Kyuss, the legendary desert rock/stoner rock/metal band, that launched the career of Queens of the Stone singer/songwriter/guitarist/generalbadass Josh Homme, is an interesting take on a blog dealing with guitar effects. Their sound can be attributed to Josh's unusual choice of amps, tunings, but not so much to the extensive use of effects, which stands in contrast with the approach of QotSA.
Kyuss was formed in 1988 under the name of Katzenjammer, then Sons of Kyuss, and in 1991, they finally changed their name to Kyuss. The two continous members were singer John Garcia and guitarist Josh Homme, other members included Nick Oliveri, Scott Reeder, and Brant Bjork among others. The band disbanded in 1995. Today, two original members, John Garcia and Brant Bjork are touring as Kyuss Lives!, playing Kyuss songs.
Kyuss became the prototypical stoner act, drone guitar riffs, heavy bass, hard'n'loud drums, and strong vocals. Josh Homme mainly used an Ovation GP guitar, which is the single most important part; this guitar is capable of producing a unique sound that no other guitars can. Homme later said in an interview that he prefers unique guitars, guitars with a story, and that he tends to buy used guitars because of this. He also said that he never owned a Gibson Les Paul or a Fender Stratocaster. To get that solid stoner sound, you should also roll back the tone knob on your guitar a bit (or a lot). Kyuss mostly played in a C standard tuning, so you'll want to set up your guitar to accommodate that, and .12 or .13 strings are recommended. Use your neck pickup.
Josh used bass amplifiers in Kyuss, we know of a Tubeworks Mosvalve RT2100 ES in particular, but he used various other amps, including Marshall JCM900s and 2000s. Though we know some of the models he used, we don't really know the little "magic tricks" they used to tweak the sound of the amps, this is the main reason Josh Homme's sound is so elusive. As for the equalization, you should turn up the bass and the mids, and turn down the treble. You should also crank up the volume to get a natural, crunchy, overdriven sound.
As for the effects, you can get a fuzz or a Boss SD-1, after all this amp magic, the distortion will mostly come from the amp itself. As for the fuzz, an EHX Big Muff could work as a general solution, or you could get an EHX Germanium Muff for a bit more crunchy low end. Though Josh never really used fuzz in Kyuss, it might work for some of you with amps that have a lower gain. The other effects are quite elusive, and haven't been used a whole lot in Kyuss, but a few people recommended getting a Visual Sound H2O for the chorus/delay modulation.
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