fuzzy
March 23, 2015 4:13 PM Subscribe
Typically, stompboxes are activated by “stomping” on an on/off bypass switch.
The switch is located on the "box".
posted by thelonius at 4:51 PM on March 23, 2015 [8 favorites]
The switch is located on the "box".
posted by thelonius at 4:51 PM on March 23, 2015 [8 favorites]
Short thrift to wah wah, though!
Also, you can't talk about Hendrix without talking Uni-Vibe in depth!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 4:52 PM on March 23, 2015
Also, you can't talk about Hendrix without talking Uni-Vibe in depth!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 4:52 PM on March 23, 2015
That demo of the Leslie.. I saw that and immediately thought, what a ridiculous concept, demoing a Leslie in stereo on Youtube. Then I hit play, and I wanted to die.
posted by charlie don't surf at 4:54 PM on March 23, 2015
posted by charlie don't surf at 4:54 PM on March 23, 2015
The article could have been expanded for sure! In keeping with the theme of the improvised or even accidental origin of some common effects, for example, he could have discussed the origins of the flanger: it was an obtained by putting your hand against the flange of a tape reel.
posted by thelonius at 4:59 PM on March 23, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 4:59 PM on March 23, 2015 [2 favorites]
I also think that the article missed the exact origin of the wah-wah pedal - it wasn't so much the sound of the human voice it was trying to emulate as the effect of a trumpet mute.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 5:34 PM on March 23, 2015
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 5:34 PM on March 23, 2015
I would like to point out that I am living proof that no amount of cool guitar effects can substitute for actual musical ability. I so very much wish this were not true, but alas it is.
Great article, says the guy who built transistor treble boosters and fuzz boxes from Popular Electronics articles in the late 60s and still sucked at guitar. Even buying a Zoom box many years later didn't help.
posted by cccorlew at 5:37 PM on March 23, 2015
Great article, says the guy who built transistor treble boosters and fuzz boxes from Popular Electronics articles in the late 60s and still sucked at guitar. Even buying a Zoom box many years later didn't help.
posted by cccorlew at 5:37 PM on March 23, 2015
You can start playing with the electronics more easily than ever before. This guy shows how to make fuzz with only a transistor, two capacitors, and two resistors ("bazz fuss").
posted by batfish at 5:49 PM on March 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by batfish at 5:49 PM on March 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
Big Muff Pi guy here.
posted by spitbull at 5:50 PM on March 23, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by spitbull at 5:50 PM on March 23, 2015 [3 favorites]
Guitar is so fashion driven. No one wants multi-effects units like the Zoom anymore, it seems - everyone's back into huge "pedalboards" (where the pedals are mounted on a "board") these days. Given the stuff that's out there now, I can see why.
posted by thelonius at 5:56 PM on March 23, 2015
posted by thelonius at 5:56 PM on March 23, 2015
if you have a Tele and a Twin you don't need no stinkin' pedals.
posted by spitbull at 6:06 PM on March 23, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by spitbull at 6:06 PM on March 23, 2015 [3 favorites]
What Makes an Electric Guitar Sound Like an Electric Guitar.
Pete Townsend's hands?
posted by Thorzdad at 6:15 PM on March 23, 2015 [8 favorites]
Pete Townsend's hands?
posted by Thorzdad at 6:15 PM on March 23, 2015 [8 favorites]
You can get a wah effect on a Tele by hooking the tone knob with your pinky and oscillating it. I think that's a Roy Buchanan thing.
But yeah, I think it's extremely important to be able to plug in and play, without having to fuss around with your 9 volt batteries and Sonic Alientor pedal and all. I also really love a great clean electric sound, or in that edge-of-breakup tube amp zone, more than I like high gain distortion. A lot of players use OD pedals to push that breakup zone into their lead sound - that's the kind of thing I like. And delay. Moar delay.
posted by thelonius at 6:20 PM on March 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
But yeah, I think it's extremely important to be able to plug in and play, without having to fuss around with your 9 volt batteries and Sonic Alientor pedal and all. I also really love a great clean electric sound, or in that edge-of-breakup tube amp zone, more than I like high gain distortion. A lot of players use OD pedals to push that breakup zone into their lead sound - that's the kind of thing I like. And delay. Moar delay.
posted by thelonius at 6:20 PM on March 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
if you have a Tele and a Twin you don't need no stinkin' pedals.
Roy?
posted by j_curiouser at 6:30 PM on March 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
Roy?
posted by j_curiouser at 6:30 PM on March 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
It's the now sound, it's what's happening.
posted by Combustible Edison Lighthouse at 6:48 PM on March 23, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by Combustible Edison Lighthouse at 6:48 PM on March 23, 2015 [6 favorites]
What Makes an Electric Guitar Sound Like an Electric Guitar.
Yeah, this article completely fails to answer the question. The article is all about amps and speakers and effects processors. That is not why it sounds like an electric guitar.
The electric guitar sounds like it does because Les Paul built the Log. Before the Log, there were electrically amplified acoustic guitars, but this was the first practical solid body electric guitar. Before the Log, people wanted louder acoustic guitars, that's actually what Les Paul tried to build. But he built something else entirely: a guitar built for the sole purpose of producing an electronic signal.
posted by charlie don't surf at 7:08 PM on March 23, 2015 [6 favorites]
Yeah, this article completely fails to answer the question. The article is all about amps and speakers and effects processors. That is not why it sounds like an electric guitar.
The electric guitar sounds like it does because Les Paul built the Log. Before the Log, there were electrically amplified acoustic guitars, but this was the first practical solid body electric guitar. Before the Log, people wanted louder acoustic guitars, that's actually what Les Paul tried to build. But he built something else entirely: a guitar built for the sole purpose of producing an electronic signal.
posted by charlie don't surf at 7:08 PM on March 23, 2015 [6 favorites]
What Makes an Electric Guitar Sound Like an Electric Guitar.
I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that "electricity" is almost certainly part of the answer.
posted by yoink at 7:48 PM on March 23, 2015 [3 favorites]
I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that "electricity" is almost certainly part of the answer.
posted by yoink at 7:48 PM on March 23, 2015 [3 favorites]
Guitar is so fashion driven. No one wants multi-effects units like the Zoom anymore, it seems - everyone's back into huge "pedalboards" (where the pedals are mounted on a "board") these days. Given the stuff that's out there now, I can see why.
Multi-effects are better than they used to be but still limited; it's the cheap compromise for people wanting minimal setup for a gig, or for beginners keeping it cheap.
