|
Post by guitarboy02451 on Oct 3, 2005 11:26:43 GMT -7
I just picked one up and I really dig it with my Marshall, but not digging it so much with the Z. It's a little harsh because the Z is so... 'in your face' type of tone. It sounds good with some songs using the Z, but that's about it. I'm wondering if I should sell it or use it as barter towards a Z-Break or a Zen Drive? Wondering if anyone else is using some sort of fuzz with the Z.... Hmmmm, what to do.
|
|
|
Post by johnnyl on Oct 3, 2005 11:46:05 GMT -7
Hi Paul, I had a '69 and found it to be too thin, tinny sounding for my SRZ-65. I bought a Anolgman Sunface from one of the other forumites and MAN what a difference.... I love that friggin pedal. It's got lots more low end if you need it. It give's me a nice "violinish" (Brian May) kind of lead tone and I can also dial down the fuzz a little and rock some Sabbath riffs on the Les Paul. I found the '69 very limited. I almost had to always use it with some other distortion box to give it some balls. One other cool thing with that Sunface is when I put it on front of a modded ts9 I get this cool octave thing on my lead tones. VERY COOL PEDAL IMO...
Johnny
|
|
|
Post by guitarboy02451 on Oct 3, 2005 15:27:08 GMT -7
Thanks for the heads up Johnny. I too find it pretty thin with the Z. It's pretty sweet with my Marshall though.
I wasn't sure it was me or not. I've had it for a month now and have been trying to warm up to it. I like to give things time before before I make decisions.
I never used fuzz in my almost 20 years of playing... so I thought it was somthing I had to get used too.
|
|
|
Post by Lefty on Oct 3, 2005 15:48:05 GMT -7
The 69 was my first fuzz, I was very disappointed. I then went to the 70, much more fun but got lost in the mix. Several Fuzz's later I too went with the AM Std Fuzz, it was very cool too. Then I sold it to get a AM NKT Fuzz and it ended my Fuzz search. It can do alot from full out fuzz to a nice clean. It absolutely ROCKS with my Ghia.
|
|
|
Post by guitarboy02451 on Oct 3, 2005 19:30:33 GMT -7
Yeah, I emailed the store I got it from. I'm going to see if I can work an exchange towards a Z-Break. They have one in stock.
|
|
|
Post by taswegian on Oct 4, 2005 23:23:18 GMT -7
I've played a couple gigs with the ToneFactor Hellbilly now and it totally fulfills all my fuzz duties!! So far I have used it for Jimi, Cream, L. Kravitz, Queens of the Stone Age, Yes, Bowie and Floyd. Great pedal and so cheap. Probably a bit more versatile than a pure fuzz, as its more of a germanium boost so you can get some more subtle tones as well (not as much fun) I would love to hear the Analog Man NKT fuzz as well. I'm sure it would rock through my 66.
|
|
|
Post by guitarboy02451 on Oct 8, 2005 21:14:58 GMT -7
Exchanged the 69... awaiting a Z-Break to come in. It had lots of highs and was fairly thin. While there I tried an OCD and found the same thing. Fairly thin and lots of highs.
|
|
dewman
Junior Member
Posts: 86
|
Post by dewman on Oct 11, 2005 20:50:24 GMT -7
Hey - I was too cheap to buy a 69 pedal, so I made the clone off of the generalguitargadgets.com site for about 30$ in parts. I used to have one from Fulltone (paid full price) and traded it in with an amp for a marshall, so I dont feel as guilty trying it again with a clone. I bought the germanium transistors from SmallBear electronics and it actually sounds a bit better than the 69. I have the same controls, fuzz, volume bias and contour, but it doesn't sound as thin. If it's your bag, check out the DIY route since you can adjust caps and resistors and transistors and help shape the tone in real time to suit your amps/guitars/ears.
Today I played hooky for about 3 hours and went to a guitar store in NJ (Russo Music) where they let me sit in front of an open boutique effects rack and have at it. Although I didnt have my Route 66, there were several similarly voiced amps (like a new bluesbreaker and some other boutiques) and I actually walked out thinking that my bastardized 69 clone aint so bad after all. I agree the 69 was a bit thinner than I remembered, and my clone is a bit thicker.
