Born in the U.K. and raised in the West Indies, Thaddeus Hogarth is an Associate Professor in the Guitar department at Berklee College of Music. A two-time winner of the Independent Music Award for R&B/Blues (2001, 2006), he has been a prominent guitar player and singer-songwriter on the New England music scene since 1988, when he graduated from Berklee. He leads his own group, the Thaddeus Hogarth Band, and has shared the bill or stage with such legends as Tower of Power, Average White Band, James Montgomery, Fred Wesley, and Johnny Winter. Thaddeus' band was recently hand-picked to represent Bose nationwide for the launch of its revolutionary live music amplification technology.
His work also includes collaboration with the reggae legend and Grammy nominee, Sister Carol. he has released four award-winning solo CDs and a live concert DVD, and is the author of Funk/R&sB Guitar: Creative Solos, Grooves, and Sounds (Hal Leonard/Berklee Press). His music and voice can be heard worldwide in full-length and independent short feature films, commercial television, PBS, and MTV. Billboard magazine describes Hogarth's music as "Soul Terra Firma," and the Boston Globe calls him a "guitar virtuoso."
This week I am sharing you a pedal that should be a staple in everyone’s tone shaping arsenal.
The Blackstone Mosfet 2SV3 is manufactured by Jon Blackstone in New York. This pedal has been a part of my life for the past 3 CDs. I In addition, I recently released a live performance DVD, Live at Bose II: The DVD. All guitar solos on this concert film were played using the Blackstone Overdrive.
One of the neatest looking pedals and with great tone to match, the Blackstone gets first prize in the overdrive category for the most useful features in a small space. This pedal is a 2 CHANNEL OVERDRIVE PEDAL in a box the size of an MXR phase 90.
The BROWN channel I use for my Robben Ford-esque lead and boost tones. The RED channel I use for more saturated overdrive settings at one end of the spectrum, or at the other end for crisp rhythm crunch. In addition, The RED channel has two settings; one best for single coil, Strat-type pickups with a full,fat low end, and the other with less low end for Les Pauls or guitars with humbucking pickups. So we might easily consider the pedal a 3 channel pedal!!!
At first glance, on the front panel are 2 footswitches, one is Bypass (on/off) , the other is to toggle between your Red and Brown channels. A closer glance reveals countersunk controls that can be turned with a finger tip, finger nail or guitar pick. These 5 controls are for:
Brown Channel gain
Brown Channel volume
Red channel gain
Red channel volume
Mid cut (I had Jon modify my mid cut to be a hi-cut; more useful for my applications)
The advantage to these countersunk controls is obvious…set the pedal how you like it, create your signature tone, and leave it, with no worries about settings accidentally changing in transit, while in a gig or pedal bag. I have had my Blackstone OD set at the same settings very long periods. Once in a while, if I feel adventurous, I change the setting and leave it for another year..etc etc..you get the picture, Signature tone: Creating a sounds that you can take with you to each gig, that become the voice that folks associate with your playing. The Blackstone in that respect is not just another average overdrive pedal, but a dynamic instrument that becomes a part of your tonal signature.
In addition, for tone tweaking, there is
an internal presence control
an internal gain control that works in co-operation with the presence control
two optional exchangeable capacitor plugs.
So the bottom line is a highly tweakable pedal that can give you sounds from Robben to Satch at the tap of your toe.
The most amazing feature of the Blackstone Mosfet 2SV is its ability to clean up completely between 10 and 7 on the volume knob of your guitar. Yes folks, I am 100% serious about this. Many try to claim this but I will testify to authenticity with this pedal.
I have owned previous versions of this pedal that required that it be the very first in your signal chain after your guitar, in order to facilitate this feature. In the latest version of the pedal, Jon has added an internal buffer switch, that allows you to place the pedal anywhere in your signal chain and still have access to this very dynamic feature. Often I keep the pedal in the “on” mode and then turn my volume up to take a solo. Very much like a good ol’ tube amp.
When I first stumbled across this pedal many years ago, I read Jon’s tutorial on overdrive on his website, complete with waveform explanations, demonstrations, and audio clips, and wave diagrams. After reading, there was no doubt in my mind. Here is a pedal manufacturer that understands the Quest for Tone!
My first Blackstone OD I purchased used, soley based on the wealth of info on Jon’s website. Of note was the last paragraph. I was tired of getting lost in the cymbals during a guitar solo, so when I read, “Distorting the guitar is a very subjective thing. Probably every pedal preamp or amp out there no matter how it sounds is the perfect thing for somebody out there. But if “fizz” or “plinkiness” bothers you and you want something that inspires expressive playing, check out the Blackstone”. Well that pretty much sold me!!! The Blackstone has been a part of my arsenal of tone creating machines ever since. To clarify, I consider it part of my instrument, since I use it dynamically as a main contributor to my overall sound.
The pedal is handsomely crafted with a powdered black finish and a metal label with engraved writing, reminiscent of retro machinery.
It really does not come any spiffier than this for a pedal. The inputs are all on the top of the pedal, one of the golden rules of best use of pedalboard real estate. The pedal is true mechanical bypass and a 9v battery will last you 30 hours!! That amounts to something like seven 4-hour gigs…! It will run with the standard 5.5 x2.1 center negative 9v DC adaptor also.
At a retail price of 225.00 the Blackstone Mosfet OD 2SV3 brings multiples of that value to your tone! 10 Stars and more for sure..
For more information check out Jon’s website and read the tutorial about the science of overdrive. You just might find yourself smiling. Somebody understands!
Here are some clips of me using the Blackstone Overdrive in performances through the years.
Through the years I have owned or tried a lifetime of Guitar amplifiers: Fenders, Matchless, Ceriatone, Alessandro, Brown Note, Bludotone, Groove Tube, Boogies, Dumble, Seymour Duncan, Carr, Bad Cat, Top Hat, Acoustic, Yamaha, Vox, Pearce, Gibson, Silvertone…. The list goes on and on and includes amps that are waaaay out of my price range…
My obsession with Two-Rock amps started at a social amp-fest a couple of years ago. A group of us, avid amp/tone seekers, get together and rent space at a local rehearsal space in Boston, Jamspot, with the sole purpose of lining up a group of amps and doing comparison tests with different speakers, different cabs, guitars and pedals. The list of amps includes some of the finest boutique amps manufactured along with some industry standards..
