How to Stack Fuzz and Drive Pedals with J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. | Reverb Pedal Tricks
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- J Mascis, lead guitarist and singer of the seminal group Dinosaur Jr., came by the Reverb studio to discuss his methodology when it comes to fuzz and drive pedals. Dinosaur Jr. is a group that made a name for itself through an impressive wall of distorted guitars and J Mascis discusses how he stacks his fuzz pedals and drive pedals to build his highly saturated tone. Read more about J Mascis and Dinosaur Jr. at bit.ly/2g7K00p
Check out Dinosaur Jr.'s Lou Barlow discuss playing bass with a loud guitarist at • Lou Barlow of Dinosaur...
Shop Dinosaur Jr albums on Reverb LP: goo.gl/3fn1CD
Gear Used:
Vox AC15HW: bit.ly/2frj75s
Fender Jazzmaster: bit.ly/2ey4zSa
ZVEX Double Rock Vextex Dual Distortion: bit.ly/2eTkDt0
Stomp Under Foot Ram's Head Fuzz: bit.ly/2gauC2t
British Pedal Company Tone Bender Fuzz: bit.ly/2eXEkmY
Jext Telez Range Lord: bit.ly/2frgcd0
Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Electric Mistress: bit.ly/2fRvJna
Boss DM-2W Delay: bit.ly/2gaoirx
J looks like that guy at every record store who appears next to you out of nowhere and recommends some extremely obscure album that turns out to be amazing.
THOTH hahahahahahahaha oh my god I totally laugh so hard
He's like the cool uncle who's always stoned and always listens to the best music
He's what happened when you combine Willie Nelson, B.B. King, and grunge.
Like a nerd lol
lol
this is the most enthusiasm i've ever seen in J before
I was going to comment on this too. He was positively bubbly. (For him).
what bridge (or saddles) he used in this video?
Bobby Faizal G looks like graphtec saddles
You clearly haven't seen him talk about soap operas.
Just wait till you see the drum video
J has to be my favorite boring person ever. He sounds so relaxed about everything and then proceeds to melt your face off with the finest "in-your-face" guitar playing out there. It's like dropping a V8 in a Kia.
Kurt Adams but he’s a great song writer.....Cobain wasn’t Eddie Van Halen but he wrote some of the most influential songs of he 90’s
Playing the guitar with exceptional skill is useless if you can’t apply it
Alex Rodgers, it's the best comment I've read about J Mascis: "my favourite boring person", jep!!!
Kurt Adams You’re going off what he seems like? Dinosaur Jr is one of the most influential bands of all time and consistently puts out amazing songs and albums. Not a guitar expert but his music fucking rocks.
@Kurt Adams I think he's an excellent guitarist with a very unique style and tone. He writes and plays some very cool rhythm parts, as well as mesmerizing, melodic solos. Is he a virtuoso shredder? No. I certainly don't agree that he's average at best.
But theres already actual V8 Kias....like the K900..but good point lol
"If you want some dynamics to your music, you've got to turn things down...". Wish more guitarists knew this. Thanks for the great vid, Reverb!
TheAaron3dg Too bad that he doesn't understand that distortion compresses the signal and reduces dynamics, regardless of the output level.
You're talking about the dynamics in playing (hitting a note soft and hard). This is about tone dynamics, so having a sound that is louder or softer than another sound. That's also dynamics.
David Uijterlinde Aaaaah, That makes absolutely no sense.
Well, dynamics is a quite broad concept. Technicall it's about difference in volume. While you are absolutely correct that your sound gets compressed when a fuzz (or any drive/distortion for that matter) is activated and therefore the dynamic range of that particular sound is reduced, I suspect that J Mascis is talking about overall dynamics, so having one sound (one pedal) being louder than another sound (another pedal or combination of pedals). So that's also differences in volume and therefore also dynamics. Does this make more sense?
David Uijterlinde Yes, but that's because you just described the standard definition for 'dynamics'. It's not really a broad concept, and, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you don't know what you're talking about because you've clearly just described the thing perfectly, but it's just that, changes in volume, not tone.
