Guitar Effect Pedals (History Lesson Needed)

LaserWolf

Saw a little low key country/singer songwriter/roots band the other night.
Guitar player had 11 effect pedals. I counted.

Then last night at the Post Office I met someone who has a company making effects pedals. I asked what effects? Lots and lots of different ones I was told.

So these pedals can create all kinds of distortion, fuzz, reverb, echo and I have no idea what else.

Here is my question:
Hendrix and Bo Diddley and Jeff Beck and Duane Eddy and Steve Cropper and Neil Young and Freddie King back in the 60s and early 70s got all their effects (I am thinking) by teasing/beating them out of their guitars and amps, or studios and tape machines.
They had maybe a wha wha pedal and a volume boost, I am guessing.

Ok, that was not a question. So here is a question:
Am I right about the lack of effect pedals BITD?
If I am right, is it a lazy short cut buy a pedal that can make you sound like one of the above?

That's not even my question. I have no question. I have a request:
what is the history of effect pedals? Pros? Cons?

Horseleech

LaserWolf said:

Am I right about the lack of effect pedals BITD?

No. Hendrix used pedals, Neil Young uses a ton of them. The first pedals were fuzz boxes, introduced in '62 and commonplace by '65.

LaserWolf said:

If I am right, is it a lazy short cut buy a pedal that can make you sound like one of the above?

No. No amount of technique is going to give you a fuzz tone, or Wah. Your ideas of purity in this regard don't really make sense. What's the difference if the circuitry producing the effect is in the guitar, the amp or a pedal?

Horseleech

.

Dante

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distortion_(music)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_pedal#History

i guess most of them used pedals at one point, most likely starting around '66 or '67.

Dante

Horseleech said:

No. No amount of technique is going to give you a fuzz tone, or Wah. Your ideas of purity in this regard don't really make sense. What's the difference if the circuitry producing the effect is in the guitar, the amp or a pedal?

i thought early fuzz / dist boxes were made to simulate the overdrive effects accomplished by tweaking gains, etc. wah definitely can't be 'simulated' with analog devices.

Horseleech

Dante said:

Horseleech said:

No. No amount of technique is going to give you a fuzz tone, or Wah. Your ideas of purity in this regard don't really make sense. What's the difference if the circuitry producing the effect is in the guitar, the amp or a pedal?

i thought early fuzz / dist boxes were made to simulate the overdrive effects accomplished by tweaking gains, etc.

They were, that's pretty much my point.

Dante

Horseleech said:

Dante said:

Horseleech said:

No. No amount of technique is going to give you a fuzz tone, or Wah. Your ideas of purity in this regard don't really make sense. What's the difference if the circuitry producing the effect is in the guitar, the amp or a pedal?

i thought early fuzz / dist boxes were made to simulate the overdrive effects accomplished by tweaking gains, etc.

They were, that's pretty much my point.

ah! i guess i misinterpreted the 'technique' bit. yeah, it's not a matter of being a good guitar player, it's a matter of fusking with your gear.

LaserWolf

Thanks good to know.

DocMcCoy

Dante said:

Horseleech said:

Dante said:

Horseleech said:

No. No amount of technique is going to give you a fuzz tone, or Wah. Your ideas of purity in this regard don't really make sense. What's the difference if the circuitry producing the effect is in the guitar, the amp or a pedal?

i thought early fuzz / dist boxes were made to simulate the overdrive effects accomplished by tweaking gains, etc.

They were, that's pretty much my point.

ah! i guess i misinterpreted the 'technique' bit. yeah, it's not a matter of being a good guitar player, it's a matter of fusking with your gear.

Sometimes it's about being imaginative as well. Roy Buchanan used to create that "weeping" guitar tone of his by manipulating the volume and tone controls on his Telecaster whilst simultaneously picking out a phrase. Before I saw him play, I used to assume he was using a volume/swell pedal, but he barely used any effects at all. I dunno if you'd define that as using technique to do the job of an effects pedal in the strictest sense, but it comes pretty close.

bennyboy

Nice background on Hendrix and his pedals here.

http://www.rockprophecy.com/shop.html

Amusing Zappa quote: in a June '68 Hendrix spread in Life magazine, Zappa informed those who wanted to sound like Jimi to "buy a Fender Stratocaster, an Arbiter Fuzz Face, a Vox Wah-Wah, and four Marshall amplifiers." It was through this article that the world first learned about the Fuzz Face.

sonofstan

Neil Young uses a ton of them.

Don't know if this is still the case, but back when he was touring with the MGs (late 90s?) I worked on a NY show and had a look at his rig. He had a mad set up whereby hitting buttons on a foot control panel changed the setting on his amp rig - by physically turning the knobs with a set of clamps that sat on top of them. Strangest thing ever, but not actually effects pedals as such.

Otis_Funkmeyer

Tremolo and Reverb were available as amp effects in the 60s and maybe even the 50s, and i believe volume pedals were very early as well, though they were meant for organs. Most wah pedals are analog, Dante. The first fuzz pedal (1960) was created to mimick an amp with a blown transformer (http://www.kitrae.net/music/Fuzz_Big_Muff_Timeline.html). I think Ike Turner got a fuzzy sound by using an amp that fell off a truck, and several others slashed the amp speakers with razor blades to get that sound. Interestingly enough, the first mass produced fuzz pedal was marketed as a guitar/bass synthesizer that would make your guitar sound like a trumpet or trombone. In fact, when Kieth Richards used a Maestro Fuzz Tone on Satisfaction, his part was only there as a temporary filler for horn parts that were going to be added later. After they listened to it, they decided not to add horns and boom the fuzz craze was born.

