Fuzz bass

Fuzz bass

String instrument
Classification	String instrument(fingeredorpickedorstrummed)
Developed	1960s
Timbre	fuzz,distortion
Related instruments
Electric bass
Sound sample

The first known musical recording to use the fuzz bass wasMarty Robbins's 1961 song "Don't Worry".

Paul McCartney,in one of the earliest uses of the fuzz bass, played the guitar on the 1965Beatlessong "Think for Yourself"from their albumRubber Soul.

Bill Wymanin one of the earliest uses of this type of guitar played with a growling fuzz bass tone on the 1966Rolling Stonessong "Under My Thumb"from their albumAftermath.

Fuzz bassis a style of playing theelectric bassor modifying its signal that produces a buzzy,distorted,overdriven sound, as the name implies. Overdriving a bass signal significantly changes the timbre, adds higher overtones (harmonics), increases the sustain, and, if thegainis turned up high enough, creates a "breaking up" sound characterized by a growling, buzzy tone.

One of the earliest examples may be the 1961Marty RobbinsCountry and Western song "Don't Worry."By the mid- to late-1960s, a number of bands began to list "fuzz bass" in addition to "electric bass" on their album credits. Two well-known examples are theBeatles' 1965 song "Think for Yourself"(fromRubber Soul), which marked the first instance of abass guitarbeing recorded through a distortion unit,and the 1966Rolling Stonessong "Under My Thumb".Album or performance credits for fuzz bass can be found from every decade since then (see examples below).

Fuzz bass can be produced by overloading abass amp's tube or transistor preamplifier, by using a bass fuzz or bass overdrive effect pedal, or for the most powerful effect, by combining both approaches. In the 1960s and early 1970s fuzz bass was associated with thepsychedelic music(e.g.,Edgar Broughton Band),progressive rock(e.g.,Genesis), andpsychedelic soul/funk(e.g.,Sly and the Family Stone) styles, and it tended to be a "warmer", "smoother", and "softer" overdrive-type sound caused by soft, symmetrical clipping of the audio signal that "round[ed] off the signal peaks rather than razor-slicing"them and filtered out the harsher high harmonics.

In the 1980s and 1990s, overdriven bass tended to be associated withhardcore punk(e.g.,Stormtroopers of Death),death metal(e.g.,Mortician),grindcore(e.g.,Napalm Death) andIndustrialbands (e.g.,Ministry), and the tone tended to be heavier, more metallic and more grinding. This is achieved by hard clipping of the bass signal, which leaves in "harsher high harmonics that can result in sounds that are heard as jagged and spiky."Fuzz bass has been used by indie, alternative rock and hard rock bands such asMuseandRoyal Blood.

Approaches

In the context of electric guitars, the terms "distortion", "overdrive" and "fuzz" are often used interchangeably, but they have subtle differences in meaning.

• Overdrive effects are the mildest of the three, producing "warm" natural overtones at quieter volumes and harsher distortion as gain is increased. The best quality overdrive effects respond to how hard the bassist picks or plucks the bass, producing little or no distortion when the instrument is played quietly, but gradually adding overdrive as the instrument is played harder.
• A "distortion" effect produces approximately the same amount of distortion at any volume, and its sound alterations are much more pronounced and intense.
• Afuzzbox(or "fuzz box” ) alters an audio signal until it is nearly asquare waveand adds complex overtones by way of afrequency multiplier.

Waveform plot showing the different types of clipping. Tube overdrive is a form of soft limiting, while transistor clipping or extremely overdriven tube amps resemble hard clipping.

A fuzz bass sound can be created by turning up the volume of atube ampor transistor amp to the point that preamplifier tube (or transistor preamp)clipping"occurs. In practice, when a bass amp is" cranked "to its maximum volume, the fuzz tone will also include some power amplifier clipping. While some musicians seek out the additional" grit "provided by power amp clipping,audio engineersandbass techniciansrecommend avoiding power amp clipping, as it can blow speakers.

Fuzz bass can be produced by using an electric guitar fuzz, distortion or overdrive pedal. The downside of using a pedal designed for the electric guitar is that the lower-end bass tone is mostly lost when the signal is heavily clipped.

Clipping is a form of waveform distortion that occurs when an amplifier is overdriven and attempts to deliver an output voltage or current beyond its maximum capability. Driving an amplifier into clipping may cause it to output power in excess of its published ratings. Clipping is anon-linearprocess that producesfrequenciesnot originally present in theaudio signal.