While I have a small armload of pedals, mostly distortion and fuzz -- I still mostly go with software-based effects, for flexibility. (I am mostly a synth and percussion type, though I do have a fretless bass and a lap steel.) I have a Zoom G1on (it was one of those things I put on a Christmas wish list and probably wouldn't have bought for myself), but with a few exceptions that "just work," I find it kind of awkward and limiting compared to, say, NI Guitar Rig.
But then again, if I were going to play fairly standard guitar parts instead of the weird stuff that I do, maybe I would just need the basics anyway and the Zoom might cover it.
posted by Foosnark at 8:31 PM on March 23, 2015
Multi-effects are better than they used to be but still limited; it's the cheap compromise for people wanting minimal setup for a gig, or for beginners keeping it cheap.
While I have a small armload of pedals, mostly distortion and fuzz -- I still mostly go with software-based effects, for flexibility. (I am mostly a synth and percussion type, though I do have a fretless bass and a lap steel.) I have a Zoom G1on (it was one of those things I put on a Christmas wish list and probably wouldn't have bought for myself), but with a few exceptions that "just work," I find it kind of awkward and limiting compared to, say, NI Guitar Rig.
But then again, if I were going to play fairly standard guitar parts instead of the weird stuff that I do, maybe I would just need the basics anyway and the Zoom might cover it.
posted by Foosnark at 8:31 PM on March 23, 2015
It was really just volume, and the need to fill larger and larger venues, that led to valve amps being overdriven as a matter of course. As this happened, guitarists happily discovered that having the amp break up like this led to massively increased sustain and harmonic richness, and you just sounded better whatever you played. Anyone who has played a valve amp flat out finds themselves grinning.
People also like the sound of valve distortion because it sets off partial harmonics in the harmonic series in an exaggerated way. There is an audible major third in every distorted 'power chord' that drifts in and our of our perception in much the same way as 'blue notes' suggest a wilder or darker alternate harmony beneath the surface.
posted by colie at 12:49 AM on March 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
People also like the sound of valve distortion because it sets off partial harmonics in the harmonic series in an exaggerated way. There is an audible major third in every distorted 'power chord' that drifts in and our of our perception in much the same way as 'blue notes' suggest a wilder or darker alternate harmony beneath the surface.
posted by colie at 12:49 AM on March 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
Multi effects processors are for working musicians who don't have roadies. In my GB/Top40 days back in the 80s and 90s I used Digitech DSPs. They seemed so advanced. You could get a lot of tones out of one box.
I would never go back to a pedal board or a bunch of battery powered boxes.
These days, however, I have a modeling amp, a volume pedal, and a guitar. Modeling amp because the Twin is too fucking loud for practicing.
But I only ever really needed clean, dirty, dirtier, and a little chorus and reverb. It's all about the fingers.
A Twin Reverb and a guitar with good tone and high output pickups will give you any flavor of distortion you desire. And yeah, on a telecaster you can do both tone and volume expression effects with your pinkie (Roy B mastered but did not invent this).
I do find a straight volume pedal to be useful but I basically try to make a Tele sound like a pedal steel, so it's crucial for that purpose.
By the way it's a shame the article doesn't mention Bob Dunn, who is at least as important as Leo or Les.
posted by spitbull at 3:22 AM on March 24, 2015
I would never go back to a pedal board or a bunch of battery powered boxes.
These days, however, I have a modeling amp, a volume pedal, and a guitar. Modeling amp because the Twin is too fucking loud for practicing.
But I only ever really needed clean, dirty, dirtier, and a little chorus and reverb. It's all about the fingers.
A Twin Reverb and a guitar with good tone and high output pickups will give you any flavor of distortion you desire. And yeah, on a telecaster you can do both tone and volume expression effects with your pinkie (Roy B mastered but did not invent this).
I do find a straight volume pedal to be useful but I basically try to make a Tele sound like a pedal steel, so it's crucial for that purpose.
By the way it's a shame the article doesn't mention Bob Dunn, who is at least as important as Leo or Les.
posted by spitbull at 3:22 AM on March 24, 2015
With a Pedaltrain board (which comes with a low-level road case) and a Voodoo Pedal Power, you don't need roadies - or batteries - to use individual pedals, and you can really sculpt an individual tone. My experience with multi-FX boxes (excluding something like the Axe-FX) is that there is a sameness across the sounds that neuters it.
posted by grumpybear69 at 6:54 AM on March 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by grumpybear69 at 6:54 AM on March 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
re: too loud for practicing
that's why I'm wanting a Carr Skylark, but I can't really drop $2500 on an amp for my hobby right now
posted by thelonius at 7:13 AM on March 24, 2015
that's why I'm wanting a Carr Skylark, but I can't really drop $2500 on an amp for my hobby right now
posted by thelonius at 7:13 AM on March 24, 2015
Pete Townsend's hands?
Yeah, driver, not car. But for a general audience, gear porn is way more more fun than describing endless hours of practice.
Take someone who used a lot of effects in pretty groundbreaking ways, hand him an acoustic guitar, and he'd still sound like himself.
Multi-effects are better than they used to be but still limited; it's the cheap compromise for people wanting minimal setup for a gig, or for beginners keeping it cheap.
Yeah, my digital multi-effect amp modeller thingamajig is the perfect neighbour-friendly solution for me. I do find that there's a digital "brittleness" to it that tires out my ears after a while. But, on balance, it's a totally acceptable compromise.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:32 AM on March 24, 2015 [4 favorites]
Yeah, driver, not car. But for a general audience, gear porn is way more more fun than describing endless hours of practice.
Take someone who used a lot of effects in pretty groundbreaking ways, hand him an acoustic guitar, and he'd still sound like himself.
Multi-effects are better than they used to be but still limited; it's the cheap compromise for people wanting minimal setup for a gig, or for beginners keeping it cheap.
Yeah, my digital multi-effect amp modeller thingamajig is the perfect neighbour-friendly solution for me. I do find that there's a digital "brittleness" to it that tires out my ears after a while. But, on balance, it's a totally acceptable compromise.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:32 AM on March 24, 2015 [4 favorites]
The high end amp modelling is getting really good now, to where players who have gone all the way down the tube amp road are starting to use them.
posted by thelonius at 7:34 AM on March 24, 2015
posted by thelonius at 7:34 AM on March 24, 2015
Carr Skylark
12 watts is still plenty loud. Hell, lately I've been playing through a sub-watt tube amp that ... well it sounds okay with a mic in front of it, honky Marshall-esque midrange, at loud-TV volume. I also picked up a SansAmp Paradriver for DI bass, and it turns out to be a great way to dial back some of the honk and add in some thick fuzz. I love fuzz, wailing overtones and endless sustain.
posted by uncleozzy at 7:38 AM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
12 watts is still plenty loud. Hell, lately I've been playing through a sub-watt tube amp that ... well it sounds okay with a mic in front of it, honky Marshall-esque midrange, at loud-TV volume. I also picked up a SansAmp Paradriver for DI bass, and it turns out to be a great way to dial back some of the honk and add in some thick fuzz. I love fuzz, wailing overtones and endless sustain.
posted by uncleozzy at 7:38 AM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
...dial back some of the honk and add in some thick fuzz.