Now in case I am sounding a little bit of a geek, it really is simply part of the quest for great tone, to find answers to some serious questions that we, as tone junkies must know, the final verdict……….well…the honest to goodness truth is (all that put aside) …it really is a lot of fun!
So with my good friends, Paul and Charles we line up a few of these gems..a Two Rock K & M ltd, a Ceriatone, a Two-Rock Custom Reverb Signature, My Brown Note, a Two Rock Emerald Pro 50. And the show is on.
My Brown Note DLite 44 is a lovely piece of work…my BMW of tone. Fun to drive (and just really nice to look at:). Since I have owned it, no amp has caught my eye for permanent ownership….Then I played the Two Rock Custom Reverb Signature. And my friends told me that my facial expression changed with the first note. It was one of sadness, enlightenment and a knowing. A knowing that I would have to re-define my amp heirarchy. (Kinda like the moment when you left your small town and realized that you were not the best guitarist in the world?) A simple wake up call…
Anyway..the rest is history…For those of you who might be car enthusiasts, My amp hierarchy might be summarized this way:
My Alessandro Working Dog is my Honda Accord. The amp that gives me everything I need to make it through any weekend warrior gig. Light, great tone, works well with all pedals and is reliable. The Brown Note D’Lite 44 is my BMW, the amp I take out on weekends to cruise around, sound and look great. My Two Rock Custom Reverb Signature is the Mercedes Benz that I drive to the Grammy Awards…:)
Here is a review and a summary of the Two Rock Custom Reverb Signature amp. There simply is not a tone that you cannot get from this amp with a few tweaks of its knobs. From glassy rhythms to growls and all out wails, it really is not just the best amp I have ever owned, but the best one I have ever played (the list I have played is much much longer and includes some very expensive gems that I will never own!)
The Custom Reverb Signature amp is manufactured by K & M Analog Designs, LLC. K&M was founded in 1999 by Bill Krinard and Joe Mloganoski. Both have long histories in music, sound, and electronic design. Their collaboration is driven by their desire to produce the best sounding boutique guitar amplifiers available, and began with listening to, playing and then tweaking many of the fine production tube amplifiers of the last 60 years. the bottom line is, these guys have built on the tradition that we all honor, when it comes to tube amp tone.
The Custom Reverb Signature is Bill and Joe’s most popular amp. The circuit is their least compressed and most articulate and revealing. 2 channels, reverb, 35/50 or 50/100 watts. 6L6. The (current)version 2 of the Custom Reverb Signature features further refinements. My choice was to go with version 1 of the amplifier with some of the refinements/tweaks from version 2. So I got the contour control. In layman’s terms, the contour control is like a presence control on steroids. Very, very effective. It might be something Strat and Les Pauls would have set at opposite ends, if you get the practical picture. Very useful for the disparity in signal that occurs between single and hum-bucker pickups.
Here are a few specs.
Front controls:
• Input Jack
• Standby Switch w/ Indicator Lamp
Pots:
• Treble Control
• Middle Control
• Bass Control
• Reverb
• Contour Control
• Input Gain
• Clean Channel Master Volume
• Lead Gain
• Lead Master
Switches:
• Bright Switch: Boosts Highs
• Mid Switch: Boosts Mids
• Deep Switch: Boosts Low and Low Mids
• EQ1/EQ2 switch: toggle between 2 different EQ settings, (EQ2 is higher Gain)
• Lead Channel Switch: Also Foot-switchable
• Tonestack Bypass Switch: Also Foot-switchable
Back Panel Controls and connections:
• A/C input
• Power switch
• Fuse (3 AG Type, slow blow) 2.5amps for my 50 w.
• High Power/Low Power: Switches between 50w and 30w
• Speaker Outputs: 3 separate outputs, 4/8/16 ohms
• Footswitch connection
• Effects Send
• Effects return
• Drive/level Control with pull-bright: This amazing little feature makes up for those tone sucking pedal that you might put in your effect loop. This is active in the circuit even when no effects are connected. So this also acts as a master volume for the amp. An additional tweaking point. What you set here can determine another world of colors on the front panel.
The amp is user bias-able. I have one of those Alessandro bias meters that make the procedure quite dummy proof, with an externally adjustment bias pot reachable with a small screwdriver.
That is pretty much the scoop on the specs…Now for the sound…(drumroll)
I found myself able to dial in just about an color face Fender tone I sought. I tried with a few different speakers, one of my favorite being my G12-65, although, I will say that, were it not for the weight of the EVM12L, it would be a winner. For me to say that about that speaker is significant, since as most of you know, this EV speaker is as transparent as they come. (If your amp sounds good through an EVM12L, you have yourself a good amp, my friend) no hiding behind speaker character…
Many top props to this amp through a THD 212 with one THD longhorn and one THD Vintage speaker. Simply one of the best 212 cab I have tried. Used in conjunction with the THD, this amp yields and extremely tight low end, (not to be confused with an lack thereof)
The balance between gain and master, lead gain and lead master yields a myriad of tonal choices and where you set them determines what happens when you start really pushing the amp to its volume potential. I found I was able to find a setting in the OD channel that allowed me to get a crystal clean, bell like rhythm guitar tone, and then simply turn up the volume on my guitar for a full-on Robben Ford overdrive tone complete with dumble-esque “chirp”.
Conversely, at louder volumes, I could dial in a setting that would make my clean channel go from bell jangle rhythm to OD fizzle with a volume twist of my guitar. The drive control at the back of the amp for the effects loop also works in tandem with making this happen.
In short, there was no tone that I could not find that was not only sweet but very practical in a real-life professional performance situation. And were you to ever get bored with your tone, reach over and flip one of the switches and take a journey into an new tonal world. Between the Bright, Mid, Deep and EQ1/EQ2 switches, I have a feeling I will be busy for a long long time.
I did a couple of very quick video clips to give you and idea of some of the tones…I apologize for my rambling noodling solo, it really is such an addictive amplifier…you turn this thing on and you look up a few hours later you realize you have been playing the same solo for a long long time…..
This week I am sharing a new and amazing new pedal, the Dark Echo, made by Jack Deville. This pedal will give you all of those wonderful dark tape delay tones that you have been forever seeking. Yes, think Echoplex, Space Echo, Deluxe Memory Man etc etc…all of the pedals you wish you still owned. Built with the highest quality components, the Dark Echo uses a digital echo processor with a fully analog dry signal path and analog support circuitry.