“When you turn on the Big Muff, then it’s louder”
J Mascis
@Neon Thunderbird i liked 2:29 personally
The thing to take from these videos is that these guys are professional touring musicians, so they know how to use their gear to get real world tones live, not bedroom sounds. Anyone who plays live knows that the sounds you get at home or at rehearsals can be night and day to how you may want to sound live. The big muff and muff styles pedals, are famously scooped and get lost in the mix, his point on allowing that pedal the greatest threshold in your signal change is invaluable to giving it presence in a live mix. A lot of players set everything to stun hoping it'll help them cut or sound bigger but it just crushes their presence. This is a good lesson on how to use fuzz live and sound epic
Amen
If Eeyore was a guitarist it’d be this guy
Oh my godddd
😩
whahahahahah right on
“Not that anyone would notice...”
Man I guess Eeyore would shred on a guitar then
J keeps a spare Big Muff in his hip pocket.
Savage Cabbage good catch
J has a built in big muff in his prison pocket.
and he's glad to see me.
I bet he calls all his lady friends big muff.
Nah it’s his costanza wallet full of dino buckz
One of my friends knows him a bit and took me to a show he played solo. It was fun chatting with him then watch him get super quiet and shy when people would walk up and ask for pics and autographs. Then they would walk off then he would chat and goof off. Super nice guy just seems to have a bit of social anxiety.
imagine having j as a roommate hes just like "yeah I figured I would have a can of soup for dinner :/ "
not even heated, just cold cambells minestrone straight from the can
J is my all time favorite guitar player. the fact that average guitar geeks don't get what he does makes me appreciate him even more.
As an 'average guitar geek', would you care to explain?
i think he means hipsters
Spoken like a true hipster
@@drivingintothedesertuntilt3202 yeah, hipsters famously hate alternative rock
It’s a free country
Imagine someone buying your guitar on reverb and you go to deliver it and it's fucking j mascis
Louis Wain that was freakin hilarious!! Thanks!! Haha
Imagine you’re the guitar!
@@audunrundberg9180Imagine you're J Mascis!
Every time I listen to Dinosaur Jr...@@predeterminedmeat5024
this dude talks like he is constantly exhaling a massive bong rip.
I love J. Mascis, but that's golden haha
Adam Terry I agree!
hahaha love it !
he dont get high
He's Straight Edge. I know, I couldn't believe it either.
"I always have some distortion on it when it's clean". My kinda guitarist
J really needs to calm down
Dude! ROFL
Brandon Burroughs I see this same comment on every J Mascis video
Nose Party it's a lowkey indie meme
Lol
Brandon Burroughs b
I don't think people get nor appreciate what kind of guitar player J is. I dug this video and am always looking for the J Mascis secrets of tone.
yeah, I don't get peoples reactions, too. all their "lols", i don't get it. this guy and some others changed the punk/indie/hardcore scene and what can be considered mainstream "alternative" since the early 90ies. He is the one Kurt Cobain wanted to have as a second guitar player in Nirvana after they did the european tour with Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr.
Just some respect or appreciation for what this guy and his band is doing...seems too much to ask for.
I've always disliked people who think they're better than everyone else because they don't like a certain kind of music. If you don't like something, just ignore it and leave.
Craig Beach yes, every J Mascis posted video gets similar negative responses. Funny thing is incredible amount of artists he's actually influenced, artists these nitwits probably love. 
evanjcr there are 2 kinds of music in this world.. music that you like and music that you don't like. It's simple to just stay with what you like and just let other people like what they like
I do like Dinosaur Jr. but J Mascis is an average guitar player who has barely evolved in like 30 years in this regard, maybe that's why people don't appreciate him as a guitar player. He's good at songwriting though.
What a gorgeous guitar. I saw J on one of his solo tours. Him, a guitar, and loads of pedals, including a looper. He was incredible. He was playing chords that I still haven't figured out.
"lets make his guitar sound loud as balls and his voice really quiet."
D Y N A M I C S
HULK HOGAN they had to turn everything else down, guess they don’t understand *DYNAMICS*
That's just how his life is
The guitar outro to Thumb was a huge inspiration to me as a beginner guitar player a long time ago. Mascis plays with such heart, and is a amazing player.
One of the loudest guitarist on stage I’ve ever seen, it’s hilarious seeing him talk about turning down here. Much love!
