Special Effects

Special Effects

Bend It! Twist It! Warp It! (Mmmm...)

Electronic gadgets and gimmicks are a standard part of the rock equipment catalog, established during the last six or seven years as an integral part of the rock sound. The initial novelty of a volume control pedal which the guitarist could pump rapidly with his foot to attain a wah-wah-wahing sound quickly became an accepted part of the act, used by giants like Hendrix and Sly Stone to make new sound. This wah-wah pedal was joined by the fuzz tone which provided distortion at . the push of a button and then "the dam broke. It became obvious to manufacturers and guitarists alike that the electronic signal flowing'from guitar to amplifier could be processed in an endless variety of ways to produce an infinite number of sounds.

I've classed all of these under the category of "special effects". Most units are inexpensive and a handy additionTo the sound, but care should be exercised in using them just as it was necessary to keep the guitarists of the late 50's and early 60's from playing every song yith a "touch" of tremolo or reverb.

BCM (B.C.M. Sound Systems, P.O. Box 17112, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45217). Spotlighted in the June issiie of CREEM, BCM is manufacturing an all-in-one control unit which they call their "Mode • Synthesizer". This twelve buttom, one pedal box sits at the guitarists" feet, ready to provide every conceivable combination of distortion effect at the tap of a toe.

Colorsound (Sola Sound Ltd., London; Distributed in the U.S. by Musonic Inc., 7161 North Cicero Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, 60646), Colorsound makes a full line of the traditional pedal effects. They feature a FuzzWah which allows you to use either effect or both together for $74.95; a Wah-Wah for $49.95; a Tone Bender giving variable full intensity and sustain for $54.95; and many other'Variations.

EKO (EKO S.P.A. del fu O. Pigini & Go., Recanati, Italy). In between their pasta breaks the people at the Pigini factory are turning out a number of control units including their Strepitoso (Pedale addato per effetti "wahwah\ Vience inserto tra lo strumento e l'amplificatore e con un semplice movimento del piede produce i fantastici "sounds" della musica moderna.) And also a Distortion pedal to produce harmonics not present in the basic signal.

Electro-Harmonix (Electro-Harmonix, 15 West 26 th Street, New York, New York 10010). The family operation down at Electro-Harmonix has turned a couple of sound effects modules into such a land office business that they're now listed in the 'consumer electronics bible, thev Lafayette Electronics catalog. Among the many ElectroHarmonix products are the Screaming Bird which is a razor sharp treble booster; The Muff which gives tube-type distortion for $18.-95 ; the Mole which is a bass booster for $19.95; power boosters to beef-up your amp; a Frequency Analyzer which gives you moving harmonics -you can play a scale into it and get the scale out backwards. And Black Finger, a compression unit which gives pure sustain with no distortion for $69.95;

Fender (Fender Musical Instruments, 1300 East Valencia, Fullerton, California, 92631). A* few interesting items from Fender including their Fender Blender which gives fuzz and sustain for $62.50; a Fuzz Wah Pedal with on/off switch for $105.00; and a Tone And Volume Pedal which controls the tone response and overall volume of the signal for $62.50.

Foxx (Foxx, Ridinger Associates, Inc., 20700 Dearborn Street, Chatsworth, California, 91311). From Foxx comes their O.D. Machine which has a dial for boosting the power from 3 to 30 times the norm and then giving full controlled sustain; their Fuzz & Wah & Volume pedal for $89.95; their Clean Machine which gives pure sustain as clean or dirty as you want it; and their Wah & Volume Machine with a switch to give you the effect of four different wah-wah pedals in one, designed by the man who designed the Vox Crybaby six years ago, according to the Foxx press releases.

FRAP (FRAP, Box 40097, San Francisco, California, 94140). The FRAP or Flat Response Audio Pickup is a unit for use with instruments that are hard to mike - from violin to sitar to harmonica. The standard model retails for $160, a studio model for $225.

Guild (Guild Musical Instruments, 300 Observer Highway, Hoboken, New Jersey, 07030). Guild makes two highly popular units, the Copicat and the Echorec. The Copicat (E-4 is the model now available) is a mini-tape recorder with 5 recording/ playback heads and a loop of audio tape running past them. You get echo, swell, and repeating sounds out of the Copicat with thfe signal being recorded by one tape head and then played back by from one to four of the others. The Binson Echorecs (made in Italy) don't use a loop of tape; instead they have a drum spinning around inside of them on the edge of which is a coating of iron oxide (the same stuff used to coat recording tape). There are two Echorec models available, the A-601-TR and the A-606-TR. The difference between the two is that the 606 has echo, repeat, and swell, while the 601 only has echo and repeat. Check your local music dealer for prices.