These frequencies can either be "harmonic",meaning they are whole number multiples of the signal's original frequencies, or" inharmonic ", meaningdissonantodd-order overtones.Harmonic distortionproduces harmonically related overtones whileintermodulation distortionproduces inharmonic overtones."Soft clipping" gradually flattens the peaks of a signal and de-emphasizes higher oddharmonics."Hard clipping" flattens peaks abruptly, resulting in harsh-sounding, highamplitudeodd harmonics.

Since the late 1980s, manufacturers have been producing bass overdrive pedals specifically designed for the electric bass, and in many cases they found a way to keep the low fundamental pitch in along with the buzzy overdrive tone. One early model was the Ibanez "Bass Stack" bass overdrive pedal, which was sold in the late 1980s.

External videos
Napalm Death live in Germany, 1987,the second song is half-way through the clip at 4 minutes, 37 seconds has a buzz-saw type heavy bass distortion, fromYouTube,authorized byEarache Records.

1980s grindcore groups, such asNapalm Deathin the sound clip to the right, used a very heavy, distorted bass tone that resembles the sound of a grinding buzz saw.

The simplest fuzz bass pedals have knobs for controlling the volume level, the tone, and the fuzz or overdrive effect. More complex pedals have different distortion effects (e.g., overdrive and fuzz),gatesto trigger the volume at which sounds will get overdriven,mixersto mix the natural and fuzzed sound in the player's desired proportions, and multiple band equalizers (typically for low and high frequencies). Boutique fuzz bass pedals even have unusual effects such as a "starve" effect, which mimics the distortion sound a pedal gives with a dying battery, a diode selector (either silicon or germanium) for selecting the transistor overdrive tone, and an octave selector (above or below the pitch being played).

Overdrive built into amplifiers

Over the years, various Peavey bass amplifiers have had built-in distortion effects.

Somebass amplifiershave an "overdrive" or distortion effect built into the unit. The Peavey Century 200 has an onboard "distortion" effect on the second channel. The Peavey VB-2 also has built-in overdrive. Aguilar Amplification's AG 500 bass head is a two-channel amplifier, one of which offers a "saturation" control for overdrive. A variety ofBOSScombo amplifiers have a built-in "drive" effect.Gallien-Krueger's bass amp heads have a "boost" control that provides a simulated tube overdrive effect. TheBehringerUltrabass BVT5500H Bass Amplifier Head has a built-in limiter and overdrive. The LowDown LD 150 bass amp has a range of overdrive sounds, from a slight hint to heavy distortion. The CUBE-20XL BASS amp includes built-in overdrive.

The 75W Fender Rumble 75 Bass Combo Amp can produce an overdrive effect by using the gain and blend controls, giving overdrive sounds ranging from "mellow warmth [to] heavy distorted tones".The Fender SuperBassman is a 300-watt tube head that has a built-in overdrive channel. The Fender Bronco 40 includes a range of effects including modern bass overdrive, vintage overdrive and fuzz.

Lemmy Kilmister,the bassist forMotorhead,obtained a natural fuzz bass tone by overdriving his twin 100 wattMarshallBass stacks.

The MESA Bigblock 750 has a built-in overdrive channel. The Mesa M2000 has a high gain switch that can be engaged with a footswitch. The Marshall MB450 head and combo bass amplifiers have a tube pre-amp on the "Classic" channel that can be overdriven. The Ashdown ABM 500 EVO III 575W Bass amp head has a built-in overdrive effect. Overdrive is also available on many Crate bass amplifiers. The Yamaha BBT500H has three types of built-in drive effects: overdrive, distortion and fuzz. The Ampeg B5R Bass Amplifier has two channels: clean and overdrive, with the ability to combine the two. The Orange has introduced a new line of bass amplifiers(OB 1 series) with a built in fuzz.

Selected songs

The following section gives examples of songs that feature fuzz bass.

Napalm Death, a grindcore band shown here at a 2007 show, typically uses a heavy, grinding bass distortion tone.

