Found the Fuzz!

[jalevinemd]

There was a thread awhile back about how much trouble some people were having with their active electronics and fuzz pedals. I wound up taking my Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face off my pedalboard because, when I played my Alembics through it, it sounded like I was playing underwater with my guitar wrapped in a pillow. When I was in NYC last week for a conference, I stepped on over to Rudy's on 48th Street and asked the guy what he would recommend as a replacement. Without hesitation, he told me "The Sweet" was the best fuzz pedal ever created. They're handmade locally in Brooklyn by Frantone. I explained that I was from Chicago and he said I could mail it back to him if I wasn't happy. This thing is amazing! Not only does it blow my Fuzz Face away, but even the Alembics seem to love it. If you're looking for the ultimate fuzz, I give this gem two thumbs up!! At $179, it's a little pricey, but worth every penny. So, between that and the Boss Super Chorus I just picked up, my pedalboard is finally complete (or so I told my wife!)  Have a happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  Regards,  Jonathan  

[kungfusheriff]

Does it project? Every fuzz I've used onstage has been a useless wooly mass.

[hollis]

Remember when the fuzz was a particular person to avoid when partaking in, shall we say, less than legal pastimes?  Oh!  Wait a second... we're talking about distortion boxes?  Cool, you guys are gonna get me in trouble.  I may just have to start stompin' agian...
 
Thanks for the heads up Jonathan.
 
P.S.  Gobble gobble to you and yours too!

[jalevinemd]

Shawn,
 
Not quite sure what you mean by 'project.' The individual notes do come across.

[andrewknight]

Hi Jonathan,
 
Is that rig for bass? I can't recognize everything there, could I get you to list all your effects?
 
Andrew

[jalevinemd]

Andrew,
 
Nope, I'm one of the guitarists who roams about these parts. My amp is a Marshall JCM2000 head with a 1936 2X12 cab. The pedalboard is as follows:
 
Clockwise from top left:
 
MXR Noise Gate
MXR Phase 90
MXR Wylde Overdrive
Frantone Sweet  (replaced the Fuzz Face b/c it didn't have an AC adapter and was rather large)
Crybaby Classic Wah  (bought to replace my VOX - lack of an AC adapter was getting annoying)
Boss Super Chorus
Boss Equalizer
Boss Mega Distortion
Boss Flanger
Boss Chromatic Tuner
 
Can't really think of anything else that I want, need or have room for. Maybe a delay pedal at some point or a Rotovibe...who knows. I've got a brand new Line 6 POD XT that's collecting dust. I bought it before the all tube Marshall to get the sound I was lacking. I found it very confusing to use, though I never had the patience to read the manual...I never do!
 
Regards,
 
Jonathan

[andrewknight]

Jonathan,
 
Thanks for the list! I haven't spent any attention to effects as I focused ony acoustic stuff, and now that I finally got an electric that warrants a lot of attention, feel the need to move forward. I think I'll do it bit by bit. When I went electric with my acoustics, I just went straight to the mix board. Sounds good to me...pure acoustic sound. However, the difference between a tube amp and this set up is tremendous on the electric so I'm probably gonna start with an F1X, SF-2 combo...then add affects one at a time until I get used to them (unless I get told there are two or three that go together so well I need to combine them early).
 
Andrew

[jalevinemd]

Andrew,
 
I think you'll find that pedal purchasing plays an invaluable role in the life of the obsessed musician. They seem to satisy the ever-compelling need to buy more equipment without draining the wallet as dry as a new guitar. Plus they're fun as hell to monkey around with! Good Luck.
 
Jonathan

[andrewknight]

Thanks...I have a lot to learn about all that. I have to say that the sound of the Tribute without pedals is really nice straight through my son's Fender Blues Junior amp. Sounds pretty darn good to me. I'm pretty sure that the mix of guitars I have is plenty for me to be happy and the recent addition of the Tribute has cured my gas (guitar acquisition syndrome). However, I do have some songs that I want to come close to in sound (the various tones used by Jerry in songs like Candyman, Fire on the Mountain, Cold Rain and Snow, Shakedown Street, Estimated Prophet) and then some good blues, funk, reggae and jazz (seems the Tribute by itself does a lot of these).
 
So if you happen to know the perfect effects combo for any of those tunes, I'd love to hear it :-)
 
Andrew

[lbpesq]

Andrew:
 
On Estimated Prophet Jerry used an Envelope Filter.
 
Bill, tgo

[radio_silence]

Jonathan:
 
Just a little self indulgence...and a whole lot of fun!
 
 
 


 
 
Check out http://home.wi.rr.com/mwkstuff
 
Thanks!

[jalevinemd]

Mike,
 
Is NASA aware that you're operating that system? So many pedals...so few feet!
 
Regards,
 
Jonathan

[radio_silence]

Hi Jonathan:
 
I actually had 2 extra legs surgically implanted. My shoe bill has doubled but I really enjoy the flight center. It looks like a lot of stuff but the main toys are the BOSS GT-6 and the Roland GR-30. The extra FS-5U's on the floor control my recorder and drum machine. Did you check out my website?

[bigredbass]

Jonathan:
 
How do you like the BOSS tuner pedal?  Does it work with an open B string?
 
J o e y

[wayne]

Joey-
 
If you're talking about the Boss TU-2, I've got one that I use mainly as a kill switch on my upright.  It's dead quiet and tracks reasonably fast when you run it off a wall wart.  It will track an open B pretty well, but the specs are only +/- 3 cents.  That ain't real accurate if you're a stickler about tuning (and I think I recall that you are).  It'll get you close, but you'll need to tweak.
 
It's been a life-saver for me with upright, but I still use a little Korg for the Alembics (not in the signal path).
 
C-Ya............wayne