If you love fuzz my Fuzz guide is a must read. It includes the science, history, devices, artist and ins and outs of using fuzz.
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Monthly Archive for July, 2008
This a except from my Fuzz Guide. If you have in interest in the science, history, devices and use of fuzz check it out.
9 Tips and Tricks to Making a Fuzzier World
1. EQ
EQ is the friend of fuzz and a dedicated EQ unit can do a lot more than a simple tone control. It helps you sculpt the fuzz to the sound how you want. This is especially useful for big aggressive thick fuzz. They can get out of hand quickly so EQ can be used to tame unwieldy fuzz. Scooping out some midrange is a common practice. Also it can be used to clean up any offending harshness in the highs. It you like a ballsy bass fuzz EQ can give your bottom end a big deep kick. For more info on EQ see my guide.
2. Fuzz For All
Fuzz is not just for guitars. Of course a lot of bass players love it but it can add its special character to anything. It is great for synths. A nice fuzzy synth bassline can liven up a track. But fuzz can really be used on anything from drums to vocals so keep an open mind.
3. Good Noize & Bad Noize
Fuzz pedals are noisy but there is some kinds of noize you just don’t want especially when the pedal is off. Fuzz pedals can also “tone suck” even when off. This can be especially true of vintage and fuzz wah pedals. The way to get around this is using a true bypass pedal or modifying one to be true bypass or using a bypass loop. True bypass is really a buzz word in the world of guitar pedals but you shouldn’t get carried away. Each true bypass pedal you patch together is like attaching another length of cable together. And well all know what happens with long runs of cable linked numerous times. You get signal loss that can start to effect your sound. There is nothing wrong with the buffered switching in most modern pedals. It is often a good idea to mix true bypass with some buffered pedals or use a line buffer.
4. Playing Nice With Others
When playing with band members or recording it takes some work getting fuzz to play nice with others. If you are using thick fuzz with octave up or ring modulator sound that sustains forever you run the risk of overpowering the other instruments. Again EQ is your friend and don’t over do the volume. Recording gives you more options to deal with all that fuzz. Not only can you utilize equalization but you can use panning as well to carve out a nice cozy space to move your fuzz into.
5. Too Much of a Good Thing
You may want to wrap yourself up in a thick blanket of fuzz but there is such a thing as to much of a good thing. There are a lot of great tracks that are solid fuzz but that is not always the way to go. The juxtaposition of clean and dirty sounds can be a wonderful thing. Also fuzz kicking in for the chorus can really add a dramatic impact.
6. The Order of Things
The order of effects is important. There is nothing wrong with guitar->fuzz->amp but if your setup is more complicated the order of the effects can really make a big difference. While there are typical orders there is no such thing as the right order. Experiment to see what sounds best. If you are working in the virtual world you can easily try out a lot of different orders and complex routing without having to deal with patch cables.
7. The Sincerest Form of Flattery
If you are looking to emulate someones sound Guitar Geek’s Rig Database is a good place to start. Google is also your friend. Once you find out the artist’s gear remember when you are trying to capture that famous sound the whole signal chain matters including the guitar. Now some of those vintage pedals and other gear is hard to find or just way too expensive for most people but there are usually clones of most famous vintage equipment at a more reasonable price. Most of them sound pretty close and sometimes even better than the original. I believe that you can get close, but exact matches may be impossible. Consider that vintage pedals often used different transistors in the same model and old germanium transistors can vary quite a bit even if it is the exact same part. Plus so much of anyone’s sound is in their fingers and soul. Also be aware sometimes an artist’s gear is modified by themselves or their guitar techs. Also if you are after a sound on a studio album often the sound on the record is different equipment used in the artist’s live setup. A big chuck of the a records sound is due to the things outside the signal chain going from guitar to amp. The effects of a mic and its placement, mixing and even the room it was recorded in have a big effect on the sound. Still with careful research and shopping you can probably can get a satisfying famous tone.
8. Be a Mad Scientist
Copying someone else’s sound is alright but but coming up with your own is even better. Fuzz and all distortion sounds started off as accident. Overworked amps and malfunctions gave us fuzz. Happy accidents and experimentation were how all those great sounds were found in the first place. There are millions of things to try. You could split your signal and send two different fuzz’s to two different amps. You could mix in modulation effects, use radical EQ settings, user a filter, modify your equipment, play through a cheap transistor radio or old beat up speaker, mix clean and fuzz sounds, try weird mic placement and spaces, strange tunings etc., etc. Nothing is out of bounds.
9. Silicon and Germanium
Germanium is kind of a buzz word when it comes to fuzz. The important fact is that the germanium transistors were lower gain the the silicon variety and provide a a less harsh distortion. Many players consider germanium a much more organic sound. Some people prefer germanium and some silicon. Is a matter of preference.
