappoint.

 

6. Malekko Omicron Fuzz-Awesome Superfuzz clone. Took me a little while to dial it in, but I stack it with the Xotic Effects AC Booster, and it sounds super gnarly. Stooges heaven.

 

7.Fulltone '70-A great silicon Fuzz Face. I messed with the internal trim pot until I got it where I want it, and now it sounds sweet.

 

...and the ones I don't own

8. Harmonic Percolator-self-admitted Shellac superfan

 

9. Univox Super Fuzz-Mudhoney, Harvey Milk

[Taylor.]

3. Secret Seasons Snowdrift -As most of you know, it's a pimped out Penny Pedals Fingerprint circuit, and it has an awesome overdrive-y quality to it that sounds killer with power chords.

Forgot about that one.

[One Man Banned]

1. Skreddy Mayonnaise

2. Skreddy Top Fuel

3. Fox Rox CC2-Hybrid Fuzz (either the stand alone or the CC2 with card)

4. Fulltone Catalyst

5. Fulltone '69

6. Fulltone '70

7. Blackout Effectors Twosome Fuzz

8. Z-Vex Fuzz Factory

9. Fulltone Ultimate Octave

10. Frantone Peach Fuzz

[Aedes]

I've only owned these, so I'll just put them in my top order:

 

1. MJM London Fuzz -- perfect fuzz for lead for me.

2. Fuzzhugger Algal Bloom

3. Fuzzhugger Ab-synth

4. EQD Tone Reaper

5. Runoffgroove whisker biscuit

 

Clearly I need to try more.

[Philfixit]

Gen. 2 Univox Super Fuzz is the only fuzz I've ever had. Has to be one of the best, right?

[Phil O'Keefe]

Gen. 2 Univox Super Fuzz is the only fuzz I've ever had. Has to be one of the best, right?

 

I wouldn't argue with that.

[echodeluxe]

 

1. Superfuzz 2. Euthymia ICBM 3. FY-2 4. Bass big muff 5. Morley fuzz/wah 6. Black Russian muff 7. Blue box 8. Fuzz factory That's all I got.

 

 

allow me to explain:

 

1. Superfuzz - kind of a no brainer, but honestly, this thing is just a huge beast. i have personally played through over a dozen vintage samples and they are all just incredible. they all vary a little but they all have the same beastly core. such a great fuzz for just blowing out the ears in front row.

 

2. Euthymia ICBM - Eric is a friend of mine, and he has worked on a bunch of my amps, as well as sold me a modded bassman and his work is second to none. not to mention hes a riot, and a really nice dude. he had me try this fuzz in his studio while he was tinkering with my amp and i have never played an original ic muff, but this pedal was massive. just a great muff sound and the worksmanship is top notch.

 

3. FY-2 - stock, this pedal has a volume drop that i hate. but that sound is so cool. so trashy and great. my personal fy-2 is a reproduction (duh) with a volume boost and now its perfect. honestly i like it more on bass, but not because it sucks on guitar, but because its amazing on bass.

 

4. EHX Bass Big Muff - other than the Euthymia ICBM, this is the only other muff i actually like. the clean blend is great for getting a good cutting sound, and the bass boost really sounds cool with guitar. plus its greaan, and thats my favorite color.

 

5. Morley Fuzz Wah - my buddy has one of these, and its just a full frequency huge sounding wall of overdrivey fuzz. i even dig the wah side, and i hate wahs.

 

6. Black Russian Muff - i only like these on bass really, but they really do shine on bass. mostly for the studio though.

 

7. MXR Blue Box - {censored}ty volume drop, but stick a boost after it and its a really rad sound.

 

8. Fuzz Factory - its just crazy. ive never owned one but a bunch of friends have them. ive recorded some tracks with one too. its just nasty and cool.

 

this list was kinda hard. but yeah bro.

[delayed delay]

I'll only go by the ones I've owned/played:

 

1. Skreddy Lunar Module (standard/DLX) - just sounds sooooo damn good. Smooth, cutting, bright, dark... It can do it all. But where this pedal REALLY shines is how good it sounds in a live mix. Most other fuzzes I've played sound good to great in the bedroom or just for noodling, but they get lost in the mix easily. Not the Lunar Module.

 

2. Blackout Effectors Fix'd Fuzz - easily the most versatile fuzz on the planet; anything from a nice transparent clean boost to a nasty sputtery balls-to-the-wall velcroish ripping fuzz - fantastic pedal.

 

3. Analogman Sunface NKT275 - great bridge between OD and fuzz. Real simple, but still versatile with the guitars volume knob.

 

4. MP Fire Red Fuzz - not your average fuzz pedal - this thing is a gain monster and does not like to be tamed. A little muddy in a live mix, but sounds freaking great.

 

Those are the only ones I've really enjoyed. Not a fan of the Musket, Pharaoh , Big Muff, or Fuzz Factory.

[StratAtak83]

1. Green russian muff

2. PTD mini-bone

3. Frantone peach fuzz.

[Michael_F]

1. Dwarfcraft Eau Claire Thunder

2. Ox Fuzz Dark

3. Mountainking Megalith

4. Catalinbread Manx

5. BAT Pharaoh

6. Full Custom Barnacle Fuzz

[Phil O'Keefe]

fOXX Tone Machine

Shin-ei Companion FY-2

Burns Buzzaround

 

I'd probably go with one of these for my final pick. That Buzzaround clip that Burg had up the other day...

[A.P. Ryder]

How is the build quality on the Foxx reissues? Anyone know?

[majafa]

1. 70s EHX Big Muff - I smile everytime I plug it in and turn it on...sounds great.

2. Red Witch Fuzz God - the original Germanium version, not the silicon FGII. Can do some crazy sounds with it. Switch to the neck pickup, turn the guitar tone knob to 0 and let it sing. Or step on the lightning switch and turn the wrath knob for lots of noise.

3. Blackout Musket - actually it was a Twosome, but I loved the Musket side. The Fix'd side was good too, but I found myself using the Musket side more.

4. Death By Audio Fuzz War - amazing sounds, tons of output. different from other fuzzes I've used.

5. T.Jauernig prototype - he never actually made them. Not something that'll rip your face off, but fun for some stuff. I still have it somewhere...

6. does a RAT count?

[Phil O'Keefe]

 

How is the build quality on the Foxx reissues? Anyone know?

 

 

I've never owned one, but from the ones I've seen, they appear to be well built.

[H.P. Lovecraft]

Custom Audio Electronics Freddy Fuzz

Dwarfcraft Eau Claire Thunder

Analogman High-Gain Sunface

Fulltone Soulbender

MXR Blue Box

'79 Op-Amp Big Muff

Univox Superfuzz -or- a clone

Z.Vex Fuzz Factory

Mosrite FuzzBrite

 

And I'll have to think about the rest...

[caeman]

Based on my actual experience:

 

1. de Lisle Fuzz -> A gentleman's fuzz, smooth and sophisticated. This one preserves so much low end that it borrows low end from my bass guitar...while playing my tele.

2. BigFootFX Spaghetti Western Fuzz -> High gain 60's fuzz, like some shoved a hive of bees into a coffee can.