Topic: What's your favorite musical effect? (Read 15372 times)

Kwaping · « **on:** 28 Oct 2010, 09:39 »

Musicians and music lovers, what's your favorite effect? You can answer either in general terms (heavy distortion, shimmery plate reverb, etc) or specifics (Big Muff, Empress Superdelay, Pigtronix Mothership, etc). I'm thinking in guitar terms mostly (because that's my instrument), but feel free to answer in your own perspective.

For me, it's tremolo. I think it's possibly one of the most underrated effects around. I love a nice subtle trem on blues and surf, and heavy trem on experimental stuff.

Specifically, I'm deeply in love with my new Empress tremolo box. Check out Andy's demo for a good overview of its capabilities. I demoed a lot of units and this one was the winner by far.

valley_parade · « **Reply #1 on:** 28 Oct 2010, 11:22 »

Straight up filthy, heavy germanium transistor fuzz.

Shin-Ei, Superfuzz, that sort of stuff. Think Fu Manchu in the later 90s. Or Wata's lead on Naki Kyoku.

Kwaping · « **Reply #2 on:** 28 Oct 2010, 11:38 »

I am definitely developing a taste for fuzz. It's too bad my budget won't allow for a fuzz and a distortion, and I already have the distortion.

ThePianoMan · « **Reply #3 on:** 28 Oct 2010, 11:55 »

Spring reverb. Or plate reverb. Vintage reverb in general, I suppose.

Scandanavian War Machine · « **Reply #4 on:** 28 Oct 2010, 15:38 »

i don't know if this even close to being relevent or if it's something completely different, but....woodblocks.

I have a huge boner for woodblocks. It's like a much classier cowbell.

spoon_of_grimbo · « **Reply #5 on:** 28 Oct 2010, 21:17 »

funny, i heard this song for the first time the other day and and immediately got a similar boner for woodblocks. at least i think those are woodblocks...

also, i'm not sure if it counts as an effect, but a well placed pickslide can do wonders for any up-tempo song.

Melodic · « **Reply #6 on:** 28 Oct 2010, 22:51 »

BZZT ZAP VVUVUUVUVUVUVVMMmmmmmmmmmm

Lummer · « **Reply #7 on:** 29 Oct 2010, 00:05 »

CHUGGA CHUGGA

KharBevNor · « **Reply #8 on:** 29 Oct 2010, 00:41 »

VUVUZELA

BeoPuppy · « **Reply #9 on:** 29 Oct 2010, 01:31 »

Distortion. You gotta. Crunchy guitar tones are mandatory.

KharBevNor · « **Reply #10 on:** 29 Oct 2010, 03:56 »

TENSE

ANGULAR

JD · « **Reply #11 on:** 29 Oct 2010, 08:11 »

Cowbell

celticgeek · « **Reply #12 on:** 29 Oct 2010, 08:28 »

Bagpipe.

KharBevNor · « **Reply #13 on:** 29 Oct 2010, 08:30 »

Sweet melodica solo.

leftandleaving · « **Reply #14 on:** 29 Oct 2010, 10:05 »

Bitchin' harpmonicker jam

jackmort · « **Reply #15 on:** 29 Oct 2010, 14:28 »

I'm a big fan of the Leslie cabinet
One of the best known examples of it's use would be Tomorrow Never Knows by the Beatles
Basically it spins a speaker on a turntable to create a Doppler effect

Kwaping · « **Reply #16 on:** 29 Oct 2010, 14:42 »

The Leslie effect is growing on me. Do you know if the Black Keys used a real Leslie on Hard Row (Thickfreakness album) or was it simulated? Because if it was simulated, it was a very good one.

Kwaping · « **Reply #17 on:** 29 Oct 2010, 14:51 »

RJD2 discusses Leslie speakers starting near 4:25 in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3_cK3pL7SM

jackmort · « **Reply #18 on:** 29 Oct 2010, 14:58 »

Cheers for the link
I doubt if anyone's used a real Leslie cabinet for a decade or more, I think almost all effects are done digitally these days. Shame

David_Dovey · « **Reply #19 on:** 29 Oct 2010, 16:04 »

I am all about delay, particularly long, in-tempo delays that go on for just about forever. Think "Us or Them" or "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd. I pretty much think any vocal take would sound better with that on it. It's an actual struggle to stop myself from doing exactly that on every vocal part I record, whether it's actually appropriate or not.

