I just got a BSM fuzzbender for a really good deal and am sad to say that i have some issues with it. For those who don't know, it's basically a vintage fuzz face and a vox/solasound tonebender clone in one pedal. I play it with two guitars, a Gibson Les Paul Special (p90s) and a Silvertone 1457 (lipstick Dano pickups). The pedal sounds good with my 1457 but with my Special it sounds wierd, sorta like i'm playing on the neck pickup even though its on the bridge with the treble up. It sounds like this on both settings (FF & TB) but a little more with the FuzzFace mode. On my thin sounding 1457 bridge pickup is really where this pedal shines, sounds very vintage and good for all styles of music really, it doesn't kill tone like other fuzz pedals....*cough cough*...big muff....*cough cough*. BUT on my Special it sounds too creamy for rhythm playing and muddy..and sorta too bassy.
My other issue is the fact that this pedal does not like my TS808 at all (my ts808 RI is a staple in my rig..especially cuz i only use 3 pedals). Whether it's infront of it, behind it, a pedal away, just having the ts808 with it makes it sounds horrible even when in bypass mode.
I'm thinkin of trading my ts808 for a Maxon OD-9 just because the od-9 has true bypass. Will this help my little problem here?
Is the OD9 the only tubescreamer that has true bypass?
BSM Fuzzbender issues...He don't like my ts808.
Moderated By: mods
The buffer from the TS might be the issue - I know my Fuzz Face doesn't work AT ALL if it's after a buffer.
Have you tried turning down the volume on the guitar? A standard Fuzz Face will get brighter and clearer the less volume it's fed, even if the guitar itself is dark sounding.
The Fuzz Face circuit is basically a treble booster designed so that the transistors are purposefully mis-biased. Lowering the guitar volume starts to gradually re-bias the circuit, causing it to act more as a treble booster with a fuzzy edge.
With the Tonebender, you might not be able to get a clear sound. It's really designed for the sustaining "woman tone" shtick.
Have you tried turning down the volume on the guitar? A standard Fuzz Face will get brighter and clearer the less volume it's fed, even if the guitar itself is dark sounding.
The Fuzz Face circuit is basically a treble booster designed so that the transistors are purposefully mis-biased. Lowering the guitar volume starts to gradually re-bias the circuit, causing it to act more as a treble booster with a fuzzy edge.
With the Tonebender, you might not be able to get a clear sound. It's really designed for the sustaining "woman tone" shtick.
Lowering the volume does help. Also, I'm not too clear on what a buffer is, but does this mean that a tru bypass tubescreamer would give me the same result?DuoSonicBoy wrote:The buffer from the TS might be the issue - I know my Fuzz Face doesn't work AT ALL if it's after a buffer.
Have you tried turning down the volume on the guitar? A standard Fuzz Face will get brighter and clearer the less volume it's fed, even if the guitar itself is dark sounding.
The Fuzz Face circuit is basically a treble booster designed so that the transistors are purposefully mis-biased. Lowering the guitar volume starts to gradually re-bias the circuit, causing it to act more as a treble booster with a fuzzy edge.
With the Tonebender, you might not be able to get a clear sound. It's really designed for the sustaining "woman tone" shtick.
Most effects today are either "True Bypass" - usually having a switch like this:
With true bypass, the input and output are mechanically connected so that none of the circuitry can interfere with the signal.
Or they can be "Buffered Bypass", like Boss, Ibanez, Digitech, etc.
With buffered bypass the effect has a buffer component (basically a booster set to zero gain) and the effect itself. An electronic switch determines whether the effect portion is on or off while leaving the buffer permanently connected. Since the buffer is always connected, there is no pop or noise in switching, but the tone is always effected by the buffer. As a benefit, the buffer also converts the signal to low impedance, allowing less noise and signal loss through long cables.
This causes problems with the Fuzz Face because the FF assumes a high impedance input (like a guitar). When driven by low impedance, the transistors no longer identify the input as a currant source, and therefore do not saturate and create fuzz or, in some cases, amplify at all. Most "vintage" 60s effects are like this, since they were designed in a time when using more then 1 effect was unheard of and most players only connected the effect for the songs which required it.
Short Answer: a true bypass effect should not interfere with the Fuzz Face, but there's a difference between theory and practice. My best advice is to take the fuzz with you to the store and see for yourself.
With true bypass, the input and output are mechanically connected so that none of the circuitry can interfere with the signal.
Or they can be "Buffered Bypass", like Boss, Ibanez, Digitech, etc.
With buffered bypass the effect has a buffer component (basically a booster set to zero gain) and the effect itself. An electronic switch determines whether the effect portion is on or off while leaving the buffer permanently connected. Since the buffer is always connected, there is no pop or noise in switching, but the tone is always effected by the buffer. As a benefit, the buffer also converts the signal to low impedance, allowing less noise and signal loss through long cables.
This causes problems with the Fuzz Face because the FF assumes a high impedance input (like a guitar). When driven by low impedance, the transistors no longer identify the input as a currant source, and therefore do not saturate and create fuzz or, in some cases, amplify at all. Most "vintage" 60s effects are like this, since they were designed in a time when using more then 1 effect was unheard of and most players only connected the effect for the songs which required it.
Short Answer: a true bypass effect should not interfere with the Fuzz Face, but there's a difference between theory and practice. My best advice is to take the fuzz with you to the store and see for yourself.
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Fran
- The Curmudgeon
- Posts: 22219
- Joined: Thu Apr 20, 2006 5:53 am
- Location: Nottingham, Englandshire.
Fuzz Pedals are weird creatures. Firstly, they usually are not humbucker friendly. Secondly, you need to rethink the order of your FX chain and try different combinations, different volume settings between gain pedals or even different pedals to find the winning combination. Its not like Boss pedals where it all just works instantly.
Its worth it in the end though.
Its worth it in the end though.