How to Find the Fuzz Pedal You Need

[@Earthwormjimm]

I feel so blessed for finding my fuzz. Jhs got me curious about fuzz after hating it my entire 20 year musical career. One morning, I was messing with my pedalboard and I asked my kid to pick a pedal to use. She picked the Mxr blue box. I hate that thing. But it was her call, so I used it. Then I went to a guitar center later that afternoon and saw an Animals Fishing is as fun as fuzz pedal. The artwork reminded me of my daughter, and we were about to go camping so there was a theme. Yet another example we shop with our eyes not our ears. I plugged it in and hated myself, it was perfect. The coolest fuzz and so subtle but also huge depending on the setting. It became the most important pedal on my board. I was hooked. So thank you Josh. I didn’t know how deep the rabbit hole went and I’m glad I found my pedal on the first try.

[@jhspedals]

this is awesome!

[@Earthwormjimm]

@@jhspedals I’ll add to the awesome; on the episode Josh built a fuzz pedal he inspired me to start making my own pedals. I bought some basic supplies and I’m beginning my journey with the support of my awesome wife. Now we sit at home coming up with pedal ideas together. Thank you guys for making the seemingly impossible become completely possible!

[@cowieson]

I loved this episode. I enjoy the goofy, in-joke ironic stuff but I have missed these more history/information based episodes. They’re what made me really get into the JHS show (and pedal history) in the first place

[@jhspedals]

Great feedback, thanks so much!

[@elihansen820]

“See the word ‘Fuzz’ on a pedal. Buy it. Keep buying more, because you need all of them.” - what Josh probably means, because he’s correct

[@BRIGGS2710]

fuzz fuzz fuzz....I love fuzz!!!

[@honkytonkinson9787]

That was my take on the video: more fuzz, more transistors, more knobs, more loud, more better! Maybe Josh should make a new pedal and call it the More Fuzz

[@chaipup7045]

nope. Even had the Boss TB2w and it didn't do it for me.

[@ravenslaves]

Yup. I was thinking the exact same thing.

[@jhspedals]

This is the way.

[@christopherfrancis7884]

First time I've heard someone discussing number of transistors. Usually it's a history lesson on when they were used, or silicon versus germanium. Josh's explanation makes a lot more sense and I plan on using this in better understanding and using fuzz.

[@Mu1974]

This episode is really close to what I would really love to see, namely Josh talking about circuits in general. How are time-based effects created, what makes a fuzz go *zing, how do you create which sound. I mean, this could be an awesome learning resource that could put people on the path to trying to put something together themselves

[@moddquad8362]

Josh seems to go out of his way not to use any maths in his descriptions. The octave fuzz description did not use the term absolute value, but rather resorted to using worm holes theory for some reason. Sometimes I think Josh is just trolling us.

[@Mu1974]

@@moddquad8362 I am totally clueless when it comes to circuits and electronics, but fumble with Reaktor DSP and modular synthesis. And the octave fuzz bit sounded like wavefolding and then I thought: a series of generic explanations of what is done to achieve certain sounds would enable the soldering-lings as well as DSP-anese people to build stuff

[@moddquad8362]

@@Mu1974 Having a good ear seems to be the most important attribute to make a good sounding pedal. JHS started with Josh modifying existing pedals though experimentation. His electronics chops came later.

[@Mu1974]

@@moddquad8362 yea, it's just that as I am into digital sound processing only, I can only go and take a look under the hood of digital FX (which is fun). But that notion that an octave fuzz might be wavefolding was quite exciting, because I always knew that it was not about pitch shifting, but couldn't really figure out what was going on instead. That's why I think it might be interesting to learn (from Josh) about how to approach certain FX in general, without regards for the actual physical components, if that makes sense. Kind of the mindset behind a sound, the idea behind the manipulation, you know?

[@Daniel-rg9sl]

Not sure if you purused the older JHS episodes and live streams, but he’s done some pretty good ELI5 style summaries. This channel is a treasure trove of information disguised as entertainment.

[@TooPunkToBeAPodcast]

Josh you're an absolute treasure to the music world man. Brilliant video

[@JustSomeGuy]

My favorite is the Russian Big Muff. No matter what I've tried, I keep coming back to it. I got the reissue and loved it. I got the Muffuletta to play with different Big muff circuits, still went back to the Russian setting. I got the Animalizzer, which is the ultimate adjustable Big Muff-style pedal, set basically to the Russian setting. I am going to try coaxing fuzz face sounds out of the Animalizzer since it's so adjustable. That way I can justify having both that and the Muffuletta on my board.

[@gi5089]

I have it as well. It's real good! Gets those Siamese dream/Gilmour solo tones quite nicely!

[@JMohler]

But which Russian muff. There's green, there's black. There v7, v8 etc lol

[@dennismoes7281]

@@JMohlerThe russian setting is the V8 but the civil war is V7A and practicly the same as the tallfont green

[@6oundStudio]

I didn’t know you are a musician! Is there a place where i could check out your stuff maybe?

