school me on fuzzes

[Sensei Tim]

I'm not really a big fuzz guy beyond a big muff.

I've had a lot of questions from local guys lately about building them a fuzz pedal with an octave up.

I was under the impression that most/all fuzz pedals had a bit of octave in them already?  like i said i'm completely dumb when it comes to fuzz pedals and what's out there and what they can do.

can someone educate me?

T

[cjonesplay]

All octave fuzzes I've seen are silicon transistor-based, and are fairly easy to build without matching components.

You can't go wrong with the Foxx Tone Machine - it's the most solid-sounding octave fuzzes from yesteryear. I recommend using a toggle for the octave on/off as the second footswitch doesn't allow you to put it in a 1590B easily.

If you make the Octavia (Band of Gypsies sounding) fuzz you'll want to get one of the two transformers that Smallbear sells and build the version with the Chicago Iron version with 100u caps, seen below.

For more esoteric (or difficult to get octave sounds) devices, try the Roger Mayer non-transformer Octavia, Green Ringer (you'll have to build a separate fuzz in front of it), Superfuzz (only sometimes a little octave) or the Jordan Bosstone (same as Superfuzz). There are newer reiterations of all the above designs, too. Most of all these have verified veros here or through Google.

For my money, the Tycobrahe Octavia is the most interesting (GGG has a version with an added pregain pot that doesn't hurt) and the Foxx is the most satisfying.

[Travis]

I pretty much second everything cjones said

The Tone Machine has a very pronounced octave and strong fuzz tone. With a good build, you can also roll back your guitar volume for some interesting ring modulator esque clangy sounds

The Octavia is just classic. Listen to Band of Gypsies and that's it..

Finally, I would also add the Superfuzz. The Superfuzz is one of my favorites, more specifically the Ace Tone FM-2 which is a variant. The Foxx and Octavia probably have a little more pronounced octave, but the Superfuzz and FM-2 are just gnarly sounding fuzzes. With the pronounced mid-range setting, they are one of the best fuzzes for cutting through a live mix

[Sensei Tim]

for pedals with the "pronounced" octave - is it an octave up or down?  is there a way to make the octave footswitchable?

[rocket88]

Can't agree more with what's been said already, but I'll through one more into the mix, the brassmaster. It's gnarly and fuzzy, and tons of octave. One thing that's nice is that there's a lot for the clean and octave so you don't get lost in the mix. It's an octave up too.

I will say that after building 2 it's a fucking bear of a build. Not so much the board, but the offboard wiring. I think the first one took me like 4-5hrs to wire up and keep it was neat, and the second took me like 2-3hrs. Totally worth it, especially if you want to use it with bass. I swear I don't know what I'll do it I get asked to build one for someone, cause it will cost a lot due to such a long build time.

[Travis]

Sensei Tim wrote

for pedals with the "pronounced" octave - is it an octave up or down?  is there a way to make the octave footswitchable?

Generally when people say "octave fuzz", they mean octave up unless they specify octave down

Not a lot of octave down stuff out there. The MXR Blue Box and Pearl Octaver are the first ones that come to mind

With the Foxx and Octavia, you can make the (upper) octave footswitchable, but they don't have octave down

[Beaker]

Everything mentioned above is absolutely spot on. Not all fuzzes have a noticeable octave effect, but the ones mentioned sure do.

Travis' suggestion of the Superfuzz is one of my favourites - utterly ferocious, and with a distinct octave up. I've just built several so far. As Travis said, very low-midrange heavy, and will cut though concrete. It was the Black Sabbath pedal after all.

The Ace Tone FM-2 Fuzzmaster (close cousin of the Superfuzz) is a total hooligan, with a distinct octave up, and a noticeable octave down too. Add a touch of ring mod at extreme settings, and you can never be quite certain what note actually comes out the amp!

[Travis]

Fuckin love my FM-2! Ferocious is right! I think most people might prefer the Foxx or Octavia to be honest, but for me the FM-2 just kicks ass in a live mix and I can't get enough

[Sensei Tim]

so.. maybe an ignorant question - what makes one fuzz have a more pronounced octave than another? is it how the feedback is routed?

[Travis]

I'm not sure that there is a single satisfactory answer to this question. Different pedals achieve the octave in different ways

[Beaker]

It doesn't just vary between different pedals - e.g. Superfuzz and Foxx, it can vary between the same pedal.

As I said, I've built several Superfuzzes with 2N2222 transistors, and all sounded fantastic. I've just built one a couple of weeks ago, for a guy who wanted a slightly thicker sound from his, so I ended up using 2N5088 instead. Sure enough it sounds thicker, but also has a lot more octave content than the 2N2222 ones I have built.

Personally, I prefer the sound of the 2N2222 versions - a little more raw and screamy, but this one was a doozy too - just different.

Has to be said though, the Foxx is ok, but I'm not a big fan of the Octavia.

[Travis]

A couple other cool ones are the Fender Blender and Ampeg Scrambler.

But in my opinion, the average guitar player is gonna prefer the Foxx. Beaker likes it a little gnarlier, which is cool with me.

[Muadzin]

Personally I don't like octave up fuzzes, octave down is okayish but glitchy. Give me a good fuzz that is distinctly fuzz like, big low end without neglecting the mids and highs for a monster sound that can cut through a mix, and no gating. Nor germanium. I just can't be arsed with sorting out and biasing germanium transistors, nor do I relish its finicky behavior.

So far I haven't found any fuzz that has kicked off my Skreddy Lunar Module off my board.

[Hozy31]

Try the Univox Super Fuzz. Its a reasonably easy build and has probably one of my favourite fuzz sounds. It has two settings one which has a dark octavey feel and other which is brighter.

[Hozy31]

Should also add its better if you match the gain of the transistors. I used 5088's myself but as Beaker mentioned 2N2222's are great for fuzz so socket and experiment

[Beaker]

IMO you should not need to match all the transistors in a Superfuzz or Ace Tone, but it's crucial to match the long tailed pair as closely as possible, for maximum octave effect.

[BetterOffShred]

If you are interested in unique octave fuzz stuff, a super easy and super FUN build is the Dwarfcraft Robot Devil.   It's bananas.  It has a stomp for switching between octave up and down, the chips are cheap from Tayda (like 60 cents for both), and it's really fun to tune and mess with.  It also has a blending knob so you can mix the octave in from subtle, to where it's basically just Glitchy robot noise.  For how cheap and easy it is to build, I suggest you give it a whirl.  It's actually got some fairly Musical settings in it.  This recommendation is based off just the octave side of the discussion.  If you want super musical creamy/thick/muffy/Velcro (Whatever gets people going) fuzz, this probably isn't the pedal for you.

 One guy mentioned using a green ringer with a fuzz in front of it.. I'd load the ToneBender MKII silicon into the modded green ringer (I think it does a mid scoop) and box that up with a dpdt to turn the Ringer on/off.  Both are cheap builds.   I have a shit-load of the Trannies for the MKII silicon if you want a few to give it a whirl.  I got like 97 or something for $3 from Canada.. used three.

-Brett