This handsome, solid, well made pedal (the size of an MXR phase 90) will make a delay junkie out of you in a minute. Retail is $199 (currently on sale) and my guess is that this pedal will be in high demand (can you say “waiting list”?) so I would not be surprised if you see it fetching higher prices on ebay. Well worth the two bills, I just got delivery on my pedal a couple of days ago and I cannot stop playing my guitar through this thing. Prior to this, I was not a delay-pedal-loving-kinda guy. To give you an idea of how sold I am on this sound, I am re-arranging my pedal board around this baby! Many delays are bright and crisp and sometimes make you feel like you are fighting with another guitarist, playing through the same rig. The Dark Echo’s repeats get darker and looser with each generation and, I swear, you can get some very close-to-reverb sounds out of this baby.
The Dark Echo is true bypass. The inputs are at the top of the pedal, another well thought out feature which more pedal manufacturers seem to overlook. (The obvious advantage being better use of pedal board real estate). Lately, I have made “top inputs” a requirement for any pedals that I take out on my smaller pedalboard. You can get as many as 6 or 7 pedals on the smallest pedal train pedalboard with this feature. I dunno, I guess I really don’t like carrying a lot of stuff around anymore…. Roadies don’t like it either!
Four controls on the pedal are:
Blend: Controls the amount of effect that is mixed in with your original signal. Full rotation mixes an equal amount of delay with the original signal
Sway: Controls the modulation of the delay effect. You can dial in anything from a slight watery chorus to a full on warble a la John Scofield. (MXR had a nice thing going with the modulation switch on their Carbon Copy pedal. The dark Echo takes this feature to another level)
Repeat: Controls the feedback of the echo circuit, or the number of repeats. The repeats grow darker, a very nice effect. You can almost get this pedal to sound like a reverb unit, but a little less “cavernous”
Time: This controls the duration between the delay repeats, (50ms – 450ms)
In addition there is an internal output trim providing 0-6db gain from the Dark Echo. The pedal operates on a 9v battery or a center negative power supply input.
Another nice feature is that the echo circuit in this pedal operates at all times even when the effect is bypassed. You can therefore store your oscillations (they will continue to grow and degrade or be affected by the controls while the unit is in bypass mode) and they are available again upon switching the pedal on. Surprise your audience by switching this on at the high point of a solo…! Woodstock! Jimi!
Whether your choice in delay sounds is like U2’s The Edge, or the Police or Elvis or Johnny Cash, this pedal can give you what you need. The Dark Echo can take you from classic sounds to stuff with a more contemporary edge. Moods and rhythms and colors all within a few tweaks of a few knobs! AAAAAA+++
Here are the specs:
true bypass switching
power polarity protection
ultra quiet
50ms – 450ms of delay time
1% metal film resistors (reduced thermal noise)
vishay/bc coupling capacitors
industry standard Alpha potiometers
Switchcraft jacks
adjustable output level via internal volume trim (adjustable to 12 db gain)
socketed ic’s (to allow the user to swap in any 8 pin opamp for tonal preference)
low power consumption for a delay (35mA on minimal settings-70mA on maximum settings)
This week I am commenting on a recently released movie called It Might Get Loud. Many of you have probably made a point to see it already, but if you have not, I highly recommend it, regardless of whether or not you are a fan of any of the players.
I was interviewed by the Boston Phoenix about the iconic stature of the electric guitar, all seen in context of this movie about 3 guitar heroes. The director chose from 3 generations of rock/blues guitarists: Jimmy Page, The Edge (U2), and Jack White (White Stripes).
I enjoyed the movie even though I felt a little as though it was a designed to be user-friendly, possibly for digestion by the general public.
I would have loved to hear more detail on the stuff I think we know every guitarist goes through, the universal quest for tone!
Well, maybe Jack White is not as picky, but Jimmy Page and the Edge might have gone through a rig or two or a guitar or three, searching for those fat Led Zeppelin tones and cutting U2 rhythm sounds huh? I found myself waiting to hear more details about that stuff we know everyone goes through… Right right??? Huh? Huh?
Well I guess the general public would never understand…
Anyway, this is a very captivating movie, and surely one for your collection, along with all of the other great guitar movies, Woodstock, Crossroads and even… Spinal Tap… (this one goes up to 11)…
Here is the movie review as written in the Boston Phoenix, my comments are quoted throughout the article along with the directors. There is a clip of a trailer at the end for this week’s video. Enjoy!
THE BOSTON PHOENIX REVIEW: It Might Get Loud
Davis Guggenheim films his essay on the electric guitar
Some guitar teachers will tell you there’s a right way and a wrong way to play the guitar. But Davis Guggenheim’s rousing new documentary, It Might Get Loud, reminds us that that’s not true at all.You can saw at it with a bow, as Jimmy Page did in “Dazed and Confused.” (For that matter, you can jam screwdrivers into the bridge and hammer at the strings with your fists, as Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo are wont to do.)
You can run it through a galaxy of effects pedals — the Wah-Wah, the Superfuzz, the Big Muff, the Echohead — and towers of amps and racks. That’s the sort of thing that enables U2’s the Edge to turn simple chords into sounds that are shimmering, shape-shifting, alive.
You can cut it open and customize it, take it apart, and put it together again. You can slice out new soundholes or add supplementary pick-ups and knobs and switches. You can even, as Jack White hired one luthier to do, install a secret compartment in which to hide a harmonica microphone, to yank out and scream into whenever the spirit moves you.
White stars, with Page and the Edge, in It Might Get Loud, a film that might approvingly be called “guitar porn.” Its soundtrack coruscates with power chords and scorching solos; its hi-def close-ups lingers lovingly on lacquered wood and polished chrome.
A guitar, after all, is “like a piece of sculpture,” as Page rhapsodizes — and also, not for nothing, “like a woman.” But it’s not just eye candy. As the Edge points out, every element of a guitar’s construction “is there in the sound.” He would know, having built an electric guitar from scratch — scrounging the materials, sculpting the wood, winding the wire for the coiled pick-ups — at age 14.
“There’s something really iconic, almost supernatural about this instrument,” says Thaddeus Hogarth, a Berklee guitar-department professor who writes a blog, “The Quest for Tone,” about his ceaseless exploration of the guitar’s sonic palette. “The sounds you can get from it, the quality of the kinds of tones you can get. There are some great piano players out there — but they can’t get feedback.”
As I write this, untold numbers of fingers are clickity-clacking on the multi-colored buttons of Guitar Hero and Rock Band controllers. For every song powered through in those games, there’s a guitar somewhere that’s not getting played. As former Phoenix staffer James Parker writes in the Atlantic, for all we know such simulacra could slowly be “sounding the last trump for rock and roll as we know it.”