[@BockwinkleB]

@@6oundStudio it trips me out everytime I see him on a guitar video, not sure why...

[@kilgoretrout700]

I used to say the Fuzz Face was my favorite, but now I see that it changes to whichever one your playing at the moment.

[@johnnyberg3979]

I've loved the velcro fuzz sound for a long time without knowing how it's created, or that the sound is actually called "velcro fuzz" until watching this video. Great episode, really informative

[@wids]

Dude same here. I came here looking for this comment lmao

[@dr.dionpeoples]

Valco or Velcro?

[@RabidChasebot]

Now I'm wondering how Jack White gets some of those gated velcro sounds when AFAIK he uses only a big muff for fuzz. Maybe it's the POG doing that idk

[@RabidChasebot]

@NDA I'm assuming the clean boost goes after the fuzz? And how does a clean boost like the micro amp help to get that velcro/gated sound?

[@RabidChasebot]

@NDA dude awesome thanks so much for the insight! I've been eyballing the fuzz factory and there's one by Danelectro that looks pretty interesting called the Eisenhower

[@N7CAL]

Josh I dig how much you remind me of my uncle, the old TV repairman. Using common sense to make your point? BRILLIANT!! And a twisted sense of humor. BRILLIANT!!

[@cyr1766]

Hey Josh ! Very interesting episode ! You should make an "everything in a box fuzz" like you did with all the tube screamers which is amazing !! Thank you for your quality content !

[@levimorrison1135]

@Ameer Najarali but like, imagine one fuzz pedal with each topology in it

[@onerandombruh]

@@levimorrison1135 that's basically the Muffuletta

[@theceoofgibson2563]

@@onerandombruh No? Not at all? The muffuletta switches between a bunch of different big muffs, but they're all 90% the same. At least all the same circuit type. A fuzz face is wildly different from a big muff, as is it from a fuzz tone, or an Octavia, or any other fuzz pedal. Each topology is quite different and the muffuletta only includes the big muff. Just various versions of the big muff. As i said each big muff circuit is 90% the same, just small component changes.

[@MAP448]

I love the episodes where u describe & compare circuits of different pedals & show us how they are either different or similar. I love nerding out on circuit descriptions. I guess I'm really weird like that & not only do I love it. I also feel like there are not a ton of people who are trustworthy with your experience & knowledge who are on KZbin & willing to share your experience & knowledge with the rest of us. It's almost like there is a total vacuum in this area. I guess people don't understand that the more we share knowledge & experience for free with the world. Then the better chance that someone else will soak it up & take it the extra mile & keep the crafts moving forward. Thank you Josh & all of your team for sharing.

[@kedateaki]

Congratulations Josh! I've been following the channel for a long time and it's great to get to Friday after a long hard week and just enjoy a great video about pedals where you learn something and it's entertaining! Big shout out to you and your team from this Portuguese follower!

[@darindipietro9141]

I run the Bender or a Big Muff into a cranked Neve preamp and straight into my DAW and that is my version of perfect fuzz tone. I hated fuzz for 30 years until I hit that combination and it’s awesome👍

[@zachary963]

Gotta try this!!

[@ProfessorHumblesDelusions]

I love that even with these crazy fuzz tones I can still hear the hum of Josh’s tube amp.

[@davideriksen9086]

Definitely the most genius-incitefull description I've ever seen in a very long time! Awesome job of isolating and specifying where, on essential pedals, classic electric guitar tones are to be found.

[@the92project]

Best fuzz pedal I ever played: "Dead Man Walking" by AnalogWise. extremely versatile and tweakable and it works with any pick ups. The only way to play Hendrix on an LP, trust me!

[@caleshtcincredibles]

Josh you did it again , prior to viewing this video fuzz to me = farts. The voodoo of diming the fuzz pedal and backing down the volume knob on the guitar is magical ....period

[@Ninjametal]

Getting a Fuzz Face (Hendrix Version) may have changed my life, it probably changed my game, and it definitely changed my time strangling strats.

[@jhspedals]

Yes!

[@mudsh4rk]

I remember in the 2000s there used to be a lot of talk about the Big Muff not being a fuzz (IIRC Keely and Analogman both came down in the "not a fuzz" camp at various points in the web 1.0 days) because the signal is being clipped by diodes rather than transistors, and that (among other things that make the circuit pretty dissimilar to most fuzz circuits) makes it more of a high gain distortion than a fuzz. I mean, it's obviously a fuzz because just listen to it, but it's still an interesting point and I was happy to hear you mention it. WRT amp choice, I played a black Russian Big Muff into the clean channel of a Polytone Minibrute in high school and it sounded good; through the 2000s I played a Ge Fuzz Face into a Sunn Solarus (the cleanest amp I've ever played) and it also sounded very good. All those great, 60s Os Mutantes fuzz sounds were recorded direct.

[@skyviewdesign]

I’m really intrigued by the octave fuzz, but in particular what Spencer did with it in the Doom 2. The “clean blend” with an LPF to retain the fatness but keep the unique fuzz character for bass & synth applications sounds very fun. It’s a very musical circuit!

