Greg.Bassman Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Why so expensive compared to their other fuzzes? What's so special? How does it compare to the Fat Fuzz Factory? Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 [quote name='Greg.Bassman' timestamp='1449664685' post='2925695'] Why so expensive compared to their other fuzzes? What's so special? [/quote] Good question! This is the inside.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Build one yourself for £35 http://shop.pedalparts.co.uk/Fat_Furry_Freak_-_bass_fuzz_monster_-_board-mounted_pots/p847124_13048100.aspx If you can solder that is Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete_the_beat Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 I bought a clone from an american ebay seller. Sounds just like the real deal. Even with shipping and customs the price was still about half of what the original would have cost me. [url="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bass-fuzz-box-White-Powder-Coat-/141845845303?hash=item2106abd537:g:41QAAOxyDEVSbH3o"]http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bass-fuzz-box-White-Powder-Coat-/141845845303?hash=item2106abd537:g:41QAAOxyDEVSbH3o[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 I built one of the a FuzzDog ones and it's great, huge sounding gates fuzziness! Maybe there's some extra tonal detail from the specific components Zvex uses, but not circa £150 worth in my humble opinion. But then part of what you're paying for is the hand-painted enclosure, and they do have some cool artists. Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 (edited) Well the 'business model' seems to be is to charge very high on basis of reputation. Whether you appreciate the 'novel' aesthetics is a matter of your taste I guess. The circuitry itself is based around a fairly standard transistor fuzz circuit that varies gain and bias levels etc. I think any justification would be in selecting and matching the discrete transistors - I believe that the transistors in the ZVex tend to have their part number etc obscured - but various sites seem to indicate optimum hfe parameters. And other design detail eg the tone circuit values / characteristics. Doesn't seem to justify the big money to me fwiw. Edited December 11, 2015 by rmorris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg.Bassman Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 Agreed rmorris, can't justify the price. What do you make of the clones that are available? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg.Bassman Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 How does it compare to the Fat Fuzz Factory; could the FFF be dialled in to mimic a WM (or as close as)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 [quote name='Greg.Bassman' timestamp='1449831477' post='2927245'] Agreed rmorris, can't justify the price. What do you make of the clones that are available? [/quote] tbh I haven't used a WM or a clone. Not really my thing. So I'll rely on others for opinions on the sound but the clones do generally seem to get the thumbs up from what I hear. But I do know about designing and manufacturing electronics into boxes etc. Zvex seem to be placing a huge premium on the value of their engineering design input - as well as the case artwork - and it just looks all out of scale. I guess that's why the clones can be that much less expensive. It would be interesting to know how many WMs ZVex shift ? On a similar note wasn't there something about charging what seemed like a lot for a blanking plate or similar (or did I imagine that :-?) I remenber that, in the pro audio field, Focusrite sold a rack unit blanking plate at a rather high cost but it was what you needed if you wanted your rack to have a red anodised aluminium plate in keeping with the Focusrite kit, rather than a plain back metal sheet from Studiospares etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottle Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 I built the WM clone a few years ago. Decided it wasn't quite the right effect for me (and it doesn't play nice with active basses either), but YMMV. Still, it was a cool little project to put together. Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg.Bassman Posted December 16, 2015 Author Share Posted December 16, 2015 Just spotted the Zvex WM 'Vexter'. Same sound. The simpler paint job means that they shave about a 100 off the top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazWills Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 I think I read that most of the crazy price is due to it not being a ZVEX design, so they pay the circuit designer commission on each one sold? Tried one, definitely not for me, but can see how in the right context some players would dig it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg.Bassman Posted December 17, 2015 Author Share Posted December 17, 2015 (edited) Hi Gazwills. Mmm, interesting, where did you read this? I'd certainly like to know more. Can anyone else confirm this idea? Edited December 17, 2015 by Greg.Bassman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pantherairsoft Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 IMO the ZVEX Mastotron is the way to go. It dials in an almost identical sound to the Mammoth, that 'gate open' tone sounds better than the mammoth, and it has impedance control so it works just as well with active basses (an important feature IME as the mammoth plus active bass = horrid). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazWills Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 may have read about the monies thing on talkbass... does it really matter why it's dear though? as has been said, mastotron gets you there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 [quote name='Greg.Bassman' timestamp='1450293582' post='2931487'] Just spotted the Zvex WM 'Vexter'. Same sound. The simpler paint job means that they shave about a 100 off the top. [/quote] yeah - I think it's even more than that - £120 ? from memory - it's on the website anyway. I'd definitely rather have that money in my pocket than the hand painted graphic ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubbersoul Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 I just ordered this a couple of days ago : https://youtu.be/p1Y7kQ5aV8I It seems to be a straight clone of the Zvex and the demos sound brilliant. £32 delivered seems pretty good. Will let you know how it sounds in real life when it arrives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubbersoul Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 [color=#141823][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]My new fuzz pedal arrived this morning. Holy sh*t it's epic! All the fuzzy goodness you could want without sucking the low end out of the bass the way my Big Muff (guitar version) does. Vicious! Have only been able to play it through the computer interface so far, can't wait to hear it through my full amp. Smiley faces all round [/font][/color][i][u]smile emoticon[/u][/i] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidder652003 Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNe6J5v2OGc&nohtml5=False i cant hear any difference! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 Thanks for that ^^^ Off the back of that video I just bought the Little Bear on eBay! Loved the Woolly Mammoth, despised the price tag. For £20 odd, I'll give it a go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg.Bassman Posted April 13, 2016 Author Share Posted April 13, 2016 Amazing lads. Will have a look myself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 20, 2016 Share Posted April 20, 2016 The BS1 is now with me Its a cool little (well, quite big actually) pedal. I owned a Woolly Mammoth so long ago I can't quite remember it, but this does a decent impression. From memory the Gate is nowhere near as tight as the Mammoth could get, but other than that it seems like a faithful clone. Build quality is quite nice, footswitch could be quieter but the knobs/pots feel high quality. Had to take off the battery assembly at the bottom to get it flat enough for pedalboard use but thats not much of an issue. Buying a battery for it would nearly cost as much as the pedal did But yes, other than it being a little oversized, a slightly poppy footswitch and a softer gate than its master, I can't complain too much at all Lows are THUNDEROUS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe_T Posted May 1, 2016 Share Posted May 1, 2016 (edited) I've been using a WM for a year or two now, and just picked up a BS-1 a few days ago - out of curiosity an that fact that it was only 20 quid! It's definitely worth a go! Like Kev mentioned above the Pinch control doesn't work quite as well/get as tight but otherwise it makes the right noise. You can definitely hear the price difference between the two when you compare them but the Little Bear is a really good alternative if you want to save £100+! I'm wondering what experiences any of you other WM guys have had with putting it behind other pedals? It seems to be standard practice not to put Boss or other buffered pedals before them so that the impedance isn't lowered - does only having true-bypass pedals before the WM make any difference? I usually use an OC-2 before the WM but I'm considering switching it out for the Octamizer. Edited May 1, 2016 by Joe_T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted May 1, 2016 Share Posted May 1, 2016 (edited) Any electronics that are in the signal chain before the WM will cause issues. Basically, if all power is off on your board and you still have a bypassed signal coming through, it is fine to be before the WM. Buffered bypass, active electronics (pickups or preamp) and, obviously, any engaged pedal will seriously reduce the usability of the sound. To more directly answer the question, the pedal does not need to be true bypass, but it does need to be mechanical and not powered. The boss OC-2 will interfere in bypass, but any true bypass alternative would not. Although, I usually have octaves after the WM, as tracking is usually fine and you avoid ruining the WMs tone with an active signal. Edited May 1, 2016 by Kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted May 1, 2016 Share Posted May 1, 2016 I've built a couple of WM clones (cost less than a tenner each time) and I loved playing with them at home, but just not obnoxious enough for my live sound - the fuzz is a bit too 'polite' for my liking. There's no accounting for taste though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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