Revisiting Pedal builds you didn't like.....

MichaelW

MichaelW

Well-known member
....and keeping an open mind.

I'm guilty of not doing either hahaha.

I've recently been chatting offline with @harmaes about the Simulcast/DuoCast and how much I didn't really care for mine when I built it.

To be honest, it went on the shelf after my build report and I moved on.

But the convo with Harry made me pull it off and take another look at it. I originally tested it with my Tele and didn't go further.
But lo and behold, the thing sounds AWESOME with my LP Special and P90's.

(I did not have the Special at the time I built the pedal).

So moral of the story......buy more guitars.......:)
 
I pulled my Muff Fuzz build off the shelf over the weekend to have another look after many years. I tried switching out transistors and input/output caps but still came to the conclusion that I don't like it. But, I built it in a 1590g that I really like the looks of so I still want to put something in there. 😅 Not a lot of space inside and it's drilled for one knob, so obviously something small. One-Knob Fuzz or Rangemaster come to mind first. Maybe a Fuzz Face with internal Fuzz pot?
 
There's lots of pedals that didn't do much for me with single coils that came alive when using humbuckers.
 
I've had a couple like that. I have a couple of Cornish clones that ended up working better with certain guitars more than others.
 
I've also revisited pedals I didn't care for which I built around the time I started this hobby. Turns out I like some of them just fine... After I rebuilt them when I actually knew what I was doing or just biased them properly.
 
The Ugly Face, and DBA Robot are two I keep going back to.
I think what I end up disliking about the Ugly Face is that while it responds to picking dynamics, it really isn't a dynamic circuit. It's sorta all or nothing.
The Robot just had a weird texture to the dirt that doesn't really gel with my playing style or inspire, but I do love the lo-fi pitch shifting it offers.

I've tried countless times to get into TS derived circuits, but can never get over the clean bleed. And, dialing it out, may as well just build another circuit
 
Big Monk said:
I’m always curious about what people like and don’t like. Especially the Fuzz Face because I have so much invested in tweaking it.

What about it didn’t you like? I myself prefer Silicon.
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It was just, to me, unmusical noise. Never been a huge fuzz fan anyway. This is just too much noise and not enough clarity.
 
Revisiting and stacking is what it's all about.

Luxury763 and Comprehensive Drives are both examples recently which came back out and found some love when stacked with a Moonn Priestess (which also came back out). Forces me to play outside my comfort zone and get some tones which aren't my normal ones.

I do want to start selling unused ones, but then I think about the build quality of my early builds and I can't put that onto another guitarist!

As much as I love my go-to pedal chain, it's nice to force myself to use the oldest unused pedals and get some different sounds. If I hate them, then they should go, but there's not much in that category.
 
I do this every few months. Not much has changed. One pedal that I want to like is the Green Russian…but it just doesn’t sound right to me. The Rainbow Machine is another one…no matter what I do I just find it a boring gimmick, like most hipster pedals (looking at you, Beetronics)…
 
Coda said:
I do this every few months. Not much has changed. One pedal that I want to like is the Green Russian…but it just doesn’t sound right to me. The Rainbow Machine is another one…no matter what I do I just find it a boring gimmick, like most hipster pedals (looking at you, Beetronics)…
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So.....you're saying I need a goatee, suede Doc Martens and a vest over an uncollared button down shirt to play a Beetronics?
 
MichaelW said:
So.....you're saying I need a goatee, suede Doc Martens and a vest over an uncollared button down shirt to play a Beetronics?
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No, but you need to act like a pedal (let’s say the Swarm pedal) is the greatest, most useful thing ever, even though it really only does one thing, and that one thing is really nothing more than a sound effect (siren)…

Add a “limited run” to it and you’d be the King of Brooklyn…
 
Big Monk said:
I'm in the camp that the more refined fuzzes (Fuzz Face, MK II, etc.) don't sound good into clean amps.

If you listen to the recordings that showcase these devices at their best, it's ALWAYS into a dirty amp. They are not so much fuzzes as sustainers. They make the dirty even dirtier and bring out feedback, note bloom, etc.

At least that's my opinion. I don't like these kind of fuzzes into clean amps.
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I completely disagree. Firstly, a Fuzz Face is about as refined as a pile of crude oil. Secondly, the only fuzz that you HAVE to run into a dirty amp is a GE FF…otherwise it’s pretty underwhelming. Fuzz as a boost is an entirely different approach…
 
Big Monk said:
Refined is relative. Compare to the American “garage” fuzzes, the Brit Fuzzes are like fine China as opposed to plastic cutlery. 😂

It’s just my opinion on the clean thing. Fuzz into clean amps is fizzy and gross.
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Sounds like you want a distortion…
 
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