But the guitar is not dead yet. And it’s a transcendent affection for this instrument, one so simple yet so complex, that led Guggenheim — who directed Al Gore’s global-warming jeremiad An Inconvenient Truth and Barack Obama’s convention bio-pic and prime-time campaign infomercial — to convene three of rock’s most iconic guitarists on a Hollywood soundstage.
It’s difficult to think of three more disparate personalities and guitar styles than those of Messrs. Page, Edge, and White. Each is about 15 years older than the next. Page is the classicist, steeped in blues and English folk, the dab-hand session man, the riffmaster, the archetypal guitar god. The Edge, weaned on punk and new wave, is a rhythmic and tonal alchemist, intent on breaking boundaries, besotted with the endless transformative possibilities afforded by technology. White is a wild primitive, happy to wrestle sound and fury from cheap or homemade instruments, bleeding (literally) all over the strings.
“Chemistry is mostly about opposing energies,” says Guggenheim. And that’s precisely what he was after when he picked these three men: “Edge, with all his technology, versus Jack, who is so anti-technology. Jimmy, with his sexuality and moodiness, versus Edge, who is so direct and austere.”
Guggenheim says he was “terrified” that these three distinct personalities would come attached to three distinct egos. But you can sense the mutual respect the men have for one another — even as, at the same time, you can see the three of them subtly sizing one another up.
Guggenheim concedes that “for the first two hours, the conversation was actually boring. I’m thinking to myself, ‘This is going to suck.’ ” Then, he says, “Jimmy picked up his Les Paul and played ‘Whole Lotta Love,’ and it was like a throwdown. Basically saying: ‘Here’s what I do. Let’s stop talking, boys, and get on with it.’ After that, I knew we had a movie.”
Although talking shop and trading solos form the centerpiece of the film, Guggenheim does a fine job of weaving a narrative out of the three men’s life stories.
We travel with Page back to Headley Grange, the English country house where he recorded “Stairway to Heaven” with Led Zeppelin, and see black-and-white archival footage from the ’50s of a fresh-faced “James Page” strumming a skiffle song on local TV. (Afterward, he tells the host of his intention to pursue a career in “biological research.”)
But the best moments come from watching the three interact. White and the Edge seem to have a genuine rapport, and both gape in fan-boy awe as Page unleashes that timeless “Whole Lotta Love” riff before their eyes.
Page, for his part, is curious and inquisitive, watching intently as White — whose own playing owes much to Page’s ’70s pyrotechnics — walks them through a White Stripes song. And he gamely joins in on U2’s “I Will Follow,” even if he seems a bit nonplussed by the Edge’s unique phrasing and self-invented chords: “You sure about that?”
That bonhomie wasn’t necessarily a given. “U2 came up as a band in direct opposition to bands like Led Zeppelin,” says Guggenheim. “They wanted nothing of it — the endless guitar solos, the sexuality. U2 was political, punk, straightforward. That’s what’s so great about rock and roll: each generation has to come and destroy and reinvent the music before it. Look at Jack and the White Stripes and Dead Weather. He’s the anti-U2!”
Yet whether it’s Page’s Les Paul Sunburst or the Edge’s angular Gibson Explorer or White’s J.B. Hutto Montgomery Airline, one thing with six strings unites them. That doesn’t mean you can sound like your guitar hero simply by dropping a few thousand dollars at the local music shop. “People go out and buy it [equipment] thinking they can get the same sound,” says Hogarth. “It just doesn’t happen.” With the best guitarists, he adds, the phenomenon is “otherworldly, almost like their soul coming through the instrument.”
Yes, there’s something ineffable — some might say preternatural — about the bond between a guitarist and his guitar. In the film, the Edge describes first picking up that Gibson Explorer, gauging it, considering its heft in his hands. He knew right away: “This guitar had possibilities. There were songs in this guitar.”
Hogarth describes a common affliction among Berklee shredders: “gear-acquisition syndrome.” But we see White going in the opposite direction, treasuring shitty plastic guitars, instruments with warped necks and ever-slackening strings. In his mind, a guitar should be wrestled with, a player should “pick a fight with it and win.”
Indeed, at the beginning of the film, we see White, in seconds flat, fashion a one-string guitar with a plank of wood, some nails, a coke bottle, and an electric pick-up. As a cow looks on, bemused, White peels off a quavering blues lick. “Who says you need to buy a guitar?”
Or a video game, for that matter.
“This movie is the anti–Guitar Hero,” says Guggenheim. “Guitar Hero is about getting the highest score, about hitting ‘chords’ at exactly the right moment. These guitarists, Jimmy, Jack, and Edge, became great by not conforming, not doing it the way they were taught, and expressing themselves, especially if it was the wrong note at the wrong time. That’s what made them unique and visionary.”
Hogarth, at least, is encouraged that so many are flocking to a video game that’s notionally based on his favorite instrument. “I think a lot of the kids who are playing it are playing it because they want to be guitarists. But now that it’s proven that the electric guitar can generate this kind of amazing interest, I think it would be great if some music education were incorporated into the game, even if it’s just minimally — a rhythm, or a note, or maybe have the guitar be a bit more representative.”
Meanwhile, It Might Get Loud appears at a poignant moment, with the passing two weeks ago of Les Paul, who pretty much single-handedly ensured the electric guitar’s centrality to pop music in the second half of the 20th century. “The way Paul took his guitars apart and modified everything, that’s what this movie is about,” says Guggenheim. “The kid who must destroy something to find himself and a way to express his voice.”
And anyone who doubts the power of the guitar’s “voice” to transcend genres and generations need only watch Page, the Edge, and White trading solos on one another’s songs. It’s a visceral thrill, for the viewer and — you can tell — the player.
“These are men who use words as a second language,” says Guggenheim. “The guitar and its huge vibrations speak for them the most. When I watch the movie, I look at their eyes as the others play. It’s an unspoken respect and fondness and awe that moves me.”
Lately, living in a tiny studio apartment and not wanting to annoy my wife with my cloddish guitar playing, I’ve been making do by putting on headphones and playing a Guitar Hero knockoff game on my iPhone. After this movie, I went home and restrung my Alvarez. For a while, it did get loud.
