best fuzz pedal for stoner rock

THESE 5 Best Fuzz Pedal For Stoner Rock & Doom Guitar Rigs

Updated on April 1, 2022 by Dan Harper

A lot of individuals view fuzz as the grandfather of grit. It is among the oldest and most appealing guitar effects and possibly the simplest. However, they are not easy to choose as there are a number of available options. These range from stylish boutique boxes with plenty of tones and knobs to simple, vintage reissues.

Quick Links To Our Best Fuzz Pedal For Stone Rock Recommendations

Choosing the right stompbox for yourself can mean the difference between cutting through with a daring, creamy goodness and getting lost in a mix.

Below is a listing of the best fuzz pedal for stoner rock:

Our Stoner Rock Fuzz Reviews

JHS Muffuletta Fuzz Guitar Effects Pedal

This pedal combines sounds that are directly inspired by 5 preferred Big Muff pedals; however, it goes further to add unique JHS interpretation for six varieties of muff flavors in a single pedal. The expensive cost and maintenance of vintage units makes it a challenge for the modern guitar player to have full access to the variety of classic Muff tones. Thankfully, JHS is designed to cover modern guitarists with this product, which is intended for studio work and rugged modern touring. You can rarely get a single pedal that is 6 impressive pedals in a small format and sounds remarkable and has no digital emulation. It also weighs next to nothing and is extremely easy to use.

The 5 classic Big Muff voices featured on the stomper are the Russian, the Civil War, the ’73 Ram Head, the Triangle and the Pi. These cover a wide range of fuzz tones; however, JHS added a sixth voice – the JHS 2015. This delivers a fuzz that ramps up the power, cuts back on compression and supplies plenty of mids. The combination of a pedalboard-friendly enclosure and an uncomplicated control system makes this a huge winner.

Pros:

  • The distortion on this pedal is always well-balanced without being too grimy.
  • You can use it for soloing and rhythm playing with great success.
  • Great bassy tones that sound great with both clean and dirty guitars.

Cons:

  • It can be a little difficult to dial in the tone you want.

Our Rating –
5/5


Check For The Current Price On The JHS Muffuletta Fuzz Guitar Effects Pedal

EarthQuaker Devices Hoof Germanium/Silicon Hybrid Fuzz Guitar Effects Pedal

EarthQuaker Devices are responsible for making some of the top stompboxes available and since its inception, the Hoof has been a major fan favorite. It is modeled after the renowned vintage green Russian Big Muff Pi; however, referring to it as a “clone” would definitely be a mistake. This is because it has a set of interdependent controls and has the capacity to produce much more remarkable versatility and depth.

Among the countless Muff clones currently available, this one stands out among the competition. It perfectly embodies the harmonics-rich and creamy sound of the Sovtek Muff; however, its germanium-silicon hybrid design provides a much broader band of tones. Alt-rock and 90s grunge are done very well on the Hoof, yet it also delivers the punchiness and bite for modern sounds.

That versatility shines through the four controls of the Hoof, namely the tone, stoner fuzz, level and shift. The shift is what really sets the pedal apart. It allows you to tweak the middle frequencies, moving from boosted to classic scooped. The tone knob and shift work in tandem, with the shift setting the center frequency of the tone knob. The level and controls also work well together with your guitars.

Pros:

  • Excellent for stoner rock, doom stoner metal, or psychedelia.
  • Compact pedal design with a vintage look and sound.

Cons:

  • Lacks a bit of low end.

Our Rating –
4.5/5


Check For The Current Price On The EarthQuaker Devices Hoof Germanium

Boss FZ-5

This pedal packs two exceptional fuzzes into a compact unit, all while boosting up stoner doom type gain. There are three modes in this distortion effect, namely Gain Boost, Fuzz 1 and Fuzz 2. Gain boost is engaged when amp distortion is used together with the FZ-5. To get a “booming” sound, option1 is used and to get a treble sound, option 2 is used. This pedal attempts to produce a classic fuzz sound that resonates the 1960s and 1970s; however, it has the potential to produce a grunge-like sound.

To Produce a Classic Sound

This provides a vintage tone with lots of distortion and harmonics. By selecting the front pickup and lowering the tone of the guitar, you will be able to produce the effect of a ring modulation.

To Create In-your-face Grunge Tones

To create an awesome grunge sound, the FZ-5 must be in Fuzz 2 mode and the gain and treble tone must be set to maximum.

Using FZ-5 as a Treble Booster

To do this, the FZ-5 is to be set to the gain boost mode, placed in front of an amplifier and another distortion unit to produce a powerful distortion tone.

Pros:

  • Pretty chunky gain-y sound.
  • Good for rock and hard rock.

Cons:

  • Sometimes I find it a little too high on the treble side, which can give your tone a little out of control feeling. Switching up the guitar’s pickups can help if that’s an issue.

