Monolith Fuzz (now with added Absinthe!)

I'm thinking of buying a bottle of Jade Liqueurs Nouvelle-Orléans which is supposed to taste like the real deal and is available here in Sweden from Systembolaget (goverment owned liquor stores). It's supposed to taste like the pre-ban Absinthes did. It's quite expensive, but what the heck... I've only tried the Czech stuff many moons ago. Great information and reviews of different new and vintage original Absinthes: http://www.absinthe.se

Sorry about the off-topic stuff, but you guys restored my interest in this facinating old procedure! :D

I can't afford this stuff at the moment, I have to many fuzzy needs to tend to, but what do you think about this stuff. It actually tastes great. www.absintheonline.com/acatalog/Jade.html The rule of thumb with Absinthe is the better it tastes, the less wormwood is in it. There's just no way to hammer out the bitterness of the thujone no matter how you try. Also, when choosing a company, the less alcohol content the better. When you see high grades of alcohol, the company is trying to give you a buzz, but not the one you're paying for. Also, alcohol suppresses the actual effect of the thujone. I suspect alcohol was originally used as a delivery device for the thujone as a way of keeping it anti-septic and cured. Prague stuff is pretty good from what I've experienced; I've had a couple bottles from over there, but forget the companies I tried; its been a minute.

Sorry about the off-topic stuff, but you guys restored my interest in this facinating old procedure! :D No worries; if everyone gets their Absinthe jones on and gets hammered up, maybe everyone will grab a stomp from Mr Monolith.

Interesting, I know that there is a brand out of Prague that has a picture of Van Gogh on the label (the name escapes me), it's supposed to have an insane amount of thujone in it.

I'm thinking of buying a bottle of Jade Liqueurs Nouvelle-Orléans which is supposed to taste like the real deal and is available here in Sweden from Systembolaget (goverment owned liquor stores). It's supposed to taste like the pre-ban Absinthes did. It's quite expensive, but what the heck... I've only tried the Czech stuff many moons ago. Go for it! Enough from me about absinthe. Back to those cool fuzzes!

Enough from me about absinthe. Back to those cool fuzzes

Some words on both boxes from the builder himself posted over at my forum. Naturally, he sums them up a little better than I did. The Oracle: This little beast is called the Oracle Fuzz, and started life as a bread-and-butter 2 transistor Tonebender / Fuzzface style build. Tonally, it is its own thing though with more low mid presence than a 2 transistor TB but without the muddy bass of some Fuzz Faces. I added a Big Muff style tone pot which I tweaked to give a flat frequency response with no db loss when maxed and slowly roll off the high end ( 1K plus) as its turned down. It allows the user to compensate for the extra high end produced by cooking the transistors with the fuzz cranked, but also allows that high end to be dialed in as the fuzz is dialed back. The goal here was to provide usable tones throughout the entire travel of the Density (fuzz) knob. This ones run on Philips OC76s. The Spectre: The second fuzz out the gate is the Spectre. Its a fuzz tone I've been trying to cop for a long time..... Its aimed at a more psych / surf / 60s tone that is bright but not brittle or harsh. This one has a slightly attenuated low end that makes it cut through with a "vocal" sort of presence, and has a voice switch which selects between a bright, "Rangemaster with more balls" sort of voice and a more traditional fuzz response with a stronger mid range presence. This one runs two OC75s and an AC152 in Q3.

The Oracle This little beast is called the Oracle Fuzz, and started life as a bread-and-butter 2 transistor Tonebender / Fuzzface style build. Tonally, it is its own thing though with more low mid presence than a 2 transistor TB but without the muddy bass of some Fuzz Faces. I added a Big Muff style tone pot which I tweaked to give a flat frequency response with no db loss when maxed and slowly roll off the high end ( 1K plus) as its turned down. It allows the user to compensate for the extra high end produced by cooking the transistors with the fuzz cranked, but also allows that high end to be dialed in as the fuzz is dialed back. The goal here was to provide usable tones throughout the entire travel of the Density (fuzz) knob. This ones run on Philips OC76s. The Spectre: The second fuzz out the gate is the Spectre. Its a fuzz tone I've been trying to cop for a long time..... Its aimed at a more psych / surf / 60s tone that is bright but not brittle or harsh. This one has a slightly attenuated low end that makes it cut through with a "vocal" sort of presence, and has a voice switch which selects between a bright, "Rangemaster with more balls" sort of voice and a more traditional fuzz response with a stronger mid range presence. This one runs two OC75s and an AC152 in Q3. I was going to ask you about the pedals to see if you could tell me what theri circuit was based on... Now I know... so these pedals are good for very early style bright fuzz sound and beyond then ?

They sound pretty damn accurate to his description. They're good at low volume, but they're tuned to be used loudly.