2020s

• Software Failure,Demon in the Closet (EP)

2010s

• Royal Blood
• Bring Me The Horizon,"MANTRA","Sugar Honey Ice & Tea "," Heavy Metal "
• Arctic Monkeys,"Do I Wanna Know?","R U Mine?"
• Muse,"Mercy","The Handler "," Liquid State "
• Kasabian,"Stevie"

2000s

• Vader,"Fear of Napalm".
• Yellow Matter Custard,aBeatlestributesupergroupactive from 2003 to 2011, creditsNeal Morsewith keyboards, guitars, vocals, and fuzz bass.
• "Staring at the Sun",TV on the Radio.
• Low,Things We Lost In the Fireonward.
• Radiohead,"The National Anthem"and"All I Need"
• Arctic Monkeys,"Crying Lightning"
• Death From Above 1979,"Romantic Rights"
• Kasabian,"Club Foot","Vlad The Impaler ","Empire"
• The Hives,"Hate To Say I Told You So
• Placebo,"Meds"
• Muse,"Hysteria"and"Uprising".
• Weedeater

1990s

• Ben Folds Five,"Uncle Walter", and "Army"
• Exhumed,Gore Metal,"Blazing Corpse"
• Nine Inch Nails,"We're in This Together".
• Marianne Faithfull,Vagabond Ways.
• The Jesus and Mary Chain,"Sometimes Always","Hole "and" Never Saw it Coming "from the album"Stoned & Dethroned".
• Neutral Milk Hotel,On Avery Island,tracks 2 and 8, andIn the Aeroplane Over the Sea.
• Motörhead,"I Don't Believe a Word".
• Ministry,"Filth Pig".
• MelvinsNight Goat
• KyussFreedom Run, Supa Scoopa & Mighty Scoop, Hurricane.
• Queens Of The Stone AgeMexicola.
• Mortician,"Drilling For Brains" and "Hacked Up For Barbecue".
• Mouth to Mouth",The Blackeyed Susans.

Motörhead's bassist and lead singer Lemmy Kilmister often played with a fuzz bass tone that came from overdriving his twin 100 watt Marshall stacks.

• Nirvana,"Breed"fromNevermind.
• Sloan,"Snowsuit Sound".
• Red Hot Chili Peppers,"Around the World".
• Radiohead,"Exit Music (For a Film)" from the albumOK Computer.
• Type O Negative.
• Blur,"Song 2".

1980s

• Butthole Surfers22 Going On 23
• Motörhead
• Elvis Costello,"Spike".
• MetallicaKill 'Em All,"(Anesthesia) - Pulling Teeth".Ride the Lightning,"For Whom the Bell Tolls","The Call of Ktulu";Master of Puppets,"Damage, Inc.", "Orion", "The Thing That Should Not Be".
• Extreme Noise Terror,"Deceived".
• Doom,"War Crimes" EP
• The Clash,"Should I Stay or Should I Go"
• Nuclear Assault,Game Over,"Hang the Pope"
• Cro-Mags,The Age of Quarrel,"World Peace"
• Discharge,Why
• Faith No More,"Epic ","The Real Thing"
• Napalm Death,Scum,"Scum"
• Stormtroopers of Death,Speak English or Die,"Milk"
• Repulsion,Horrified,"Festering Boils"

1970s

• Jean-Luc Ponty,Enigmatic Ocean.
• Frank Zappa,Apostrophe (').
• Emerson Lake & Palmer,Tarkus.
• Yes,"Roundabout".
• Tamam Shud,"Goolutionites and the Real People", "Got A Feeling".
• Mike RutherfordofGenesis.
• The Velvet Underground,"Sweet Jane".
• Curtis Mayfield,"(Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below, We're All Going to Go".
• Sir Lord Baltimore,Kingdom Come

Jack BrucefromCream,shown here performing in 1972, often played with a fuzz bass tone.

• King Crimson
• Truth and Janey.
• Steely Dan,"Monkey in Your Soul",Pretzel Logic.

1960s

• "21st Century Schizoid Man",King Crimson.
• "Inside Looking Out",Grand Funk Railroad.
• Cream,Goodbye.
• Edgar Broughton Band,Wasa Wasa(1969).
• The Litter,Emerge.
• "Some Velvet Morning",Vanilla Fudge.
• "Dance to the Music",Sly and the Family Stone.
• TheMonkees,"Valleri".
• The Velvet Underground,"White Light White Heat"and"The Gift".
• The United States of America.
• "Sodding About",The Who.
• "Zig-Zag Wanderer",Safe As Milk,Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band.
• Jefferson Airplane,"She Has Funny Cars", "Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil".
• "Talk, Talk",The Music Machine.
• "Open Up Your Door",Richard and the Young Lions.
• TheRolling Stones,"Under My Thumb".
• Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band,"Diddy Wah Diddy".
• "Let's Hang On!",byThe Four Seasons,written byBob Crewe,Sandy Linzer,andDenny Randell.
• The Beatles, "Think for Yourself"and"Mean Mr. Mustard".
• Roy Orbison,"Lana".
• Marty Robbins,"Don't Worry".