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Rethinking Guitar – Applications and Effects Part 1 – Guest Post

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:52:45 +0000

The following is a guest post by Kevin Ian Common. If you are interested in guest posting, please contact me!

Hello Kind Readers!

As the only guitarist in The Common Men, I enjoy taking a break during songs and letting the bass and drums take over. I consider my role as the sprinkles on top of a cupcake, if you will.

However, I sometimes like to take simple chords to the next level. I used to spend days learning songs and trying to find new ways to twist the chord changes. This was the easiest way for me to develop my own voice in playing guitar.

The chord progression is from a well-known 80′s song “Under The Milkyway” by The Church. Here are the chords:

low – high EADGBe

Am: X 0 2 2 1 0

A7sus4: X 0 2 0 3 0

Fmaj7: X 3 3 2 1 0

G: 3 2 0 0 3 3

I’ve taken the chords and added my own touch to them. Here are the reworked chords with an explanation of what I did:

Am9: X 0 7 5 0 7

The B natural in this chord add a lovely quality and is the 9th in the A minor scale

A7sus4: X 0 7 7 0 5

While I don’t have the G which would make it a 7th chord, the bass plays the G, which implies the 7th

Fmaj7: X X 7 5 6 0

I just took the chord up to the fifth position and added the open E string to make it a Maj7

G: X X 9 7 8 10

G chord in a different position. The high D gives it a lovely shimmer to it

I have also added the Behringer Echo Machine to a shimmer setting. It’s known as the “U2 Shimmer” and it sounds like a synth pad behind my guitar. I also add a fast delay on top of it.

I love using effects pedals. I think they can really augment a progression. However, a little knowledge of chord functions and a little ingenuity can add a uniqueness to your playing as well!

Thank you for reading!

- Kevin Ian

Kevin Ian runs over 20 pedals. He is quite the tap dancer live on stage! He is currently the frontman/guitarist for The Common Men. You can find them on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter. Please direct questions and comments to

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Rethinking Guitar – Philosophy and Pedals Part 2 – Guest Post

admin — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:09:26 +0000

The following is a guest post by Kevin Ian Common. If you are interested in guest posting, please contact me!

Hello Kind Readers!

I’ve finally figured out my camera issues and will go back to doing video with my next column!

This is another short but sweet column talking about pedals. In my research I found out about buffers. If you run pedals, every time you introduce a pedal with cables, you add more noise to your system. Guitar pickups are high impedance devices which make them susceptible to noise from surrounding electronics. Furthermore, when you break up the connection between the guitar and amp, your signal becomes increasingly noisy. You also lose treble and your bass frequencies become increasingly muddy and flabby.

Most people will say “Use nothing but True-Bypass pedals and your problems are solved.” This helps only to a certain extent, as not all pedals are created equal. Even a pedal chain of True-Bypass pedals will lose tone and add noise.

I decided to experiment with a few things. Not one to use boost pedals, I decided to use one at the beginning of my chain to drive my pedals and compensate for volume loss. I also wanted to use something at the end of my chain. This is where the idea of using a buffer comes in. It retains the original sound of my guitar as if the pedals never existed. This sounded too good to be true, but what I found was surprising.

My boost pedal of choice is the MXR Micro Amp. It is a clean volume boost and does not add anything to my tone. I’m a big fan of my tone already, why change it? I found that with using this pedal, my guitar sounds bigger and I don’t need to dial in so much gain on my overdrive and fuzz pedals. This helps with the clarity of my chords and such. However, when I really want to go over the edge, the extra boost pushes the sucker over the cliff. Surprisingly enough, my Devi Ever LP at it’s full intensity now sounds extra fuzz and ugly. It’s a dream come true!

I have quite a few Non-True-Bypass pedals in my chain–namely two Behringer pedals and one Danelectro Mini-Pedal. I love the way they sound, so I’m not interesting in trading them in for anything more boutique right now. These pedals also dare to go places most pedals won’t for the price! I’d love to regain the original sound of my Reverend direct into my Classic 30–the original sound that sold me on the guitar. I purchased a Cmatmods Buffer from eBay and hoped for the best.

What happened next was amazing:

It was like my pedals were not there. It sounded like I was plugging my Reverend into my Classic 30 with a 10 foot cable. It was amazing. My treble was sparkling and my bass was taut and pronounced. However, the best indicator of my progress lies in the EQ.

Without my boost and buffer, I found myself scooping my mids and boosting my treble and bass on my amp. I also boost the treble on all of my overdrive and distortion pedals. My signal was quite noisy. After using both the boost and buffer, I had to readjust my EQ and kept everything pretty much flat with a slightly boosted bass. Most of the extraneous hiss is all but completely gone and I am happy.