[@bobbydnola]

Josh's tip at the very end - plug your 2 or 3 transistor fuzz (ie: Keeley Fuzz Bender), directly into the guitar before your tuner, overdrive, etc.. - was a *chef's kiss* game-changer. Brilliant tip - thanks, dude!

[@triplelindys]

I got the Op-Amp Big Muff and it sounds killer. Very happy with it. :)

[@pricedlx]

I’ve decided to comment on old episodes as I watch them. Completely silly. But makes me feel engaged hahaha! Great content for players and for budding pedal moders/builders.

[@werdecurb]

We're talking about fuzz here. Don't expect the silly, joke crackin Josh today. This is some serious man stuff. #RespectTheFuzz

[@jasoncarrasco7682]

I did like the less silly/more educational tone of this video as well

[@iradflores8276]

"We talking bout fuzz man, not a drive, not a drive, but we here talking bout fuzz man"

[@werdecurb]

@@jasoncarrasco7682 Same!

[@PostalDude667]

That EJ at Austin City Limits is one of the most amazing sets by anyone anywhere.

[@zackstatic3988]

You did it again, how on earth is Mudhoney's classic debut EP on Sub Pop Records "Superfuzz Big Muff" not the "record time" choice?

[@johnnytwidd]

He can’t keep getting away with this!! Find me another record with not ONE but TWO classic fuzz pedals in the title

[@peterwelsh1932]

Yeah, mudhoney got corrected before you heard them, though. Live, the dude was playing with 2 bigMuffs in series. They went in two record and it sounded so terrible, the engineer had to break it down and help the guitarist figure out what he was trying to do. Cause it was unrecordable crap (do you know how noisey those beat2f#ck bigMuffs they had were? One was almost unbearable…. Then again; didn’t help the music. That engineer should have recorded all their noise and stumblings. That would have made i more timeless. Closer like something to an artist doing art. And not a failed attempt to make a Soundgarden Album. People wouldn’t hear it and go, “that smell like Stone Temple Garden in Chains

[@elarr8733]

@@peterwelsh1932 U mad, bro?

[@peterwelsh1932]

@@elarr8733 don’t make me quote Lewis Carroll at you

[@bristlefist]

@@peterwelsh1932 You're probably into prog rock and ukulele

[@devinharwood6010]

TDWP cameo was legendary 😂. Awesome episode. Volume is definitely the biggest factor in the spectrum of tones you can get from a fuzz.

[@smartacus88]

I'm poor. I get by with a Moen Fuzz Moo (Rams Head Muff clone) and a Behringer SF300 (Boss Hyper Fuzz clone). The Fuzz Moo is good for 90's Alt and Grunge, but the SF300 is the superior circuit. It can be used for everything from early 1960's pop all the way through Doom and Stoner.

[@andreasdeutinger7319]

you can sound great even if you don‘t spent a ton of money. and in the end, it‘s more about what you play, than if you use expensive pedals.

[@marcosomercrest486]

I have some pretty expensive fuzzes and the SF300 is still the one I play the most. It's a monster and I love it.

[@Mark70609]

The opening two words remind me of the Ruttles movie where the black musician says he learnt everything from the Ruttles. He says, I became a musician and I’ve been starving ever since.

[@docdeens4030]

The SF300 is insane...great for punishing an audience at a reasonable price

[@Jacob-Laeby]

The Boss FZ-2 Hyper Fuzz is actually based on the Univox Superfuzz circuit, as demonstrated in the video, just with the addition of an active boost/cut Bass and Treble control. Which the name of the Behringer SF300 Super Fuzz clone quite obviously, and more directly than the Hyper Fuzz name of the Boss, hint at. And the Behringer SF300 Super Fuzz is indeed an amazing sounding fuzz, especially used with bass, and not just for the price. An amazing fuzz, period!

[@patriotpizzaman]

My go-to fuzz pedal is a three-transistor germanium circuit from Fulltone called the Custom Shop Queen Bee. The #1 and #2 transistors are configured to achieve maximum gain in order to hit transistor #3 extremely hard, creating more sustain and distortion than is possible with the 2-transistor Fuzzes while making the pedal rather low-noise for such a high-gained design. Another thing the Bee has, something no other fuzzes have, is ample MIDRANGE! Fender amp owners will appreciate the Passive Hi-Cut Tone control for taming the treble, and further sonic sculpting is accomplished via a smart, loss-less 3-position Bass switch (placed before transistor #3) tailoring the low frequencies and keeping the bottom-end tight. Looking at this pedal’s signal on an oscilloscope reveals what your ears already knew...a wildly asymmetrical waveform high in second-order Harmonics, culminating in a sweet, rich, commanding voice with tons of sustain. Translation: This pedal will not get lost in the mix. Inside the pedal is a trimmer for adjusting the bias of transistor #3 by a range between 2 and 6 volts DC. My favorite tending to be somewhere between 3 and 4 volts. The trimmer should be adjusted by ear as there are no wrong settings, a slight turn results in a drastic change in sound, in volume, and in compression characteristics. Suddenly firm becomes soft, bright becomes warm, grainy becomes smooth...it’s astonishing what this little trimmer does.

