Noisey Gadgets
I did some recording today with some of my new favorite musical instruments.
Some of these I built or modified myself.
Here is a list of the toys I was using:
1) Gakken SX 150 analog synth kit
2) Homemade Atari Punk Console (no kit, made from scratch using Circuit Board from Radio Shack).
-this is the device housed in the red Swiss army tin.
3) Transistor radio noise synth- Made from taking apart a transistor radio and Orange Tupperware container. This is an example from Nicolas Collins’ book. noise is made by touching resistor points on the circuit board and tweaking the volume pot. the beauty of this instrument is that no 2 transistor radios sound exactly the same. so start hitting garage sales.
4)Stylophone BeatBox (not modded…yet)
5)Modified danelectro Fab Echo- Housed in the Green Tupperware container, removing the delay time resistor and adding a potention gives the unit a lonnnnnnng analog delay. it really sounds awesome!
6) last is my trusty Electrix Filter Queen. This unit is so cool, and sounds great with the APC running through it.
I’m actually using these on my new recordings. That’s right, I’m working on a new record.
More info on that soon. and I’ll post some sounds from these toys, as well.
late,
James
Oz Fritz-Method of Defiance-Bass Player Magazine
On this past Nov. 6th, Method of Defiance threw down an awesome performance at New York’s Santo’s Party House.
It marked the launch of M.O.D Technologies and the release of the first 2 Method of Defiance Albums, which are now available for download or CD purchase at Amazon, Itunes, Etc.
I worked that night as Bill Laswell’s Bass Tech, as well as general stage tech, which allowed me to witness this event in all its Massive Volumed Glory.
Oz Fritz, Method of Defiance’s Live sound engineer, gives a great description and point of view from that night. I’d like to direct to you his blog.
He has great stories about his experiences as an audio engineer, past, present and future.
Also, Check out the latest issue of Bass Player magazine. Bill Laswell has the cover story, written by Bill Murphy.
Being Bill’s bass tech I contributed technical information for this article (and a photo) and my name is mentioned in a sidebar about Laswell’s Pedal Board.
Lastly, Pidgin Droppings has some shows coming up:
Dec. 18th at Hat City Kitchen -Orange NJ
Jan. 21 at Hat City Kitchen – Orange NJ – with Loud Apt.
Jan. 28 at The Shrine – NYC – with Loud Apt.
Check out these recently released Albums:
Method of Defiance – Incunabula
Method of Defiance – Jahbulon
Gigi with Material – Mesgana Ethiopia
Juggla – Leave Babylon
Bass Big Muff tested and reviewed
One of the jobs I’ve acquired over the last few years is being the Bass Tech for Bill Laswell. Bill travels a lot around the world and it’s important that his gear works and sounds good.
That being said, I suggested to him that we try the new Bass Big Muff from Electro Harmonix. We all love the sound of the original, but in my opinion, the pedal is too big for a pedal board, and you do tend to lose some of the low end of the bass in exchange for a Mid Range Growl. Don’t get me wrong this sound is awesome! But I will describe to you what Electro Harmonix has done to benefit Bass Players with the Bass Big Muff.
First off, the BBM is smaller in size, and lighter.m This is a big plus for fitting it on a custom made pedal board.
It has the standard 3 knobs found on all Big Muffs:
Volume- overall volume of fuzz sound when pedal is on.
Tone- Knob adjusts tone of the fuzz sound from low to high.
Sustain- is the amount of the Distortion sound from little to Extreme Fuzz with a long sustain.
there is a 1/4 inch input and 2 (1/4 inch outputs)
the output configuration is a new feature and good one for Bass.
One of the outputs is Effect out which sends the muff tone out to your amp.
the other is Dry out, which will always send the original Bass Signal out. Send these outputs 2 amps or 2 channels on a mixer for more control of your sound. With the Dry Bass Signal you can add definition into your distortion sound, which helps the bass from getting lost in the Fuzz.
the other cool feature of this pedal is the switch with changes the signal from Normal to Dry to Bass boost.
I only tested this pedal using the Effect out, so here is what I found with the switch.
Normal- makes the pedal sound like the original Big Muff, and yes it is pretty close. The sustain was warm and silky, but in my opinion there may have been a little less Bite than an original Big Muff. Still, with a brighter tone adjustment, we like the way it sounded.
Dry- takes the Big Muff and Adds the Orginal Direct Signal in with effect and sends it out of the Effect output.
Very Cool! We heard every note of the bass clearly as it mixed in with the Distortion.
Bass Boost- this takes the Big Muff Sound and Adds a lot of low end to the signal. This sounded Great! Really Pumped up the Low end of the signal. This is something that’s never been available.
It’s a great added feature for Bass players who enjoy the sound of the Big Muff, but have never been able to get a tone that retains the Low end.
I’ve always like EH pedals. The really craft great tools with with great tone in mind.
Check em out!
-James
Music Gear for Sale
Check out this link.
Ralph and I (formerly of Music Club Studios)
have some barely used music gear for sale.
