Stacking Pedals (Commodity Fuzz & vintage Rat)

Today we are combining the classic grit and grind of the legendary ProCo Rat with the unhinged octave-fuzz madness that is Commodity Fuzz. I didn’t expect these two get along so well, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Join us as we explore what happens when the old school of dirt meets the new school of fuzz. We will begin each section with a short example of the bypass signal, before adding the Rat, and then Commodity Fuzz. Let’s go!

0:00 - 1:02 No fuzz, no fuss.

We’ll begin by using the Rat to create a mid-focused drive tone. We aren’t going for a lot of gain here, just enough to give us some character. Now that we’ve established our base tone, let’s add Commodity Fuzz! In this example, we’ve set both volume and filter around noon, but we’ve turned the fuzz control all the way down. This results in a big open-sounding fuzz, with a unique “ripping” quality to the breakup. This is great for when you want a hint of fuzz characteristic, but you don’t want it to be too over the top.

1:03 - 1:58 Replace the missing bass.

In this section, we’ve dialed in the Rat to crate a jangly and bright rhythm sound. It’s sharp and tight, but we’ve sacrificed a lot of low end to get here. Enter Commodity Fuzz. With volume and fuzz set to eleven o’clock and the filter set to one o’clock, we get back all the low end we lost and then some. In addition to fattening up the bass frequencies, we also get a big bump in upper harmonic content, allowing us to cut through even the densest of mixes.

1:59 - 3:08 Riff elevator.

Next, let’s explore how we can utilize higher gain fuzz settings to elevate simple licks into impactful and chaotic fuzzy goodness. We’ll begin by dialing in the Rat to approximate a classic amp crunch sound, then add Commodity Fuzz to push it over the top. The thing that really stands out to me in this section, is how different the dissonant bends sound. Without Commodity Fuzz, the bends sound thin when compared to the power chord sections. Adding Commodity Fuzz, balances out the volume discrepancies for a more cohesive and musical sound.

3:09 - 3:52 Fuzz zipper.

For this next section, let’s tap into some of the extreme treble that the Rat has to offer. We’ve dialed back the Rat’s filter control for maximum brightness, with only a moderate amount of drive. Adding Commodity Fuzz with volume and fuzz set to noon and the filter set to two o’clock, we get an intense fuzz that’s surprisingly well balanced. Commodity Fuzz helps fill out the missing low end, while also adding complex textural anomalies along the way.

3:53 - 5:34 Ready for launch.

Lastly, let’s send it off with a big chord progression and some even bigger fuzz! We’ve dialed in our Rat for some classic crunch, this creates the perfect launching pad for the fuzz rocket we are about to set off. With volume and fuzz around noon and the filter control set to three o’clock, we get a robust and chaotic fuzz that works well for both complex chording and single note lines.

Let’s make some noise!

Now that we’ve explored the possible, let’s go and create the impossible. Click the button below to purchase Commodity Fuzz.