I know some people who have gone into effects loop switching as well. I cannot write about it because it’s foreign to me. I do love cascading my pedals–sometimes turning them all on at once!–so one linear line does the job for me. If i so choose to experiment further, I will be sure to write about my experiences Sometimes, all people need is a little secondhand knowledge or experience to inspire them to experiment themselves. There are so many different options with regards to signal routing and looping and such… have fun!

Thanks for reading! I am planning to go back to real-time applications of my previous columns. We’ll take a look at a chord progression and explore different ways to play it. I might even flirt with recording guitar techniques. Stay tuned!

Kevin Ian Common loves large pedalboards. He eventually plans on running 30 pedals at once! He is a multi-instrumentalist and guitarist/vocalist for The Common Men. You can find them on MySpace, Twitter and Facebook. You can reach him @

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The Foundation of Tone: Guitar Pickups – Guest Post

admin — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:00:40 +0000

The following is a guest post by Brian Porter of Porter Pickups. If you are interested in guest posting, please contact me!

As guitarists, we’re obsessed with tone and finding the right gear to work for the sound we are after, for our band, or for the studio. We’ve tried a whole lot of guitars, amps, pedals and everything else looking for that “it” thing. We’ve come across some things that have worked for us, and some that have been a frustrating purchase because the hype didn’t match the gear. For every good gear purchase we’ve made, there’s probably a few we’ve regretted making. Since one can never have enough gear, we are always looking for what can improve our sound and our setup.

The part of the setup that often gets overlooked or ignored is the pickups. We’ve spent a lot of money on guitars, cables, pedals, and amps, but so often replacing the pickups has not been a part of the equation for seeking better tone. The basic job of a pickup is the translating of the string vibration into a small electric signal that goes through the rest of the setup and then gets amplified. A well made and designed pickup can be crafted to more accurately translate what is being played. Since the pickups job is to capture what you are playing, it is crucial to your tone.

Pickups can be custom designed to capture and translate your tone through a variety of ways: Each magnet type used in a pickup has certain tonal qualities. Pickups can be wound with different wire types and sizes to match vintage specs, or give you a modern sound. Each wire type can also be wound with different tension and number of turns, and the pattern of the wire can effect the tone as well. All of these design factors can be matched with styles of the player and the woods in the guitar to make a truly custom tone translation for the player. All of the sudden your guitar will sound better, and you might end up holding on to some of the rest of your gear line since a more custom and accurate translation is now headed through it!

There’s a wide range of great pickup companies out there. Spend some time researching what each offers and learning more about what you are looking for. Chances are the more you know ahead of time, the closer a pickup maker can get you what you are after. Just make sure to warn others of the impending face melting (See: Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark).

Brian Porter is the owner of Porter Pickups. He started Porter Pickups as part of his obsession for tone, and the desire to offer others custom made pickups at an affordable price with the look and sound they are after. Visit his website at www.porterpickups.com

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Rethinking Guitar – Philosophy and Pedals – Guest Post

admin — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:43:01 +0000

The following is a guest post by Kevin Ian Common. If you are interested in guest posting, please contact me!

Hello Kind Readers!

My last column discussed order of pedals in pedal boards. This short and sweet column tackles the on-going debate of “amp-like,” “true-bypass,” and “transparent.”

With the advent of the gear forums, I’ve noticed a very big mob mentality when it comes to gear discussions. Seems like people are more ready to write you off because you don’t subscribe to their idea of perfect tone. I go and I search for “best overdrive” or “best chorus” or “best delay” and I research all of these pedals to find that many of them are god-awfully expensive. You find that one person to mention Boss or Danelectro or even Arion and the pack goes for the kill. How crazy!

I find that enough people come up to me after a show and comment on how they like my tone or wonder how I get a certain sound. It always surprises them when they see my board and find such cheap pedals there. Also, I trust in that no matter what I play, it’s me, and people will be able to point out MY C chord in a sea of millions.

I understand that there are things I may not fully understand about pedals and how they work, but I feel that some of these buzz words are robbing budding and experienced guitarists of their essential journey of discovering tone. The debate and thought-process I hope to ignite revolves more around what sounds best for YOU. Remember, my opinion is only one of millions, but I am fortunate enough to share mine on such a public platform. Read on, you might discover something

Transparent-

After spending some time with what are considered “transparent pedals,” I have decided that the idea of not affecting my tone is not a factor in choosing my pedals. If I step on a pedal, I want it to do something. I bought my overdrive pedal to impart some kind of coloration on my tone. I am looking to alter it in some way, that’s why I buy pedals in the first place.
Of course this doesn’t mean go out and buy a twenty-dollar distortion and call it good. However, if that twenty-dollar pawn shop find works best for you, then why not keep it?