This week I am writing a review on one of my favorite Overdrive pedals: the Ethos Overdrive Pedal. In a previous post, I mentioned combating the dynamic tone effect using a few devices, including this one. The Ethos Overdrive is designed and manufactured in New England by Robbie Hall.
Inspired by the legendary Dumble Overdrive Special amplifier, the retail price is a much lower $395 for the Ethos Classic and at an extra $35 for the TLE mod. The TLE mod tightens up the low end. For the frugal pedal purchaser, the price might initially seem steep but in all honesty when considering the features you get in this single unit, packaged in a compact sized, die cast aluminum case, it screams value! The pedal comes with an ac adaptor but will run with a single 9v battery!
The Ethos is much, much more than just overdrive and it does all of the following things very very well:
1) The Ethos adds 2 highly-tweakable independent channels to your existing amplifier with an integrated boost switch (tone stack bypass), essentially adding 3 different foot-switchable sounds to your amplifier (total 4!) Both channels offer really good tone, whether clean or overdriven. Transitioning from various degrees of overdrive is dynamically dependent on the articulation of your guitar pick in conjunction with guitar volume control. Three bands of EQ and a presence control on each channel add to the variability of tone, along with the traditional Brite/Normal, Modern/Classic, Rock/Jazz that you find on the Dumble amplifiers. The various combinations of switches and EQ’s offer a seemingly unlimited number of choices at your fingertips.
2) The Ethos is a direct interface for a recording console, PA, computer etc. So, for those who are looking for something other than the popular line 6 pod for direct recording, the Ethos is the more organic sounding alternative. One of the two outputs on the unit is a speaker simulator output designed expressly for this purpose. Direct Dumble tones for your Imac or studio session!
3) The Ethos can be used as a preamp for any power-amp, speaker combination. In addition to the choice of output in this application (Speaker Simulator vs. Normal Out), there is also a Guitar Amp Compensation switch along with an overall high-cut control. These give you the ability to add more warmth to your signal to further tailor your sound to match the system through which you are playing, whether tube or solid state.
For those who are seduced by the probable illusion of “true bypass” pedals, the Ethos, unfortunately is not, but it would be a challenge for you to notice any difference in signal when the Ethos is taken out of your chain. When the Ethos is off, the signal runs through a unity gain buffer. The buffer is flat band in response.
In conclusion, I have used the Ethos through a number of diverse playing combinations and it is amazing…a highly recommended pedal for all round tone-tweaking purposes along with great singing overdrive that does not sound narly. This pedal is a must for folks who record, tour and play different rooms with different back-line amplification provided. It allows you to keep a consistent tone through many different shapes/makes of amplifiers and provides a familiar tone-tweaking platform for very little floor space. It allows you to bring your recognizable signature sound, from your home studio to the pro-recording session and then on the road for your world tour. You will still sound like yourself.
For those of who you might be looking for a pedal that will make your Fender Twin Reverb sound exactly like Robben through an Alexander Dumble Overdrive Special….well…aren’t you really are asking for a lot? but…the Ethos is as good and as close as it gets an A+++++
Today I am posting a review I wrote for Berklee’s Guitar Faculty newsletter, Open Position. I thought it would be nice to share it with a larger community of tone-seekers.
The pedal I reviewed is called the Cusack Screamer. It is the modern-day version of the traditional staple in your tone bank, the tubescreamer. Made popular by many guitar greats, such as Stevie Ray Vaughn, this pedal became the alternative for folks seeking overdrive who wanted to emulate the sound of an tube amp turned up to 11, so to speak. I have owned quite a few different versions of the Tubescreamer and I have really enjoyed this modern version of a classic must have. I have found this one to be the most transparent and responsive with respect to the natural sound of your instrument and subtleties that you might execute in the way of articulation.
The new Cusack Screamer V2 Overdrive Pedal ($200) made by Jon Cusack, tests out to be one of the coolest little overdrive pedals on the market. Described as a “clean” overdrive with about twice the gain of a typical tube screamer, this revised version 2 offers much more than a typical overdrive. Check out the manufactuer’s website, Jon Cusack.
Jon Cusack’s overdrive pedal has the usual three adjustable knobs associated with OD pedals: Level, Tone and Drive. All three are quite effective in range and allow for much in the way of tweak-ability. An added plus is Jon’s use of those mini-chicken head knobs, affectionately called chickys. On a dimly lit stage you can easily see exactly where you have each parameter set.
In addition, there is a three-way switch which allows selection of the type of clipping diode. The options are Stock, Crushed, and Asymmetrical Clipping:
Stock is along the lines of what you would expect from an upgraded TS9, but with much more clarity, definition, low end and touch responsiveness.
Crushed gives you more of what you might expect from a higher gain tube amplifier.
Asymmetrical (my favorite) has even more clarity than the Stock and allowed for much more of the Robben Ford-esque quality (overdriven but still crisp and clean) that we have come to associate with D-Style amplifiers, such as Dumble Overdrive Specials and it’s hierarchy of clones. An LED functions in conjunction with this setting and flashes with signal input level. With a boost, this LED can also be used (in a pinch) as a strobe tuner.
Sonically, The Cusack Screamer V2 gives you warm and pliable overdrive with NO FIZZ and NO LOW END MUD! It is amazingly tube like and really let’s the sound of your guitar shine through. It is very articulate and responsive with the added ability to clean up with a twist of the guitar volume knob. (All of the things we love in an overdrive pedal…mmmm)
The Cusack Screamer V2, even though much lighter than a typical pedal of it’s size (At one moment I thought I had misplaced it and it was in my pocket!) is of super solid construction, and comes a supplied skid plate if you are not the pedalboard type. It has a 9v DC power jack (tip=ground) and will run with the standard generic power supply or with a 9v battery (for a very very very long time). It features a soft-touch-relay-true-bypass switch and a status led which has a user-option of red=active, and green or off=inactive. The inputs for the pedal are located at the top, the short side of the pedal. This is the best, yet somehow often neglected feature that any pedal manufacturer could add for pedalboard real estate consideration. Kudos to Jon for that!
This pedal is one of the most practical and well thought out that I have come across in a long long while. Truly a product for a professional working musician. It sounds great through ANY amplifier, including the unforgiving back-line staple, the Fender Twin Reverb. I therefore give it my highest rating….. Five stars on this for sure!!!
This week, I want to touch on a very intriguing subject. I welcome your personal thoughts and shared experiences with this.