[@alphanumeric1529]

How can my Fuzz pedal go first when I have 7 Fuzz pedals?

[@Mark_of_the_Bear_Studios]

I had to move some fuzzes off my board because half of my board was fuzz. That’s said, I’m building more, including an octave down fuzz, and a monster, 7-transistor “fuzz-stortion.” Trying to decide on what transistors are going in it - spec calls for 3 2n3904s followed by a BC337, and then 3 more 3904s. Considering breadboarding it with 2n5088s in the second half, or maybe a MPSA18 right at the end. It might cause a mushroom cloud.

[@BluesyGibby]

I have the Supreme and the Bender for now. In my pedal chain, the Bender comes first and the Supreme just after it, and one thing I can tell you is that the Supreme sounds amazing when the Bender is engaged before. What a massive sound. This combination blew my mind away first time I tried it. Thank you Josh for your work and your videos. Cheers from France.

[@JK-gm6kk]

EVH was a big fan of starving circuits of voltage. It's alleged that the name "brown sound" to describe his tone was named as such because of the brown out term. That refers to a dip in voltage in electricity. His rig was fascinating

[@johndiloreto3738]

He used the variac to drop the voltage on his Marshalls, but not because it changed the tone, just because it lowered the volume. Anything else was secondary, he just wanted to dime everything on his Super Lead Plexis without pissing off club engineers. Ed was also the one that coined the term "brown sound" but was referring to the sound of Alex's drum, which he said sounded like he was pounding on a log

[@TheKitchenerLeslie]

A brown out is the same as a pressed ham. Has nothing to do with guitars.

[@somethinghumblestudios]

@@TheKitchenerLeslie Just great. It's already Pressed Hams season, and I still have my Steamed Hams decorations up.

[@TheKitchenerLeslie]

@@somethinghumblestudios But do you know what it is?

[@jasonmcmillan4373]

Thanks so much for that explanation on the bias control, it was really interesting. As you sweep past noon I kind of hear the Smashing Pumpkins saturated, ripping fuzz, but once you reach 3 o clock you're in White Stripes territory. As for the max setting, I'm not a fan, I'm not sure who would or does use a bias setting that high, but it's still interesting.

[@mcfontaine]

Just brilliant, as always. Thanks for these deep dives, they are SO useful.

[@raydodson2514]

I once had the super-fuzz. I had no clue how to apply it because my playing skills were horrible. You hit a chord and the pedal did fold over with a harmonic sound . Gosh thanks for this lesson. I found my fuzz sound.

[@asims1066]

Was really hoping you would mention Jesus and Mary Chain and their possibly broken Shin-Ei Companion Fuzz-Wah. Supposedly the treadle had broken in such a manner that the wah was always half-cocked, and whenever Jim Reid paused in his playing, his rig would feedback like a MFer

[@ebstooge]

Basically a Super-Fuzz in those things, yeah? My god I want one so bad

[@matthewtop]

I use a Dwarfcraft Necromancer to get Psychocandy tones. Its a Superfuzz with an EQ and an absurd ammount of gain

[@El...Presidente]

Awesome episode Josh! JHS 3 Fuzz for me. It’s just absolutely my favorite, big muff is amazing too - so versatile.

[@gabrielledebourg2487]

I had a Havalina (Germanium) and switched to a Hendrix Mini Fuzz, partially because the heat sensitivity of Germanium drove me nuts, so take that Germanium snobs!

[@jhspedals]

That temperature thing is so real!

[@bsmith8166]

Wow. It's shocking how much more enjoyable this channel is without all those annoying bumpers every five seconds. The pacing is better, it feels more mature, and give pedals a seriousness I feel they've been lacking.

[@ileutur6863]

I just recently realised that I've bought more fuzz pedals than anything else. Every other effect I wanted, I managed to nail within 1-2 purchases and it stayed on my board, but right now I'm on my 6th fuzz pedal and I'm still having second thoughts. Getting fuzz to sound right on bass is hard

[@jasoncarrasco7682]

Im thr same way! Ive tried them all. Currently playing a Fuzz Face and still thinking "Yeah but what about....?"