Until recently I really had no interest Digitech pedals. I guess their marketing never really work on me. Maybe it is the name is reminiscent of digital. Not very appealing if you like analog goodness. I like my digital Holy Grail pedal which does a good job of faking spring reverb. And that convinced me to try the Digitech’s Bad Monkey which does a good job of faking a slightly overdriven tube amp.
So, Digitech earilier this month released Hardwire series I did not imediatley dismiss them. We could have been easy to do thinking there silly in the this one goes to 11 kind of way.
Here is their sales pitch:
The HardWire Guitar Pedals feature true bypass and constant high-voltage operation (15-volts) from a single 9-volt battery or power supply. True bypass allows a guitar’s true tone to pass unaltered when in bypass mode. Constant high-voltage operation prevents undesired distortion when used with high-output pickups and allows effects pedals to work flawlessly in amplifier effects loops. The HardWire Guitar Pedals are crafted from premium, all-metal components to perform night after night, tour after tour.
Each HardWire pedal also features an assortment of tourworthy accessories like green gaffer tape common to pro pedalboards, Stomplock knobguards to maintain pedal settings, and a hook & loop pad to fasten the pedal to a pedalboard.
The HardWire lineup consists of the seven distinct pedals: the HT-2 Chromatic Tuner (a guitar tuner with tuning references including flat and double flat), the CM-2 Tube Overdrive featuring a Classic mode and a Modern, higher-gain overdrive mode, the SC-2 Valve Distortion with Crunch mode and a Saturated mode for modern hard rock tones, the TL-2 Metal Distortions with a percussive Tight mode and a Loose mode for detuned guitars, CR-7 Stereo Chorus featuring seven chorus types from classic Analog to modern Multi-Voice settings, the DL-8 Delay Looper with ten delay types from Tape to Digital and a 20-second Looper, and the RV-7 Stereo.
OK, the higher constant voltage does kind of sound like a this one goes to 11 kind of thing. But I can see it purpose in theory(OK and not for the tuner.) I am not sure if it translated in practice though but more headroom is generally a good thing. I am not a high output pickup kind of guy so may some people could really benefit from this? Whatever the benefit I thought it was an interesting idea when most new pedals have no new ideas. The have a sharp modern look which suits them well.
I think we are going to see more non-boutique pedals like these be true bypass also. While true bypass can be great I don’t think it is necessary for a non-tonesucking quiet pedal. And you if you have a zillion true bypass pedals it is just like connecting a zillion cables together. Buffered switch can be a good think. I have never had any problem with my very un-exotic Boss pedals buffered switching.
None the less interesting pedals.
Julien Bayle can instruct you how to make a monome clones which is good because the monome always have a waiting list.
Music might have stopped me from being a misanthropic criminal so maybe this will change some that are ready are. Jail Guitar Doors is Billy Bragg’s initiative to provide inmates with musical instrument. I believe in personal responsibility so I have to believe in punishment. But locking people up and doing nothing to change there behave other than punishment never made much sense to me. I like this idea. Johnny Cash would approve.
Audiotuts has a list of affordable mics. It is a pretty good list me thinks. But you might want to check out Studio Projects which lower then mics I think are a good value.
Audiotuts also had this link below there mic list but it is a good link that you might have miss to Jake Ludington’s guide to making you own pop filter. Anyone could do this one.
Frank Zappa is not everyones cup o’ tea but he sure is damn quotable read for yourself.
I use Reason and Ableton Live together. Reason is the most incredable sound bank rewired into Live. Here is a good video on using the 2 together.
lo dev alm has cool Max/MSP tools.
Virtual Guitar is a cool tool for fretboard learning.
If you like the strange and weird like me you should check out The Oddstrument Collection.
I always in the mood for a good Rock Doc. Below a collection of music documentaries that I have enjoyed recently.
1. Dig!
Even though I am not really a fan of either the Dandy Warhols or The Brian Jonestown Massacre(or clever references to overrated 60’s artist in your band name for that matter) I this found this a very good watch. It is billed as a story of 2 bands one finding success and one not but it is really more of the the story of the one that does not. That is the interesting part especially band leader Anton Newcombe. Aton is referred to a genius through out the film. He is painted as kind of a mad eccentric genius. I doubt the genius part but the mad part is certainly there. I wanted to smack Aton and the tambourine player(yes The Brian Jonestown Massacre have a full time tambourine player) for there pretension. If you love ‘em or hate ‘em it is fascinating to watch a band that had a good chance to make it just not get along and stay sane long enough to make there chances count. The last of those chances when they get a showcase they blow it in the most spectacular and rock ‘n’ roll way. A must see.
The Film:
2. Scratch
It is a history of DJ and Turntablism and a good one but it is deeper than that. It is about culture and art. DJ Shadows in an amazing basement of records gets down right deep in the philosophical sense. And of course there are performances form the best turntablist out there.