The Dumble Overdrive Special Amplifier made by Alexander “Howard” Dumble became the amp that was associated with the signature sound of players like Robben Ford and Larry Carlton. These hand-made high quality amplifiers became popular in the 70’s and early eighties and had built in foot-switchable overdrive. They developed a reputation for having a silky smooth, pliable and touch-sensitive brand of overdrive. Back in the day, these amps were considered pricey, running around a couple thousand dollars. Today on the market, these amplifiers fetch tens of thousands of dollars and are highly sought after, at times going for prices that rival a small condominium in Florida close to the beach.
After the popularity and demand of these amplifiers grew, to avoid theft of concepts and design. Alexander Dumble started covering the inside of his amplifier circuit boards with a compound that hid the components and their values. However, it seems that there have been some cases of amps that have been de-gooped and component values measured, and schematics drawn up illegally.
Here is a price list from 1990 along with a contract that had to be signed before you could purchase one of these legendary amplifiers.
The interesting thing is that supposedly Alexander Dumble made each amplifier with the specific style in mind of the player who ordered it. This would mean that in a sense, no two Dumbles would be alike. However these legendary amplifiers have spawned a cottage industry of “wanna-be’s” and inspired clones. (Amps and pedals).
My experience with this phenomenon was thus: I played a lot of the Dumble-inspired products and amplifiers for years, before finally playing a real Dumble Overdrive Special. It was quite an eye-opener: I found that none of the products made me sound like Robben Ford or Larry Carlton!! (Did someone say it was all in the fingers?) However think I understood what part the deal was….
These amplifiers are incredibly versatile and you can easily play classic rock or reggae or folk or even jazz using them. However the sound that everyone seems to associate with them is that of Robben Ford or Larry Carlton (for the most part). I am no marketing expert, but I have a hunch that this is the basis for the entire Dumble-clone industry. But Robben and Larry sound like Robben and Larry no matter what they play through!!!
Here is a list of some of the amplifiers and pedals that are Dumble-inspired along with links to more information. The jury is out as to whether anything sounds like an actual Dumble Overdrive Special, but then that would mean that there is a definitive dumble sound, right??? However, there are proponents who swear by these products. Whether or not they duplicate the elusive tones of this amplifier has no bearing whatsoever on whether or not they are great products. I have owned a few (and still do) and I love them! Maybe I will own a real Dumble Overdrive Special..someday…:), but that condo on the beach in Florida sounds too sweet for someone entrenched in New England winters too…brrrrrrrrr!!!
Zendrive
Made by Alphonso Hermida. Often called “Dumble in a box” by some. I heard Robben Ford say that he uses this pedal at times. I have owned one of these and find it to be a little darker and fatter than what seems to be associated with the “Dumble Sound”. However, I have heard Robben play through amps other than a Dumble and honestly…he still sounds great…just like Robben Ford! I think of this pedal as a great overdrive pedal that has a nice tweak-ability.
Ethos Overdrive
This is an absolutely amazing pedal. I will review this in an upcoming post. I own one and it is a main staple of my tone on most of my gigs. The lay-out of the pedal even looks physically like a Dumble amplifier. Besides offering similar tweak-ability as the amp, functioning as a pre-amp, the Ethos offers some nice modern day features such as speaker simulator for direct recording.
Brown Note Dlite 22/33/44
These amps are amazing and affordable, made by Moss Hudson in Fair Oaks CA. I own a compact combo DLite 44 that was custom built for me. It is truly the holy grail of amps for me. Built in Overdrive, Reverb (optional), and pre and mid boost footswitchable functions. I got myself a compact 44 which makes it all the more portable. The front control panel resemble the Dumble controls, although the amp seems to be a few sweet steps away and has it’s own character and voice along with some lovely overdrive. This is a great amp for a working musician in this respect. Handmade, solid Light, smooth and powerful!!!!
Ceriatone Overtone Special
These amps seem to be only a couple steps removed from an actual dumble. I was made to understand that these Malaysian made amps might be closer in design than Alexander Dumble might approve of (like really really close). Not sure what the story is here…by Malaysia is a long way away from Los Angeles, I guess. These amps are very affordable (around 1500) and sound as good as any amp. In addition they are hand made.
Two-Rock Emerald Pro
Two Rock makes an amazing product. I don’t think I have ever played a Two-Rock that I did not want to own! Very high quality and great tone. It is said that the Emerald Pro is a couple steps removed from a Dumble Overdrive Special. Two-Rock is not making this model any more, but their current hot seller, the Custom Reverb Signature is a dream worth saving for. Anything Two Rock is worth acquiring since it will sound great for sure. Whether or not you sound like Robben or Larry, go for it!
Fuchs Overdrive Supreme
I have played these amps and they seem quite different from the Dumble realm even though it is said they are inspired by the 90’s Dumble period..but Andy Fuchs makes a great amplifier nonetheless. Similar control panel to a Dumble.
Here is a short list of some other related amps and pedals that I have had no experience with but have heard great things about. Maybe some of you can post your experiences with them.
Have you ever played a gig and absolutely loved your tone at the beginning of the night….then somehow as the evening progressed, you found it increasingly more difficult to get a good sound when you took solos? Does the volume of your amp seem to creep up after every song?
This is something I have been thinking about for about for many many years. Some of you might be able to relate.
How many times have you heard the soundman say “Turn your stage volume down!!” at the beginning of the evening, even if you have your amp on the 20w setting with hardly any volume? So you turn down. After the first couple of songs, as the crowd gathers in front of the stage, every other instrument in the band is louder than the guitar, and everyone in the audience complains that they can’t hear your guitar solos?? Hmmm….Well here are some thoughts of mine on what I call the dynamic tone effect. (Hey, it sounds good to me!)
Here is the scenario that used to play out. At the beginning of the gig, after the sound-check and the first song (which is usually used in the set to get adjusted to the levels) I would feel very comfortable with my solos; in control and restrained like the ninja who sees everything in slow motion and can think with clarity about his next move. However, as the evening would progress, with each song, I would find myself constantly adjusting, trying to reclaim my former tonal composure, wondering if my previous feelings of satisfaction were all just in my head. Well…There seem to be a number of things at work here that just might be somewhat scientific. Here are some thoughts on what is happening and how I have learnt to deal with this.
Usually things start to sound different as the night progresses for a number of real reasons:
1) We get used to louder volumes over time. As a result, they way we hear is affected, which affects the way we play which affects the tone. Over time, at loud volumes, our ears attenuate all frequencies. However, high frequencies suffer the most.