I'm editing a fairly dry message at work right now. When I send it back to the person who's requested my review I'm going to describe my revisions in exactly those terms.
"See my tracked changes. I just dialed back some of the honk and added in some thick fuzz. Please review and get back to me if you need anything else."
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:53 AM on March 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
I'm editing a fairly dry message at work right now. When I send it back to the person who's requested my review I'm going to describe my revisions in exactly those terms.
"See my tracked changes. I just dialed back some of the honk and added in some thick fuzz. Please review and get back to me if you need anything else."
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:53 AM on March 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
because the Twin is too fucking loud for practicing.
A Twin Reverb and a guitar with good tone and high output pickups will give you any flavor of distortion you desire.
I beg to differ.
Mostly, a Twin is too fucking loud for anything less than a space capable of holding at least 2000 people. (But so are a lot of snare drums and cymbals - thus the Eternal Battle between drummers and guitarists.) Especially if you're using a vintage or vintage reissue model (like the current '65 Twin Reverb) without a "master volume" control. So, no, you can't get "any flavor" of distortion unless you're willing to play at ear-bleeding levels. If you've got really hot pickups you can overdrive the preamp tubes, but hot pickups are not necessarily appropriate for every player or style.
Of course, if you're playing a style where pummeling your audience with volume is the point, then go for it.
Twins & their relatives were designed to give you a clean sound at high volume, in the days when PA systems were only capable of amplifying the singers. The guitar players didn't want distortion, they wanted to be heard while playing a gymnasium. Twins can do that without distorting. That's why Twins are the most common amp requested on backline riders for bands doing fly dates - not only does everyone know how to use one, but they give you a clean base sound at virtually any volume, and then the player can add overdrive/distortion/fuzz with pedals as needed.
posted by soundguy99 at 8:06 AM on March 24, 2015 [5 favorites]
A Twin Reverb and a guitar with good tone and high output pickups will give you any flavor of distortion you desire.
I beg to differ.
Mostly, a Twin is too fucking loud for anything less than a space capable of holding at least 2000 people. (But so are a lot of snare drums and cymbals - thus the Eternal Battle between drummers and guitarists.) Especially if you're using a vintage or vintage reissue model (like the current '65 Twin Reverb) without a "master volume" control. So, no, you can't get "any flavor" of distortion unless you're willing to play at ear-bleeding levels. If you've got really hot pickups you can overdrive the preamp tubes, but hot pickups are not necessarily appropriate for every player or style.
Of course, if you're playing a style where pummeling your audience with volume is the point, then go for it.
Twins & their relatives were designed to give you a clean sound at high volume, in the days when PA systems were only capable of amplifying the singers. The guitar players didn't want distortion, they wanted to be heard while playing a gymnasium. Twins can do that without distorting. That's why Twins are the most common amp requested on backline riders for bands doing fly dates - not only does everyone know how to use one, but they give you a clean base sound at virtually any volume, and then the player can add overdrive/distortion/fuzz with pedals as needed.
posted by soundguy99 at 8:06 AM on March 24, 2015 [5 favorites]
12 watts is still plenty loud.
It is - but the Skylark has a built in attenuator that you can use to dial it down to .5 watts
posted by thelonius at 8:13 AM on March 24, 2015
It is - but the Skylark has a built in attenuator that you can use to dial it down to .5 watts
posted by thelonius at 8:13 AM on March 24, 2015
Pete Townsend's hands?
Pete Townshend's hands on a 1952 Telecaster.
posted by charlie don't surf at 8:22 AM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
Pete Townshend's hands on a 1952 Telecaster.
posted by charlie don't surf at 8:22 AM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
I use a cheap modeller because it's inexpensive, versatile and convenient. But it also sounds pretty crappy compared to a real gang of pedals, which I would get instead if I was more dedicated. In that case, I would also get some nicer guitars and nicer amps (and a nicer car and a nicer yacht;)
The cute thing about pedals is that you can get really interesting variations on your sonic themes by switching around the sequence in the signal chain. Putting the fuzz before or after the echo has a really different character to it.
posted by ovvl at 8:52 AM on March 24, 2015
The cute thing about pedals is that you can get really interesting variations on your sonic themes by switching around the sequence in the signal chain. Putting the fuzz before or after the echo has a really different character to it.
posted by ovvl at 8:52 AM on March 24, 2015
I love pedals. Twenty years or so ago amp modelling basically didn't exist. Esoteric fuzzboxes could still be found, unwanted, in the bargain bins of guitar shops but if you wanted something a little spacey and modern your choices were basically Boss or Boss (nothing wrong with Boss). Today, however, the sheer quantity of pedals - fuzzes, loopers, delays, phasers, synths, even pedals that turn your guitar into an anime character - is almost a bit too daunting. However, if you like to use a lot of effects (guilty as charged) and you're packing and unpacking your rig week in, week out, the chances of keeping things consistent are slim. Slotting everything into a custom board looks fantastic but it's a world of wire spaghetti if you want to experiment. That's why I went down the modelling route and haven't really looked back. You can switch around the signal chain as much as you like - probably more so. Does it sound as good? Probably not. But twenty years of relatively unsophisticated, effects-driven guitar playing has probably robbed me of the nuances in any case.
posted by srednivashtar at 9:09 AM on March 24, 2015
posted by srednivashtar at 9:09 AM on March 24, 2015
"Typically, stompboxes are activated by “stomping” on an on/off bypass switch."
The switch is located on the "box".
thelonius: I laughed but I think he's put scare quotes round "stomping" to mark it out as a quoted foreign word. (The writer lives in Lancaster and British English uses "stamp" where American English uses "stomp".) Why the Atlantic's editors left them in is a mystery, as is the rest of the non-editing done on this pretty badly written piece.
In other news, Princeton Reverb, baby. My understanding is that if you want to overdrive a Twin you need a pair of earplugs and a field to stand at the other end of.
posted by Mocata at 9:42 AM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
The switch is located on the "box".
thelonius: I laughed but I think he's put scare quotes round "stomping" to mark it out as a quoted foreign word. (The writer lives in Lancaster and British English uses "stamp" where American English uses "stomp".) Why the Atlantic's editors left them in is a mystery, as is the rest of the non-editing done on this pretty badly written piece.