IGI (Spectracom Corporation, 1101 State Road, Box 307, Princeton, New Jersey, 08540). The IGI or internal guitar intensifier allows you to control the tone of your guitar while adding attack, sustain, and punch to the signal. Spectracom is also making an IBI Box and an IGI Pedal.

Morley (Morley Division, Tel-Ray Electronics, 8114 South Avalon Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, 90003). There are three different effects pedals available from Morley. First there's their Power Wah/Boost volume pedal which runs on ac rather than batteries and provides about two and a half times the normal power boost of most wah-wahs; the cost is $99.50. Then there's the Morley Rotating Sound Power Wah. This is a four way pedal that gives you a Leslie "rotating sound effect" as well as a volume pedal, wah, and combination wah with rotating effect. Again, the unit runs on ac. Cost is $179.50. Finally there's the Morley Synthesizer for $129.50. This gives you the rotating sound effect of the unit described above without any other effects.

Russound (Russound/FMP, Inc., Portsmouth Avenue Traffic Circle, Stratham, New Hampshire, 03885). Russound is njaking a variety of add-on units, several of them devoted to hi-fi and tape recording applications. One you might want to check out for mike-p.a, or guitar use is their "GIMP" portable, battery operated two-channel mixer which retails for $49.95 and is exceptionally well made and rugged. The GIMP is small and can be attached right to a mike stand (special attachment loops are included). You can mix two guitars into one amp with this unit, two mikes into one input on a mixer or amp, and if you want you can flip it around and run one signal in and two out (don't know if they approve of this, but I did it on the model they gave me for testing and it worked fine!) Another Russound product that might interest you is their MCR Six Section Multiple Cable Reel - roadies will love this one. It stores six separate cables on one reel assembly neatly between jobs. Only $19.95.

Sekova (Charles Alden Music Co., Inc., Southwest Industrial Park, Westwood, Massachusetts, 02090). An inexpensive line of special effects units from Sekova includes their Power Booster ($7.95), their Bizzy Bass Booster ($12.95), their Tinny Treble Booster ($11.95), their Microphone Booster ($8.95), and their Frizzy Fuzz ($13.95).

S. Hawk (S. Hawk Ltd., 65 Bank Street, New York, New York, 10014). Maybe they should have been under the "h's"? Anyway S. Hawk is turning out an interesting line of effects modules. These include their Hawk I Linear Pre-Amplifier ($38) which is a four way device that can be used as a power boost or distortion device; the Hawk II ($72.75) and Hawk III ($70.75) Graphic Tone Contourers. The II is a six-way device that allows you to equalize the tones of the unit. The III uses only two bass equalizers to provide bass boost which is adjustable to your ear. The Hawk II and III are also available for mounting directly into your guitar as the Hawk V for $76.25 and the Hawk IV for $63.85.

If you're interested in what S. Hawk is doing, write them direct; they also asked that you mention CREEM when you write.

Stick-A-Pick (Stick-A-Pick, 112 Benjamin, South East; Grand Rapids/Michigan, 49506). A handy little magnet gadget that keeps a guitar pick handy. A metal disc sticks onto the back of the pick, a flexible magnet sticks onto the guitar, and there you have it. $1.00 a set.

SYVTPC (Southwest Technical Products Corp., 219 West Rhapsody, San Antonio, Texas, 78216). SWTPC isn't really in the music business (musical instrument biz that is), but they do have some interesting accessories available: their Psyche-Tone programmable melody synthesizer in kit form for $54.15; their series of Tiger amplifiers which are high power and super distprtion free; and their Theremin kit — complete for $22.50. They also make a musical instrument amplifier kit with tremolo, reverb, and fuzz, for $90.00.

Visual Guitar Tuner (Garden State Music Supply, Rt. 513, Box 282, Califon, New Jersey, 07830). The Vu-Pitch Visual Guitar Tune lets anyone tune a guitar: when the reed associated with that string on the Vu-Pitch vibrates, you've got it. For only $5.95.