What's the most fuzzed out, distorted sound possible?

[cerebro911]

I'm brand new, just joined about 40 minutes ago.

I've started a bit of a quest for my own 'holy grail' of distortion, I've been trying to find a way to make single notes sound broken and fuzzy like power chords will (obviously it will never be as powerful or full) but it seems distortion pedals just make the high/er notes sound like a squeal and shrill. Fuzz boxes work alot better but still notes are very pasty, not broken up.

Right now I mainly use a US Big Muff (with a Fuzz Face for older material) and while somedays it sounds right, alot of times I want to strangle it when I solo.

I hear people talk about one pedal 'driving' another distortion, but anytime I try having more then one on at a time my amp just descends into solid feedback.

I've been looking at some Death by Audio (Fuzz War and Soundwave Breakdown) and some Devi Ever pedals, anyone have experience with those?

[knives490]

Well, I designed one pedal that had the utmost gain possible. Like a big muff overloading into another. There is only so much gain you can get before it just compresses into itself and becomes nothing :/ [semi-metaphorically]

Here's what I made:

http://stargazerfx.blogspot.com/2009...-cavernes.html

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/defa...&content=music

Sounds are halfway down the Soundclick page. Demos 1-3 are on a tube amp and the retake is on a SS bass amp.

[toma]

People often say that devi ever stuff is a bit over the top.

But i still want a shoegazer.

Try pushing your Muff with a signal booster like an MXR Micro amp (or the zvex SHo im trying to sell atm... :P )

Check out a beavis audio 'devolt' for use on your fuzz. i made one and it really opens up the tonal options of a pedal.

Along the same line, look at the dwarfcraft stuff, that is pretty insane sounding.

may also be worth checking out Harmonic Percolators. Fredric effects does a really great clone for not much money (UK) which i have and is a really great little pedal.

first tho, boost your muff with anything (tubescreamer would be good, cos it will counteract the muffs mid scoop)

$0.02

[jm417]

toma is 100% right. I formerly boosted my big muff with a LPB-1 clone, and lately, I have been using the voltage sag outputs on my PP 2. I think it sounds better boosted. Also, another good version of the Interfax HP-1 (Harmonic Percolator) is the Barge Concepts BP-1. They also make a couple versions of the old Roland BeeBaa fuzz that get pretty wild.

[jonbye]

Build a feedback looper - it'll send the signal from a pedal back on itself and get (in terms of a distortion pedal) redistorted. I had one, dismantled it and plan to build a new one. On a low settings its heavy distortion - a high setting is squealling mayhem. I liked it best with a rat clone - very industrial sounding distortion

[Braunz0]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYV6P...eature=related

[republic]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYV6P...eature=related

Oh, yes!

There is a good clip from Neil's tech on the 'Prairie Wind' DVD talking about the isolation box they mic Neil's amp in.

[Hides-His-Eyes]

the absolute ultimate gain:

use a roland midi pickup and use the midi pitch to create a pure square wave.

[messy bedroom]

Lovetone Big Cheese Clone
or
Fender Blender

[Doctor J]

It's funny how we go from "learning to play with less distortion" one week to a thread like this.

[jonbye]

Originally Posted by Doctor J

It's funny how we go from "learning to play with less distortion" one week to a thread like this.

We've got shorter memories than drummers! It shows a lot of us have been across the learning curve.

[Doctor J]

Originally Posted by jonbye

We've got shorter memories than drummers! It shows a lot of us have been across the learning curve.

I dunno. More gain, less gain. Who cares? One thing I've noticed is that I've always chased a tone that's in my head, an ideal tone, which is based around having a Rat2 in my chain someplace. And I think everyone is like that to an extent, chasing a tone that's in their head, some with a better idea of how to get it than others.

[iaresee]

Originally Posted by toma

People often say that devi ever stuff is a bit over the top.

But i still want a shoegazer.

Definitely Devi's stuff is intense. The fuzz guitar on this track is a Devi Ever Disaster Fuzz fed into a Morley BH2 wah. Fun! http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/870088/so...tro_w_Fuzz.mp3

Really ripping fuzzes are like fine wines -- there's a lot of choose from and each one is subtly different. One of my favourites for just BIG amp sound without the volume is a Jordan Bosstone. Here's a clip of what it sounds like: http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/870088/so...lent-night.mp3

There's some reverse delay on that courtesy the superdelay -- but that was into a clean amp so all you're hearing there is Bosstone madness. I love that pedal.

Another awesome combo is an Ampeg Scrambler fed by a D+. The addition of the D+ helps tame the Scrambler. This clip was actually made with a custom box that's a D+ feeding a Scrambler with a parallel mix control so you can blend in more or less Scrambler with the D+ at the output. I think I had set to considerably more Scrambler in the clip. Delay abuse abounds again: http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/870088/so...r/pf-splus.mp3

Hmm...I should do some "Scramber+" clips without all the delay and reverb...one sec...

Try pushing your Muff with a signal booster like an MXR Micro amp (or the zvex SHo im trying to sell atm... :P )

Big +1 to this. That's essentially what that Scrambler+ is doing in one box with the D+ conditioning and then pounding the Scrambler circuit with a controlled amount of "hair" on the signal.

[iaresee]

Originally Posted by Doctor J

It's funny how we go from "learning to play with less distortion" one week to a thread like this.

Horses for courses man.

[Doctor J]

Originally Posted by iaresee

Horses for courses man.

I mean, I like that because it rhymes, but I've never heard that expression before. haha