[@Ninjametal]

Russian Big Muff is my recommendation

[@ileutur6863]

@@Ninjametal Tried it, sounds amazing on its own but its wayy too muddy in the mix. Right now I'm using a DOD carcosa and its kinda doing what I want

[@hotaction]

Also a bass player who loves fuzz: my main go-to is a big muff (favorite cheapie is either the honeypot fuzz or ultra cheap, dolamo d2) but I’ve also added a harmonic percolator clone to the lineup as well. As clean or as mean as you want. I love it

[@Ninjametal]

@@ileutur6863 gotcha, totally makes sense. ...Maybe an eq pedal post fuzz could dial in more precisely what you want

[@SS_Psyops]

The hardest part is making a reasonable sized board, 6 pedals at the MOST, for touring. Something light to hit the front end, something heavy for chords in choruses and something weird for those moments you want to go way out. Figuring what to put where is tough tho! My favorite classic is the Zonk Machine, it’s not hugely different from the tonebender mk1 but enough that I notice and prefer it. I’ve had all the bigger circuits too at some point, aside from the Bender mkIV. What I’ve always wanted but never got to try is adding the Fuzz Factory type control to different circuits. I could see it effecting the 2 transistor most so probably why he chose the Fuzz Face, still… I’ve always wondered how far I could push a Zonk clone and if it could cover a couple roles to save space. I would LOVE to just have 1 fuzz on my board and focus on getting everything I can from it. Lastly, after the Japan Fuzz video I’m curious to try whatever that is because the articulation/clarity was amazing. It seems like a very “alive” type effect, where it changes a lot with your playing.

[@davidmorgan9106]

The OpAmp Big Muff is my fav! More of a rhythm distortion/fuzz, Smashing Pumpkin tones. The re-issue is cheap, small footprint, and sounds amazing!

[@nigelwallis9223]

Reading the comments everyone has pretty much covered it, brilliantly done thanks 👍

[@jhspedals]

🖤🖤🖤

[@douchecraft3113]

Sooo helpful! I've always liked the idea of fuzz, but I've experimented and decided that it's not for me. Turns out I'm probably more of a Fuzz Face guy than a Big Muff guy. Thanks!

[@Complicaadd0rock]

Awesome content as usual, Josh. Thank you for this amazing information on fuzzes, I needed it a lot! Congratulations on your amazing work, not only on JHS Pedals, but on this here KZbin channel!

[@AlexLoeding]

I’m an octave fuzz junkie!! Ace tone fuzz master fm-2 professional. It’s Perfection! Sad the super fuzz took the spotlight.. but the super fuzz is great as well. Pedals are so expensive. I’m all guitar effect processors and guitar synthesizers but I had to start getting analog fuzzes!! Thanks to you there’s 2 overdrive pedals to get too after watching your overdrive video. Dang it! Thanks for your channel and videos! Makes me hope one day I’ll find a JHS fuzz pedal I’d like to get. This is my favorite guitar content to watch. Thanks again!! Great work!

[@michaelmoore7975]

I built my own fuzz with 2 germanium and 2 silicone transistors and made them switchable and biased to use either paired or combination of the 2 types. I call it the *_Fuzzy Mug._* Germaniums are smoother, but I like the silicones because they're more abrupt and distorted and "spitty". Also, I the decay on the silicones better.

[@TinkerToneworks]

is it 4 transitors cascading or do you just switch between the two different pairs of transistors?

[@michaelmoore7975]

@@TinkerToneworks I also put in the 4 trimpots as well.

[@michaelmoore7975]

@@TinkerToneworks Sorry, I had another reply, but the algorithm took it off because I had a hyperlink to the article where I got my idea. Yes, it's just 2 switches with 2 transistors per switch. I guess it could be cascadable? I'll try to add the link another way.

[@michaelmoore7975]

​@@TinkerToneworks /guides

[@michaelmoore7975]

​@@TinkerToneworks/diy-workshop

[@wibblegorm]

I have the 3699 fuzz and am amazed by how good it is. DanElectro are absolutely killing it. Another honourable mention is the Carcosa Fuzz from DOD. Doesn't fit into any pf these categories, but there is barely a bad sound in it. Totally killer pedal.

[@troyspencer712]

New to fuzz here and so far Ive had a fuzzface type and now a Muff style on my small board. The newer, a TLpedals StingerFuzz ( Rams Head) is really allowing me to get close to the Black Keys type tone I like when not playing blues. I did enjoy cleaning up the Fuzzface though and may have to put both on the board. Of your Legends of Fuzz line, its the Supreme that as always caught my attention. Its on the wishlist.

[@dylandenney3980]

@@hiltonseawright it really is the best $25 you could ever spend

[@jamestonnessen8588]

So, a few years ago I bought this fuzz off of Amazon called the Red Fox and, as far as I'm aware, it's the only one ever. The company that made it doesnt even have a website anymore and I can't find anything about it anywhere. Hopefully, because this channel's audio is considerably well informed about pedals, one of y'all can tell me anything about it. Also, the thing sounds goddamned killer.

[@edbrito-swdev]

Can we have Addie go through fuzz pedals on bass? Pretty please?

[@donaldoryell-km1fv]

Thanks! What I’ve been looking for (without knowing how to describe it) was the bias control. I like the Velcro/tearing sound and have been trying to find something that would do it. I appreciate you, your channel, and your sense of humor. 👍

[@darrellstyner0001]

I don't have a fuzz and have been thinking I need one, but I had no clue how to choose among all the options. Now I do. Thanks!

[@greenpicks88]

Question for JHS: which category does your Cheese Ball fit in? I’ve got it on my board and I love it. Just curious about its typology.

