Do fuzzes REALLY sound better on batteries? PLUS: Zinc vs. Alkaline & GigRig Virtual Battery

Welcome to Perky's Analog Gear Demos. Please subscribe for more demos of vintage & rare effects pedals!

A warning: this is SUCH a nerdy video - and should be treated as such. The differences we're talking about are SO subtle that they're basically negligible - so make sure you're listening on good monitors or headphones. On earbuds, the likelihood is that you'll hear no differences at all! (We really are cork-sniffing here!!)

I've read so much over the years about how fuzz pedals sound so much better running on batteries than they do on power supplies. But how true is this?

This is video, I've assembled 7 different fuzz pedals, all full of vintage components and NOS transistors...so they're not the vintage originals, but they're as close as we can realistically get. We have: three Fuzz Faces; a Big Muff; a Tonebender; the Analog.Man Astro Tone; and the new JAM Eureka! fuzz.

We'll play through each of them when running on batteries - and then, play exactly the same things, with exactly the same settings, running on an isolated 9v power supply. How much difference will there be?

We'll also look at the difference between Carbon Zinc and Alkaline batteries when powering Ge Fuzz Faces - and explore the GigRig Virtual Battery a little too. Bored yet...???

What do you think? Do you think there's any difference whatsoever? Is it even worth worrying about any of this...? Or is it definitely worth considering how you power your fuzz pedal when you’re super-deep into your fuzz sounds? Comment below!

Guitar is a Fender Tele with Bare Knuckle Flat '50 Pickups through a Hughes & Kettner Puretone Combo (recorded with an sE Electronics RNR1 Ribbon) and a Cornell Romany Plus (recorded with a 57)

[kisschicken]

I have to say, I've googled multiple fuzz-related questions the past few days and your videos show up each time. Thank you.

[laservampire]

Funnily enough I can hear the difference on most of the pedals just with my phone speaker!

I’ve found through my fuzz pedal experiences that it isn’t so much the tone that changes on battery vs power supply but the dynamics and attack/decay.

The dips and spikes in current draw and voltage supply react very differently on a 9v battery in the circuit as opposed to a consistent DC supply. There is a saggy, warm reactive sound that is lost when a fuzz (especially germanium) is powered from a well regulated, high amperage supply.

[mikemcgraw]

Nicely done! There is an absolute difference. Often 9v offer bigger highs and lows, extending the EQ spectrum. I find there is more subtle difference between the Alkaline vs Carbon Zinc, but different pedals react more audibly to them.

[kubrck]

Great video, Joe! Much appreciated. Just ordered a Sun Face NKT. I'll be rewatching your video to try and make up my mind about how to power this beast.

[Glpdb]

Thanks for the neat and helpful demo. In a fuzzface, the battery itself part of the circuit so it has to make a difference- up to us whether we hear it or not; it’s there.

I run a ts808 (off- so buffer only) into a sunface bc183 to get more spit and sustain and even under those circumstances battery sounds better than power.

[sammason]

Digging your The Darkness posters dude. My favourite band!!

[mushkamusic]

Ah ha just watched the end! To be honest maybe the differences are more obvious on the recording but they all sounded very much better on batteries. I think it's just that the batteries deliver a kind of sidechained compression effect where there's a noticeable dip on the attack of each note as the battery can't quite deliver all the current required. I think (sadly for me having just got one) the virtual battery sounds pretty much just like a 9v power supply. I guess I'll be running the Sunface on batteries and desoldering the LED for 4x battery life :D (unless the 6v sag option does the biz) Cheers dude!

[mushkamusic]

Yeah it's that sag for sure. I just ordered a red dot nkt Sunface and will be running it on a Gigrig virtual battery which has a rather nice "sag" option to dial the voltage down to 6v for all the baggy sagginess one could wish for. That's the plan anyway! :) Good luck with the channel Joe, another good comparison vid for sure.

[treishtrei]

Among the carbon zinc batteries only a couple stand out. The everedy is not one of them. The gamechangers are the GP green one ( they come stock with a new Boss SD1 pedal...guess why...to make it sound good) and the Danelectro vintage power source

[nickdevriese]

Definitely a difference. But the whole battery thing, in my opinion, is how much life is left in that cell and the “sag” it creates.

[Chrisdava]

Hi ! That's strange but I don't hear any difference with the Tonebender !! I hear a little difference with the Astro Tone, the Cornell and the Black Muck. I think the best exemple is with the Fuzz Phrase : definitely a difference (in fact, it's written in the buyer's guide of this pedal and that's true : the Fuzz Phrase has a more vintage sound with 9V battery).
But the most important thing is that all these fuzzes sound pretty good ! Thanks for the demo and for this delicious fuzz moment !

[mrbaiser]

It's easy to get the "battery sound" sound from any power supply. You just need a little circuit add-on with two controls: one for voltage and one for resistance. The resistance in a starving zinc battery increases a lot, that's what changes the sound of some pedals.

[leonardo.rafael]

With battery I feel the fuzz sound as composed of multiple isolated filaments. I also feel it “softer”. With power supply is like if some filaments join in between forming thicker filaments that left wider spaces in between them compared to the formers. I feel it “harder”.
I dont know if theres a name for that; maybe its part of what is called compression ?
I believe that there is much more difference when we compare different lower voltages, and maybe its part of why some people prefer batteries. Most power supplies cant do that.

[dgeekay]

In some pedals the difference more obvious.. for instance in the first jam pedal the difference was noticable.. kn tue sun face the sound was still ok with power supply.. great Video again mate. I would like to see you once comparing the most dynamic overdrives.. f. Ex. Till now the most dynamic I owned is from the cmats the signa drive.. there are many good in the market.. like the cult or Magellan etc..

[THE-CRT]

Too bad my big muff doesn’t work with batteries oddly

[wisteela]

I'm using a Danelectro FAB Fuzz with a Danelectro Vintage Powersource battery, and I'm sure it sounds different to on an alkaline.

[orenom]

Battery has more headroom or sag or whatever. Sounds bigger. I noticed it on one of my fuzzes when i plugged it in my pedalboard chain. Changed the battery to ps and it suddenyl sounded choked and weaker. Same with other pedals i tried.

[j.jester]

I think definitely in analog effect a drained battery can have a cool effect. Particulary in simple fuzz and distortion circuits. In a digital effect device however I think the chips just stop working competely below a rated voltage. The cool thing about carbon or zinc batteries rather than alkaline, is they can continue to supply current for a whileeven though the output voltage drops significantly.
I have read some people attribute this to "different battery resistances or capacitance"
I do not see how this is possible even in an analog effect.

[markferguson]

After years of going back & forth with this issue, have learned the degree to which it matters depends on the individual circuit.Alkaline batteries are THE PITS when they are power sensitive, though certainly, the WORST that can be done is feeding the effect a high ma adaptor.There are a few, non ideal solutions, but why waste any further effort once you know? Just do what must be done...
Highly recommend the Dan Electro Billionaire Battery supply, and Pavlovian training to flip the off switch when done.The Gig Rig is credible, especially with the SAG feature, - and probably cost effective enough.
The Death by Audio Interstellar Deluxe is like 2 different effects, - which surprised me.It's worth testing vintage drives, along with fuzzes.
In the end, I've seen much is in the ear of the beholder; while I've no desire to be seen as Mr.Fussy, to me the difference is often make or break.

[kylemaloney]

Wow the battery sounds better in every way