New fuzz day! Magnetic Effects White Atom

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marqueemoon
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New fuzz day! Magnetic Effects White Atom

Post by marqueemoon » Thu Sep 16, 2021 10:58 pm

In reality I received this last week, but I wanted to spend a little time with it before posting my thoughts.

Image

I had been leaning pretty heavily in the direction of getting some flavor of Tone Bender and specifically an MK1, but this caught my eye and I found a deal on an older 4 knob (single tone control instead of individual treble and bass) and decided to go for it. My reasoning was even it it doesn't scratch the MK1 itch it would be a cool and versatile fuzz.

Well, I was right on both counts. There is a huge range of usable and cool sounds in this pedal. It's very midrange-centric (in a good way) and can do everything from mild overdrive to super gated. It's happy after a buffer and switching is silent. Top jacks and a visible but not eye-searing LED, and once you get the hang of how the controls interact, sounds can be dialed in very quickly. I took it to practice last night and it sat with the rest of the band better than any fuzz I've tried so far while still sounding very much like a fuzz.

What it doesn't do though is scratch the MK1 itch. It just doesn't have that level of razory leading edge to the attack of notes no matter where you set it the gain and texture (bias), and the note decay is just a lot more even and predictable (though not lacking in character).

My favorite use so far has been putting my EQD Bows in front of in in treble booster mode. That introduces a delightful bit of extra chaos, and lopping off the low end before the signal hits the fuzz pushed the sound into a very specific frequency range which I think will work great for stacking behind a cleaner part when recording.

The build quality seems good. My one beef in that department is the knobs. They're set screw which is nice, but they rely on a dinky insert with very little thread engagement and some are a pretty loose fit on the pot shafts, so they work loose pretty easily. I added a single wrap of painter's tape on the pot shafts where the knobs were especially loose, and I guess I can break out the Loctite next, but c'mon. Spend a few more cents and spec decent knobs on your pedal.

If you like the 60's honky midrange thing and are looking for versatility and pedalboard-friendliness in a fuzz this is great. It just lacks that last 5% in the danger/chaos department. That comes with its own set of potential issues though (has to be first, battery-only, no LED, huge enclosure, etc...)

Oh. and as discussed in another thread, there's no cleanup in the "Hendrix clean tone" sense. If you roll back the guitar volume you definitely get less saturation, but the character of the sound doesn't really change (doesn't do that chimey Fuzz Face thing). Not a bad sound at all, but not "cleanup" in the traditional sense.

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Re: New fuzz day! Magnetic Effects White Atom

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Fri Sep 17, 2021 6:54 am

I've had a few of their pedals (had a White Atom and Solar Bender, and currently have a Lonely Robot). They make very solid and well-built pedals. Every one I had worked just fine in any position I put it in, no buffer issues. The only reason I got rid of both the White Atom and Solar Bender is that I wanted something more aggressive sounding. If you like the Tonebender sound (not sure which one it's based on), you might like the Solar Bender too.
Last edited by Shadoweclipse13 on Fri Sep 17, 2021 3:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: New fuzz day! Magnetic Effects White Atom

Post by fuzzjunkie » Fri Sep 17, 2021 9:11 am

Yeah, I love how the Mk-1 cuts through up front and then crumbles at the end. When I first got started with fuzz; I went through all the usual suspects, Big Muff, Fuzz Face, and a lot of them sounded great in isolation or in a 3 piece, but disappeared if the soundscape was dense.

So I was delighted when I found out that my 3 favorite recorded fuzz tones were all made by the same pedal. Hold Tight, Heartful of Soul, and Ziggy Stardust.

There are a few other good examples, but I was searching for a sound and was “okay, that’s the sound, what made it?”

All three were MK-1s. I think the Hold Tight fuzz is actually the same as the Heartful of Soul fuzz, as in the same exact pedal, as they are both missing the same chicken head knob. There weren’t that many made. Ronno’s Mk-1 was a hand me down from Pete Townsend.

All those early fuzz users; Beck, Page, Townsend, wanted more sustain, so they kept moving on to the next pedal that had more gain. I prefer those early primitive fuzz that come blasting in and then fall apart. I’m not David Gilmour with a boosted Big Muff sustaining for days.

I don’t have any experience with the White Atom though. It sounds like a good all around fuzz if you only have one fuzz or don’t require a specific fuzz tone. Just a good solid and consistent one. I just prefer the unpredictable.

