Part of the issue is going to be how you define what is and isn't a fuzz. SOME PEOPLE are going to insist that a Big Muff isn't a fuzz because the diodes are in the negative feedback loop. But it sounds like a fuzz, it acts like a fuzz, and people generally call it one. So I'm going to call it one too. It does chords. The Swollen Pickle MKII is the best BMP derivative I've ever used, and it easily handles open position chords.commathe wrote:I would love to build a fuzz that can handle chords! Any thing that's been traced you could point me towards? Though I do like playing major seconds with a fuzz that can't handle it and getting that very aggressive beating sound.astrobass wrote:Lots and lots of fuzz pedals can handle chords quite well. Please don't presume that I don't know what a fuzz pedal is.
The Fuzz Face (silicon or germanium) and just about all of the related circuits (the ones I've heard anyways) all handle chords nicely too. That includes the D*A*M Meathead.
You're going to get some beating, but with those it's mild and creates a pleasant bit of texture. Those are the obvious examples anyways. The BMP and FF are super easy builds with tons of build guides and info available all over the place.
I've found that my Superfuzz build doesn't like chords as much. But I'm not sure it's representative. My Bloody Valentine used basically the same effect (I believe they used the Shin-Ei version of the same circuit), and they were playing full chords too. So that's probably a flaw in mine.