Stacking Fuzz with Overdrive - WHY?

We'll examine stacking the Kingtone Si Fuzz into the Vemuram Jan Ray ( a la Doyle Bramhall) and the Cornerstone Gladio SC

[@timothygrupp]

I can understand Doyle's love of the Jan Ray with fuzz...absolutely skull-busting tones. Thanks for the demo!

[@markhopkinsmusic]

Thanks Tim! You rule, as usual!

[@willbowden8201]

Awesome Mark! Thanks for the cool video, killer tones.

[@markhopkinsmusic]

Thanks buddy! You da man!

[@jordandangelo180]

Aweome 3 pedal lineup. 3 of my favorites for sure. I have all of these and I really love the Jan Ray, especially for stacking and the Gladio is my favorite Dumble style pedal out there. But these two really brought the best of Jesse’s fuzz. Just gave it that sustaining, singing quality. Really nice playing too man. This is a really awesome channel. You know when they say someone is a “ Musicians, Musician “....that’s how I view this channel. It’s for the true players and gets into the material and gear players are interested in.

[@markhopkinsmusic]

Thanks per usual Jordan - you are always welcome buddy! I forgot how much I loved the Jan Ray... how dare I??? hahaha

[@jordandangelo180]

@@markhopkinsmusic . I played the Double Preamp with a JAM Dyna-ssoR and then a Cali 76 and man did it some incredible sustain and a real snappy attack and pop to each note. Empress has a new compressor I heard is really good too. Have you ever played a Kemper Mark? Would love to hear your thoughts on one. I’ve always been a tube amp guy but the Tone Geek channel is all about the Kemper and I’ve recently started watching it and learning about it. He gets some amazing clean tones out of it. I know you’ve done a lot of gigging, touring and studio work so I wondered if you may have come across one at some point. Thanks!

[@markhopkinsmusic]

@@jordandangelo180 thanks per usual! I owned a Kemper actually... believe it or not. After spending 6 months with it I realized it wasn’t for me. I love my tube amps way too much! Nothing could ever replace this Two Rock now. I am a TR lifer as they say

[@paulblanchet542]

What a great video, thanks for doing this! Much needed topic!

[@paulblanchet542]

I do something similar...I could never get a fuzz alone through a clean amp to sound the way I like it, though I like that sound when other people do it. I use a Bearfoot Fx Pink Purple fuzz into my Analogman King of Tone...really great combination!

[@druwk]

For purposes of conversation, running a Fuzz into an Overdrive is roughly equivalent to running a Fuzz into an Overdriven Amp? Some combinations are magical, other don’t do much, or it’s not an enhancement. Same with running a Fuzz into an Overdrive pedal. Some Fuzz sounds, sound great, but don’t cut. Running them into the wrong Overdrive, just makes them muddier. If you have a fuzzy overdrive, like the Gladio, it’s not going to necessarily make it “smoother”. Essentially, when you put a Fuzz before your Overdrive, you’re using the Overdrive as a VERY colored EQ/Gain stage? Even though Fuzz pedals all do something similar to your signal, there’s a lot of subtle (...and not so subtle) variation. The character/EQ curve of the Midrange Distortion can be really unique to a particular Fuzz? Having bias control over the Transistors changes the fundamental character of the Fuzz further. There’s an incredible amount of variation, and interaction between a Fuzz, guitar pickup/volume/tone control, how it hits another gain stage, and then the settings on your specific amp! Whew! I think this is why a lot of people have a hard time wrapping their brains around Fuzz, but want the “sound”? It’s certainly been my experience, that the AMAZING Fuzz tone you got yesterday, can seem impossible to recreate today! It’s a VERY deep Rabbit Hole! You have to get to know Fuzz/your specific Fuzz Pedal, almost like another instrument, and learn how to work whatever you’re getting? Depending on your rig, the Fuzz Pedal, the guitar you’re using, and the sound you’re after, an EQ pedal that can boost/cut certain frequencies might be a better solution?

[@markhopkinsmusic]

Thanks for chiming in! It indeed is quite the rabbit hole - but a fun one! I run my amps very clean so I think this scenario is leaning on the OD pedals to round out the harshness a fuzz can present - but I couldn't find a bad tone in this presentation to be honest so it's all to flavor for sure. I dig how many options we have these days, but it can be overwhelming for most folks. I've never tried the EQ pedal thing but I know it's a game changer - one day i'll try it out!

