Riff pack · for the octave/straight fuzz

Power-Chord Riffs

Six original riffs built for the Thornicus. Straight-fuzz side for the chords; octave side saved for the single-note breaks. Fuzz wants thickness, space, and a tight right hand — these are written to feed it. Tap to hear the shapes.

Dial the Thornicus for power chords

Channel
Straight fuzz
Octave
OFF for chords
Fuzz
12–1:00
Tone
12–1:00
Volume
unity / boost
Position
first, off the guitar

Why not max the fuzz: past ~1:00 the chords intermodulate into mush. Back it off and power chords stay readable. Octave OFF: the octave circuit turns chords to chaos — flip it on only for the single-note lead breaks (marked in the riffs). Bridge pickup tightens it; roll guitar volume down to clean the fuzz to a spitty crunch on the fly.

Power chords through fuzz — the technique

Two notes, not threeWhen a chord gets muddy, drop the octave and play just root + 5th. Fuzz adds its own harmonics — fewer fretted notes = clearer wall.
Palm mute is kingFuzz + open low chords = boom. Palm-muting tightens the low end and gives the riff its percussive chug. Most of these live or die on the muting hand.
Use the spaceFuzz sustains and blooms — leave gaps and let it ring/feed back rather than filling every beat. The rests are part of the riff.
Bridge for tight, neck for thickBridge pickup keeps fast riffs articulate; neck pickup is the doom/stoner wall. Switch by riff.
Volume-knob dynamicsRoll the guitar to ~7 and the fuzz cleans to a gnarly overdrive — back to 10 for the full wall. Riff dynamics without touching the pedal.
Bloom into the MesaHold the last chord and let it sustain into the wet rig — fuzz feeding the BigSky is a massive, singing ending.