2) The room/hall/theatre sounds acoustically different once the crowd comes. At sound-check, the sound leaves the stage and bounces from the back of the room back to our ears. The higher frequencies are more directional and travel more efficiently than the low frequencies. The guitar might be perceived as being louder at this point in the evening. As the crowd gathers, the bodies and clothing effectively block the higher frequencies.
3) The increasing humidity in the affects the way sound travels. As the crowd drinks, breathes and sweats the humidity in the room increases. The effect is small but scientific.
4) Your amplifier warms up. If you are using a tube amp, (even though, this should only be after a few minutes) once your power tubes are up and running hot, your amp might experience a slight change in tone. Not much but just enough to make you adjust your playing.
5) Overall band volume changes. Usually volume goes up! You turn up to compete and thus the quality of your tone will change. You may be pushing your power tubes more at this stage, depending on wattage. The tone section of your amp may be gain driven, so an increase in volume may result in a disproportionate increase in the overall setting of your bass, mid and high’s.
Now these factors in combination just might be enough to demand and active tweaking of your tone as the night progresses and songs and dynamics change. I have, through the years come up with a few solutions. I call this Dynamic Tone Tweaking. (Sounds good to me.)
Amplifier: The amplifier I choose to use for a number of reasons is the Working Dog Rottweiler, made my George Alessandro.The reasons why this is my amplifier of choice are:
It is a light yet powerful 40w.
It has great tone
It has what amounts to an attenuator, a final output volume (not a master volume). The Final Output Volume allows you to get the same tube driven tones at different, especially lower, volumes.
Application: Throughout the course of an evening, I use this final output control to achieve the desired effect of clean at high volumes, crunch at lower volumes or any variation in between. At the beginning of the evening, I can get away with half power (happy sound-man) to get the rhythm clean I need, and still the crunch and dirt on power chords I need without being too grungy. As the evening progresses I need full 40w power to get clean rhythm tones. I also actively use the creamy/jangly switch, going back and forth depending on feel and dynamics of the tune being played.
Of note: I always choose to put my amp on the floor for most club gigs. In situations where there is adequate sound re-inforcement on the stage, (e.g. monitors and a mic that feeds the amp into a large house or theatre system) then this matters less. However, for gigs where I am depending on my amp for the guitar mix in the band, this is a must for me. High frequencies are very directional are readily blocked and absorbed by the folks in the club. If the amp is pointed up at you, as is the case if the amp is placed on a stand, chances are, the high frequencies are not making it to the back of the room. The sound you are hearing is not the sound that the audience hears. If the amp is on the floor, granted, there will be a few in the front of the stage who might overdose on higher frequencies, but the rest will hear your amp the way you are hearing it…the indirect and reflected sound. Hence, a more accurate representation of what is actually happening sonically between your playing and your responding to the sounds that you are hearing as you play.
Overdrive Pedal: I use a pedal called Ethos Overdrive.The reasons why I use this pedal are:
Very smooth very clean overdrive pedal. No fizz or Buzz
2 fully tweakable channels with 3 band EQ, plus a clean boost tone bypass, effectively giving you 4 options for tone. Clean channel, Overdrive Channel, Boost, and Bypass
It has an overall hi-cut control.
Useful for situations where a back line is provided. You can take a tone that you are used to everywhere you go.
Application: Perception of high frequencies change as the evening progresses and the natural aural attenuation occurs. I can use the hi-cut/add to change my high frequencies as the night progresses without changing my tone on the individual channels. In addition, I use this pedal dynamically as the night progresses. At the beginning of the evening I use the overdrive channel to get saturated, sustained tones. As the night progresses, I only need to use the boost in the clean channel to achieve the same effect. My amplifiers power tubes are humming and are giving me great sustain and smooth overdrive with little else than the clean channel of this pedal.
Guitar Tone/Volume Controls: As I mentioned in my last post, lately I have been using a Fender Highway One Stratocaster . The Strat has a very wide range of tone controls which provide ample ammunition for cutting through just about any mix on the fly.Application: The 5 postition tone switch gets it’s work out as the night progress. I find myself playing more in positions 4 and 5 as the night progresses to either cut through when playing a solo, or to get cleaner rhythm parts. High frequencies demand less power, so my amp can stay relatively clean on a back pickup with the amp at full blast and yet a simple flip of the 5 position switch to position one brings out the lower frequency crunch on demand. In addition I can make use of the volume and tone pots as the volume and dynamics changes.
Well there you have some of my thoughts on this tricky subject…I will agree there is not much in the way of scientific data in this post, and some might feel it necessary to substantiate some of my claims. In addition, there are any number of pedal combinations that can be added to the mix to achieve more in the way of dynamics and compression, but I thought I would start with the basics.Some of this might sound like a lot…but I think the end result is that your tone becomes as dynamic and as interesting as that of a good public speaker…I get some good compliments on my tone at shows but honestly I think it is primarily because I try to keep things moving along in a way that takes the listener on a tonal journey. I do this using the Dynamic Tone Effect along with some of those articulation devices that I talk about in my on-line course, Funk/Rock and R&B Guitar Soloing.I am very interested to hear what some of your experiences are in this respect… Video of the Week:This week is one of my favorite Jimi solos for dynamics and tonal variation…actually one of my favorite Jimi Solos, period…
One eye-opening revelation in the quest for tone happening to me back in the early 90’s. I was playing with a relatively popular Boston-based band called the Heavy Metal Horns. This was a 10 piece band playing horn-laced groovy and funky tunes. The instrumentation was electric bass, drums, two guitars, keyboards, alto Sax, tenor Sax, trombone, trumpet and a percussionist who doubled on steel drum. The volume on stage was off the charts even if we tried to tiptoe! I first discovered foam ear plugs around this time after going home after each gig with tinnitus. My guitar rig at the time was a Seymour Duncan Convertible 100w head, with a Hartke 4-10″ guitar speaker cabinet. I played a guitar that had humbuckers, one of the early Carvin DC200 Koa guitars, back from the early 80’s. The other guitarist in the group, Peter Calo, played a Fender Strat through a Roland Jazz Chorus. Invariably, whenever he took a solo, his tone cut through the wall of sound that was the band, and reached the audience with little or no effort. My hum-bucker solos were confirmed by audience members as “dark” and “lost in the mix”. I learnt then that since the range of the other instruments in the band occupied just about every frequency available and detectable by human hearing, it would be a tonal challenge to be heard.