[@kennethknowles8922]

Same question!

[@evanmaunders5688]

Shoutout to the Roland bee baa. Goes from a nice fuzzy distortion pedal on rhythm to a screaming octavey mess for leads with the filter switch

[@robinhart984]

I've been searching for a fuzz that does the same as my uncle had. Being a producer (Dave Goodman) through out London's 70s crazyness, he had a fantastic collection of stuff. Among his pedals there was super nasal acidy ripping fuzz pedal without a name. NOW I know how that soumd comes about. Bias control!!! Thank you for that. Now... which one to get...

[@rebeccabailey527]

I'm old, but I've been using fuzz faces since the early 70s. I've tried muffs, fuzzrites, and maestro's and and they just don't work for me. Never had a tone bender though. I run my fuzz face a lot differently than most. I run my amp almost clean (just a little bit of overdrive), with a bright mid heavy eq. I run my jimi hendrix fuzz face with the volume at unity gain, and the fuzz at about 95% of full blast. The fuzz face controls aren't just volume and fuzz, the volume adds bass as you turn it up, the fuzz cuts treble as you turn it down. When you run a fuzz pedals volume all the way up, it gets boomy, turning it down reduces that, but you can hear the fizzy high frequencies a bit more. Turning down the fuzz just slightly from full give a slight loss in gain, and a sizable reduction of high end. Running the volume at around 2 o clock, and the fuzz a bit below full gives me a thick controlled articulate fuzz tone, a lot like hendrix's tone on red house. But because my amp has a decent amount of gain on offer, I can get a wild fuzz tone as well, just by cranking the amps' gain/boost and volume. Also I never see anyone doing this except me, but if you turn the tone pot on the guitar all the way down, it won't really affect the eq, but will give you a slight bit more clipping.

[@DerRufProductions]

So - thank you very much. Up until now I didn‘t know that I‘d need a Fuzz Face AND a Tonebender in my life. And, adding to that, the Oliver Twist-Visualisation was probably one of the best explanations I‘ve ever seen for Bias Control.

[@mefirstandthegimmiegimmies5160]

Thanks JHS, your show has had me buying at least one new pedal every 6 months for a few years now. I think you like to call it a pedal journey lol

[@DalelCampbell]

This may sound like I'm being a troll, but that isn't my intention. Overall, I'm a massive fan of your work. But, I have never liked your take on the Fuzz Face style of fuzz (the Pollinators 1 and 2). I'm a huge fan of the FF sound, but I have never meshed with your translation of it. They sound good on video and I've purchased them, but whenever I've played them live they just didn't work well for me. Others like Fulltone, Deep Trip, and Vemuram i've connected with immediately. Ive heard Jorge Tripps and others say that because of the crude nature of that circuit the builder has a big influence on the end. JHS pedals what do you think?

[@freehey629]

As he says, he likes fuzzes with the amp set clean, so he likely tunes his fuzzes to a clean amp too, the reason they sound a bit different.

[@nicholaspossinger7993]

Just got my shipping confirmation for my analogman astro tone yesterday then woke up to shipping confirmation of my custom analogman BART sunface today! I feel like a kid in Christmas!

[@icarusi]

I once tried an original Octavia and found it difficult to maintain the octave effect over the full guitar range, without readjusting the Octavia settings each time. Later I got a Danelectro DJ 13 French Toast, supposedly with Foxx Tone Machine circuitry, which was easier to dial in and consistent over the full guitar range. I also go the DJ 12 Chilli Dog octave down pedal which I use when demoing locally the Marshall 'round case' range. Using the DJ 12 before the Marshall distortions gave the heaviest sound I've ever made, but most guitarists I talked to about it, didn't seem to 'get' it. Admittedly at gig levels it would have probably needed bi-amping with a bass amp, and speaker protection low end filtering to the guitar amp, but it's worth checking if you want that sound.

[@TheMirolab]

I have a rare Italian, Elka Dizzy Tone fuzz that was given to me by an old friend of my Dad. And, I have a 45rpm single that they recorded back in '68 with this exact pedal! I had to do some serious restoration to get it working proper again. BUT.... it sounds amazing. Stupid positive ground though, so I can only use it with battery right now. I've never heard Josh mention the Dizzy Tone, but they go for crazy money.

[@hoofbags]

I thought I had a good knowledge of fuzz pedals however, I really learned a lot by watching this upload. Also, I could do with a few tips on how to be a "more better" guitarist. Gr8 upload, thanks!

[@JM-ym8mm]

15:01 - Our good friend Robert knows very well that while numbers go up, the river do always go down.

[@richclayton5785]

I might have said this before; this the best explanation of a fuzz anywhere!

[@hoofbags]

It's not possible to cover everything in one upload, so I will make my contribution. There's also diode clipped fuzz and there are two variations. The diodes are wired in parallel but in reverse to each other. These can then be connected in a negative feedback line between one or more stages. In another, the reversed diode pair is used as a shunt between the gain stage signal out and ground. One advantage I've noticed with diode clipping topology is a tolerance of reduced battery voltage. One of this style I self built had the same battery inside for a few years. A PP3 type smoke alarm battery tested only 4.5 volts when it should have been 9 and the unit it was installed in still functioned. Great upload!

