There’s no denying that The Black Keys are the forerunners in the rise of blues centric rock that has been going on as of late. With amazingly dirty riffs, Dan Auerbach’s fuzz is a much sought after tone for many guitarists.
Not to mention the rise in fuzz interest over the last few years. From what I’ve been able to dig up, Dan uses a vast array of fuzz including:
- Analogman Sun Face
- EarthQuaker Devices Hoof Fuzz
- fOXX Tone Machine
- Fulltone SoulBender
- Maestro MFZ Fuzz-tone
- Electro-Harmonix Russian Big Muff
- Solasound Tonebender
But it’s the first 2 on that list that we really need to focus on. The Sunface and Hoof Fuzz are 2 very different fuzzes that are derivatives of 2 very popular fuzzes (the Fuzz Face and Big Muff respectively). It’s my guess that Dan uses the Hoof for a heavier grind to chords and the Sunface for more of the shrill splatty lead riffs.
My suggestion? Get the Hoof Fuzz and the Sun Face. If that’s not an option for you, Electro-Harmonix makes smaller more affordable Big Muffs and there are plenty of Fuzz Face clones out there such as the MJM London Fuzz.
The Pedal Lab 