I once bought a certain overdrive pedal because my favorite band made my favorite album of theirs with THAT pedal exclusively. After finding it on eBay and winning it, I thought I had hit the jackpot! Turns out, while it worked with many aspects of my sound, it did not translate well to chords. And even worse, certain chords sounded downright terrible through the effect. As much as it hurt me, I had to let it go. I now have a distortion pedal that not only suits my needs, but allows me enough flexibility to achieve any tone I want for any situation. It may not be a three-hundred-dollar pedal, but it works for me.

I am a fan of brittle clean tones and distorted tones with a certain kind of bite. Needless to say, the phrases “thick and creamy” and “warm,” are ones I avoid when considering distortion or fuzz. I also tend to scoop my mids a little, so any pedal that adds mids to anything I generally stay away from.

True-bypass

Some of my mainstay pedals are cheap. This obviously means they are not true-bypass. I don’t care. I might switch them out with a true-bypass pedal in the future, but for now, I’m perfectly happy with them. There are still many companies whose pedals are not true-bypass, and some of them are the only manufacturers of certain sounds and pedals–why rob yourself of a possibly new sonic palette?

One of my favorite pedals on my board is a mini-pedal from an often over-looked pedal company. This tiny little pedal goes to certain extremes than pedals three or four times more expensive. That’s one of the beauties of cheap pedals–their ability to truly push the envelope sonically.

True, one of my favorite pedals on my board is two-hundred dollars. I won’t lie, some pedals I’m willing to spend an arm-and-a-leg for, but in that same respect, I got my favorite overdrive used for under one hundred dollars and my favorite modulation pedal was under thirty dollars.

I hope some of you have found my perspective interesting and slightly insightful. As you read this, I’m probably scouring eBay or Craigslist looking for pedals under 20 dollars to buy. I might buy 2-3 and experiment. Why not? I just might find another pedal that is essential to my own tone.

This column is not meant to tell you your decisions are wrong. However, when you talk about your pedal selection, do yourself a favor and buy pedals that help make yourself unique, not a popular person amongst a set of forums and gear-heads.

Thanks for reading!

- Kevin Ian Common

Kevin Ian Common is a multi-instrumentalist who has once used a pumpkin to help the guitar make music. You can find his band, The Common Men at www.myspace.com/thecommon. The Common Men are also on FaceBook and Twitter.

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Rethinking Guitar – Philosophy and Pedal Boards – Guest Post

admin — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 15:00:54 +0000

The following is another great guest post by Kevin Ian Common. If you are interested in guest posting, please contact me!

Hello Kind Readers

The last month has been a little hectic for me. The Common Men have been really busy working on new material and preparing for shows and some music videos.

Not only that, but my previously planned columns have been put on the back burner because my camera is not working properly. Until I get that issue resolved, I thought I would take a look into some philosophical matters involving the guitar. The first issue I’d like to tackle is pedal order in your pedal board.

This is a very subjective matter because just like tone, there really is no “right” answer, but there are norms associated with it. I will go over them and then explain the different variations of pedal order. I will reference my own pedal board as well. While there was a Pedal Line Friday dedicated to my rig, it has changed dramatically since–a true testament to the ever-changing tastes and needs of gear-minded guitarists.

Something Typical Something Atypical.

The basic order when dealing with pedals is as follows:

Guitar – Tuner – Compression – Modulation/Filter – Overdrive – Distortion/Fuzz – Delay – Reverb – Amp

The general belief is that the compression evens out your signal before anything else. The modulation and filtering effects (chorus, phaser, wah, etc) come afterward so you get a rich effected clean signal. The overdrive is your first line of dirt, and is usually low/medium gain. Your distortion is more lead-based so you would have a fuller tone. Here, you would stack your dirt pedals for either high gain uses or leads.

My order is as follows:

Barber LTD SR – Barber Small Fry – Devi Ever LP – Spectacular Aenima

My Barber LTD is my go-to overdrive. I am also currently borrowing it until I can afford to purchase it from a fellow musician. It’s wonderfully rich and full of growl. The Small Fry is my main distortion tone. It is the most rich distortion I’ve played and I have the internal trimpots set to a small mid scoop, slightly boosted presence and bass with a very tubby note shape. The LP is a lovely pedal I have reviewed before. It has a random hiccup sound, like it’s broken. I use it mainly as a stacked dirty tone with a random stutter. With the control knob all the way, it sounds very fuzzy and almost undefined–a thing of true beauty. The Spectacular Aenima is almost always set to a glitch motor-boat sound or bit-crushing madness. Since I am a big fan of weird tones and high gain when doing my solos, I prefer my stacked distortions to be unique and strange.

