BC108 and BC183 Silicon fuzz pedals

L

lqdsnddist

Axe-Master
Spent some time a/b'ing my SolidGold If 6 was 9 BC108CS and BC108 fuzz boxes with the Axe drive blocks. I've been able to dial in two drive blocks, one for each transistor type, which with my guitar (using Armstrong lipstick pickups) matches the tones close enough I couldn't tell if I was playing the stompbox or the drive block. Your mileage may of course vary depending on your guitar and pickups....

You need to roll the volume pot down to about half with the Axe drives to simulate the same cleanup of the hardware fuzz with the volume backed off to just about 8 or 9. Si fuzz isn't really known for sparkling clean-up but with these drive block settings there is a decent amount of tonal range with just the volume pot. Might want to set up a second scene with a touch more volume/brightness to fully match it perfectly, but I didn't really want to go into needing 2 scenes.

Anyways, 2 drive blocks, one with the slightly warmer/woofer BC183 Si tranny, and the other with the more aggressive BC108, with a Plexi amp block.

Created on an Axe II mkII, FW Q6.01

Let me know what you think

DL link http://axechange.fractalaudio.com/detail.php?preset=5040
 
This is awesome, thank you--I'd love to check this out! I just got a FX8 and am in the process of matching my existing pedals as you have done. However, since I have the FX8 I'm unable to use the Axe-Fx II .syx file type. If it's not inconvenient and you have an opportunity, would you consider sharing the .blk files of the 2 drive blocks? I'll keep in mind that these were done with the Plexi amp. My Trademark 60 4x10 amp can get super super close to a Bassman and Lumpy's Liquid Lead pedal (MIAB treble channel '68 superlead), so hopefully your drives will be a nice fit!
 
McQ7 said:
This is awesome, thank you--I'd love to check this out! I just got a FX8 and am in the process of matching my existing pedals as you have done. However, since I have the FX8 I'm unable to use the Axe-Fx II .syx file type. If it's not inconvenient and you have an opportunity, would you consider sharing the .blk files of the 2 drive blocks? I'll keep in mind that these were done with the Plexi amp. My Trademark 60 4x10 amp can get super super close to a Bassman and Lumpy's Liquid Lead pedal (MIAB treble channel '68 superlead), so hopefully your drives will be a nice fit!
Click to expand...

I saved the two blocks in Axe Edit. Here they are:
 

Attachments

  • BC108 Fuzz_20170111_134711.blk
    214 bytes · Views: 13
  • BC183 Si Fuzz_20170111_134616.blk
    217 bytes · Views: 11
Wow, that was quick--thanks! I had the chance to try them out on my lunch break (benefits of working super close to home), and these are truly inspiring fuzz blocks! I used a Tele bridge pup into the amp set to edge of breakup, and the "Time" solo immediately jumped out of my guitar. I think I was using the BC183 Si block for that...whichever one used the Bender as the platform. It was just killer for the like 5 minutes I stole to try it. Really looking forward to spending more time with these.

I know some members are a bit reluctant to share blocks, citing different amps, guitars, but honestly having blocks matched to pedals like this is so extremely helpful for someone like me who wants to be able to dig deep into the FX8 but also wants amazing drive tones just like I bought a new pedal. For me that's some of the major value of the FX8 unit: being able to "make your own clone" and build a huge pedal block library, rather than spend the countless dollars and take up all the space with physical pedals. These fuzz blocks show that it's possible, useful, inspiring, and gratifying.

With your permission @lqdsnddist, I'd like to add these to the FX8 preset library thread.
 
Thanks, glad you guys like them. I was getting a little worried everyone must of thought they sucked, or that no one here has any interest in fuzz boxes (who doesn't love fuzz though....?) since no one responded for about 2 weeks after posting.

Fuzz is a tricky sound, sometimes it can sound great, sometimes it can sound muddy, or harsh etc. Seems to depend a bit on the riff your playing, guitar volume knob/pickup output etc. I usually will try to A/B with the hardware pedals for a bit, then come back and try the patch out with fresh ears. Sometimes I think it sounds awesome, sometimes I think it doesn't quite nail the tone in my head, BUT, then I'd grab the hardware pedal and sure enough, it 1) sounds just like the patch and 2) doesn't always nail the tone in my head either. So how's that for accurate...? lol

With the right riffs though, I find these two drive blocks give a very accurate Si fuzz tone true to the real pedal. I in fact sold the pedals as I didn't see a need anymore.

Feel free to add them to the preset library thread!

Cheers
 
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