Agreed! Saw him both solo and with Dino. Both Shows where amazing but ABSURDLY LOUD
I saw Dino jr. in the 80's in a tiny club called City Gardens... great show, couldn't hear for days, too close to the stage. Saw them again on Lollapalooza 93' (?) even in an open field they were way loud... still can't believe there was a time a band like them were on a major label... Does anybody else think of Chris Griffen when they see and hear J. talk? I can't stop making that connection. (lol) J. used to have Marshall stacks with mis-matching rare color 4x12 cabinets... looked really cool on stage.
Yes , he's great and he has the same voice of Chris Griffin !
His enthusiasm is so infectious
Every time I hear J play guitar I want to go skateboarding.
That's weird,... everytime I go skate boarding I want to hear J play guitar
😳😳😳
This is the truest statement ever
He's been in the scene since early Alien Workshop. Memory Screen days
'Don't let me *grind noise* up will you'.
This is literally the most excited I've ever seen J Mascis on camera.
J looks like the Chris of Family Guy, but older and awesome
4:46 Sounds like him too.
I was just going to comment the exact same thing about his voice. I would even suggest that they based chris griffins character on him
André Guima haha almost even sounds like an older Chris lol
Meg has a cool big brother (or twin)
Man. You won today.
Ain't guitar gear an amazing thing? Never heard this band's songs, don't know the guy, then I find out he probably shares more of my taste for gear than all my favorite guitar players combined... Single coils, AC30, Big Muff, Tone Bender, using pedals to decrease volume... I think I'm the Dinosaur Junior-Junior!
Give them a listen they’re very influential
Time to start checking out the dinosaur catalog my dude
@@PageandPlant4Life Done that! I'm a fan now! LOL!
He mostly uses Marshall stacks - I saw him with one hiwatt head but ya mostly 100 watt super leads
And extremely loud in a live situation. This is very low volume for J.
Ya Just went to description and it says in there a Vox AC15. J Mascis playing through a 15 watt amp. Normally it's 2-3 100 watt stacks so at the beginning of this video he says clean sound. That's not his clean sound at a live band setting. That actually sounded manageable. At first. That his version of bedroom amp.
J Mascis is a righteous dude. The sportos, motorheads, geeks, bloods, wasteoids, dweebies--they all adore him.
Genuinely good advice for people new to pedals and distortion. I remember when I was first trying to play in a style of going from clean to fuzz, and finding the transition between the two to just not work at all. Turning on the fuzz feels like it actually sucks all the energy out and takes down the volume cause youre losing a lot of the frequencies you have in the clean sound. Going from mild overdrive to fuzz is definitely a smoother transition.
So should the overdrive always go first in the channel before the fuzz pedal?
@@themeltdownz8901 There are no hard rules but if you want to go from a light overdrive to a heavy fuzz then you will have an easier time with the overdrive before the fuzz in your signal path. But also try experimenting with the overdrive after the fuzz as well! You might get an interesting sound and its a good way of learning how pedal order affects the sound.
@@oo0O08 I would suggest to put the overdrive (especially marshall-ish) after the muff. Think of a fuzz as a compressor and an overdrive as a preamp
One of the loudest shows I've ever enjoyed (& I've enjoyed hundreds) was Dinosaur Jr. at the Hollywood Bowl. A band called Christmas opened. Both were mind blowing.
This was actually super helpful, especially that about the big muff and finding the restraint to turn everything else down!
J's dynamic range is from loud to loudest
I appreciate the level of detail into gain staging for live guitar performance. Totally different world than a household guitar session.
Everybody makes the same comments in EVERY Mascis video. True originals.
I was never a big DJ fan, but I saw them live and they were freaking rad.
There's one pedal not mentioned in the gear he used on this video, the Red one with knob bumpers is a Hovercraft Ionostrofear Fuzz v2.5. The new version is almost Neon Green with a white strip in the center where the model name script goes. A Cool distortion/ OD/ Fuzz/ Boost pedal for sure.
Thanks! Was trying to figure out what that was...
This is the fastest I've heard J talk.
What I love about J and why he's one of the best players of the last 20 years is because in an age of lightning fast shredders he actually still plays with a genuine heart and soul and his tones are amazing. Modern shredders can't be differentiated from each other because there isnt any feeling put into shred, but J dosent follow trends.
I am watching videos with J for a week now. He makes me feel relaxed.
If he were to be anymore chill, he would shit himself
Dinosaur Jr, I love them. J Mascis, a very talented man, I love how he uses that kind of slacker aesthetic. But, he's not a slacker, anyone who knows how talented Dinosaur Jr is, knows that that takes a lot of work.