Basic Audio makes a number of Fuzzy pedals that have crumbled or grainy decay. I have several and they’re all good. The Fairfield Circuitry Unpleasant Surprise is a winner in the cuts through but is unpredictable category too.

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Re: New fuzz day! Magnetic Effects White Atom

Post by marqueemoon » Fri Sep 17, 2021 10:55 am

Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
Fri Sep 17, 2021 6:54 am
I've had a few of their pedals (had a White Atom and Solar Bender, and currently have a Lonley Robot). They make very solid and well-built pedals. Every one I had worked just fine in any position I put it in, no buffer issues. The only reason I got rid of both the White Atom and Solar Bender is that I wanted something more aggressive sounding. If you like the Tonebender sound (not sure which one it's based on), you might like the Solar Bender too.
I think the Solar Bender is MKII-inspired. That was what I looked at first, actually. I was concerned that it would vanish in a band context as it seem a lot fizzier.

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Re: New fuzz day! Magnetic Effects White Atom

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Fri Sep 17, 2021 5:43 pm

marqueemoon wrote:
Fri Sep 17, 2021 10:55 am
Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
Fri Sep 17, 2021 6:54 am
I've had a few of their pedals (had a White Atom and Solar Bender, and currently have a Lonley Robot). They make very solid and well-built pedals. Every one I had worked just fine in any position I put it in, no buffer issues. The only reason I got rid of both the White Atom and Solar Bender is that I wanted something more aggressive sounding. If you like the Tonebender sound (not sure which one it's based on), you might like the Solar Bender too.
I think the Solar Bender is MKII-inspired. That was what I looked at first, actually. I was concerned that it would vanish in a band context as it seem a lot fizzier.
Sorry, I can't help you with that one. I haven't played music with people in many years. I kinda miss it.
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Re: New fuzz day! Magnetic Effects White Atom

Post by marqueemoon » Fri Sep 17, 2021 6:38 pm

fuzzjunkie wrote:
Fri Sep 17, 2021 9:11 am
I just prefer the unpredictable.
I think this is all ultimately leading down the path to a MK1/Zonk purchase.

I'm still figuring out how fuzz actually fits into the music I do, but it's been a fun process so far.

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Re: New fuzz day! Magnetic Effects White Atom

Post by marqueemoon » Sat Sep 18, 2021 5:45 pm

Oh, and this version has a battery clip in case that’s of interest to anyone.

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Re: New fuzz day! Magnetic Effects White Atom

Post by Veitchy » Sun Sep 19, 2021 3:06 am

A well-paired treble booster and fuzz is a righteous combination.

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Re: New fuzz day! Magnetic Effects White Atom

Post by ElephantDNA » Tue Sep 21, 2021 8:44 am

marqueemoon wrote:
Fri Sep 17, 2021 10:55 am

I think the Solar Bender is MKII-inspired. That was what I looked at first, actually. I was concerned that it would vanish in a band context as it seem a lot fizzier.
Yeah this is always my worry with fuzz pedals. I have a clone of the Mid-Fi Demo Tape fuzz and it's probably one of the best sounding pedals I've ever heard. But I can't use it in a band environment it just gets lost. I already have a variety of fuzzes but none of them was quite getting the job done for me as far as this project. I'm also trying to figure out how to incorporate more fuzz into my music (it's punk so it's not always the right sound) but I really needed more sustain to cut through some sections.

I ended up buying a b-stock Haunted Labs Carolina Reaper: https://cusackmusic.com/products/the-carolina-reaper. Old-school germanium tone was really on my mind with this, and I thought having the boost built in would mean I can add volume to cut through if need be. Turns out the fuzz side is plenty loud on its own and I had no issues cutting through. I had set up the boost side to sound good on my own and it didn't totally translate as far as the band mix for me. I'll need to spend a bit more time dialing that side in.

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Re: New fuzz day! Magnetic Effects White Atom

Post by marqueemoon » Tue Sep 21, 2021 9:26 am

My other fuzzes are a Vick Audio Colorsound 1 knob clone and a Euthymia Crucible (BC109 silicon Fuzz Face-derived). The White Atom definitely works better than those in a band context.

For cut in a band situation nothing beats a Rat though. I’m willing to sacrifice a little crumbly fuzz goodness for that.

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Re: New fuzz day! Magnetic Effects White Atom

Post by JVG » Fri Sep 24, 2021 2:36 am

Veitchy wrote:
Sun Sep 19, 2021 3:06 am
A well-paired treble booster and fuzz is a righteous combination.
100%

When the fuzz starts disappearing in the noise, bung it into a TB!

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