In other news, Princeton Reverb, baby. My understanding is that if you want to overdrive a Twin you need a pair of earplugs and a field to stand at the other end of.
posted by Mocata at 9:42 AM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
Mocata, I've been eyeing that Princeton Reverb '68 reissue for sure.
posted by thelonius at 10:41 AM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by thelonius at 10:41 AM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
My amp is a Fender Mustang IV. It does an excellent job of modeling every other popular fender amp and just as good a job at modeling a bunch of other amps (though they can't call the VOX AC30 by it's real name of course). It models just about any pedal you could think of with every knob that you could possibly want to tinker with. Plus I can plug the thing into a computer and fiddle with pedals and effects with a simple drag and drop. I can even download setups that other people have made and load them up. It has 99 save slots that can be totally customized (and it's easy to do through the software) so I could see someone loading up the effects in the order that they'll need them for their set-list and then all they'd need to do is use the floor switch and not have to touch anything else until they change the set-list.
About the only thing I an think of that I could possibly want that it won't already do is use an actual pedal for the wah effect but I can still buy that and plug it in if I want.
The volume on the thing has never been above 2 and even that will rattle the windows. The sound is good enough that most people couldn't tell the difference between it and an analogue setup and I'd bet that even experts would have hard time. It sounds good enough for a professional musician, it/s loud enough for any venue short of a stadium, and is still small enough to fit in the trunk of a car. It's basically what any professional guitar player should use at least for live shows and would probably be fine for recording until they had enough success that cost is no longer an issue.
It's WAY more amp than I'll ever need and is a great value at $500. Well, it does a lot more than I was willing to pay for at $500 but I got lucky, really lucky, and snagged a used one on craigslist for $200. But for someone who is actually GOOD at playing guitar instead of just a half-assed hobbyist who doesn't practice enough, it's a steal even at MSRP.
Guitars are kind of the same way. If you don't get hung up on authenticity, you can get a knock-off that sounds so good and plays so well no one will be able to tell the difference (I have one like this). When I handed that guitar over to my luthier, he was VERY impressed. Then I told him how much I paid for it and his jaw hit the floor.
posted by VTX at 12:16 PM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
About the only thing I an think of that I could possibly want that it won't already do is use an actual pedal for the wah effect but I can still buy that and plug it in if I want.
The volume on the thing has never been above 2 and even that will rattle the windows. The sound is good enough that most people couldn't tell the difference between it and an analogue setup and I'd bet that even experts would have hard time. It sounds good enough for a professional musician, it/s loud enough for any venue short of a stadium, and is still small enough to fit in the trunk of a car. It's basically what any professional guitar player should use at least for live shows and would probably be fine for recording until they had enough success that cost is no longer an issue.
It's WAY more amp than I'll ever need and is a great value at $500. Well, it does a lot more than I was willing to pay for at $500 but I got lucky, really lucky, and snagged a used one on craigslist for $200. But for someone who is actually GOOD at playing guitar instead of just a half-assed hobbyist who doesn't practice enough, it's a steal even at MSRP.
Guitars are kind of the same way. If you don't get hung up on authenticity, you can get a knock-off that sounds so good and plays so well no one will be able to tell the difference (I have one like this). When I handed that guitar over to my luthier, he was VERY impressed. Then I told him how much I paid for it and his jaw hit the floor.
posted by VTX at 12:16 PM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
The sound is good enough that most people couldn't tell the difference between it and an analogue setup
Especially since any sonic superiority of the authentic tube amp thing is undetectable in most real life live sound situations, with a loud drum set stomping all over your precious tone.
But I think a lot of guitarists don't really care about any advantages of modeling; they just love screwing around with tube amps and pedals, and they don't want to stop doing so.
posted by thelonius at 1:45 PM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
Especially since any sonic superiority of the authentic tube amp thing is undetectable in most real life live sound situations, with a loud drum set stomping all over your precious tone.
But I think a lot of guitarists don't really care about any advantages of modeling; they just love screwing around with tube amps and pedals, and they don't want to stop doing so.
posted by thelonius at 1:45 PM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
But I think a lot of guitarists don't really care about any advantages of modeling; they just love screwing around with tube amps and pedals, and they don't want to stop doing so.
hey i resemble that remark.
Also, if you're the kind of tinkerer that likes to fool around with actual parts and components, then tube amps and older analog pedals are the way to go. (Newer modern analog pedals tend to use surface mount components, which can be quite a bit trickier to change out.)
I agree that in practice modeling amps have come far enough that even a picky guitarist won't hear a difference, especially in a live band situation. But the argument could be made that the amp will feel different in how it responds to the minor borderline-unconscious details of your playing. I dunno that I would make that argument - I haven't spent much time with modeling amps besides a first-generation Line 6 Spider, which was kinda crap - but it's definitely tough to make a solid state amp respond like a tube amp, even if it sounds fine.
posted by soundguy99 at 4:08 PM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
hey i resemble that remark.
Also, if you're the kind of tinkerer that likes to fool around with actual parts and components, then tube amps and older analog pedals are the way to go. (Newer modern analog pedals tend to use surface mount components, which can be quite a bit trickier to change out.)
I agree that in practice modeling amps have come far enough that even a picky guitarist won't hear a difference, especially in a live band situation. But the argument could be made that the amp will feel different in how it responds to the minor borderline-unconscious details of your playing. I dunno that I would make that argument - I haven't spent much time with modeling amps besides a first-generation Line 6 Spider, which was kinda crap - but it's definitely tough to make a solid state amp respond like a tube amp, even if it sounds fine.
posted by soundguy99 at 4:08 PM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
If anyone wants to head deep down the rabbit hole of guitar effects pedals, both historical and current, the place to start is DiscoFreq's Guitar Effects Database.
posted by soundguy99 at 4:17 PM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by soundguy99 at 4:17 PM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
You have a good point, soundguy99. Modeling has come a long way but it is still a simulation, and playing is a very personal thing. If there is a little difference in something like how the sound responds to a change in attack, that's a deal breaker for some folks, definitely.
posted by thelonius at 4:53 PM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by thelonius at 4:53 PM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
soundguy point taken, I mean any flavor of distortion you want as long as you're playing country music or R&B.
posted by spitbull at 5:13 PM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by spitbull at 5:13 PM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
Yeah, the thing here is that "yep, all these effects are technically possible at all sorts of price points and configurations," but the question is "does it feel right for you and how you play?"