The Film:
This documentary follows the Ramones from start to finish. There was the epic struggle of personalities between Dee Dee and Joey in band that just wouldn’t quit. Through the CBGB days, Phil Spector, line up changes, a mountain of animosity and Dee Dee attempting to bend the world to this will what strikes you most is how the just kept going because it was the only thing they knew to do. They played music and lived the same way they played.
4. The Devil and Daniel Johnston
This is one of the better documentaries I have seen. I someways it reminds me of the excellent Crumb. In some ways it is because Robert Crumb’s bother Charles reminds me of Daniel Johnston. But in both films you feel like you get to know and artist even part of the knowing is the understanding that you’ll never fully understand them. And wonderful unique art work mix with a love of unique music. Daniel Johnston is not eccentric like Robert Crumb. Daniel Johnston is possessed by madness. To fragile and mixed up for really life he goes crazy. It is interesting to ride the ups and downs with him for a while but you’ll be glad you can get off the ride.
Trailer:
Tips and Resources:
Robert Green DIY show you how to make a DJ set in Ableton Live.
Digital Burn has a cool tutorial on creating that Aphex Twin effect in Reason.
Recording Review has some great idea about getting good results with vocal doubling.
Ableton Live DJ has a bunch of live goodness
Instruments:
Electric Guitar Review Telecater Relic project is getting further along and lookin’ good. I was apposed to relicing as phony but my mind is changing. I like to give it a try if I get the chance.
Amptone has about a list of about a zillion books about guitar sound.
Bored Space a collection of crazy bass guitars.
Plugins:
VSTPLANET is a site keeping track of the wild world of VST plugins.
Laughs:
I love the Onion. This piece might be older but it is still fitting and funny. I am sure the RIAA would if they could.
I was watching the Muppets with my nephew. The Muppets are pure quality. So, here is to of the greatest drums in history Animal and Buddy Rich.
Aurora open source mixer
The Aurora Open Source Mixer might be the perfect solution for DJ types with a DIY streak that are currently unsatisfied with current mixers type MIDI controllers. I am all for open source projects like this but they are tricky to pull off. Most people don’t want to make there own PCB’s. And in the the case of this project the components are expensive if bought for one project. Keeping prices down with electronic is all about being able to buy in bulk. Thankfully there are plans for a kit. I am hoping it can work out to be affordable because it is an awesome little device that look great.
aurora Open Source DJ Mixer\MIDI Hardware w/ Ableton Live from mcubed on Vimeo.
A kit would make the device accessible to a much wide group of musicians. Here is hoping there is an affordable kit soon.
I can be a sucker for over kill. This might qualify. Godlyke has released Octavius Squeezer Bass Synthesizer Pedal. It is a fancy hybrid with lots of bells and whistles. I think the idea of the smart card is. When equipment gets as fancy as this it is nice to have an easier way to manage it. I think we will be seeing more gadgets like this.
There pitch:
The Octavius Squeezer is the world’s first analog/digital hybrid bass synthesizer to be housed in a compact stompbox format. With an analog audio path that features a variety of synth, octave, fizz, and filter effects and a digital preset system that allows constant reconfiguration of the audio signal path and storage of parameter settings as well as an on-board tuner and tap-tempo metronome, the Octavius Squeezer is one pedal that no bassist will want to be without!
Great Scott who always sends me great links sent me these two:
Controllerism is a site decidated to the idea of creating live music using controllers of course. The have some videos that are a must watch for those interest in the computer being a musical instrument instead of just a fancy musical calculator.
This Wikipedia entry on “stutter edit” has lots useful info and I nice list of software to help achieve the task.
Here is a bunch of cool stuff I have found lately:
The Openstomp Coyote1 is a product seemingly made for me. A stomp box that you can program to be any thing you wish. Sound great but it is not yet released. I am going to keep an eye on it there is a lot of potential.
From the site:
What is it?
The OpenStompTM Coyote-1 is an open source audio effects processor built for guitar players. With the Coyote-1 users can develop custom audio effects in software (like distortion, echo, chorus etc.), mix multiple effects to build “patches”, and exchange those effects and patches with the OpenStompTM community.
A companion Windows application (OpenStompTM Workbench) allows Users to combine effects into patches graphically, and to move patches and effects between the Coyote-1 device and their PC’s disk.
The Coyote-1 O/S is open source so users can tweak it to behave any way they like, and the hardware is fully documented so that developers can take control of the whole pedal, dedicating all available system resources toward the implementation of unique custom solutions.
Those Wii remote are cool and have lots of great uses. Macs people should check out WiiToMidi.
From the site:
WiiToMidi allows you to convert signals from a Nintendo Wii controller to MIDI signals. It is a Cocoa application for Mac OS X and uses the DarwiinRemote WiiRemote framework to decode Wii controller signals. It also supports the Nunchuk controller.
From Remix comes some really great tips for make glitch effects.
Karlheinz Essl has some neat software for making generative music. I found this when I got interest in generative music after reading about Brain Eno and Spore.
Gearslutz has a good thread on optimizing your PC for audio production use.
