What would be a good old school fuzz for shoegaze

[fuzzjunkie]

What about octave fuzz? Would that be a option?

The Superfuzz isn’t an Octavia, but it has an obvious octave component to its sound. I would consider it an octave fuzz.

The Shin Ei FY-2/Companion fuzz can get a less pronounced octave at certain settings. I wouldn’t call it an octave fuzz, but it’s capable of producing an octave effect.

[budda12ax7]

Boss HyperFuzz.....

OP Amp muff


DOD 80's American Metal -the purple pedal. (this is a fuzz, close to a Muff in my opinion)

[Soniqfreq]

All of them.

[hulakatt]

The Big Muff is the "too obvious" answer for shoegaze.

Nothing you can't do with a Fuzz Face.

I'mma go out on a limb and suggest a Shin Ei FY-2 fuzz clone. Kinda like a more manageable Superfuzz. Or maybe if the Superfuzz was a mostly normal fuzz with just a hint of octave. Don't worry, still gnarly.

[MrShake]

The Big Muff is the "too obvious" answer for shoegaze.

Nothing you can't do with a Fuzz Face.

I'mma go out on a limb and suggest a Shin Ei FY-2 fuzz clone. Kinda like a more manageable Superfuzz. Or maybe if the Superfuzz was a mostly normal fuzz with just a hint of octave. Don't worry, still gnarly.

I'd suggest a Muff with a mids/Tone Bypass switch to start.

Love the FY-2 suggestion, and may I add finding a Silicon Fuzzrite clone that has the switch on it to pull some component in and out? Classic Fuzzrite is one mode, and the other actually would get you really close to an FY-2. I have clones of both, and they're not identical, but pedals with two distinct modes often means more bang for one's buck.

And the people previous have made some good suggestions, for sure. I like a Rat into either a Russian Muff or Superfuzz, sometimes with a reverb in front of them. The sky's your limit, and don't be afraid of cheap stuff. Once you're dealing in pure sound, anything is an option.

[del]

The Shin Ei fuzz was something the Jesus and Mary Chain or Echo and the Bunnymen used, but I don’t recall it being popular with shoegazers even though both those bands were heavy influencers.

I plan making music like Jesus and the Mary Chain as well I guess I can’t really say shoegaze if the stuff I’m making kinda lies more in the early grunge territory or experimental alt

From this response and your original query about buying a kit from General Guitar Gadgets…

Go for the Shin Ei fuzz kit!
Building this will be fun a give you a pretty wild fuzz. Then you can easily buy an inexpensive muff or rat clone to add to your setup.

[Alex!]

[

From this response and your original query about buying a kit from General Guitar Gadgets…

Go for the Shin Ei fuzz kit!
Building this will be fun a give you a pretty wild fuzz. Then you can easily buy an inexpensive muff or rat clone to add to your setup.

Your probably right and that’s what I was heavy on so I’m gonna do it
And I already have a muff and rat on my board

[Alex!]

What about the Foxx tone machine, would that be an option? (Like is it good or bad?)

[fuzzjunkie]

What about the Foxx tone machine, would that be an option? (Like is it good or bad?)

The Tone Machine is a thick sounding fuzz with a prominent octave. While similar in concept to the Superfuzz, the fuzz isn’t a buzz saw. It’s closer to an IC Big Muff. It’s warmer sounding though and doesn’t have the mid-scoop that a Big Muff has.

That’s possibly to compensate for the octave effect, which is switchable, unlike the Superfuzz where it’s part of the foundation tone. That’s one reason I prefer the Tone Machine to the Superfuzz. The fuzz alone sounds great and is more controlled than the Superfuzz. The Superfuzz is a chaotic buzzsaw. It depends on which character you prefer because they’re both great pedals.

The octave effect is basically a Dan Armstrong Green Ringer clone, which is one of the better octave circuits. When I saw prominent, I mean it can clearly track all over the neck, whereas some of the others are best between the 7th - 15th frets with the tone rolled down.

Adrian Belew and Peter Frampton both used the Tone Machine quite a lot. I don’t know of anyone currently playing them. The Superfuzz seems to be more popular at the moment.

[hulakatt]

The Superfuzz is chaos, the Superfuzz is Keith Moon in a pedal.

The fOXX Tone Machine is more like a octave up muff. It's soft but kinda predictable and almost a little boring. I sold mine.

[MrShake]

Your probably right and that’s what I was heavy on so I’m gonna do it
And I already have a muff and rat on my board

A FY-2 kit from GGG was one of my first pedal kit builds, and it was totally worth it. It's awesome, and still one of my favorite, gnarliest sounds. Do it and have fun building it and enjoy the chainsaw rev!

[Dr Tony Balls]

Go full on "Nothing's Shocking" shoegaze.

[Alex!]

Go full on "Nothing's Shocking" shoegaze.

No offense guys,I HATE the DS-1 Hate it with a passion!

[hulakatt]

That's too bad, it really sounds pretty good once you run it through a good amp. I maintain it gets a bad rep mostly because it's one of the first pedals people ever get and they run it through a cheap, beginner amp with a cheap guitar and it's sounds... cheap. But, run it through and large and beefy amp with a solid guitar and it sounds pretty monster.

[MrShake]

Go full on "Nothing's Shocking" shoegaze.

The Doctor, as always, has the prescription. It might not be the medicine they want, but maybe it's what they need? Nothing's Shocking is so, so good. As is a DS-1 through a big, authoritative amp. When I do punky demos, its 4 quad-tracked rhythm guitars panned a bit. Two humbucker tracks, two single coil, as tight as I can match them. All through the same DS-1 settings. It turns into a bulldozer of crunchy guitar.

But I'm biased, I've been playing an MP-1 into a Quadraverb all week. Tight, high gain shoegaze is dreamy.

Seriously, though, OP - build yourself the FY-2, you won't regret it. And as long as you've already got "sustainy drive" to compliment the raw bark of the GGG, the sky's the limit.