There's also the resilience of tube and analog components. I remember seeing a Fender Deluxe Reverb for sale on consignment at a local guitar shop. It was mid-60s, original except for (I think) a replaced speaker, but otherwise original right down to the transformers. But the grill cloth was this gnarly shade of nicotine yellow because it was a working bar gig amp for years and years, and the cabinet looked hideous. But it still worked and sounded great. Great? No, tasty.
My POD probably won't be working or updatable in, like five to ten years, so there's that too.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 5:23 PM on March 24, 2015
There's also the resilience of tube and analog components. I remember seeing a Fender Deluxe Reverb for sale on consignment at a local guitar shop. It was mid-60s, original except for (I think) a replaced speaker, but otherwise original right down to the transformers. But the grill cloth was this gnarly shade of nicotine yellow because it was a working bar gig amp for years and years, and the cabinet looked hideous. But it still worked and sounded great. Great? No, tasty.
My POD probably won't be working or updatable in, like five to ten years, so there's that too.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 5:23 PM on March 24, 2015
There's also the resilience of tube and analog components.
Really? Maybe you can repair my vintage Cry Baby pedal. The gears don't have enough tension so when I take my foot off the pedal, it slips back to the top instead of staying where I left it. And the potentiometer is a little dirty too. Maybe after that, you can clean the pots in my '77 Fender Champ, they sound a little crackly when you turn them. Then next you can look at my last 4 guitar cables, all very expensive, lifetime guaranteed with premium grade connectors, and all of them dead in less than 4 years of light use in my home.
Analog gear is crap. Some of it is crappy in an excellent way, but mostly it's just crap.
posted by charlie don't surf at 7:13 PM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
Really? Maybe you can repair my vintage Cry Baby pedal. The gears don't have enough tension so when I take my foot off the pedal, it slips back to the top instead of staying where I left it. And the potentiometer is a little dirty too. Maybe after that, you can clean the pots in my '77 Fender Champ, they sound a little crackly when you turn them. Then next you can look at my last 4 guitar cables, all very expensive, lifetime guaranteed with premium grade connectors, and all of them dead in less than 4 years of light use in my home.
Analog gear is crap. Some of it is crappy in an excellent way, but mostly it's just crap.
posted by charlie don't surf at 7:13 PM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
Wow, if this evolves/devolves into a "modellers" verses "pedals/tubes" type of question, then it really is a kinda zen question?
It's kinda like the mods verses rockers fights when I watched 'Quadrophenia' again last week. The random beach fighting against each other wasn't really the point, the conflict in itself was the context. Rock on! Distort!
posted by ovvl at 7:15 PM on March 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
It's kinda like the mods verses rockers fights when I watched 'Quadrophenia' again last week. The random beach fighting against each other wasn't really the point, the conflict in itself was the context. Rock on! Distort!
posted by ovvl at 7:15 PM on March 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
It's not so much that I think my amp is as good as a tube amp and pedals. As I understand it, a good player plays the amp as much as they play the guitar and that is the part that makes Hendrix such a genius. Modeling amps try to model it but it takes a better player than I to hear the difference so I'll concede that point. It's just that I think the convenience of the thing and ability to totally change your sound by flicking a switch along with the sheer value in terms of the pedals that you now don't need to buy overcome those minor shortfalls so well that it's a better alternative for most players. I get that I'm a far less serious player than most so maybe I underestimate the value of a more authentic sound. I still think that the value of the amp lies in having easy access to all of the effects even if there are only a few of them a person would really buy.
Someday, they'll emulate a tube amp so well that no one will be able to tell. We might not be there yet, but it's getting really close. Some people aren't willing to make the minor loss of sound quality (assuming it's detectable) or even the chance a loss of sound quality at any price. I get that even if I don't agree with it.
posted by VTX at 7:53 PM on March 24, 2015
Someday, they'll emulate a tube amp so well that no one will be able to tell. We might not be there yet, but it's getting really close. Some people aren't willing to make the minor loss of sound quality (assuming it's detectable) or even the chance a loss of sound quality at any price. I get that even if I don't agree with it.
posted by VTX at 7:53 PM on March 24, 2015
Maybe you can repair my vintage Cry Baby pedal.
Believe me, I love the fact my modeller just works without dragging out the parts and giving them a shot contact cleaner. Unlike my 2004 Vox wah pedal. Even being as new as it is, it needs a shockingly frequent amount of cleaning to keep it from crackling.
All I was getting at is that my 1972 vintage Sherwood stereo receiver/amp had a power switch problem. The replacement part no longer exists, but the stereo repair guy jumped the power so a power bar became my new on/off switch. But it never didn't work. It was just always "on" as long as it had power. That was the new way it was going to continue to work.
I don't think it's necessarily modellers vs. pedals/tubes. What works for you works and there are tradeoffs, particularly if one is a tone purist. Again, driver, not car.
It's also the amount of pain in the butt you're willing to deal with for the tone you want. As other people pointed out upthread, modelling has gotten better, but lots of people are happy to put in the work and fiddling to feel satisfied with how they sound.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:10 PM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
Believe me, I love the fact my modeller just works without dragging out the parts and giving them a shot contact cleaner. Unlike my 2004 Vox wah pedal. Even being as new as it is, it needs a shockingly frequent amount of cleaning to keep it from crackling.
All I was getting at is that my 1972 vintage Sherwood stereo receiver/amp had a power switch problem. The replacement part no longer exists, but the stereo repair guy jumped the power so a power bar became my new on/off switch. But it never didn't work. It was just always "on" as long as it had power. That was the new way it was going to continue to work.
I don't think it's necessarily modellers vs. pedals/tubes. What works for you works and there are tradeoffs, particularly if one is a tone purist. Again, driver, not car.
It's also the amount of pain in the butt you're willing to deal with for the tone you want. As other people pointed out upthread, modelling has gotten better, but lots of people are happy to put in the work and fiddling to feel satisfied with how they sound.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:10 PM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
Maybe you can repair my vintage Cry Baby pedal. The gears don't have enough tension so when I take my foot off the pedal, it slips back to the top instead of staying where I left it.
Parts. Parts. TDPRI thread about a similar problem. Jackson/Charvel forum thread about re-tensioning wah pedals. TDPRI thread on adjusting tension.
And the potentiometer is a little dirty too. Maybe after that, you can clean the pots in my '77 Fender Champ, they sound a little crackly when you turn them.
DeOxit. You shouldn't even have to take anything apart - just spray the stuff kinda in/around the pots, under the knobs, work the pots around a little bit, you're good to go.
Then next you can look at my last 4 guitar cables, all very expensive, lifetime guaranteed with premium grade connectors, and all of them dead in less than 4 years of light use in my home.
