Hi-gain modern fuzz that isn't muddy/has clear note definition?

Paradox916 said:
a zvex fuzz factory at different points…
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The Fuzz Factory allows to dial lots of different fuzz sounds, if we are prepared to spend time turning knobs, it's great to find interesting fuzz textures.

On the other hand, a fuzz with "clear note definition" is kind of contradictory. I never heard a fuzz circuit that can handle full chords with any precision. 1 or 2 notes maybe but that's it.

PPCB Arkaim Fuzz is also interesting, with controls allowing to shape various fuzz tones, including sharper and tighter sounds.
www.pedalpcb.com

Arkaim Fuzz - PedalPCB.com

Compare to Mountainking Megalith
www.pedalpcb.com www.pedalpcb.com

Some other fuzz circuits that i would try to get close are EHX big Muff op-amp and Frantone cream puff.
Both 3 knobs circuits, easy to dial a good fuzz sound quickly.
Both available at PPCB too.
 
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Things that create distortion don't know what they are - we just label them. So if it sounds fuzzy we call it a fuzz. If it sounds very distorted but tight we call it a distortion. If it's tight and has lower gain to clean we call it an overdrive. :) So by definition a fuzz will be fuzzy and lack definition.

Some very clever folks have worked out how to take a Fuzz Face and make it sound more like a distortion pedal or Overdrive - Skreddy is a master of this. The Lunar Module, Screwdriver, and various Hybrid Fuzz Drivers are all pretty much modified fuzz pedals. They are probably not what you are looking for because the sound less spitty than a regular fuzz. What makes a fuzz sound like a fuzz means it won't generally be tight in the low end.

The classic way around this is to run a fuzz into an overdrive. That might be what you're looking for. Experiment! Try a Fuzz Factory into a Timmy, for example.

The closest thing I can think of which is a "tight fuzz" might be the Hudson Broadcast. But you might want to add a treble cut control. A friend of mine frequently uses a Broadcast as a fuzz. I put a small cap across the base and collector of the second transistor to help the ear-splitting treble. You don't need the transformer. And if you are using it as a fuzz you don't need the charge pump either.

As far as fuzz goes my faves are the Scarab Deluxe and the Basic Audio Alter Destiny. The Basic Audio Lucky Number sounds like a fuzzy overdrive and is a lot of fun.
 
If we are really aiming for Aenima's guitar sound, i wonder how much the Marshall superbass amplifier is involved to get it ?
And how much the guitar signal is modified by recording and post recording studio tools ?

Even if the dual-rectifier head is plugged in the effect loop of the bass amplifier, surely it won't sound like a guitar amp ?
Bass amps have larger speakers.
If i'm not mistaking, they dont have the same properties than guitar speakers.
They're more resilient and precise with bass and low mids frequencies, and that probably impacts how a guitar distortion sounds, compared to a guitar speaker ?
In my experience, using a bass amp could help to shape the guitar signal around lower frequencies than usual, with less highs and high mids.
 
Not being familiar with Aenima I can't say as to which amp is being used, but the traditional Marshall Superbass was simply a Superlead without the Superlead's guitar-centric modification. The differences are minor and the Superbass is more like a 5F6-a Bassman. The same kind of cabs were generally used - they may have had heavier magnets in the speakers but they weren't like the speakers in modern bass cabs. They were more like the difference between a G12H and a G12M. I usually use a G12H over a G12M and they're not that different. In fact once I ordered a G12H, received a G12M and didn't notice for over a year!

Modern bass amps are a whole different story.
 
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