The delay comes after to fully take in all of the other effects and apply a delayed signal. Reverb is generally the last pedal in your chain if you use it. The philosophy is that reverb is the final augmentation, so it would follow everything else.

Of course, there is no real set way in pedal order. You can put your modulation effects after your distortion. However, you will get an added white noise swirl into your sound. Also, there tends to be a light volume boost with putting your modulation effects after distortion. I have switched between placing my chorus and vibe pedals before and after my distortion. I love the white noise aspect added to my sound.

Another interesting idea is putting delay before distortion. With the decaying delayed signal going into the distortion, the natural compression that takes place with distortion is striking. It makes you sound faster than you actually are! Give it a shot, it’s pretty crazy. I prefer the dying decay, and most people do, so this is a very unnatural decision.

I use multiple delay pedals. I really enjoy stacking delays and using different settings to create cascading delay sounds.

Here is the order as per my pedal board:

MXR Carbon Copy – Behringer Echo Machine – Digitech Digidelay

My MXR is set to quick U2-like delays with the Mod switch on at all times. That feeds into a long multi-tap delay on my Behringer. The final delay in my chain is a long reverse delay with very few repeats on the Digidelay. My thinking is that I feed the delays in order of short to long to special effect settings.

I have spent weeks changing my boards and chances are I will change it again a few more times by the time I finish another column. It will take you just as much time, but you will be surprised at the rewards associated with a little experimentation.

I have included a picture from a recent show that has both my boards in the picture. I will talk about my feedback looper and my texture board in the next column along with a little musing on the idea of cheap vs. expensive pedals.

This is meant to spark debate and experimentation. Happy stomping!

- Kevin Ian Common

Kevin Ian Common is a multi-instrumentalist who would love to plug in effects pedals to drums. He is currently in The Common Men, a Post-Punk trio from Northern California. You can find them @ www.myspace.com/thecommonmen.
You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter.
Please direct questions/praises/rants/flames to
thecommonmenmusic@gmail.com

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MXR M-103 Blue Box – Guest Review

admin — Mon, 24 May 2010 15:45:23 +0000

The following is a guest post review of the MXR M-103 Blue Box by George DesRoches @TeeAreBee. If you are interested in guest posting, please contact me!

So, after looking for months for a good, cheep octave fuzz, I finally caved into the almost unanimous suggestion of my peers: Get the blue box. So, after spending 80 dollars and waiting a week, the nondescript brown packaging containing my new proclaimed god of octave fuzzes appeared on my doorstep. Inside it, the box for the pedal was just as nondescript as the shipping package, and the only indication I had as to whether or not it was the pedal I ordered was the sticker they placed on the side of the black/blue box labeled “MXR”.

Inside, there was my pedal: the MXR Blue Box. It’s chasis was about as basic as the rest of the packaging: like it’s name suggests, the whole thing was blue. In a basic font, it had it’s name written just below the footswitch, the MXR logo just above it in the center of the pedal, the input and output jacks on opposite sides of the pedal, and 2 knobs labeled “Output” and “Blend”. Inside the box were rubber stoppers to put on the knobs to keep them from turning accidentally when the stompbox was, well, stomped, a brochure of other MXR, CAE, and Dunlop products and a registration form, though there was no form of instructions manual. Granted, the 2 knobs are pretty self explainatory, but the there are several details which a manual could have come in handy for, like if something goes wrong, or where the hell the battery comparment is (which I reveal below), or what the knobs did exactly. Unless you were willing to go online and watch the youtube video demoing the pedal, you had to basically wing it to get a desired sound, finding out what everything did by trial and error.

So, on to specifics: The MXR blue box is an octave fuzz taken one step further: instead of just one octave below, it yields a note 2 octaves down from the note played mixed in with the fuzz signal; The company takes pride in the fact that it was the effect used in the solo of “Fool In The Rain” by Led Zeppelin. Now, the knobs are relatively self explainatory: Output knob controls the overall volume of the effect, and the Blend knob controls the mixture of the main fuzz effect and the double octave (12 oclock is an even mix, clockwise is more fuzz/less octave, and counterclockwise is less fuzz/more octave). There is a stomp switch, and a bright red LED which alerts you when the pedal is on, and the pedal can be powered by either a 9V battery (the compartment for which is accessed by unscrewing the back of the pedal, and is not worth the time or the effort) or 9v adapter.