Our Rating –
4.5/5


Check For The Current Price On The FZ-5

Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi

Sometimes also referred to as the V4 or IC Big Muff, the original circuitry of the Electro-Harmonix has been re-created authentically while adding a number of practical enhancements. These include true bypass switching and a compact, die-cast chassis.

Mike Matthews, who is the founder of Electro-Harmonix, credits Billy Corgan for popularizing the Op-Amp Big Muff. Corgan initially used the pedal in 1993, on Siamese Dream, the epic album of Smashing Pumpkins. After being videotaped talking about and playing the reissue, Corgan declares that the magic is still in the box and he was still able to get what he was looking for.

In place of transistors, the pedal depend on op-amps and 3 gain stages instead of 4 to produce its signature sound. It is a sound that has been described as a vast, crushing Big Muff sound that provides more crunch. It is remarkable for heavy leads, heavy rhythm playing and grungy, wall-of-sound distortion.

It features standard controls Volume, Sustain and Tone. In addition, there is a tone toggle switch that is designed to bypass the tone circuit. The Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi comes outfitted with a 9V battery or there is the option of being powered by a 9-volt AC adapter.

Pros:

  • Legendary fuzz tone.
  • Excellent full sound.

Cons:

  • Not quite as heavy fuzz as some other models of this pedal or amps that are designed specifically for it. This is both a pro and a con. The sound quality is excellent, but the Fuzz is just not quite heavy enough to compete with some others designs.

Our Rating –
4/5


Check For The Current Price On The Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi

Way Huge Swollen Pickle Fuzz

With a mix of heavy bandpass filters and high-gain fuzz, this stoner rock stomper has the capacity of producing stinging drive tones. These guitar pedals allow you to sculpt tone with its 3 main controls of sustain, filter and loudness. Loudness allows you to crank up the Swollen Pickle to impressive levels. The Filter will satisfy the need for glitched-out drive, while Sustain delivers doomsday fuzz levels. However, to tame the Swollen Pickle, you will be able to modify the compression intensity with the crunch mini knob.

If you would like to dig further into the tone, taking the Swollen Pickle apart will reveal voice and clip, which are 2 internal mini controls. The voice controls the mid-cut intensity of the external mini scoop knob, while the clip provides two choices of clipping diode: opened fuzz and smooth sustain.

Synth players find the Swollen Pickle especially impressive as it sounds remarkable when a synthesizer runs through it. The filter knob is extremely helpful for smoothing low end frequencies out if they get excessively harsh. It is a remarkable option for those who would like that additional bite to their sound.

Pros:

  • Huge, deep, and rumbly tone.
  • Extreme construction quality that you would expect from a boutique pedal company.
  • Sounds awesome paired with reverb.

Cons:

  • Expensive.

Our Rating –
4/5


Check For The Current Price On The Way Huge Swollen Pickle Fuzz

What To Look For In A Fuzz Pedal To Play Stoner Rock

Finding the right fuzz pedal can be a daunting task with so many manufacturers competing for your attention. If you’re going to be playing in a Stoner Rock or Doom metal band, then you need to know what to look for in a good fuzz pedal. This section seeks to provide insights and advice on what type of fuzz sound is best suited for this style of music, as well as the differences between two main types of guitar distortion pedals – fuzzboxes and volume-driven overdrive guitar effects pedals.

Let’s get this bit out of the way first – to play Stoner Rock or Doom metal, you’re going to need a fuzz pedal. You might think that any old distortion pedal will do, but they just don’t create the right type of guitar tone for this music. There are three main sub-genres of Stoner Rock and Doom metal – Classic, Vintage and Modern. Each sub-genre has its own distinct sound that defines the music.

The Classic sound is a very big, fuzzy and guttural guitar tone with a rich mid-range. It’s a thick tone that has bags of sustain and would be great for playing riffs that have large melodic ideas incorporated in them as well as chord work with large intervals.

The Vintage tone is slightly different to the Classic sound, but it retains the rich mid-range of the Classic tone. What makes it different though is that it’s brighter in tone, with a more prominent high-end and less low end. This makes it perfect for playing lead parts with a lot of melody.

The Modern sound is fairly similar to the Vintage sound in that it retains a similar tone and feel, but tones down the brightness to make way for more clarity and definition. It’s a great tone for playing parts that require fast and aggressive playing.

So, what type of fuzz pedal should you buy? Well, you’re going to have to buy a fuzzbox if you want to play Stoner Rock or Doom metal.  TC Electronic has some excellent options too.

Fuzz Pedals For Stoner Rock Conclusion

If the overdrive on your guitars is not quite giving you what you want and the stoner rock distortion is not really hitting the spot, getting a fuzz pedal could be exactly what you are seeking. While overdrive produces quite a subtle gain boost, distortion saturates the signal of your guitar by adding high distortion. The top fuzz pedal takes the signal and radically change the original sound into something almost unrecognizable. These remarkable pedals can create violin-like sustain, providing the guitar licks with deserving power. With the information you now have, you can make an informed choice of the top fuzz pedals for stoner doom rock.

Still need more info?  What are fuzz pedals used for?

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