Fuzz Wars Round 4: Janek Gwizdala’s Favorite Fuzz Pedals
I met Janek Gwizdala backstage at my first Bass Player Live back in 2009. I performed as Vato Negro and was very intimidated to be in a room full of my peers. I remember I was speaking to Bass Player Magazine editor, Chris Jisi, about Jaco Pastorious and Janek overheard me saying something about Jaco’s feel and groove, so he jumped in on the conversation with similar opinions to mine. We quickly bonded and have been friends ever since.
Janek has played bass for so many talented musicians- just Google him and you’ll see what I mean. Whether it’s holding it down for one of Jaco’s favorite guitarists, Mike Stern, or legendary guitarist John Mayer, Janek is a phenomenal player. Like me, he has a hunger for pedals. He owns over fifteen Boss OC-2′s octave pedals and isn’t afraid to show up with a couple of pedalboards to a recording session. He loves his fuzz pedals and in this installment, Janek presents his current favorites.
First off, we take a look at Malekko’s Fuzz pedal from the Omicron series. This is a great fuzz pedal for those who need to save space on their pedalboard. It has a lot of bang for the buck and is the smallest fuzz pedals we’ve used so far on Fuzz Wars. We then showcase another Zvex fuzz pedal but this time it is the Wooly Mammoth. Wren And Cuff Pickle Pie Hella Fuzz gets a run through and we then close this segment with a fuzz pedal made by Pump Labs dubbed, “Fuzz Against the Machine” which is made in Russia.
Fuzz Wars will take a break to make room for our 12 Days of PedalsAndEffects Giveaway, but will be back in 2013 with more guests and fuzz pedals!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASQs08gomuY holy shizzzzz
Malekko also makes a great vibrato pedal. It’s the closest to the VB-2 that I have ever heard.
Alderete, Hitschke, and Gwizdala! Three of my favorite and most influential bassists alive. For anyone who hasn’t heard Janek Gwizdala’s music you should check out his unbelievable solo album “It only happens once.”
Just in case anyone was curious, the ‘Pinch’ on the Wooly Mammoth controls the gate, I suspect the same is true on the FATM pedal
Si
hey juan it’d be rad if you could get justin meldal-johnson to come through for some fuzz wars action. he’s a pretty big pedal enthusiast.
can’t wait to see Janek’s Octave Wars featuring only his OC-2′s.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASQs08gomuY holy shizzzzz
Thats’s Evan Bernard. He plays in a great Philly band called Dangerous Ponies, awesome player and an awesome dude!!!
I feared that Malekko would cut all the low end. However, this one seems to retain it well enough to justify it. May look into that. Thanks!
The Malekko is based on the Univox Superfuzz. The internal switches up and down settings are just like on the Univox with the middle setting being the sound of both settings in series (Paul Barker’s favorite setting). Hope this helps clarify things a little.
Janek rulez!
As a man on a budget I am super happy with the Electro Harmonix Bass Blogger. It’s not fancy but it gives you some things you need. Good tone. 2 modes (drive and fuzz) and it’s pretty cheap. I see it used regularly for about $60. Give it try.
Hey Juan, just want to thank you for this website. Love it!
Sorry if I missed it, but are you running effects in front of the amp or thru an fx loop?
Thankx & keep up the great work!
Ok, I found an older post that answered my question…So always in front of the amp?
Love your work as bassplayer and this site is really awesome.
You should invite Brian Cook to a fuzz war whenever both of you have the oportunity.
Congrats!