And I've got no-name and Whirlwind and Spectraflex cables that are 20+ years old & as good as the day I bought them, if we're gonna trade anecdata.
Are yours Monster cables? Not only are Monsters well known for being wildly overpriced and poorly constructed, but it's gotten to the point that guys on tour will buy them specifically because the "lifetime guarantee" gets used so often that if a cable breaks they can just wander into the nearest Guitar Center, wave the broken Monster cable around and say, "lifetime guarantee" and get a free replacement, no receipt necessary. I assume there are giant shipping containers full of broken Monster cables from GC headed back to Monster HQ on a weekly basis, but maybe GC just pitches 'em. (And mostly the problem is that the soldering & strain relief on the ends is just shoddy work, so if you've got any soldering skills at all and someone offers you a broken Monster cable for free 'cause it's broke, you should say "yes" because you just got a functional cable for ten minutes of work.)
Also, if your cables have a lifetime guarantee, and they're just sitting around your house broken instead of you getting off your butt and taking them back to the store or sending them back to the company for replacement, well . . . .
posted by soundguy99 at 8:16 PM on March 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
Parts. Parts. TDPRI thread about a similar problem. Jackson/Charvel forum thread about re-tensioning wah pedals. TDPRI thread on adjusting tension.
And the potentiometer is a little dirty too. Maybe after that, you can clean the pots in my '77 Fender Champ, they sound a little crackly when you turn them.
DeOxit. You shouldn't even have to take anything apart - just spray the stuff kinda in/around the pots, under the knobs, work the pots around a little bit, you're good to go.
Then next you can look at my last 4 guitar cables, all very expensive, lifetime guaranteed with premium grade connectors, and all of them dead in less than 4 years of light use in my home.
And I've got no-name and Whirlwind and Spectraflex cables that are 20+ years old & as good as the day I bought them, if we're gonna trade anecdata.
Are yours Monster cables? Not only are Monsters well known for being wildly overpriced and poorly constructed, but it's gotten to the point that guys on tour will buy them specifically because the "lifetime guarantee" gets used so often that if a cable breaks they can just wander into the nearest Guitar Center, wave the broken Monster cable around and say, "lifetime guarantee" and get a free replacement, no receipt necessary. I assume there are giant shipping containers full of broken Monster cables from GC headed back to Monster HQ on a weekly basis, but maybe GC just pitches 'em. (And mostly the problem is that the soldering & strain relief on the ends is just shoddy work, so if you've got any soldering skills at all and someone offers you a broken Monster cable for free 'cause it's broke, you should say "yes" because you just got a functional cable for ten minutes of work.)
Also, if your cables have a lifetime guarantee, and they're just sitting around your house broken instead of you getting off your butt and taking them back to the store or sending them back to the company for replacement, well . . . .
posted by soundguy99 at 8:16 PM on March 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
So yeah. Maintain your gear. Contact cleaner is your friend.
I've got a 25-year-old 10 foot cable that's perfect, and that might have cost 5 or 6 dollars when I bought it. I've owned it since I started high school. It's store branded from this place where I grew up, and I have no idea who the OEM is, but it has super-thick rubber tension relief on it so it's lived forever, and the shielding is good.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:32 PM on March 24, 2015
I've got a 25-year-old 10 foot cable that's perfect, and that might have cost 5 or 6 dollars when I bought it. I've owned it since I started high school. It's store branded from this place where I grew up, and I have no idea who the OEM is, but it has super-thick rubber tension relief on it so it's lived forever, and the shielding is good.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:32 PM on March 24, 2015
Parts. Parts. TDPRI thread about a similar problem. Jackson/Charvel forum thread about re-tensioning wah pedals. TDPRI thread on adjusting tension.
Nice. I just wish that one of the four rubber feet hadn't broken off, leaving the screw tip stuck in the threaded hole. I suppose I can stick on some other rubber foot so it will sit level on the floor.
I have used dozens of cans of contact cleaner in the last decade or so. We used to call it "pot cleaner" back in the days of tube TVs. I mostly mentioned dirty pots because this is one of the crappiest pieces of analog technology around. Protip: do not use contact cleaner on your iPhone, you will regret it.
But more to the point, sure you can maintain your analog equipment, but it's a pain in the ass. Someday I will have to write a detailed story about my most recent guitar cable failure. I went to the music store where I bought it (lifetime warranty) and arrived at 9AM opening time. They wouldn't let me in, they were busy with a baby music class. Literally a class for babies to shake rattles and tambourines and the moms pretend it's music education. And it only gets worse from there. This was the only guitar store in town 40 years ago when I bought my Les Paul from them, and they make Professor Harold Hill look like an angel, in comparison. They refused to honor the guarantee.
So now I bought the cheapest functional cable, it has a guitar plug on one end, and a mini plug on the other, I plug it into my Mac's audio-in port. $8 and it has outlasted my pro grade lifetime guaranteed cables.
posted by charlie don't surf at 9:02 PM on March 24, 2015
Nice. I just wish that one of the four rubber feet hadn't broken off, leaving the screw tip stuck in the threaded hole. I suppose I can stick on some other rubber foot so it will sit level on the floor.
I have used dozens of cans of contact cleaner in the last decade or so. We used to call it "pot cleaner" back in the days of tube TVs. I mostly mentioned dirty pots because this is one of the crappiest pieces of analog technology around. Protip: do not use contact cleaner on your iPhone, you will regret it.
But more to the point, sure you can maintain your analog equipment, but it's a pain in the ass. Someday I will have to write a detailed story about my most recent guitar cable failure. I went to the music store where I bought it (lifetime warranty) and arrived at 9AM opening time. They wouldn't let me in, they were busy with a baby music class. Literally a class for babies to shake rattles and tambourines and the moms pretend it's music education. And it only gets worse from there. This was the only guitar store in town 40 years ago when I bought my Les Paul from them, and they make Professor Harold Hill look like an angel, in comparison. They refused to honor the guarantee.
So now I bought the cheapest functional cable, it has a guitar plug on one end, and a mini plug on the other, I plug it into my Mac's audio-in port. $8 and it has outlasted my pro grade lifetime guaranteed cables.
posted by charlie don't surf at 9:02 PM on March 24, 2015
Protip: do not use contact cleaner on your iPhone...
Oy. Please tell me all you were trying to do was use it as screen cleaner. Do tell.
But the rubber feet are a thing. Don't know if they'd match the ones on a vintage, though. If they do, you could just glue one on.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:05 PM on March 24, 2015
Oy. Please tell me all you were trying to do was use it as screen cleaner. Do tell.