So, how did it sound? Well, I tried it out with 5 guitars: A strat replica with single coils (SSS configuration) and a rosewood fretboard, a strat with a humbucker in the bridge and a maple fretboard, a strat with 2 humbuckers (HSH) and a rosewood fretboard, a Gibson explorer (covered humbuckers), and a les paul (uncovered humbuckers). One thing people tend to overlook is that pickups arent everything: scale length is just as important a factor in the overall tone, as is fretboard wood. Strat bodies have longer scale lengths than most Gibson models, giving their tone more of a bite, while the shorter Gibson SGs, Explorers, and les pauls have darker tones. That is why many 80s hair metal guitarists used guitars styled like strats with humbuckers put in, because it gave them a more biting distortion. Fretboard wood is also and important factor: the darker the wood, the darker the tone. Rosewood fretboards make the tone darker, which maple fretboards make the tone brighter and snappier. Also, from experience covered pickups have fatter tones than their uncovered bretheren, though that may just be me. Still, I have tried this pedal out not only in conjunction with 5 different pickup, wood, length and tuning combinations, but I also used it in conjunction with 4 amps, and several different pedals.

Out of the 5 guitars, I liked the single coil strat replica the best (named Lilith: an SX HAWK QMD RDS). humbuckers, no matter what scale length or wood, made it far too muddy to my taste, though the darker the tone, the more muddy and disgusting the tone became. Fuzz seems to have been made for single coils, from experience, as it tends to be just a bit much with anything else.

Now, personally I found myself constantly going towards the Output knob to turn it up. The effect, no matter what always seems too soft. Also, I was profoundly dissapointed in the octave. it was very strong (so I had to turn it to mainly fuzz), and rarely stayed the 2 octaves down, spending most of the time jumping around, no matter how long or short the note was or what blend/output it was set at. What I was impressed about was that the octave maintained a synth like sound, which made my guitar sound badass! With wah, this pedal sounds pretty kick ass, especially with single coils, giving you a classic Jimi Hendrix tone. With delay, the signal seems a bit muddied, as with most modulation effects (chorus, flanger, phaser, rotary), and I dont recommend using any extra distortion or overdrive. I think a nice addition to the Blue Box would be a tone knob, to help fine tune that fuzzy sound.

Is it a cool effect? Yeah, I guess. It’s not something I would use regularly, but for a snazzy little synth sounds or for a kick ass riff, it’s perfect to switch it up a bit. And it’s not that expencive at all. Not something I would recommend for everybody’s pedal board, but for those who like to experiment with exotic tones and new sounds, this pedal might be right for you.

For an idea of how it sounds, check out the MXR demo, or the Gearmanndude demo:

Here is the video by Gearmanndude:

Guitars used:
SX Hawk QMD RDS (Stratocaster replica)(“Lillith”)
Pickup config: SSS stock
Rosewood freboard
21 frets
rating with pedal: 4/5
Tunings used: Standard, D Standard, Drop D, Open G

Fender TexMex Stratocaster (Modded) (“Heather”)
Pickup config: HSS (neck – stock, middle – Seymour Duncan Hotrails, bridge -
DiMarzio Evolution 1)
Maple Fretboard
21 Frets
Rating with pedal 3/5
Tunings Used: Standard, Drop D

Fender Stratocaster (Modded) (“Supah-strat”)
Pickup config: HSH (neck – Seymour Duncan ’59, middle – stock, bridge -
Seymour Duncan Custom)
Rosewood Fretboard
21 Frets
Rating With Pedal: 3/5
Tunings Used: Standard, Drop D

Gibson Les Paul
Pickup Config: HH stock uncovered
Rosewood fretboard
22 frets
Rating With pedal 2.5/5
tunings used: standard, Open G, Open C

Gibson Explorer
Pickup Config: HH stock covered
Rosewood Fretboard
22 frets
Rating With Pedal: 1/5
Tunings used: Standard, D standard, Drop D

All guitars used Ernie Ball Hybrid strings
All guitars were tested using a Raven RG200, a Line Six Spider III 15 watt, a Crate Blue Voodoo head into a Peavey Cab, and a vintage Univox solid state

Check out my band at www.myspace.com/teearebee

You can pick up the MXR M-103 Blue Box for $69.99 at Musician’s Friend.

Remember, if you like reading about these pedals and seeing videos reviews from others, please subscribe to the RSS feed and get notified via email when there are new postings!

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Mod.It.Yourself (M.I.Y) Part 3 – Switches

admin — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 15:00:29 +0000

The following is a guest post by Christian Moraga (@cubisteffects). If you are interested in guest posting, please contact me!

Welcome to Part 3 of the Mod.It.Yourself series where we have previously looked at the basics of Tools and Techniques in Part 1 and how to mod the Diode Clipping in a pedal in Part 2. Part 3: Switches will look at an important component in the pedal modder’s toolkit. Switches are mechanical devices that allow an instantaneous flip to either turn part of a circuit on or off (break the circuit), or introduce a new part to the circuit. The latter function is useful in doing reversible modifications, or mods that use the original stock component. This part of The M.I.Y series will explain a bit about common switches and some ideas on how to use them in your own pedal mods.