I also found out that the ZVex vexter Fuzz Factory is a pretty amazing pedal for my Z Route 66- beeps and farts not withstanding. I tried the SquareFace (Diaz), the Duncan TweekFuzz (actually not that bad, but you cant have another pedal in front of it) the Fulltone 69 and 70's, a HBE germanium fuzz, and a few others and actually bought the ZVex Vexter Fuzz Factory. I came home and fired up the Route 66 with it and was pretty impressed. The 66 meshes well with that pedal, like Marshall's do with a Fuzz Face - sort of makes it gel. So I figure I have a thicker 69 with my clone just by accident and am happy. Treble too when you need it with that opedal. But the ZVex is going to really be a fun pedal since you can dial in much of the tones of the arbiter fuzzface, fulltone 70, the tweekfuzz, and even a modded US reissue BigMuff Pi I have (don't laugh, switch five capacitors and it really sings and ain't as woofy). I ain't into the weirded out aspects of this pedal, radio static, etc, but for 150 bucks it had the right degree of warmth and smoothness and fatness and bite to really give it to a Strat and make it sing, especially through the Route 66. I recommend that pedal for the more classic fuzzface tones, and it's true bypass and also cleans up smoothly when you drop the guitar volume knob. If you think the 69 was thin, you might want to try the 70 pedal as people have suggested above or alternatively the analogman sunface too (see above). I bet they both would do well with most Z amps. I even liked some of the tones from the tweekfuzz, although I had to turn the volume up 3/4 of the way before it was just above the level when the pedal was not on. Don't know how any of these would fare in a band setting though, which might be a factor for you.
The Ghia is a tiny bit more tricky given the high gain and compression which sometimes works and sometimes is more tricky getting the fuzz tone you want, other threads go into detail...but the other amps seem to take silicon and germanium fuzzes pretty well in general. Hope you can find a place like I did today that would let you bring your guitar/amp in and compare pedals for an hour...
D
|
|
|
Post by unkleslam on Oct 30, 2005 16:14:03 GMT -7
I've played a couple gigs with the ToneFactor Hellbilly now and it totally fulfills all my fuzz duties!! So far I have used it for Jimi, Cream, L. Kravitz, Queens of the Stone Age, Yes, Bowie and Floyd. Great pedal and so cheap. Probably a bit more versatile than a pure fuzz, as its more of a germanium boost so you can get some more subtle tones as well (not as much fun). That's awesome. I'm glad you're enjoying it.
|
|
|
Post by taswegian on Nov 2, 2005 15:40:46 GMT -7
If you are who I think you are?... Thank you very much, I absolutely love it.
|
|
|
Post by VEE SONNETS on Nov 2, 2005 16:47:17 GMT -7
i actually use a 69 as my only pedal in my setup and i found the sound to be very big and in fact too beefy, i played w the inner contour switch some so maybe thats why? but i get a sound using just the 69 and my RX thats similar to that explosive bass sound that Roger Waters gets in See Emily Play...very overpowering, i actually have to turn my volume down to get it from being so beefy. Me thinks its from the type of amp the RX is, because its a lot more thin w the fender and marshall i use to practice with. (btw...this is a good sound im talking about...i love that sound of the 69 and RX, its so unique, the beefyness i speak of...ill try and see if i can get a solo from a song uploaded and let you all hear wot im talking about. it really is fab!)
|
|
|
Post by steveinnashville on Nov 2, 2005 17:06:06 GMT -7
Probably due to the fact that Dr. Z owners inherently have better taste and look at things more objectively (that's how they wound up with the Z amps!.. just kidding... not really), this forum is refreshing. People elsewhere will trash a pedal without noting that different pedals work better/worse/differently with different equipment. Dr. Z amps have a very "present" quality across the tonal range, so a lot of pedals that attempt to improve the sound of amplifiers that lack this "Z-ness" do not work as well. They very well may sound great in front of a Marshall/Fender/Boogie/Supro. This quality of the Z amps makes other pedals that work more "through" the amp instead of just in front of it even more fun to work with!
That said, just going through the Dr. Z cabinet with my Champ II makes it actually sound REALLY killer. Not quite like the Z, but a nice complement. Changing the speakers can alter any amp's sound VERY drastically. I've tried a few in my cab and in my Leslie. It seems that the only objectivity one can find is the realization that everything is pretty much ONLY subjective, besides build quality, service, and asking price. You could possibly add "intended use" to this list, but there are so many other times where this doesn't apply as well....
I want a Hellbilly and Hellbaby I think in front of my Hotcake. Try the Hotcake with a boost pedal out... It's GREAT with the Carmen Ghia. It's good for a boost on it's own as well. Very transparent drive, like a "super hot clean" sound. ABB at the Fillmore East. A lot else, as well.
-Steve
|
|