It’s true . He works a lot. He’s also a family man. I think it’s partially an act, but he’s no slouch!
He looks like he just changed the oil in his car lol
Most likely, yes.
LOL!!!!
How did you guys actually get him to talk??
"Here's my clean tone..." Turns on distortion pedal. 🙃 It's definitely a novel approach to gain staging.
Can't believe this guy never had a lesson. So many people study for years without being able to get close to his level of talent. He's an amazing guitar player, songwriter and achieves beautiful tones.
No pot was harmed in the making of this video
I know the stoned Cookie Monster T-shirt only adds to the impression of J as a stoner, but he's actually been straight-edge all his life.
Arno, Wrong.
he has to be straight edge, because hes so mellow, if he smoked pot or drank he would just melt
smaarmy not sure if he has technically remained straight edge for every moment of his life, but he has spoken in several previous interviews about hating drugs and being straight edge. In one I watched he talked about how he hated drugs and couldn’t fully relate to the druggie punk scene until bands like Minor Threat came along.
Arno Theadorno Not accurate, he grew up in Amherst. When he was quite young he has talked about how it was inevitable he went through a big pot smoking phase while living in that hippie town. He stopped in his late teens.
Was trying to see how to stack my fuzz, eq, overdrive and distortion when combined saw Jay on Uboob and was like this man knows and he does but seriously never seen him so hyped take a chill pill Jay we know you love it thick just calm it a bit lil too much
I love using my Russian Tank Big Muff run through my Boost-wah pedal (running into my C50 2x12 on the dirty channel) and using the wah effect to pitch-shift and set various stacked fuzz tones. Gives me a LOT of range in terms of fuzz tones plus I can disengage either the boost or the big muff and get even more tones.
Love this vid! Yeah, I've totally found out by accident that running a tube screamer into a big muff produces pretty nice sounding results! Well rounded and well-defined tone. Good stuff here!
I just realized, this mad man has his tuner at the end of the signal chain. An absolute mad lad.
He tunes at full volume during shows.. Why? Because fuck you that's why. He's J Mascis
I love how J talks about "turning on" a clean amp cause under no circumstance is that his default setting. Also love how he says the volume with the overdrive on is not much louder (it totally is) cause I feel like anything under 90 DBs J just recognizes as the same volume.
He's been playing on a fuzz heavy rock band for decades at this point. He probably cant listen himself HAHAHA
Finally, someone stacking fuzzes
J Mascis is one cool dude! What a cool cap he’s wearing! So dope!
That rangemaster stacked nice into the muff. I’ve been stacking a Fulltone 70 silicon fuzz into an OCD for a bit, that shit sounds INSANELY huge!
J Mascis... a man of few words to quote Mike Watt, but makes up for it with his incredible guitar work
That flange sounds amazing!
"1991: The Year Punk Broke" VHS had some awesome live coverage of J and Dino Jr. rocking Europe with Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Babes In Toyland and so forth. Wish I still had it!
that is very true "if you want dynamics you gotta turn things down"
Speaking my language, Athens ,GA, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, LA. All my stomping grounds. Fluid from Urbosleeks here.
Amazing artist and player, much respect.
*Signal Chain:*
Jext telez range lord
British Pedal Company Tone Bender
Hovercraft Ionostrofear Fuzz (not listed in description)
Stomp Under Foot Ram's Head Fuzz
ZVEX Double Rock Vextex Dual Distortion
Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Electric Mistress
Boss DM-2W Delay
Boss TU-3 Chromatic Tuner
Power supply chain: Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus
This should be pinned - thanks 🙏🏻 ✌🏼
Sounds a bit like Chris Griffin. Cool guitar sounds too!
He makes me feel so relaxed
For all Big Muff geeks, there's an interesting explanation by Billy Corgan ( don't like this guy but that sound was CRAZY, there's an isolated guitar track here on Ytb proving it): " I had all sorts of theories of how to best use this pedal, including the idea that it only sounded its 'best' when used with a battery." "When we did Siamese Dream I developed a technique of plugging my Big Muff pedal into the low sensitivity input of a 100 watt Marshall JCM 800, with the master volume on full and the preamp volume on barely at all (treble at 3-4)." "The sound of the combo of the Bat Strat ('57 Strat reissue with Lace Sensor pickups), the Big Muff, and the Soul head with Mars cabinet (Marshall JCM 800 100w head and cab) is still unmistakable..." "I would say that 98% of all guitar parts on the first two albums were done thru this amp/speaker combo. In order to change the sound, the Stratocaster parts would be recorded through a shure 57 on the bottom right speaker, and the Les Paul parts would be recorded through a Sennheiser 421 on the top left speaker.