[@druwk]

There’s a post on the Wampler KZbin channel, where he gets a Fuzzface to cut through with an EQ. I saw the Doyle thing (LOVE his Fuzz TONES!), and using an overdrive CAN be a good thing. It just depends? His Zonk tones are unbelievable, and he really can play with any Fuzz tone? Your set up is AMAZING! The Kingtone sounded the best through the Jay Ray? IMHO I have a 5e3 clone amp that breaks up really early, and doesn’t handle multiple layers of stacked gain that well? I have a bunch of Fuzz pedals, and I’m finding that a flexible Fuzz pedal, that’s capable of just adding Fuzz-flavor on top of the amp works best for me. I usually have it set pretty spitty. I add the Overdrive after to take it over the top vs. smooth things out? I also have a Henretta Purple Octopus - Octave up that works great with the Fuzz to pop a line out, or solo. It also works great just with the amp breakup, as a Fuzz-like tone. Add in guitar volume and tone, and I have a lot of different dynamic Tones. -- It’s funny, lately I’ve gone back to the DOD Carcosa, which is an inexpensive Fuzz. It’s super versatile and works great into the 5e3.

[@ryuyamakawa4431]

Could you please make stacking video of soloist and kingtone fuzz ge?

[@markhopkinsmusic]

I can try to get my hands on a GE and maybe use my Duellist right side. Maybe I’ll try the Si and Duelist next!

[@ryuyamakawa4431]

@@markhopkinsmusic It will be a great video!

[@SR-ev3ul]

Hi ! Thanks for the video. Excuse me I don't understand because I play two fuzzes on my board (vemuram myriad and black ash earthquaker), and after I have two drives (j rockett archer gold and jan ray vemuram) into fender blues junior. Gain of my OD never after 11 o'clock. When I plug fuzz into jan ray it sound bad (very low tone smoothered, I lose the width of the sound and the harmonics). When I plug into the archer I have a very middle agressive tone unusuable. But in your video you have awesome tones !! Have you tricks ? Everyone says to plug fuzzes into drive or dirty amp but I never had a great sound like you :/

[@markhopkinsmusic]

What amp are you playing through and what are your settings?

[@SR-ev3ul]

​@@markhopkinsmusic My amp is a fender blues junior 15W. In clean : bass 3 ; mid 7 ; treble 6. Indeed my amp settings are maybe bad. And another OUT in the DSM Humboldt DLX (cab and clean amp sim > sono), and in a bass amp : I cut the signal chain with the humdinger gig rig (> nano pog full sub > big muff > bass amp) just after my guitar, then I go in the guitar pedals via the G2 switcher) => 2 fuzzes > OD... (basic chain). On the pedal I tested all possibilities. My settings now are : Myriad (bias hot, fuzz 9, treble 7, feel 7), black ash (Top 4, fuzz 11 full), jan ray (treble 6, bass 4, drive 4), archer (treble 6, gain 4). I keep low gain on the OD and a lot on the fuzzes (stoner style).

[@markhopkinsmusic]

@@SR-ev3ul Hmm I wonder if it's a matter of the blues jr. not keeping the low end tight? Hard to say unless I was sitting in front of it. For me it was all about experimentation for a little bit to find the sound my ears were hearing. Just keep at it until you find the right combo of pedal order and amp settings.

[@SR-ev3ul]

@@markhopkinsmusic Thank you for your answers, I will check the bass settings on the amp. Indeed I always focus on the pedals settings and I have the same amp settings since many years ;) Maybe It's that. See you !

[@markhopkinsmusic]

@@SR-ev3ul no problem, sorry I ca't be more help. Fuzz is the best!

[@paulblanchet542]

That Gladio sounds like a fuzz, to me.

[@JoaoNuno1995]

how did you set the trim pot in the jan ray to get it to work with the fuzz?

[@markhopkinsmusic]

Hey! I always kept it very low - you just wanna push the fuzz a bit - not too much breakup but enough to smooth out anything that might feel harsh

[@JoaoNuno1995]

@@markhopkinsmusic Hi. i was talking the saturation trim pot. the small one. Very low you mean the less saturation, right?

[@markhopkinsmusic]

@@JoaoNuno1995 yes, totally. Sorry for the confusing, I am on 4 hours of sleep haha

[@skeletor2000]

Love this - I know Doyle loves the Jan Ray haha but I'm just curious, do you prefer the Jan Ray or Gladio sc when stacking with fuzz? Thanks for the great videos!

[@markhopkinsmusic]

Today, the Jan Ray felt really great! But they are very different OD pedals and you can definitely flavor to taste from gig to gig. I honestly forgot how great the JR sounds with this particular fuzz! Beast Mode!

[@skeletor2000]

@@markhopkinsmusic That's great to hear! Really appreciate the insight. I've got overdrives spinning around in my mind trying to make a decision!

[@markhopkinsmusic]

@@skeletor2000 there’s so many of them to choose from. I know it’s tough!