But the rubber feet are a thing. Don't know if they'd match the ones on a vintage, though. If they do, you could just glue one on.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:05 PM on March 24, 2015
Whenever I see this debate about gear I am reminded of Dolly Parton's famous quip: "It sure costs a lot to look this cheap."
Substitute sound.
posted by spitbull at 4:33 AM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
Substitute sound.
posted by spitbull at 4:33 AM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
Probably in-ear monitors make touring with something like the Axe FX II more workable, too. As a (mostly) bassist, I need that amp punching me in the gut, personally.
posted by thelonius at 4:52 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by thelonius at 4:52 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
I used to build really, really simple stomp boxes back when Radio Shack sold components. I'm not surprised that fuzz tone was one of the first effects- it's dead simple in a box.
All you need is a 741 op-amp (or even just a transistor) and a couple of cheap resistors and some odds and ends. The hardest thing to find is a good switch.
Imagine a guitar putting out a pure sine wave at 660Hz at .25Vp-p. (And you have to imagine it, since guitars as a rule don't put out pure sine waves- maybe a soft 12th-fret harmonic on E)
Run it into your 9V box, set the gain to 20, and you get a nice 5V sine wave. (It's actually a little distorted- the hardest thing about amplifiers is getting rid of the distortion, so if you're actually trying to distort the signal then it's a side benefit.)
Now crank up the gain to 40, and you would get a 10V sine wave, but you only have 9V to work with, so the top and bottom get sliced off a little bit. This is the 'clipping'. It's still 660Hz, and looks kind of sine-wavy, but it's starting to distort. Crank it up more, and it starts to turn gradually into a square wave. And a square wave is the fuzz tone.
It's the sum of the odd harmonics, so by over-driving (amplifying past the limits of the circuit) the signal, you are filtering out the even harmonics.
There are other easy ways to do this. Some early fuzz boxes used zener diodes to clip at lower levels. You can also run the signal into digital ICs. (That's actually a lot of fun)
Newer ones are much more complicated and do much more. (so they can justify the $89.99 price)
posted by MtDewd at 7:06 AM on March 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
All you need is a 741 op-amp (or even just a transistor) and a couple of cheap resistors and some odds and ends. The hardest thing to find is a good switch.
Imagine a guitar putting out a pure sine wave at 660Hz at .25Vp-p. (And you have to imagine it, since guitars as a rule don't put out pure sine waves- maybe a soft 12th-fret harmonic on E)
Run it into your 9V box, set the gain to 20, and you get a nice 5V sine wave. (It's actually a little distorted- the hardest thing about amplifiers is getting rid of the distortion, so if you're actually trying to distort the signal then it's a side benefit.)
Now crank up the gain to 40, and you would get a 10V sine wave, but you only have 9V to work with, so the top and bottom get sliced off a little bit. This is the 'clipping'. It's still 660Hz, and looks kind of sine-wavy, but it's starting to distort. Crank it up more, and it starts to turn gradually into a square wave. And a square wave is the fuzz tone.
It's the sum of the odd harmonics, so by over-driving (amplifying past the limits of the circuit) the signal, you are filtering out the even harmonics.
There are other easy ways to do this. Some early fuzz boxes used zener diodes to clip at lower levels. You can also run the signal into digital ICs. (That's actually a lot of fun)
Newer ones are much more complicated and do much more. (so they can justify the $89.99 price)
posted by MtDewd at 7:06 AM on March 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
>Protip: do not use contact cleaner on your iPhone...
Oy. Please tell me all you were trying to do was use it as screen cleaner. Do tell.
The original 1st generation iPhone tended to get bits of pocket lint stuck in the dock connector, blocking the electrical contacts. Usually this dirt can be dislodged with compressed air, or maybe scraping with a pin. The mini-USB connector used on non-Apple phones is even worse, you get dirt in there, it's never coming out. The Apple Lightning connector solved this problem.
I upgraded from my original iPhone and demoted it to kitchen timer. Then one day it wouldn't charge, I figured it was bits of coffee grounds, since I was using it to make a demo film on pourover coffee. I couldn't clear the connectors with compressed air or scraping with a pin. I had some contact cleaner, I thought, what the hell, I've got nothing to lose here. Surprise: the cleaner will get all up inside the phone, it appears to delaminate the LCD from the edges. It doesn't destroy the display, it just makes discolored areas. Oh well, it still worked as a timer.. until I dropped the connector end into my filter cone, right into some damp coffee grounds. Oops. From that point on, it just endlessly power cycled on and off forever until the battery died. I was worried it might overheat and catch fire.
But the rubber feet are a thing. Don't know if they'd match the ones on a vintage, though.
I'm sure they would match, they look exactly like the originals. I just looked at my old Cry Baby, yeah, the screw end is broken off and stuck in the hole. I don't know how you remove a broken screw from a hole, there must be some machinist's trick, which is probably more effort than necessary, when you could just glue the foot back on the bottom plate.
But what really shocks me is the replacement pot for $50. And people are complaining it doesn't match the old vintage pots. For $50 it's not worth it. There are vintage 70s Cry Babys on eBay, starting bid $20, brand new "classic" models are available for $75. I recall seeing original 70s models new in the box, on eBay. Now I've got to get a 9v battery (and another damn guitar cable) and see if my pots went bad while this sat on my shelf for like 20 years. And then I will still be wondering what is the deal with the heavily modded Cry Babys all over eBay. There must be a gazillion of these pedals out there, in various conditions and assorted circuitry mods.
posted by charlie don't surf at 1:24 PM on March 25, 2015
Oy. Please tell me all you were trying to do was use it as screen cleaner. Do tell.
The original 1st generation iPhone tended to get bits of pocket lint stuck in the dock connector, blocking the electrical contacts. Usually this dirt can be dislodged with compressed air, or maybe scraping with a pin. The mini-USB connector used on non-Apple phones is even worse, you get dirt in there, it's never coming out. The Apple Lightning connector solved this problem.
I upgraded from my original iPhone and demoted it to kitchen timer. Then one day it wouldn't charge, I figured it was bits of coffee grounds, since I was using it to make a demo film on pourover coffee. I couldn't clear the connectors with compressed air or scraping with a pin. I had some contact cleaner, I thought, what the hell, I've got nothing to lose here. Surprise: the cleaner will get all up inside the phone, it appears to delaminate the LCD from the edges. It doesn't destroy the display, it just makes discolored areas. Oh well, it still worked as a timer.. until I dropped the connector end into my filter cone, right into some damp coffee grounds. Oops. From that point on, it just endlessly power cycled on and off forever until the battery died. I was worried it might overheat and catch fire.
But the rubber feet are a thing. Don't know if they'd match the ones on a vintage, though.
