-
Maestro Ring Modulator | History of the Guitar Pedal
“EXTERMINATE!… EXTERMINATE!” If that sounds familiar, you must be a Whovian (a “Doctor Who” fan, that is), and are therefore familiar – whether you know it or not – with the effect known as the ring modulator. It’s the electronic trickery that gives the evil Daleks their distinct voice. It’s also featured on Black Sabbath’s…
-
Vox Cry Baby | History of the Guitar Pedal
The history of stompboxes is filled with fortunate accidents – not surprisingly, the most ultra-iconic wah pedal, the Cry Baby, owes its birth to one as well. In preparation for a publicity concert (featuring an orchestra with all the instruments hooked up to Vox amps), Brad Plunkett – then an engineer for Thomas Organs – had begun work on…
-
Z Vex Effects | Stompbox Makers
For our third “Stompbox Makers” post, we talk to Zachary Vex, the founder of Z.Vex Effects who has been described as “the mad scientist” of guitar pedals. Founded in the mid-1990s, the Minneapolis-based company’s customers include Jack White, Billy Gibbons, Billy Corgan and John Frusciante. The Fuzz Factory is the company’s most well-known effect, described…
-
Echoplex | History of the Guitar Pedal
And NOW (now now now), we present to YOU (you you you) the next stompbox in our history timeline (line line line) – OK, I’ll stop. Anyway, it’s the Echoplex, the classic tape delay effect designed in 1959. The two earliest versions, the Echoplex EP-1 and the Echoplex EP-2, are housed in what looks like…
-
DeArmond Tremolo | History of the Guitar Pedal
Bach wrote music with the reverberations of specific cathedrals in mind. Gustav Holst had to slowly close a door on his choir to achieve a fade-out effect in “Planets” (an effect that recording engineers get today by turning a knob). Horn players used toilet plungers to get that Charlie Brown teacher sound. However great your…