No love for Billy Boy?
i was literally looking for this all day lol
I think I've never heard more than a couple of this guy songs. I started to play guitar because of the Edge, Gilmour and Knopfler (strange trio btw). But I totally enjoy this guy's tone here. And I love to see how that Neil Youngish grungy style is alive and kicking in people like this.
Love it. This was me 15 yrs old in the late 70s. Had a dozen EHX pedals, a strobe light that highlighted the blue smoke haze that just hung there. So basically he is saying lay out a bunch of pedals and start pressing them and see what happens. Still works for me 35 yrs later.
"I want more dynamics"
Stacks a bunch of hard clipping circuits.
Nailed it.
I love that most of those pedals are just different distortions to stack
Fantastic!! Love me some J!! Thank you J and reverb!
I hear this song every time I walk into guitar center
0:20 "Hey this is J Mascis and I just swallowed a six pack of valium"
he’s so freaking precious 🥺
While everyone so careful to play a nice tuned chord pre pedal demo, this guy 1:09 hahahahahahahah!!!! Gotta love giving no fuks.
J Mascis is one of the most underrated guitar players ever. He is an amazing guitar player.
CALM DOWN MAN!
I love the simultaneous dual foot pedal stomps. So J!
does he have a damn rubics cube in his pocket
no just a back up big muff... just in case he needs to stack more fuzz!
Tíochaidh ar la
He's just happy to see you
I really loved the clean tone
J needs a Booster pedal for his voice..
just a booster pedal
the most under appreciated guitarist around imo
The tone really comes from the Ikea rug.
Email Email .... and that guy peed on it...
Best user nameEVER!
I'm a guitar teacher of 20 years. If he was my student I would correct his bends, yet I LOVE HIM for his raw style! I listened to "alone" in my teen years when I was very well... alone.
cool guy,great & unique player
Thank you J. That was a great video and I’m glad you got your guitar delivered.
Put the speed on 0.5
The tao of J....love when talks about Greg Sage from the Wipers...the true king of bleeding guitars
Genius!!!
He starts to play and he's a real deal!
HAH! David Blaine, I see straight through your gray wig and snapback disguise!
That Rangemaster/Muff combo is TASTY
Put the speed at 1.25 you'll thank me later
you're thinking of jaguars (24" scale length), this is a jazzmaster (25.5" scale length)
Snouter Jazz's are full scale length.
@ Snouter Which shows how little you know about the guitar. You need to google the meaning of temperaments and then do some research into why any guitar will not play entirely in tune, in all keys, on all parts of the neck.
Faster isn't always better. For the most part though it's mesmerizing.
***** derp duh der slow talk makes me think soooooooper hard.
Glad you can relate.
So much knowledge in so few words....
omg i fucking love you for this
Turn it down to make it loud! I love J Mascis and DJr
One of the most underated guitarra players in the fucking historia of the motherfucker world.
J Is god
Best lesson ever.
In a '93 interview, J's advice to young guitarists was "Never use humbuckers." Anyone know if the Ric he uses on "I Told Everyone" has humbuckers?
I bet he's more of a toaster pickup guy than a hi gain guy
He still doesn't use them. Hates them. Ric 12 strings don't have humbuckers, unless they're modded aftermarket.
single coil high gain pickups
That shirt is amazing
Not really my style but good on Reverb to bring in an influential guitar player that's different. I do believe this guy has smoked his fair share of medicine though. ;)
Panhandle Gear Demos J is straight edge
Brandon you mean he doesn't? Or he's on something else? I'm not current with my lingo. Either way, he's pretty chill.
Panhandle Gear Demos straight edge means someone doesn't do drugs or drink alcohol, usually in communities (artists and musicians) where both activities are common. Straight edge got more popular in the 80s from bands like Fugazi and Black Flag.
J isn't straight edge anymore. That was a lonnggg time ago.
Greg Ginn... straight edge... hahaha.
J doesn't play the guitar, he plays the effects! Genius. Jimi would have loved him!