Otis_Funkmeyer

You could also get significant overdrive by really cranking the volume on almost any amp (I think this is how early Sabbath got their sound, though Tony Iommi did use pedals later), but how often are you in a place that you can put it on 11?

sonofstan

^^^
Most guitar amps have gain and volume control - roughly speaking, equivalent to pre- and power- amp sections of an integrated amp: crank up the gain against the volume and you'll get distortion without outrageous level.

Snagglepus

Here is a great site/forum for anyone interested in tinkering with (or even just understanding) pedals:

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/

Lots to be learned from there, though there is usually the expectation of basic electronics knowledge.

I've built a few fuzz faces. It's an incredibly simple circuit. Here is probably the best source for parts/kits if you'd like to dive in:

https://www.smallbearelec.com/home.html

calkuta

Otis_Funkmeyer said:

several others slashed the amp speakers with razor blades to get that sound

I remember reading that the Sonics would stab their amps with a pencil to get that sound too

Otis_Funkmeyer

sonofstan said:

^^^
Most guitar amps have gain and volume control - roughly speaking, equivalent to pre- and power- amp sections of an integrated amp: crank up the gain against the volume and you'll get distortion without outrageous level.

Right but I think that feature was not as available in the 60s.

DuttyBabylon

calkuta said:

Otis_Funkmeyer said:

several others slashed the amp speakers with razor blades to get that sound

I remember reading that the Sonics would stab their amps with a pencil to get that sound too

Link Wray 1958

LaserWolf

Who were the specific guitarist who pioneered/popularized specific effect boxes?

ie: Keith Richards - Kieth Richards Maestro Fuzz Tone Satisfaction (Thanks Otis)
Was this box around for a while waiting for while?

The volume pedal was designed for the organ, who really made it part of their guitar sound?

Who figured the fuzz sound was better when you were not trying to imitate a trombone?

LaserWolf

I think Les Paul invented the whammy bar in the 50s. He used it, and Merle Travis used it. But what they did with it (I always thought) was limited. Lonnie Mack probably popularized it for a rock effect.

I always thought Hendrix was the one who really showed how much it could do.

I might be as off based with this as I was in the beginning. So set me straight.

Bon Vivant

I thought Hendrix got his Wah sounds and extreme phase be rubbing his guitar with LSD.

kala

knewjak

Just to clarify a few things...

Overdrive, Fuzz, and Distortion are completely different effects with different purposes.

An overdrive pedal is emulating the sound of your preamp tubes overloading. These became popular when solidstate amps were coming into the picture and were too 'clean' sounding. FWIW, the best way to control overdrive (if you have a tube amp) is to just use a clean signal booster, aka a boost pedal and do it naturally.

I believe that Fuzz pedals were first developed to emulate brass instruments (like a bunch of trumpets). But their purpose quickly changed when the psych bands got ahold of them.

Distortion is a more intense, over the top, overdrive effect.

knewjak

double

LaserWolf

bennyboy said:

Nice background on Hendrix and his pedals here.

http://www.rockprophecy.com/shop.html

Amusing Zappa quote: in a June '68 Hendrix spread in Life magazine, Zappa informed those who wanted to sound like Jimi to "buy a Fender Stratocaster, an Arbiter Fuzz Face, a Vox Wah-Wah, and four Marshall amplifiers." It was through this article that the world first learned about the Fuzz Face.

Great link that makes a lot of this more understandable to me.
Insight into how Hendrix used electronics to expand his sound, and how he worked with the developers of this stuff.

asstro

Actually, guitar pedals have been around for around 70 years. The first volume pedal was released in the late 30's, and the first tremelo in the early 1940's. There are so many pedals out there now it's mind-boggling, and people make some amazingly creative sounds with them that would never be possible with just your fingers and an amp. Personally, I never use more than just a fuzz because I'm not into tap dancing on pedals while I play, but there's a place for everything. If you think 11 pedals are a lot you should see some of the pedalboards people are running out there. As an example:

Otis_Funkmeyer

LaserWolf said:

Who were the specific guitarist who pioneered/popularized specific effect boxes?

ie: Keith Richards - Kieth Richards Maestro Fuzz Tone Satisfaction (Thanks Otis)
Was this box around for a while waiting for while?

The volume pedal was designed for the organ, who really made it part of their guitar sound?

Who figured the fuzz sound was better when you were not trying to imitate a trombone?

Not exactly an answer to your question but this is a good thread on different effects and their definitive songs:

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/stomp-box/386295-songs-must-have-effects.html

Dubious

my board is always morphing..but always full

skel

Anyone need an unused Boss Chorus, holler

Boxed

::runs for cover::

skel

Or a Boss Pitch Shifter, boxed too

Horseleech

skel said:

Anyone need an unused Boss Chorus, holler

Boxed

::runs for cover::

If you had the Boss Space Echo I'd be all over it.