Fuzz pedal volume in rhythm vs. lead

[Woodlumn]

Hi all, I own a Mark IIB. Love the amp, though I suspect it might need some work. I have two questions, which are probably unrelated to each other.

First, my fuzz pedal is a Death By Audio Fuzz War in the effects loop. When I engage this pedal on the rhythm channel is is LOUD. I have to turn the pedal gain way down. However when I engage it in the lead channel, I have to crank the pedal's gain to max to get it to a good volume. In fact, I wish it were a little louder. Is this normal?

Thanks!

 

[domct203]

Welcome to the forum.

As with all things guitar, there is no right or wrong way, it just matters if it works for you.

With that said, normally a fuzz pedal would go in front of the amp.

I would start by looking at the signal you’re sending to the pedal. Have you tried balancing master 1 and lead master settings? If I remember correctly the FX Loop is after those controls. You might not be able to get those balanced enough to retain your desired tone and maintain consistent signal level.

Fuzz pedals are sensitive to input and output impedance, and are really not designed to be in an FX Loop.

Dom

 

[Woodlumn]

Hi Dom, thanks for the welcome and thanks so much for your response.

I just put the fuzz in front and it seems to have helped. Thanks for nudging me to revisit balancing with Master 1. It has been sort of a mystery to me but I think I've finally got it set to where the clean and lead channels are pretty well-balanced. I spend most of my time on the lead channel and I like the way it sounds with Volume 1 up around 6.5-7. This has been way too loud for me to actually use the clean channel, but with Master 1 set to about .5 and Lead Master at around 1.5 it all works out. That said, Master 1 at .5 seems like such an incredibly low setting. The pot could use a little cleaning but it gets loud quick.

Thank you!