Guitar Effect Pedals (History Lesson Needed)
LaserWolf
Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
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?
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?
Comments
No. Hendrix used pedals, Neil Young uses a ton of them. The first pedals were fuzz boxes, introduced in '62 and commonplace by '65.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Right but I think that feature was not as available in the 60s.
Link Wray 1958
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?
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.
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.
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.
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
Boxed
::runs for cover::
If you had the Boss Space Echo I'd be all over it.