[@jhspedals]

thanks for the info! also, thanks for understanding not everything can be covered in a single episode. usually this comment looks like, "hey what about grumble grumble grumble." lol

[@hoofbags]

@@jhspedals your knowledge of guitar effects is second to none. I thought I knew about these effects but learned a lot by watching your move, as would be expected. I'm not all that conversant with manufacturers of various effect, although I do have a reasonable knowledge of core studies. My biggest regret is not having electric guitar lessons at an early age. I avoid playing lead but am reasonably competent with rhythm and bar chords. Channel subscription on way! Thank you for your reply. 🙂

[@jameskaihatu6209]

The Martin / Blades "Shimmy" recommendation is aces. Great stuff.

[@KennethDonnellyStargazer21]

Nice video, thanks; watched more than once. It convinces me that I am a distortion and somewhat soft/cleanish/overdrive guitarist...who used many effects and still do, especially delays and loopers. Originally explored looping in the late 70's via the Echoplex. In the mid 70's when I finally decided to get my first ax, I also saw the Big Muff and Vox Wa and got those, soon after my Fender Mustang and Fender Princeton amp. Therein I found I could achieve very close to the Hendrix at Woodstock sound, Trower along with the proper placement of my next pedal, an Ibanez Phase Tone, and finally could also get the evil, lizardy sound of Fripp on the U.S.A live lp, notably "Asbury Park" After that I explored and bought The Rat, Boss DS-1 and finally the Metal Zone, before I moved onto the GT-3 and multieffects once I could afford them. A wonderful journey

[@NebulaStudios1]

Wow I was experimenting with my fuzz pedals today and decided to watch this and was amazed. Very interesting.

[@jhspedals]

🖤🖤🖤

[@darthmaul3525]

I just got the JHS Series 3 Fuzz pedal today. I absolutely love it, it is amazing.

[@friedrudibega6384]

Some are a little fuzzterated trying to find the right pedal.

[@nitrogennick123]

Amazing that no one has ever made a video quite like this. Great job Josh!

[@PeteEllson5656]

Thanks for a great video. Been wanting to get into fuzz but really knew nothing about it. Now I think I have a handle on what I need. Thanks Josh.

[@patrickmcmanus5373]

I need them all and the Box. Great new videos on KZbin of modifying cheap fuzz pedals. Diy guitar pedals got me into pedal building. In far northern Australia parts can be difficult. Cheers

[@FreddyJ120]

Freaking awesome episode, Josh. I learned more about fuzz in these few minutes than I have in 20 years playing. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

[@horshack1973]

I love the quick "Oliver!" clip. I grew up on that movie.

[@HomePerformance]

Wow, very impressive explanation of the architectures of these electronics! Thanks man.

[@robreustle]

I will basically watch everything you guys make because you are awesome, but this was soooo helpful. I bought an op amp big muff because I always loved hearing other people play it, but then couldn’t seem to get the setting right. Now I actually understand how it works (imagine that) and I’ve got it dialed in just right. Thanks!

[@jhspedals]

Thank you!

[@palmmoot]

Commenting to feed the algorithm so you guys know I want more episodes like this. Diving into circuits, even if simplified like this, is more good

[@jhspedals]

Thanks!

[@Sigtrygg_Gale.]

Just purchased the Bender and the Octave fuzz already have the smiley and love it and so does my plexi 🙌

[@markallen381]

You need to discuss Fourier Transforms when discussing square waves.

[@ivanelieff6816]

I have a mini germanium fuzzface I got on the strength of an outstanding Pete Thorn video. I got it for the way it cleans up and beautifully modifies a “clean” strat sound. I agree, it absolutely has to be first in the chain. Bonus is all the other classic sounds it makes, but I don’t know any other way to get that magic chimey cleanish awesomeness. It turns your guitar volume knob into the greatest tone tweaker. Don’t care for it much on my gibsons, but strats and teles are amazing. Very first pedal I owned was a Big Muff with the tone wicker, very versatile. Love it for lead sounds into an “edge of breakup” vox style amp. I also agree it’s fine later in the chain. In between these among other things I have a boss eq pedal set up as a bit of a mid boost, which does cool things to either pedal. Involving a subtly set RAT pedal after the fuzz face or before the Big Muff can enhance either of them. All of these need to be carefully dialed in, and changing your guitar requires re-tweaking. Love the channel.

[@ChrisReedJr]

HOW does this only have 90k views 5 days after post?? Super episode guys. Also, record time is a great plug - have lost track of MMW in recent times and this plucks the string of theirs I liked the most. What are you doing tomorrow (Wednesday)? How about a JHS Live kicked off by this and continue onward further into the weeds?