The two most common mechanical switches used in modifying pedals are the push button switch and toggle switch.

Both of these switches use common nomenclature for their components that must be understood before selecting them for your next project. Below is a look at some of the more common names of switches that are used for pedal mods and an explanation of their specs.

Each switch is named with respect to the functions of their contacts, i.e. the part of the switch that is in contact with your wire, component, PCB etc. Also called a lug or pin. The two terms are poles (denoted by P) and throw (denoted by T). A pole is the number of switch contact sets of pins/lugs, and is labelled SP- for single pole, DP- double pole, 3P- for triple pole etc. The diagram below shows the poles of a 4PDT switch.

Most switches used in pedals have three pins per pole. The center pin is common i.e. is always connected to either outer pin of the three. Moving the toggle either up or down selects (as shown in the photo below) between these two connections or conducting positions. These positions are known as throws and are denoted -ST for single throw or -DT for double throw. A single throw switch only has two pins with the third pin shorting to ground, thus having only one position.

Common switches used in modifications are single pole double throw (SPDT) or double pole double throw toggle (DPDT) switches, and true bypass foot switches are known as triple pole double throw (3PDT). Using this knowledge of switches, here are a couple of mods you can try on your next pedal designs or mods.

KILL SWITCH

To get a stuttering effect made famous by guitarists Tom Morello and Buckethead in stompbox form, you can make use of a type of push button switch called a momentary switch. By using a push-to-make momentary or “normally open”, when pressing the switch you are breaking the circuit thus creating a staccato effect. To do this, all you need to do is cut the wire that goes from the output of the PCB to the bypass switch. Wire each of these two ends to a normally open SPST momentary switch and you have a momentary kill switch. The effect signal will stay on until you step on the switch, cutting all volume of your signal. By pressing at rhythmic intervals, you can create unique guitar rhythms heard in many RATM riffs. Momentary switches are great for these “stab” like effects and can be used for feedback loops, or wiring to a potentiometer in a delay pedal to get that spaceship, oscillation sound.

DIODE CLIPPING SWITCH

As previously discussed in Part 2 of the M.I.Y series, we can mod a pedals’ clipping diodes to create a different tone of the distorted sound. We could use different diode material, symmetry, combinations etc to get our desired sound. But what if you liked two diode sounds and wanted to switch between them? Using an SPDT switch, you can do just that and is a common feature on many effects pedals.

The schematic below [PIC 5] shows the clipping diode structure of many distortion pedals – a hard clipping pair at the output of the IC.

One end of the pair shunts to ground, while the other end is in the signal path. If this end on the signal path (A) is wired to the common pin of the SPDT switch, we can then switch between two differing pairs of diodes. Wire the end of two pairs to ground, and the other end to (B) and (C) of the switch and you can select between your favourite clipping tones. The symmetry of the clipping can be controlled using this switching layout as well – just use different symmetrical pairs for (B) and (C).

You can also use this principle to switch between two components of differing values i.e. the output capacitor to provide more/less bass in the circuit. Remove the initial capacitor from the PCB where one pad will have one wire running to (A) and two wires from the other pad to one end of either capacitor you wish to switch between [PIC 7].

Hopefully this information and diagrams will give you ideas on how to mod your next pedal, or to modify your next pedal build. Also, I would suggest getting a multimeter with a continuity test function. By putting either probe on any two connections, a beep or sound should be heard. This is very useful to test your new connections.

Happy modding,

About the author.

Christian Moraga is the owner of CubistEffects.com located in Sydney, Australia. Christian repairs and mods most brands of pedals like BOSS, Ibanez, EHX , Arion, MXR, Danelectro, Marshall, Dunlop, VooDoo Labs, Digitech, DOD etc and specialise in Big Muffs and ProCo Rats. He also makes custom switching and loopers for your pedalboard needs. A/B, True Bypass, Tap Tempo etc.

A note from EffectsBay.com
I found Christian while doing some research on the Line 6 DL4, where Christian has some great mods available!

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Rethinking Guitar 4 – Applications – Guest Post

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:00:54 +0000

The following is a guest post by Kevin Ian Common. If you are interested in guest posting, please contact me!

Hello Everyone!

This is a quick column and experiment. I wanted to try to add video so you can real-time applications of what I write about.

We’ll take the idea of droning/pedal tones and alternate fingerings of chords to the next level–actual use! Because while reading playing chord charts is fun, actually using them in your songwriting is where the fun and inspiration begins.

I took a very simple chord progression:

C#m, A, C#m, B

From here, I took the main dyads of each chord and use them against an open B and E string.