Subsequent guitar rigs came and went in the quest to be heard above the rest of the 10 piece juggernaut. But things only clicked when I finally made the wise move to a stock Fender Stratocaster. (I guess the bulb finally went again on in my head) At heart I was a total traditionalist. I grew up listening to the guitar sounds of the 60’s and 70’s and my choice of music was anything soulful. All of my early guitar heros played Fender Stratocasters. Even if they played other guitars at some later point, the Strat was the one that established their signature sound.
Since this time, I have come to think of electric guitars in two categories: Stratocasters and then, of course everything else, respectfully, i.e. There is no mistaking the signature sound of a Stratocaster, even if it does not say “Fender” on the headstock. There is, in my opinion, no electric guitar that has as wide a range of tonal emotions. Whether or not he planned it out in detail, Leo Fender was really on to something very very special. The Stratocaster has what it takes to cut through just about any mix, without even having to get into a volume war; The right frequencies to allow you to be heard above the other 20 band members. In addition a signature, recognizable tone that seems to respond well to the nuances of your attack devices, whether picking, hammering, pulling or plucking. A piece of tonal clay waiting for your fingers to mold it into art.
The model I chose, exclusively, for many years the American Standard. It has been one of my main axes, even though pickup configurations have changed. Initially I tried EMG pickups, since the 60 cycle hum that accompanies any stock strat, is unbearable to the novice strat player. I moved quickly to the EMG vintage series, actively searching for a more traditional tone without the hum. Something was always missing from the authenticity of tone with these pickups, although I have heard some players using them in a very expressive and impressive way. When Fender started making vintage noiseless pickups, I decided it was the closest I could get to home and Hendrix without the hum. But it never stopped there!
My recent (goldmine) discovery was the recently released upgrade version of the Fender Highway One Stratocaster with Alnico III Pickups (70’s large headstock model). I stumbled across one of these somewhat by accident and after being seduced by the authentic sound of this instrument, had my guitar tech, Mark Herbert (of Pat Metheny Fame) do a top class set up for me. Mark is very critical of my constant selection of solutions in my Quest for Tone, but I was honestly surprised when he gave me the thumbs up on this one. Very simple guitar with all stock parts, a nitro-cellulose finish which is perfect for those of you who are handy with a dremel tool for relic-ing. (I am posting a photo of my attempt to diguise this instrument as a vintage stock). In a blindfold test more than a few have testified to the vintage feel of this instrument. In conclusion I highly recommend it as a budget alternative to a high priced vintage instrument, for playability, not investment, of course. I think Fender should consider expanding this line. It is one of the most intriguing guitars I have played in a long while. Yes it rivals a few custom shop model that have passed through my hands.
Through the years, I have concluded that the 60 cycle single coil hum is, and always will be part of the mix. I have learned to accept that it is always eliminated with some compromise to what we know as the traditional Stratocaster sound. There are various noise gates that offer some relief and, of note, is a back plate modification made by Suhr, which ostensibly cancels the hum by adding what amounts another pickup, embedded in the back plate of the strat. However, that too changes the sound, albeit on a very small level (for the purists). So the hum is part of my sound now, but I am happier with my overall tone. I still have a couple of American Standard strats outfitted with the Fender Noiseless Pickups, that are still part of the rotation. But the Highway One reigns supreme on the tone-throne…for now?
The video of the week is a demo of me playing a Highway One Stratocaster at a recent book signing for my book Funk/R&B Guitar: Creative Solos Grooves and Sounds at a well known local music store in Boston, Mr Music. You can hear jazz, blues and funk solos on this stock Fender instrument. Enjoy!
This week we will talk about attack devices, or ways to get a string moving. I know it sounds to simple to be true but this one post might be the difference between you and your signature sound! In my on line course, Funk/Rock and R&B Guitar Soloing, and also in my book, Funk/R&B Guitar: Creative Solos, Grooves, and Sounds , I talk about various ways to get a string vibrating and the colorful sonic palettes that we can create by combinations of these (what I call) attack devices.The first one is simply the way we attack the guitar with a pick, up strokes and down strokes. In the book there are a number of exercises we can practice to become proficient at this but begin by experimenting with the different sounds that are created from the different sides of whatever pick you choose to use. I use the Cool Pick Medium gauge 1.2mm because I like the almost abrasive tone that is created, and the fact that it has a section with a grip, good for those gigs where your pick hand gets a little sweaty. If you are a Strat player, you will find that the 5 position switch in conjunction with a tight or loose pick will give you too many tones to count.Picking direction creates tonal differences and based on your preferences, you may work toward making both your up and your down stroke as close as possible in sound, or you can appreciate the differences and incorporate them into your signature sound.Another way to get a string vibrating would be to pluck it with the fingers of your right hand. Plucking strings can be used in conjunction with picking to create an interesting sonic landscape. Often called “hybrid picking” when used in this way, the pick is held in the usual way with the thumb and forefinger, while the middle, ring and sometimes pinky are used in co-operation with the pick.Hammer on’s become the next level of attack. You can pick a string and then use an available finger on your left hand to hammer on a note to a target fret. The result is a legato, softer attack. Conversely, you can use a finger on your left hand to play a note by an attack device called a pull-off. The finger of the left hand snaps off a note, ostensibly plucking the string in the process, while a lower finger frets the target note.In addition to all of these combinations, you can slide either up or down to a target note having already utilized any number of ways to get a string vibrating.All of these methods can contribute greatly to what is recognizable as your tone and the more you master in the way of these attack devices, the more color you will inject into your lines. The number and frequency of combinations are seemingly endless. And if that wasn’t confusing enough, we can even add more variables to these choices by adding the the various parameters of effects pedals to the mix:Plucked notes usually wind up with more volume than picked notes. We can use this to our advantage to trigger effects that are velocity (or volume) dependent. Overdrive/distortion pedals are the most popular signal level-driven effect. If you set your overdrive right at the threshold, you can play softly and have a relatively clean tone, for example, by picking notes. Plucking notes will create more volume, and thus more overdrive. So a picking pattern using both picking and plucking will sound sonically colorful, with some notes sounding more gritty than others. The resultant effect is almost vocal in nature.Another effect that can be used in this colorful way is the volume triggered envelope filter or auto-wah. Higher velocity = more wah with these pedals, so you can imagine how colorful your lines can become if you set this pedal’s drive control right on the threshold.Here is the video of the week. Oz Noy, the New York based guitarist playing at the Bitter End. Oz is a player who definitely milks the tone out of that stratocaster. Enjoy!!
