A fuzz pedal is an effects pedal that clips the sound signal at its junctions, creating a unique distorted sound. It was originally designed to imitate the classic guitar tone on the song ‘I Feel Fine’ by The Beatles. You can use it on any instrument you want – guitars, basses, pianos, etc.
A fuzz pedal is a very popular type of guitar effects pedal that adds an element to your tone. It can be used in many ways, and here are some examples:
Good uses for a Fuzz Pedal:
- Use it as a boost to other pedals. The gain coming out of a fuzz pedal is similar to the gain put in, so if you’re using a fuzz pedal as a boost, it’s best to use another overdrive or distortion pedal first.
- Use it for an octave effect. If there are no other pedals on your board, place the fuzz before the amp. If there are other pedals on your board, place the octave effect after the fuzz and before your amp.
- Use an overdrive pedal first, then use the fuzz. This is generally considered to be one of the best uses for a fuzz pedal, as it offers more gain than simply using it alone.
- Use multiple pedals! It adds more girth if you put two or more pedals on your board.
- Place the fuzz after an octave pedal for a unique sound.
- Using a fuzz in place of any pedal will create a new sound on its own, so experiment!
Bad Uses for a Fuzz Pedal:
- Don’t use it as the only pedal on your board. It is meant to be used in conjunction with other pedals.
- Use it as a boost for your clean sound, unless you want it to be fuzzy and bad.
- Don’t put the fuzz before an amp and expect good results. It will sound terrible and dull, so place it either at the very end or after any overdrive/distortion pedals.
- Don’t put it after any delay/reverb pedals, as it will make your delayed sound fuzzy and broken.
- Avoid putting the fuzz before an overdrive pedal, unless you want a super dirty tone with little sustain.
- Avoid using multiple fuzzes on your board at once, as they tend to sound very messy and garbled.
Although this pedal is amazing, you will need to know how to use the Fuzz Face.
Here are some tips on how you can use a fuzz pedal.
- Turn down your guitar’s volume knob, especially if it has high output pickups. This will help reduce the amount of noise created by the pedal. Not doing so may give you a very strong, uncontrolled signal that clips excessively and creates unwanted buzzes or hums. Turning your volume knob down will also help reduce how much power is being put into the pedal.
- Start with a low fuzz setting and work your way up from there. If you’re using a guitar, turn down the tone knob a bit before engaging a fuzz effect in order to leave more room for adjustment.
- Roll off the treble on your amp if you get too much high-end sound after switching to fuzz.
- You can also use EQ, like a dynamic EQ (boosting where needed) or graphic equalizer. This will help reduce the muddiness of the sound created by the pedal.
- You can get different sounds by taking out the power supply while playing, or even opening it up and touching around with wires. If you do so, be very careful since it has capacitors that contain deadly voltages.
Conclusion
The Fuzz pedal is a staple of heavy rock and is used by many bands to create powerful sounds. But how do you know when it’s time to use one?
Some occasions where it might be appropriate for you to use a Fuzz pedal include creating heavier guitar riffs or solos, adding distortion-like effects to vocals, or emphasizing certain elements of drums or basslines with more aggressive tones.
You can also experiment with various levels of saturation on the volume knob as well as experimenting with different types of pedals like vintage versus modern models!