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How To Be A Gear Snob:
Groovy Tones
By Corralee Booth |
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As a lover of all things retro, when I think of 60's gear, I think
of Danelectro. They have been working their butts off to
try to get more groovy retro sounds for the likes of us than any
other company. They have a real ingenious team working away to come
up with well-made instruments, amps and effects, but there are three
effects in particular that I would like to focus on. The Back
Talk, the Psycho Flange, and the Sitar Swami.
Their cute graphics, delightful colors, and intriguing sounds definitely
put them at the top of my list for 60's retro reinvention.
The metal casing for the pedals seem very sturdy indeed. I can't
imagine why you would ever want to back a semi truck over your pedal,
but these three would probably survive such an act of violence.
There's nothing worse than a cheap plastic pedal that cracks and
breaks every time you stomp on it, but these babies will be around
forever.
They gobble up batteries pretty good as most stomp boxes do, so
I would suggest picking up a power adapter. Don't cheap out and
go for a drugstore 10-dollar jobbie either or you will have nothing
but serious hum. I would suggest using the adapter that Danelectro
sells or a boss or whatever, but something pro that won't cause
hum.
They have simple knobs, easy to figure out and easy to use. They
also come with instructions on how to set the tone, which is always
nice to read before you jump into playing and get potentially frustrated.
It is easy to get confused with these pedals. I've read dozens of
user reviews by people who keep starting their sentences off as,
"mind you. I didn't read the instructions, but this pedal sucks
because it couldn't do (this or that)" and more often than not,
they weren't using it properly. So read up, if you are one of those
people, keep trying and I'm sure you'll find a tone that you really
like and can work with.
Back Talk Reverse Delay
I plugged this pedal in the second it came into the store. Just
messing around fidgeting, getting myself comfy, I happened to accidentally
hit my muted strings with a pick. Jimi Hendrix immediately
popped out of my amp. Not the guy, but the first 'pick scrape' percussive
sound to "Are you Experienced?" I couldn't believe it! I
then proceeded to try to hack my way through the solo and discovered
that this pedal is perfect for that song. It totally sounds like
you're playing backwards and that's just about groovy enough for
me.
It's a perfect pedal for weird 60's psychedelic tunes. I wouldn't
necessarily use it all the time or make it a part of my 'sound',
because I think it might get awfully obnoxious, but it's a really
great way to mix up an otherwise boring solo. You know, sometimes
you just need that extra oomph or fancy trick to pick up a song
that would otherwise be lacking and this pedal will do it for you.
It is particularly nice to use with sweeps bends and pull-offs and
looping it will get the coolest layered textures.
It is easy to play out of time and produce a click noise by playing
overtop of yourself. This is the biggest complaint about the pedal.
Make sure you have your speed set properly to the tempo of your
song, or it can seriously mess with you. It takes a little bit to
straighten it out, but once you do, it's awesome! This is also the
reason why it's perhaps just easier to do big long notes that can
undulate and build upon themselves. Some tricks are to play lightly,
and just let it loop playing little arpeggiated notes.
Psycho Flange Triple Thick Flange
 Warning,
don't play this if you are sick or hung over should be stamped on
the back of this pedal. Its extremely vibey tone will send your
head spinning and swirling as much as your sound. It's like poring
Mrs. Butterworth all over a 747 and flying it right through your
amp! The effect is gigantic and really, really syrupy. It has a
huge amount of depth; meaning there is a great deal of delayed signal
added to the original tone and the amounts of delay are so very
varied that it's almost confusing and chokingly retro in all of
its excess.
This is another dessert type of effect that can greatly enhance
a single performance. You may not even use it once through an entire
night, but when you need it, it's there with all of its sweet, fat
depth. I wouldn't use this with a thick, chunky sounding guitar
because the low end boost would really muddy your tone and the whole
mood would be lost. I'd say a single coil guitar like a Strat or
a Strat copy of some sort would be the best. The sound is huge and
can really catch you off guard. Prepare yourself mentally, because
I don't think they set out to make it sound "pretty" there's nothing
gentle or subtle about it. It's a psycho sound for sure.
Sitar Swami
 A
great deal of people's preferred use of this pedal is as a projectile
weapon to throw at the apparent jerk that sold it to them at the
music store. This is probably one of the most misunderstood effects
of all time, but trust me the Sitar Swami has a deeper purpose in
life. You can't just sit down, play a bunch of blues licks and expect
it to sound like you're Ravi Shankar. Even though it comes
with a slide, it doesn't work like that. In fact, I wouldn't play
chords at all with it because the droning, resonating tones would
cause far too much confusion. I would rather use it with chimey
single note lines filled with half steps. You know, try to play
it like a Sitar, instead of a guitar. It sounds like I'm being facetious,
but it's amazing how many people don't get it.
Try using a Tele or an Acoustic Electric with the Swami. Something
really twangy to begin with, will help the tone's potency. Coupling
it with a wah pedal is a good idea too. Just rocking the wah gently
with your phrasing will greatly enhance its effectiveness. Keep
in mind the drone that comes out of the pedal. This is not feedback,
but should be worked with and appreciated. Jiggling the slide back
and forth playing with the drone is fun, but finger picking and
trying to work around it can be difficult and tiresome if not rewarding
if you have the gumption.
Altered tunings are perfect for this pedal as well. I would suggest
either DADGAD or for something a little different, try CADGBG.
Playing outside your normal parameters will probably help you come
up with more interesting lines to play with this pedal. It requires
some thinking and preparation.
All in all though, I think it was a great little invention as well
as the other two pedals. Danelectro has really done it this time.
I can't wait to see what they will come up with next. No doubt it
will be more funky-looking retro treasures.
More from Corralee Booth...
How To Be A Gear Snob: The Bottom
Line on Bottom End.
How To Be A Gear Snob: Simon
and Patrick.
How To Be A Gear Snob: Speakers.
How To Be A Gear Snob: The Gibson
Guitar.
How To Be A Gear Snob: Pickups.
How To Be A Gear Snob: Gifts
for Rock Stars.
How To Be A Gear Snob: Fender
Stratocaster. |
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_________________________________
Want more Music Resources? Amanda Garrigues is a singer and
songwriter based in Gainesville, Florida. She runs her own label,
Average Sinner Records. She has contributed many great columns to
WOMANROCK.com including:
From the Couch to Carnegie Hall
Opening the Heart and Soul
How to Care for Your Voice
Being Sick on the Road
The Tour
Safety on the Road
The Art of the Music Conference
Distribution for Indies: How
to sell CD's without a Major Label
Mastering: What Is It Good For?
The Path of the Song: Deconstructing
the Songwriting Process
EQ That Guitar!
Choose Your Acoustic Wisely
In the Booth: Getting a Good
Vocal
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_________________________________
Corralee
Booth is a writer, musician and self proclaimed gear Goddess. She
sells and reviews gear at Guitarworks and plays bass for the Alberta
based, all girl band, Dragonfly. |
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