Distortion & Fuzz Pedal Comparo

[duhvoodooman***]

I've been thinking about doing this for some time and finally got around to it today. What I did was to record the same riff on every distortion and fuzz pedal I own--multiple times in several cases, where the pedal had more than one signal clipping mode. I ended up with a total of 15 variations. In alphabetical order:

1. Brown-Sound-in-a-Box-2
2. Fender Bender (ToneBender)
3. Fuzz Farm (Fuzz Face/Ge)
4. Fuzz Farm (Fuzz Face/Si)
5. Marshall Guv'nor Plus
6. Mega-Muff (BMP, stock)
7. Mega-Muff (JFET)
8. Mega-Muff (LED)
9. Rabid Rodent (LED)
10. Rabid Rodent (Overdrive)
11. Rabid Rodent (Rat, stock)
12. Radial ToneBone Classic
13. ZYS (LED, high gain)
14. ZYS (MOSFET, high gain)
15. ZYS (TS808, stock, high gain)

The trick here is that they're NOT recorded in that order--I randomized the sequence. Listen to them and (a) see what you like the best, and (b) try and guess which is which. That's essentially impossible, but see how many you can get right. I'll post a link to the answers in a couple of days. But really, the point of this isn't a "quiz", but rather a chance to hear the different distortion tones where all the other factors (guitar, amp, player, recording set-up, etc.) are kept constant. And the main reason for not listing which is which is to do this like a "blind" wine tasting. Keeps the brain from getting in the way of the ears, so to speak!

Recording details: All recording was done using the bridge pickup of my Epi Elitist LP Standard into my Fender Blues Junior amp.The only other effect is a modest amount of reverb. The gain (or drive, or sustain, or fuzz, or whatever they call the distortion control on the pedal!) was set to about 2/3 - 3/4 on all pedals. Pedal volume was adjusted for each recording to keep the final volume approximately the same. Tone controls were set nearly flat in most cases, for the pedals that have them. Volume on the guitar was dimed, and the tone knob was at the midpoint. The clip starts with a clean (and somewhat slow) run through the riff, and then the 15 versions follow.

Here's the Box.net link. The total clip runs just under 3 minutes. And you're going to get real sick of that damned riff (I know I did..... ):

http://www.box.net/shared/26nlmrt80k

BTW, my Zonkin' Yellow Screamer (ZYS) isn't really a distortion pedal, but it gets pretty close in the gain-boost mode. So consider that a bit of a hint.

[Tone2TheBone]

guesses - #3 is definately the Guv'nor Plus pedal. One of my favorites. I think #6 was the ToneBender. I think #12 was the ZYS with the LED setting.

favorites - #1, #3, #7 and #11. Those ones to me have a tighter sound so they have to be some of the Rodent and maybe the ZYS. The rest are the fuzz pedals.

[marnold***]

I like #10 best. Do I win the pedal?

[duhvoodooman***]

No, but feel free to listen to it on the clip as often as you want!

[ShortBuSX]

I listened to that loop bout 4 times...3 and 4 were my favs first time around, but then I eventually added 1, 10 and 15 as tones Id desire.
So what were they? I couldnt begin to guess...Im just hopin one is similar to my Banshee , the other like the Double Muff...and if one of those is a RAT then you just reinforced a sale! Or then again maybe Im lookin at 5 others! :

[Algonquin]

No clue as to a guess here, but I seem to like #'s 4, 8, 11 and 15.
Good post DVM

'Clean'

[tot_Ou_tard]

I liked the clean pedal best.

What were the settings on that one?

[sunvalleylaw]

First listen to I was into 1, 3, 6, 7, 11, and 15 first listen. I would have to listen to those again to really narrow it down. I suppose 3 was a favorite, 15 also. I just listened again and like 5 and 8 too. Dang, hard to choose. 3 and 15 are pretty up there though, and then I'd have to listen more to choose one of the hairier sounding ones.

EDIT: I went back and looked at the numbered "pics" of the sound, and I seem to be sort of consistent just by quickly eyeing it, for two types of sound. I am quite curious as to what is what. Good post DVM!! : Oh, and the lick is so stuck in my head now, I will probably have to go learn it!

[duhvoodooman***]

My wife & daughter were out of the house tonight at a play tonight, my son was online gaming, and I was just noodling around, so I recorded a second 15-pedal clip. Same pedals & settings, but a different recording order this time. First time through the riff is clean, then away we go with the pedals.

The recording setup was completely different, though. I used my Strat Plus on the neck pickup through my Vox AD30VT set to the Tweed 4x10 ('59 Fender Bassman) emulation and a bit of reverb. So the emphasis here is on a rounder, bassier sound. See which ones you like best this time; it'll be interesting if your choices change because of the different guitar & amp setup.

Here's the link to the clip:

http://www.box.net/shared/vqt5izmpzf

One other thing: HERE is the order of the pedal recordings for the two clips. No fair peekin' until you've listened to them first!

[marnold***]

I like the way more of the pedals sound with the Strat. Probably because the pickups are lower output and brighter so the differences between the pedals are more noticeable and they're less likely to get muddy. The only one I could identify without cheating is the various Muff versions. To my ear, the chords give it away more than the single-note stuff. Of the fuzzes, once again I prefer the Si one. I know I'm not "supposed" to and I can't exactly define why I like it better. That's probably a good thing, given how notoriously flaky Ge can be.

[sunvalleylaw]

I am having more trouble deciding on this set. I like 6 a lot, but I really like most of them. I am not a big fan of 13 today. 15 is nice. I am going to have to listen to this one a few more times to pick up the differences better. There is a definite difference between the first part of the lick and how it finishes. I think I am focusing at the moment on how the first part sounds.

EDIT: on having it come back around, I like 1 and 3 as well. 4 is pretty nice too. Like I said, I am going to need to spend a little more time with this one.

[duhvoodooman***]

There is a definite difference between the first part of the lick and how it finishes.

Absolutely! That's exactly why I start with single notes and end with chords. What sounds good on one may not on the other. Fuzz pedals, particularly with the gain up, are pretty notorious for their ability to turn chords into a distorted (the bad kind), muddy mess.