C#m – C# E

A – A C#

B – B D#

The chords operate in the key of E major, so adding a droning E and B string adds much character, especially when you have a non-chord tone in each chord strummed.

After playing the basic positions of the chords… I take it to the next level:

Low to High: E A D G B E

C#m – X X 11 9 0 0 A – X X 7 6 0 0 B – X X 9 8 0 0

After playing around here… I add the octave of the third of each chord in the high E string:

C#m – X X 11 9 0 12 A – X X 7 6 0 9 B – X X 9 8 0 11

What you will notice is the richness in high-end and the lush sounds you can get BEFORE you add any effects!

I take it a whole other level by adding the low E string. This is a bit tricky, but with some practice, you will find the end result to be rewarding!

I added some delay to the proceedings later. You can even add a little overdrive or full-on distortion. Adding effects give such progressions and droning notes a different kind of character… some work… some don’t.

Go ahead and play these progressions. If these finger positions are new to you, take your time. The benefits are priceless.

Here is the link to a modest demo video of what I did to those three chords:

I hope you have found this column interesting and educational!

Kevin Ian Common recently used a power drill for sound contrast and paid for it in blood. He plays guitar and sings in The Common Men, a Post-Punk trio from Northern California. They are on Facebook and Twitter, but you can find them @ www.myspace.com/thecommonmen for all updated information and sound files.

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Rethinking Guitar 3 – Ending Your Songs – Guest Post

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:20:39 +0000

The following is a guest post by Kevin Ian Common. If you are interested in guest posting, please contact me!

Hello Everyone!

Life has been pretty busy as of late, and I have also been trying to find a way to use video in these columns, as it will be easier for everyone to understand my chord charts if I put them to practical use. Until then, here is a short and sweet column about ending songs… or “cadence.”

A cadence is defined as a harmonic sequence (at least two chords) that closes a musical phrase, section, or piece of music. Songs that end without a fade out have some kind of cadence. I’m going to define the most used or identifiable forms of cadences and give you simple chord examples (no charts, just chord names).

I will also simplify these as best I can, so you can utilize them right away. Mind you, some music theory is required to understand some of these progressions, but logical reasoning and your ear can help you out too… it just takes a little longer

Authentic Cadence:

Most pieces of music end in an Authentic Cadence. It is defined as IV V I, or, in the key of C:

F G C

In the key of Cm:

Fm G7 Cm

Half Cadence:

Most songs that have different sections use these without even knowing it. They are considered “open” or “imperfect” because they don’t really end the song, they lead to something else. In the key of C, they end in V (G):

C Dm G, C G, or D G

In the key of C, a D is a Secondary Dominant. You can Google this term, but it basically means the borrowing of other tones from other keys to make the main key stronger. You use D to make G stronger so when it resolves to C, it’s even stronger still!

In the key of Cm:

Cm Ddim G, Cm G

To make a Half Cadence make more sense, let’s take a basic progression:

Am F C G for the verses. Let’s say your chorus is: C F G C. The G in the first progression acts as a Half Cadence when it leads to C.

Plagal Cadence:

This is a now-disputed type of cadence, but I will still include it here. It is also known as the “Amen Cadence.” It is defined as IV I. In the key of C:

C F C

In the key of Cm:

Cm Fm Cm

Deceptive Cadence:

This cadence is defined as V (G in the key of C) resolving to any other chord, most likely IV, vi, or ii. It is known as deceptive because it deceives the listener when it ends. In the key of C (it is most effective when writing in major keys):

C F G Am, C F G Dm, C F G F

Picardy Third:

This is the most basic kind of manipulation at the end of a song. Whatever key your song is in, change the last chord, whether from major to minor, or minor to major. In the key of C:

C F G Cm

In the key of Cm:

Cm Fm G7 C

Thanks again! My life has slowed down a bit for the next few weeks, so I hope to have another one to you soon!

- Kevin Ian Common

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Kevin Ian Common is a multi-instrumentalist who has been involved with live music for a little over a decade. He studied music theory and composition at a local university. He has played guitar, bass, and drums for various bands. He is currently the vocalist/guitarist for The Common Men, a post-punk band from Northern California. You can check them out on Myspace, Facebook, or Twitter. Their main page is on Myspace: www.myspace.com/thecommonmen

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Rethinking Guitar – Drones and Tone – Guest Post

admin — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:00:38 +0000

The following is a guest post by Kevin Ian Common. If you are interested in guest posting, please contact me!

Greetings! In this second installment, I’ll talk about drones and interesting ways to use them in constructing guitar parts. I will also include some tips, tricks, and quick fixes when it comes to improving your tone.

