Fuzz deafness?

[Chankgeez]

My girlfriend "They all sound the same"
Me, incredulously: "What? *clicks on VTF* This? and this? *clicks on Muffy fuzz*?!
Her: "Those are different?"
Me: "Yes the angry octave up high pitched bees and this crushing low end with some sizzle are different."
Her: "Sound the same to me."

As a doctor of fuzzology, from this brief exchange, I can certifiably diagnose your girlfriend with fuzz deafness.

[neonblack]

Its not that I couldn't find something useful. It all sounded good, except when I got really dark on the shape knob. I'm just fickle with my settings. And I think ear exhaustion was definitely the problem. And not feeling like I'm using the Unpleasant surprise to its full potential.

I had a Diabolik that I liked but there was something about it that didn't quite get there for me. Someone told me to try a depth charge. I think I will.

[BitchPudding]

I think its two things. Ether fatigue, in which case, take a break. Get some tea, listen to some smooth jazz. Blah blah blah.

Other thing is after a while maybe you've just found the sound your looking for? I know after a while I knew what I wanted and liked, and stuck to that guitar wise since its the tone I liked. The Ssstampede was the final nail in the coffin, gave me what I wanted and then some.

[neonblack]

That could be it. I could honestly be content with the Unpleasant surprise, the Mini, and my SSStampede if I absolutely had to choose 3. but I like a little more tonal variation. i think having the TAFM for a "normal" fuzz would let me use the others in a little more extreme settings. for instance, my SSStampede has a voltage starve and pregain, and while I love having it full blast, it has a really awesome texture with the voltage slightly starved and the pre turned down about halfway. having the TAFM will let me use it like that more often, once I get it back from Chankgeez.

[PetZounds]

I think that I have the opposite issue.
Whenever I play with something for a really long time, everything starts to sound really good.
Then I come back after a break, and realize "Man, this all sounds like shit."
"What the fuck was I thinking?"

[neonblack]

Haha I've had those days too. Or I'll stop playing for the day, happy with my tones, and the next day, nothing has changed but I hate how it all sounds.

Except my second voice. It always sounds fucking amazing.

[Greenfuz]

this is kinda like the whole wine tasting thing. they pretty much all taste the same

you need a special fuzz taster to tell you what special hints and bouquets of siamese dream it has

[neonblack]

This is why, when I look for dirt pedals, i look for a very broad description of what they can do. i want my "chunky overdrive," my "cutting distortion" my "big doomy fuzz," etc. I'm a simple man, and most times, the little nuances people talk about in their Fuzzes are only useful in a recording session. When my 4x10 is trying to compete with a heavy handed drummer and a cranked guitarist in a tiny club, I doubt anyone is thinking "man, I love that subtle breakup on his fuzz."

Although, in the bedroom, I drool over all that shit too.

[pelliott]

My girlfriend "They all sound the same"
Me, incredulously: "What? *clicks on VTF* This? and this? *clicks on Muffy fuzz*?!
Her: "Those are different?"
Me: "Yes the angry octave up high pitched bees and this crushing low end with some sizzle are different."
Her: "Sound the same to me."

As a doctor of fuzzology, from this brief exchange, I can certifiably diagnose your girlfriend with fuzz deafness.

[puts hat on chest, shakes head solemnly]

[Ghost Hip]

The lesson here is that unless youre playing to a room of ILFers, you only need one fuzz.

I have thought this a few times as well, although I have had folks come up to me after shows and say "your guitar sounds awesome, keep making those noise." It is a bit discouraging at first but eventually I began using my "different" dirt boxes as tools to control how I fit into a band context. Finding THAT sound is still pretty relevant though, nothing makes me play better than having a fucking rad sound coming out of my amp.

With that said, in the past six months or so I have enjoyed playing clean more and use fuzz and distortion as mood changers. It is super satisfying to create a heavy chord progression with all clean guitars/bass by using fun chords and drones.

Back on topic though, ear fatigue is the worst. Every now and again it happens to me and it is such a bummer. Then you come back later and write the cool new riff for the next cool jam.

[Mudfuzz]

If you replace the word "wine" with fuzz this says it all..
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiBWHHqK7W8[/youtube]

On the other hand.. this thread is heresy and blasphemy and I will be putting up a large post with firewood around the base of it for all of you

[spacelordmother]

If you replace the word "wine" with fuzz this says it all..
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiBWHHqK7W8[/youtube]

On the other hand.. this thread is heresy and blasphemy and I will be putting up a large post with firewood around the base of it for all of you

I recently took all the fuzz off my board and man it feels so good.

[neonblack]

That's crazy talk. What kind of music are you playing with this crazy dirt-free board?

[spacelordmother]

That's crazy talk. What kind of music are you playing with this crazy dirt-free board?

Electroacoustic/Ambient. That's not to say there is no dirt -- I put the M9 back on my board so there's actually tons available, but I am only using the mid-eq with gain in my chain. Afterwards it all gets run into Ableton where there is more OD, lofi delay, and bit reduction on wet/drys to break things apart as needed. Fuzz just doesn't really work with what I'm doing right now, and if I were to add some in I would likely feed it with pink noise for a pure wall (maybe with an LFO/panning for movement) that I could fade in as needed rather than put in the path of the guitar.

Not just a troll comment either though -- I got so sick of trying to find "The Sound" while knowing that that idea is a fallacy. There's tons of good sounds (good and bad) to be had, and what "The Right Sound" is changes over time and from project to project. I finally said fuck it to devoting so much energy to searching for something that doesn't really exist and so playing without that yoke feels really free. YMMV.

[Greenfuz]

you have to have at least one fuzz on your board at all times it is law