The Greatest Fuzz Guitar Solos
Fuzz is distortion at its most extreme: a buzzing, sustaining tone that runs from Link Wray's Rumble and Jimi Hendrix's Purple Haze to Billy Corgan's walls of Big Muff and Jack White's Ball and Biscuit. These are the greatest solos built on fuzz, and every video starts at the solo.
- 1Jimi Hendrix · solo by Jimi Hendrix · 1967
- 2The White Stripes · solo by Jack White · 2003
- 3The Isley Brothers · solo by Ernie Isley · 1973
- 4Brian Eno · solo by Robert Fripp · 1974
- 5The Yardbirds · solo by Jeff Beck · 1966
- 6Radiohead · solo by Jonny Greenwood · 1995
- 7The Smashing Pumpkins · solo by Billy Corgan · 1993
- 8The Smashing Pumpkins · solo by Billy Corgan · 1993
- 9The Smashing Pumpkins · solo by Billy Corgan · 1993
- 10Muse · solo by Matt Bellamy · 2003
- 11Dinosaur Jr. · solo by J Mascis · 1988
- 12Blur · solo by Graham Coxon · 1999
- 13Link Wray · solo by Link Wray · 1958
- 14Iggy and the Stooges · solo by James Williamson · 1973
- 15Jefferson Airplane · solo by Jorma Kaukonen · 1967
- 16U2 · solo by The Edge · 1991
- 17St. Vincent · solo by Annie Clark · 2014
- 18Funkadelic · solo by Eddie Hazel · 1971
Quick answers
What is the most famous fuzz guitar solo?
Jimi Hendrix's Purple Haze, played through a Fuzz Face, is the benchmark. On the site, Jack White's Ball and Biscuit is the highest-ranked fuzz solo in the Consensus rankings.
What is the difference between fuzz and distortion?
Fuzz clips the signal much harder, which gives a buzzy, square-wave sound with long sustain. Overdrive and distortion are smoother and keep more of the guitar's natural attack.
Which fuzz pedals are the classics?
The Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz-Tone, the Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, the Sola Sound Tone Bender and the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff are the pedals most of these records are linked with.