The concept of using drones–also known as pedal tones–involves using one note and building chords around it. This is a common method of composition, particularly in Art Music (what is generally referred to as Classical Music) and songwriters who use pianos. The possibility of ten fingers on a keyboard offer a great amount of lush chords with complex harmonies. Guitarists who exercise a little savvy can achieve the same thing.

The easiest way to build a pedal tone would involve an open string.

We’ll take the lowest string, E. I’ll give you some basic chord charts, then I’ll examine further to show you how the chords work off each other.

From low to high: E A D G B E

Em (ver 1): 0 7 5 X X X (ver 2): 0 10 9 X X X

These are two versions of Em. Version 1 has The root (E) and 3rd (G). Version 2 has the full harmony with the 5th (B)

Em7: 0 14 12 X X X

The minor 7th (D) makes this chord a minor 7th. There is no 3rd, but you can leave the G string open if you wish. I think it sounds great as-is.

F#m7: 0 9 7 X X X

The minor 7th (E) makes this F#m7.

Am: 0 12 10 X X X

This is a full Am chord with the 5th (E) in the lowest register.

C: 0 15 14 X X X

This is a full C chord with the 3rd (E) in the lowest register.

Dsus2: 0 5 4 X X X

This is D major with the suspended 2nd (E) in the lowest register. You COULD make the argument that it is an Em7add9–root (E) minor 7th (D) 9th (F#), but for the sake of this installment, we’ll take the D name.

Now, take these shapes and perhaps play them in this order:

Em (ver 1) – Dsus2 – F#m7 – Em (ver 2) – C – Em7 – Am – Em (ver 2)

Notice how interesting that sounds? You get a low E droning the entire progression, but you still have a sense of movement in terms of harmony.

To build upon it (those of you with multiple guitars, a bassist, or multi-track capabilities), try this:

1) Take the original progression:

Em (ver 1) – Dsus2 – F#m7 – Em (ver 2) – C – Em7 – Am – Em (ver 2)

2) Now, have a bass play the following notes (changing in the same order as the above progression):

E – D – F# – G – C – B – A – G

The bass follows the progression of the notes you play on the A string. You’ll get interesting harmonies when the notes stray from the droning E.

3) Have a second guitar play these open position chords (once again in the same order as the original progression):

Em – D – F#m – G – C – C/B ( X 2 0 0 1 0) – Am – G

Or, to spice things up, you could do this instead

Emadd9 – Dsus4 – D – G – Cadd9 – Bm – Am – Am7

By keep certain chords static over other moving harmonies, you create a sense of independence between instruments, making it even more interesting.

Moving on, I wanted to talk a little bit about tone. The quest for tone is about as on-going as life itself and also a huge headache as it is totally subjective. Everyone has their own idea of what “ideal tone” is all about. This is merely a set of observations I’ve made in my time in live and local music scenes. Whether or not you decide to try or keep these tips is ultimately up to you. But, like I’ve said before, this column is meant to encourage experimentation. Have fun with it

Most of these tips are either free or inexpensive.

1) Use your neck pickup.

Obviously this one is impossible if you ONLY have a bridge pickup, but take a break and flip it to the neck pickup. Notice how full and well-rounded your tone sounds already? If anything, use combined pickups if you MUST use the bridge pickup (most strats have 5 way switching which offer great tonal possibilities, and even two-pickup models have a both-pickup position).

2) Scoop your mids if you just, but use restraint.

Ever been to a local show where a metal band is playing? How about listening to them do a sound check and remembering the wonderful crunch of their tone? What happens next? Generally what happens is… once the drums kick-in, you lose the guitars. Even Kirk Hammet has preached the glories of the mids Use just a little, and you will go a long way.

3) Roll off the gain.

Rolling off a little gain yields two very important things: 1) A distortion that reacts better to your picking technique, style, dynamics, etc and 2) Gives you way more definition. Great riffs are one thing… being able to hear each note clearly without a wall of gain behind it makes it far more enjoyable.

Granted, there are elements of shoegaze, hard rock, metal and noise that benefit from tons of gain. I kick on extra gain–sometimes I run ALL THREE of my distortions at once!–at times, but more often than not, I use little to mild distortion as my one-size-fits-all starter tone.

4) Use heavier strings.

Most guitarists I know use 9′s. Try 10′s, or even 9.5′s. You will notice a difference, especially in your clean tones. Heavier strings = heavier tone. I used to use 8′s until I tried out a guitar that was strung with 11′s. It sounded massive, and I never looked back. All of my guitars are set-up and strung with 11′s.

Thanks for taking the time to read!

I’m hoping to make this a regular column, so if anyone has suggestions for future columns, please feel free to comment me or contact me. I have some ideas, but who knows what ideas you may have for me!

- Kevin Ian Common

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