I'm sure they would match, they look exactly like the originals. I just looked at my old Cry Baby, yeah, the screw end is broken off and stuck in the hole. I don't know how you remove a broken screw from a hole, there must be some machinist's trick, which is probably more effort than necessary, when you could just glue the foot back on the bottom plate.
But what really shocks me is the replacement pot for $50. And people are complaining it doesn't match the old vintage pots. For $50 it's not worth it. There are vintage 70s Cry Babys on eBay, starting bid $20, brand new "classic" models are available for $75. I recall seeing original 70s models new in the box, on eBay. Now I've got to get a 9v battery (and another damn guitar cable) and see if my pots went bad while this sat on my shelf for like 20 years. And then I will still be wondering what is the deal with the heavily modded Cry Babys all over eBay. There must be a gazillion of these pedals out there, in various conditions and assorted circuitry mods.
posted by charlie don't surf at 1:24 PM on March 25, 2015
But what really shocks me is the replacement pot for $50
?????
$19.95 direct from Dunlop on Amazon. $11.95 from one of my previous links. Yeah, if you're looking at the price on the Dunlop site, it's high, but direct from the manufacturer is often the highest price for musical equipment.
And people are complaining it doesn't match the old vintage pots.
Dude, somebody will always complain that it doesn't match the "old vintage" whatever, simply on the basis of it not being old and vintage. You can safely ignore these people.
And then I will still be wondering what is the deal with the heavily modded Cry Babys all over eBay. There must be a gazillion of these pedals out there, in various conditions and assorted circuitry mods.
That would be the Internet, or, Because They Can. There's seriously not much to a wah, circuit-wise, and you don't need mad soldering skillz to start swapping parts out and tweaking the circuit. Pre-and-early-internet info about fixing & modding pedals was hard to come by for the amateur - you could find guys with a small ad in the back of a guitar magazine and pay them $10/year for a monthly newsletter, and often more for parts and instructions; some techs and players and repair guys had figured this stuff out on their own and passed it along word-of-mouth; some mags had an occasional article or two.
Now I can find a dozen mods in .042 seconds. For half an hour of work and a few cents in parts, why wouldn't I muck around with the thing?
posted by soundguy99 at 4:00 PM on March 25, 2015
?????
$19.95 direct from Dunlop on Amazon. $11.95 from one of my previous links. Yeah, if you're looking at the price on the Dunlop site, it's high, but direct from the manufacturer is often the highest price for musical equipment.
And people are complaining it doesn't match the old vintage pots.
Dude, somebody will always complain that it doesn't match the "old vintage" whatever, simply on the basis of it not being old and vintage. You can safely ignore these people.
And then I will still be wondering what is the deal with the heavily modded Cry Babys all over eBay. There must be a gazillion of these pedals out there, in various conditions and assorted circuitry mods.
That would be the Internet, or, Because They Can. There's seriously not much to a wah, circuit-wise, and you don't need mad soldering skillz to start swapping parts out and tweaking the circuit. Pre-and-early-internet info about fixing & modding pedals was hard to come by for the amateur - you could find guys with a small ad in the back of a guitar magazine and pay them $10/year for a monthly newsletter, and often more for parts and instructions; some techs and players and repair guys had figured this stuff out on their own and passed it along word-of-mouth; some mags had an occasional article or two.
Now I can find a dozen mods in .042 seconds. For half an hour of work and a few cents in parts, why wouldn't I muck around with the thing?
posted by soundguy99 at 4:00 PM on March 25, 2015
You have to drill into the top of the stripped or broken screw and insert a tap (or a smaller screw). Just watched this done on a Ford transmission mount!
posted by spitbull at 4:47 PM on March 25, 2015
posted by spitbull at 4:47 PM on March 25, 2015
Craig Anderton used to do a column about electronics in Guitar Player. and he had some books of projects with progressive demands on skill and knowledge, but that's the only material I recall about DIY pedals from the 80's.
He also covered stuff like improvised low budget home recording techniques. The one I can recall was a box around a close miked amp, and a coil of garden hose with a mike at the end coming from a hole in the box, for a slapback echo.
posted by thelonius at 6:06 PM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
He also covered stuff like improvised low budget home recording techniques. The one I can recall was a box around a close miked amp, and a coil of garden hose with a mike at the end coming from a hole in the box, for a slapback echo.
posted by thelonius at 6:06 PM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
As I understand it, a good player plays the amp as much as they play the guitar and that is the part that makes Hendrix such a genius.
I don't claim to be an expert. But I'm not sure I've ever read a more wrong statement than this.
posted by raider at 3:49 PM on March 30, 2015
I don't claim to be an expert. But I'm not sure I've ever read a more wrong statement than this.
posted by raider at 3:49 PM on March 30, 2015
Well, since "kits" got mentioned in the podcast . . . .
BYOC (Build Your Own Clone)
Mammoth Electronics
ModKitsDIY
General Guitar Gadgets
Small Bear Electronics
OLC (Officially Licensed Circuits) - as in licensed kits from the circuits and schematics at runoffgroove.com
posted by soundguy99 at 7:06 PM on April 11, 2015 [2 favorites]
BYOC (Build Your Own Clone)
Mammoth Electronics
ModKitsDIY
General Guitar Gadgets
Small Bear Electronics
OLC (Officially Licensed Circuits) - as in licensed kits from the circuits and schematics at runoffgroove.com
posted by soundguy99 at 7:06 PM on April 11, 2015 [2 favorites]
The high end amp modelling is getting really good now, to where players who have gone all the way down the tube amp road are starting to use them.
Johnny Marr is a serial endorser (lots of YouTube vids of him with his signature Jag and Fender Deluxe and Super Reverb) but he also uses a Boss GT-100, and he's specifically using the modelling to match his board of "boutiquey analogue pedals", not twiddling the settings to see what comes out of it.
So I'm equally glad that people are making (and selling) germanium fuzz pedals to get those sounds into people's heads, and the digital kit to replicate those sounds without needing to faff about.
posted by holgate at 6:17 PM on April 13, 2015
Johnny Marr is a serial endorser (lots of YouTube vids of him with his signature Jag and Fender Deluxe and Super Reverb) but he also uses a Boss GT-100, and he's specifically using the modelling to match his board of "boutiquey analogue pedals", not twiddling the settings to see what comes out of it.
So I'm equally glad that people are making (and selling) germanium fuzz pedals to get those sounds into people's heads, and the digital kit to replicate those sounds without needing to faff about.
posted by holgate at 6:17 PM on April 13, 2015
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posted by grumpybear69 at 4:43 PM on March 23, 2015