I think I need an Oracle. Damn you Sickle!!

Paybacks are a bitch, dude! Way I see it you're ahead of the little game between us anyways. I've got a $2,000 Matamp you refused to talk me out of and you're looking at a (bad-ass) stomp less than $200. Not bad for you, man!

Jeez Donovan, I had no idea you knew Mike from Monolith! I've known him for a few years now and actually have been sending 2 of his pedals (the Oracle and the Spectre) around NYC to some players. I can't tell you how much I wanted to post about them here, but didn't want to broach the subject with Dave out of mega-respect for the Cap'n. But you wisely did and of course he's cool as can be to give the thumbs-up. ANYWAYS.... I loved the hell out of the Monolith fuzzes. They are crafted (just like D*A*M) with the best and most vintage parts available. Just look at those great NOS components, handwired to one another via turrets (can you say 1960's Marshall amps?). I've never seen a pedal wired this way. As far as tone, they were both as good sounding as they looked. The Oracle has a real bold & chunky thing going on, w/o getting too tubby. Really voiced rather perfectly for me. It has a good amount of gain, but isn't over-the-top fuzz either. Folks who like fuzz will dig this and folks who are still looking for a fuzz that suits them will also like this, since it doesn't mess with your tone too much while still giving you a big warm fuzz. It's pretty classic sounding, walking somewhere between Tonebender, Fuzz Face and even the Big Muff camp a bit. Like there's something familiar in the tone, but still something new and even modern about it. I remember Mike telling me he was trying to create something that he heard in his head but wasn't yet getting from his pedals. The Spectre is more of a tone shaper, getting those textured, edgy 60's Spaghetti-Western tones. I nailed some Syd Barrett tones with ease. But I never found any of those tones shrill or ice-pick. It can shave the bass off a bit, which mind you folks can be a welcoming thing, as this pedal has a really defined midrange that gets singing sustain and feedback anywhere on the neck if you wish it to. But much like Dave's "Superbee" setting, you can pump some more low-end into the mix by engaging the switch that lies between the knobs. But like Dononvan mentions, these pedals really shine when you take 'em out and run them thru amps that are playing at rehearsal or gig level. Whoa, serious retention of guitar tone and presence, but with a healthy boost and absolute musicality. As far as Mike clips, they sound cool and illustrate what the pedal's range is about, but I dug them a lot more at home and in rehearsal. Way bigger sounding than those clips reveal. HEY CADO ..... any time to check these out? I can get them to you before the end of the month... they're on TOUR right now. 8) --------------------------

Sounds great! Stop by & sample some of the beverage mentioned earlier in this thread & we'll plug those bad boys in! :twisted:

Well, I figured I better hop on and chime in on my boxes : ) I'm really glad to see that folks are liking these builds. My only hope is that they provide some high-quality tones for folks who are looking for some new fuzz textures to add to their arsenal. And I'd like to extend a BIG thank you to Captain Dave Main for being generous enough to let us chat about these on his personal corner of Gear Vallhalla : ) D*A*M makes, in my opinion, the best fuzz pedals on the planet. Respect.

They really do look to be exquisitely turned out - I love seeing builds like these and it has got me thinking that perhaps I could lay my hands on one of your fuzzier offerings - I have a particular partiality towards the tonebender and early fuzz in general so would I be right in thinking an Oracle should be the item of choice to fit in well in my small pedal family?? I would be pleased for some advice and welcome a pm if you had the time.. G 8)

The Oracle has a real bold & chunky thing going on, w/o getting too tubby. Really voiced rather perfectly for me. It has a good amount of gain, but isn't over-the-top fuzz either. Folks who like fuzz will dig this and folks who are still looking for a fuzz that suits them will also like this, since it doesn't mess with your tone too much while still giving you a big warm fuzz. It's pretty classic sounding, walking somewhere between Tonebender, Fuzz Face and even the Big Muff camp a bit. Like there's something familiar in the tone, but still something new and even modern about it. I remember Mike telling me he was trying to create something that he heard in his head but wasn't yet getting from his pedals. The Spectre is more of a tone shaper, getting those textured, edgy 60's Spaghetti-Western tones. I nailed some Syd Barrett tones with ease. But I never found any of those tones shrill or ice-pick. It can shave the bass off a bit, which mind you folks can be a welcoming thing, as this pedal has a really defined midrange that gets singing sustain and feedback anywhere on the neck if you wish it to. But much like Dave's "Superbee" setting, you can pump some more low-end into the mix by engaging the switch that lies between the knobs. Spectre - Spaghetti-western !!! Oracle - Big-MUFFED tonebender/fuzzface !!! I like red and blue circuit board... . . . . . If it's good for Sickle and Cubba... It must be good for me...

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