[@-processdrone-]

Loving the throw away "historical re-enactment" at 20:44 , and the pristine Elmo Impression at 12:07. My favourites are my Boba Fuzz [gloriously packaged ZVX Woolly mammoth clone with every available tweak including "gate" and "tone"] (2 transistor fuzz) Boss Hyper Fuzz which I bought when they were brand new/ unheard of/ affordable (£45) (Octave Fuzz) ,and my Big Muff which turns out to be the op-amp version which every guitar player I knew hated in the 80s [hence purchased used for £15 in 1989] everything else didn't have the staying power for my array of styles. It's a fun journey I guess my timing was good to try them at affordable o'clock, on the down side I'm way old now, and I never tried a Russian Muff.

[@moraywatson001]

This is a great video, it explains fuzz really well. Your explanation about the big muff helped me a lot. I always had it second on my board after the compressor, it did work but after watching this I put it first in the chain and it is much better, I think.

[@VioletDeliriums]

Dear Mr. JHS-Guy...Hi. I hope you are having a nice day. It is snowy here, but I like so snow. Anyways, I am writing to tell you that this video is very useful and it helped me learn some stuff about how and why fuzz boxes can make different kinds of noise. And I want to thank you for that. But I also want to mention that I think that when you say "topology" (which refers to objects in relation to each other, like on a map), you really mean to say "typology" (which is closer, but still probably not the best word), and you would probably do best to use your rule with fuzz boxes, by keeping it simple and just say that there are different "types" of fuzz boxes. Thank you and have a good day! Your friend, V PS...If fuzzes should always be "dimed," then maybe we can get rid of one of the potentiometer/resistors and just have, for example on a two-transistor fuzz, and on/off switch with only one knob, and then paint it orange like a phase 90 or something, so we all know it is really easy to and fun to use?

[@marinstefan9918]

fuzz mistery EXPLAINED finally ! :)) thank u Josh

[@mlambrechts1]

Most of the time I am a blues player, so traditionally I would go for soft overdrives. One time I made a radical decision to put a RAT on my pedalboard an discovered the versatility of it, and that it also sounds nice when you use less compression/distortion (it doesn't have to be metal, it gave me ZZ Top sounds). Then I started buying fuzz and octave fuzz pedals; it changed my world. I also learned to tune in more sounds, and not turning the knobs to extremes.

[@flamencoprof]

Just an aside; (nowadays called 'off topic') I noticed at around 22:54 we are asked to notice the effect is more "when I'm down here." You proceed to move on the fretboard to where the notes are higher. This is Flamenco speak, as they tend to hold the guitar with the neck more upright. If a singer says "Go down" to the guitarist, they mean "Play in a higher key." Most non-Flamenco players speak of going "up the neck" when describing a move to higher notes.

[@777shea1]

Thank you for doing these, especially this one. I never got into pedals until recently & I want to try a fuzz, but picking out a first is tough. I normally play metal & use high gain distortion so I love that tight aggressive sound, & fuzz always seemed so unruly & wooly, or even muddy to me. But ive recently been getting into more stoner & doom. I guess this is kind of contradicting, but I would like a fuzz with alot of clarity if possible. Out of this vid the features I like are the clarity/stability of the 3 transistor, but the attack or aggressiveness of the 4. Im thinking a grunge style fuzz would be best for me. I'm still not sure exactly what I should get, but this vid helped SO much in pointing me in the right direction.

[@Paulyb7]

Try a Ram’s Head

[@777shea1]

@Ayinde Best I actually got a DOD Carcosa a few weeks back, which I love but ALOT of ppl recommended a rams head &/or Green russian style muff. Plan on getting one of each later on.

[@diegopalominoss]

the bender sounds freaking great

[@firstnamesisaband]

Who knew my favorite show would be on KZbin

[@jhspedals]

🙏🏼

[@MrSpeed-lt8gr]

The Devil Wears Prada meme with the JHS show, silicon, germanium and The Gear Page is spot on!!!

[@buffalofeathers]

You should've mentioned the Earthquaker Devices Erupter when discussing the bias knob. Simple fuzz face circuit with nothing but a bias knob. F***ing great.

[@bobbygotsch]

Awesome video. Taking the Smiley to tonight's gig. Love the deep pick for Record Time as well, gonna check that out :)

[@angelofurlan1889]

Great show! I always learn a few things watching and listening to your videos. Right now, my favorites are the JHS 3 series Fuzz and Fender's The Pelt (which I got about a week ago). My very first pedal was a Big Muff (1978 - I feel old).

[@danielleavitt1152]

18:13 “I’m gonna back the fuzz all the way off…” 😂. thanks Josh this video was very helpful!

[@nitegoat1369]

I run my fuzz (EHX OP Amp RI & EHX Ram’s Head RI), currently on my board, through the front of my Orange TH30 head, on the clean channel only; and it sounds absolutely amazing. I run a TU-3, Micro POG, MXR Phase 90, and EP Booster in front of my fuzzes. I also run an MXR 10 Band EQ, 1st in my FX loop, which is always on.