ilovefuzz.com

Hi all,
I'm in search of an amp that can do fuzz pedals the justice they deserve. I'm currently playing through an Vox AC15 and run it on the top boost and pushing the valves to break up (playing in an Alt rock/indie band). I love the tone but unfortunately I find fuzz pedals tend to get lost in the mix. I'm not sure if it is because it is only a 15Watt and the headroom isn't there or if it is because they work better when the amp isn't being pushed so hard i.e. cleaner. If it is the later, how do you guys deal with this? Do you change to the clean channel every time you want to use fuzz? Or perhaps I should use my OD pedal (King of Tone) when I want the amp to break up and turn it off when I want to kick on the fuzz - still a bit stage tap dancing involved that I'd rather avoid.

Fuzz pedals I'm trying to give a work out include Tym's Fuzz Munchkin, Zvex Fuzz Factory, Wren and Cuff Tri Pi, Barber Trifecta, Red Witch FuzzGod II.

I'm willing to flip my amp if that's what it will take, so if you can recommend an amp, lets hear them! Currently considering Vox AC30 (maybe the extra headroom will help), Fender Hot Rod Deville/Hot Rod Deluxe.

Cheers!

I mean...if you can...buy a silverface fender

The Hot Rod amps tend to take pedals well if you don't feel like hunting down silverfaces.

Thanks for the suggestion on the Fender's guys. Are you still best off keeping the amp clean when running fuzz through them or can they handle it even if the valves are being driven?

try the normal channel all the way up
the extra grit with fuzz is always nice on a vox
pretty much what i used to use but with a fuzz face on top

muffs are pretty scooped try a more middy fuzz and it should help you cut

the hot rods are super gnarly on the mids and can be nasty to me anyway really dry and super loud

I've got a HR Deluxe, a Jazz Chorus 50, and a Mustang V head/4x12, all of which are set on clean stuff 99.9% of the time, all my dirt is outboard rack or pedals.

Basically, loud, clean, headroom to let the character of the fuzz shine through.

You can't take amp distortion or voicing away, which is why I like my Fender and Roland cleans.

Muffs like very clean amps. (They also like not stacking into another mid scoop, which is why Ampegs and Sunns are more popular than Twin Reverbs with doom guys.) A Fuzz Face, Fuzzrite, something like that, you can sometimes play well with a low-gain style amp cranked, since the gain isn't so high in the preamp already that the more mild fuzz swamps it and sometimes the output-section distortion of the amp pleasantly smooths and compresses a bit of the jagged-iness and rasp of the fuzz. (This category can include Marshalls before the 2203/2204 high-low dual gain preamps, or those but only into the low preamp.)

I have an old Univox tube amp that is cleaaaan and loves pedals...and it could be yours

sorry for the blatant spam

i like the way most fuzz pedals sound through a tweed fender amplifier.

my sunn 200s can take any pedal beautifully.

Totally in love with the Verellen Mod Jet City JCA20 that I had. 20w of tube goodness, doesn't break up at all, 3 band EQ with master volume and gain controls. You can always get a used Jet City and send it to Ben to mod. I replaced it with a custom Verellen amp that is essentially the same thing except stripped down to volume + 1 tone control and double the wattage

I've found voxes to be a bit finicky with dirt pedals in general. I'm not a big fan. Old fenders do great. I'm personally a huge fan of old Marshalls. They do fantastic with all kinds of fuzz. I have a jmp 2203. Usually I run into the low gain input with the preamp dined, so it's fairly clean and behaves kind of like a non master volume model. But in situations where a pedal really shines with a bit dirtier amp I have the option to go into the high gain and adjust the preamp gain to taste.

I have an AC-15 too, when you're already pushing the amp in the top boost channel, fuzzes can get pretty harsh in a not so great way (IMO). You could try pushing the normal channel with fuzz, but you'd probably get better results with an amp with more clean headroom.

friendship wrote:i like the way most fuzz pedals sound through a tweed fender amplifier.

Same here.

I heard good things about Carr.
I would love to try a Sportsman one of these day.

sylnau wrote:

friendship wrote:i like the way most fuzz pedals sound through a tweed fender amplifier.

Same here.

I heard good things about Carr.
I would love to try a Sportsman one of these day.

Carrs are nice...played a tour with one on backline and it sounded great. One night the other guitarist and I decided to switch amps (he had a silverface deluxe reverb), and it sounded essentially the same. I don't know if the cost difference would justify the minimal tonal differences

Sovteks take pedals really well IMO, and you've got a lot of headroom to play around with. Plus, you likely could get it cheaper than most silverface Fenders.