Effects that make your guitar sound really weird

Jeff · #1 12-03-2004, 09:29 PM

I think we would all agree Eventides can make your guitar sound really weird. All of us can't afford one of those though, so I'm looking for weird stuff like that in stompboxes. Anyone know any effects that make your guitar sound whacked and and weird? I'd rather not mess with multi-effect units, but if you know some good ones, list them here!

toshiro · #2 12-03-2004, 10:02 PM

Digitech:

Synth Wah
Whammy
Space Station

Electro Harmonix(http://www.electro-harmonix.com/ehx2...p;f=%2FCatalog), pretty much 90% of their products are wierd sounding, IMO.

Jim Dunlop(http://www.jimdunlop.com/products/el...ics/index.html) makes some wierd ones too.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

Petie · #3 12-03-2004, 10:34 PM

You can get some pretty interesting sounds by combining effects pedals in an interactive way. Try this:

Slow phaser ---> envelope filter ---> compressor ---> distortion or dirty amp channel --->long delay with repeats at 25% (in effects loop)

The phaser feeds the envelope filter and produces an extreme sweep unachievable just through regular picking dynamics. The compressor trims of the peaks of the signal (which can get pretty ear-shattering if you don't tame it), and the barely-audible delay just thickens it a bit.

Ferrous Lepidoptera · #4 12-03-2004, 10:55 PM

Analog delay pedals can do some weird things with very short delay times and high feedback levels. Steve Stevens (Billy Idol) used to make some cool laser gun sounds this way. Digital simulations (e.g. POD) wont' cut it, as the delay times don't generally go down close enough to zero.

I have a Digitech GSP 2101, which has a weird preset which seems to be an envelope filter that supresses the inital attack combined with some harmonizing and delay... I think. It sounds a bit like a pipe organ. If you drop the bar way down, hit a nice chord, then bring the bar up, it's makes a real nice simulation of that rising THX ("the audience is listening") sound you used to hear in movie theaters before the movie. I always get a laugh from people who haven't heard it, "Here's my THX impersonation..."

You can get a kind of "geiger counter" effect by tapping the edge of the pick on the high E string very close to the bridge with a lot of distortion. Tap slowly a bit further from the bridge, and move the headstock of the guitar around as you try to "detect" whatever it is you're trying to "detect' (e.g. hot chicks in the front row) and as the headstock approaches a likely target, tap faster and move the pick closer to the bridge.

Petie · #5 12-03-2004, 11:46 PM

You can get a chattering monkey sound by scraping the pick back and forth over a small area of a wound string (say, over the middle pickup) while slowly depressing a wah. It goes "OOOOO Oooo Ooo ooo kaa kaaa KAAA KAAAA KKAAAAAAAAAH!"

Jeff · #6 12-04-2004, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ferrous Lepidoptera

You can get a kind of "geiger counter" effect by tapping the edge of the pick on the high E string very close to the bridge with a lot of distortion. Tap slowly a bit further from the bridge, and move the headstock of the guitar around as you try to "detect" whatever it is you're trying to "detect' (e.g. hot chicks in the front row) and as the headstock approaches a likely target, tap faster and move the pick closer to the bridge.

That's a very cool technique. I think Steve Vai did it across all the strings on the end part of "Answers" on the original G3 tape. The hot-chicks-at-a-concert idea is very cool though!

Two hands31 · #7 12-04-2004, 01:18 AM

I've heard some interesting stuff done with bass effects (especially bass synth pedals).

I find I can get enough done with a wah, a volume pedal, and a nice delay. Maybe add some reverb, chorus, flange, etc. if I feel like it. Then it's all about abusing your guitar in ways that should be illegal

Also, look into an ebow maybe.

Jeff · #8 12-04-2004, 02:27 AM

I've tried a lot of weird guitar techniques and stuff, and they're lots of fun. But I want effects now to get even weirder noises!!!!

RSVampire · #9 12-04-2004, 02:35 AM

get remote controllers and stuff and point them at the pickups...they make crazy sounds that way.

screamndemon69 · #10 12-04-2004, 10:23 AM

another vote for the Digitech Synth Wah. it BLOWS AWAY the audience EVERY time i use it! i can get quite a few sounds out of this unit so the bang=buck ratio is extremely high on this one. i only use 3 different modulation/weird effects - MXR Phase 90, Boss V-wah and the Synth Wah. i don't need anything else - at least until GAS strikes!

i get a great Joe Walsh "Rocky Mt. Way" voice box sound that is just AWESOME!! of course, "Man in a Box" ala Alice in Chains sounds very cool with it as well.

Jeff · #11 12-04-2004, 10:50 AM

Do you mean the Synth Wah envelope filter pedal, or is there any actual "wah" synth wah?

BeastofLove · #12 12-04-2004, 11:24 AM

The stuff by the guys at Death by Audio sounds really cool, but I can't justify buying any of their stuff just yet... really neat sounds though! Same goes for the guys at Effector 13... they actually have a really cool auction going right now (item # 3767113844) for a way over the top octave fuzz that sounds deadly.
For now, I can get an almost clarinet-ish semi-synthy sound by running the Plexi side of my Death Rattle with either my AC Booster or ReezaFRATzitz (or both) on at the same time. Infinite sustain and a very non-guitar like tone... and the hiss from all the gain isn't bad because the aforementioned pedals are very quiet to begin with.

-Ben

screamndemon69 · #13 12-05-2004, 09:46 AM

Jeff - yeah, i'm talking about the Synth Wah envelope filter pedal. it has 7 different settings and only 3 or 4 are envelope filters. the setting i get the voice box sound from is #5. it is pretty cool to get sooo many different FX from one pedal and from a pedal that is fairly inexpensive and as commonly found as this one!

vaijem777 · #14 12-05-2004, 09:58 AM

DOD had a pedal several years back called the "Gonkulator". It was a ring modulator that created some really interesting sounds. Lots of fun to play with, though I was never able to figure out a use for it in any live situation.

Two hands31 · #15 12-05-2004, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vaijem777

DOD had a pedal several years back called the "Gonkulator". It was a ring modulator that created some really interesting sounds. Lots of fun to play with, though I was never able to figure out a use for it in any live situation.

I believe Mike Einziger had two in his live rig with Incubus for years