# What’s your favorite PedalPCB fuzz circuit?



## Raspymcnasty (Nov 10, 2021)

I’m trying to decide between fuzz factory, muffin factory, and a couple others but I’m having a hard time choosing. The only fuzzes i have are ehx op amp and a aion 73 rams head. Never tried any other fuzz.

What are your favorite fuzz builds?


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## Matmosphere (Nov 10, 2021)

What kind of sound are you looking for?


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## Big Monk (Nov 10, 2021)

Raspymcnasty said:


> I’m trying to decide between fuzz factory, muffin factory, and a couple others but I’m having a hard time choosing. The only fuzzes i have are ehx op amp and a aion 73 rams head. Never tried any other fuzz.
> 
> What are your favorite fuzz builds?



I consider the Big Muff a distortion. 

I love the Tonebender MK II.


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## SYLV9ST9R (Nov 10, 2021)

I love the Plecostomus (Algal Bloom), been on my board for a while.
I have a Tonebender MKII and a Fuzz Face coming in my queue of builds, so I'll be able to alternate to see which now stays.


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## Big Monk (Nov 10, 2021)

SYLV9ST9R said:


> I have a Tonebender MKII and a Fuzz Face coming in my queue of builds, so I'll be able to alternate to see which now stays.



Hold tight because i'm trying to design a Ge MK II with external Bias controls for Q1 and Q3. I believe I may be able to get it to cop Fuzz Face, MK II and MK 1.5 tones.

If so, I'll ditch my Ge Fuzz Face. Silicon Fuzz Face will always stay. I have had trouble bonding with Ge Fuzz Faces for as long as i can remember building them.


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## BuddytheReow (Nov 10, 2021)

Matmosphere said:


> What kind of sound are you looking for?


THIS. Fuzz is IMO a blanket term like OD or distortion. Muffins and Fuzz Faces are classics and for good reason. Two Sticks of Derm is a good one, but is a one knobber. The Ionizers, Hylian, and Hyped Fuzzes are pretty gnarly if that's the sound you're after. I also liked the Ermagerd. Mantle Fuzz is fun to play around with, but not 100% usable since it doesn't track the best. You may just want to YouTube many of the fuzzes here to see what it is you're looking for, then breadboard it.


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## SYLV9ST9R (Nov 10, 2021)

Big Monk said:


> Hold tight because i'm trying to design a Ge MK II with external Bias controls for Q1 and Q3. I believe I may be able to get it to cop Fuzz Face, MK II and MK 1.5 tones.
> 
> If so, I'll ditch my Ge Fuzz Face. Silicon Fuzz Face will always stay. I have had trouble bonding with Ge Fuzz Faces for as long as i can remember building them.


Already have all my stuff for both, already in the queue


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## Big Monk (Nov 10, 2021)

SYLV9ST9R said:


> Already have all my stuff for both, already in the queue



I'll make a thread about it anyway. No sweat either way. It will use my Universal MK II/Supa/MK 1.5/Fuzz Face boards anyway so i'll try and get thing squared away and have some boards made.


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## Matmosphere (Nov 10, 2021)

personally I think everyone needs a good big muff. 

Tonebenders are generally great, I like the mk2 but the jumbo and super are both fun too. There are a ton of good modern fuzzes. 

Devi Ever made some awesome pedals The Hyperion chief among them. If you want glitchy 8-bit stuff check out Parasit studios or the Shoe Pixel.  

I also like the wooly mammoth more than the fuzz factory. 

And, please don’t hate me but.. it’s really dislike GE fuzz faces and never really tried silicon ones. They sound awesome on those Hendrix records, but I have never liked playing them myself. 


To sum it up… BUILD ALL THE FUZZ (except maybe the fuzz face)


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## Bricksnbeatles (Nov 10, 2021)

My vote is for a Buzzaround. Buzzarounds and Tonebender MK3s are the same basic circuit but with pots in different spots. 

A Buzzaround doesn’t have a regular master volume (though you can add one of course) but does have an additional pot (labeled balance) wired as a voltage divider to control the collector voltage of Q3, and the sustain pot is wired as a voltage divider to control the level before Q3 so you can get some really cool low-gain fuzz tones (unlike the purely resistive sustain control of a normal MK3 Tonebender, which only allows you to go from extremely fuzzy to immensely fuzzy). 
The tone control on a Buzzaround is also a bit less harsh than the typical MK3 configuration in my opinion. 
All around though, the Buzzaround is just a really fantastic sounding and incredibly versatile fuzz box. You may even find that building an NPN silicon version (and of course omit the charge pump) is even more to your liking! 

Everybody should have at least one buzzaround!


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## benny_profane (Nov 10, 2021)

If you find a fuzz face to be to woofy, give a Tonebender MK1.5 a try.


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## chongmagic (Nov 10, 2021)

My vote is to try out Bugg's own Raincoat or the Acid Rain Fuzz. These two are some of my faves, gives you a Siamese Dream fuzz tone.


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## spi (Nov 10, 2021)

I only have 3 fuzzes:  a muff (built to triangle specs), a twin face, and a tonebender mk iii.   
Of these, the muff is my favorite, but I find that I really don't use any of these much.  I don't think I've found a fuzz I love yet, and I suspect there's one out there that I would.

I'm curious to see the results of this thread too.


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## Harry Klippton (Nov 10, 2021)

To add to the confusion, a germanium fuzz face is my favorite, and could be my only pedal


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## fig (Nov 10, 2021)

@chongmagic  +1


*This* Raincoat ...it's magic and cannot be fiddled with. 😵‍💫


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## mdc (Nov 10, 2021)

I love: 
- the megalith for the brutal synthy/square wave stuff it can do
- the tone bender yellow hybrid because I love My Bloody Valentine
- the skreddy lunar module for it's range of usable sounds and really smart design (a fuzz face for people who don't care about fuzz faces)
- the haunting mids v3 for the more-big muff-than big muff vibe
- any/all shin ei companion variants for ear shattering jesus and mary chain sounds
- the EQD black ash for a heavy as heck Si version of a TB MKII


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## thesmokingman (Nov 10, 2021)

my top 3 fuzz (today)
tonebender mkII
superfuzz
fuzz factory

If I had to condense that down to a single project choice, it would be the fuzz factory. It's just so damn versatile.


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## jjjimi84 (Nov 10, 2021)

Get the dung beetle, it is a great all around fuzz that covers a ton of bases.


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## Big Monk (Nov 10, 2021)

I’m having a Love/Hate thing with my Fuzzes right now. 

I need a new amp. My little guy is just too filthy for the fuzzes to sound their best.


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## jeffwhitfield (Nov 10, 2021)

My favorite is always the same: it's the one that hasn't been released yet.


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## djmiyta (Nov 11, 2021)

when I was on one of many fuzz od distortion quest on youtube I also found the Buzzaround the most satisfying and pleasing to me and still yet to build one, I guess that's what tomorrows for!


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## PBWilson1970 (Nov 12, 2021)

I've made a bunch of Big Cheese (CheeseMonger Fuzz) clones for people and I've found it pretty versatile with the rotary switch positions. Tone bypass, mid scoop, mid hump and gated fuzz positions make for lots of usable tones.


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## Danbieranowski (Nov 12, 2021)

My favorites for various reasons:

Arkaim
Uberfuzz
Ionizer
B-side
Parentheses
The list goes on!


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