Cernunnos · « **Reply #20 on:** 29 Oct 2010, 21:00 »

REVERB!

if you get this joke you have officially been here forever

hell if i can find the thread

Spluff · « **Reply #21 on:** 29 Oct 2010, 21:30 »

I like my guitar to sound like it has been ported directly through all nine levels of hell and then back again

failing that a massive fuck off fuzz pedal will do the trick

KvP · « **Reply #22 on:** 30 Oct 2010, 00:52 »

Rubber band acid bass

KharBevNor · « **Reply #23 on:** 30 Oct 2010, 09:31 »

Actually my favourite musical effect is the horrible, grinding noise at the beginning of 'Black Metal' by Venom, which was obtained (according to the liner notes of my special remastered edition of Black Metal) by cutting the door of Kronos' flat in half with a chainsaw.

squawk · « **Reply #24 on:** 30 Oct 2010, 11:28 »

Honestly?
Toy piano.
I mean, fuck yeah.
That is just a sound

David_Dovey · « **Reply #25 on:** 30 Oct 2010, 12:13 »

That is nothing to be ashamed about and anybody who says otherwise can just eat a massive dong

Kwaping · « **Reply #26 on:** 30 Oct 2010, 13:03 »

Hey Sam, make sure you check out the Empress tremolo before you make your purchase decision.

Lummer · « **Reply #27 on:** 30 Oct 2010, 13:45 »

This little fucker!

NotAFanOfFenders · « **Reply #28 on:** 30 Oct 2010, 15:55 »

At least it isn't a Metal Zone.

Nodaisho · « **Reply #29 on:** 30 Oct 2010, 22:33 »

I think it is achieved by a mix of chorus and reverb, I know there is a preset on my Tascam track manipulating mp3 thing that makes the same sound. Best seen in this song, at the beginning: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaddQxNa66E

darkdrgon · « **Reply #30 on:** 30 Oct 2010, 22:35 »

Not so much an effect as a preference, but I tune my snare very tight, so it makes a sound similar to the slap you hear after you punch someone in the face

Kwaping · « **Reply #31 on:** 31 Oct 2010, 07:47 »

David, check out the sweet in-tempo delay in Zoey van Goey's "The Best Treasure Stays Buried". It's guitar, not vocals, but it's a great sound.

De_El · « **Reply #32 on:** 31 Oct 2010, 15:02 »

Oh my god that's awesome

Inlander · « **Reply #33 on:** 31 Oct 2010, 18:13 »

Quote from: jackmort on 29 Oct 2010, 14:28

I'm a big fan of the Leslie cabinet

Thanks to that link, I navigated to the wikipedia page for the Doppler effect and it was there that I discovered that wikipedia has now branched out into dinky animated gifs:

KickThatBathProf · « **Reply #34 on:** 01 Nov 2010, 09:25 »

Theremins are hot shit

valley_parade · « **Reply #35 on:** 01 Nov 2010, 14:57 »

I ended up at an xmas party last year with a bunch of LARPers who had a theremin.

My ex kept calling me, so at one point we played her a theremin solo. Too many g&ts, I suppose.

Cernunnos · « **Reply #36 on:** 01 Nov 2010, 16:15 »

Quote from: KickThatBathProf on 01 Nov 2010, 09:25

Theremins are hot shit

there's a theremin in there? all i saw was a beautiful fender bass VI.

kittymao · « **Reply #37 on:** 02 Nov 2010, 12:38 »

I'm a pretty big fan of the bass bomb, but it's really annoying if it's overused.

Kwaping · « **Reply #38 on:** 03 Nov 2010, 09:43 »

I really like the bass effect in Ra Ra Riot's new song "Boy". I'm thinking it's a delay with a short delay time, high level and quick decay. Kinda slapback-y but different.

Lummer · « **Reply #39 on:** 03 Nov 2010, 10:44 »

Quote from: NotAFanOfFenders on 30 Oct 2010, 15:55

At least it isn't a Metal Zone.

No, it sounds far worse than that.

Koremora · « **Reply #40 on:** 03 Nov 2010, 17:08 »

Granular synthesis a la Tim Hecker/Fennesz gets me wet.

PintsizesBloodyCock · « **Reply #41 on:** 03 Nov 2010, 18:39 »

Oh fuck...just one?

Bitcrushed 808-stlyle drums, binaural recording, pitched feedback, tablas, natural reverb (mono drum room mics <3), fuzz (Shin-ei FY-2 and Big Muff are my faves), the tweed Bassman sound, heavy sidechained compressors on the master buss in a context other than just house music (Phoenix's Wolfgang Amadeus, Thrice's Fire EP), overdriven Rhodes, and reedy cello with plenty of rosin scrape.

Least favourite would have to be audible autotune in a genre that doesn't suit it. Sure, it works for Daft Punk, but when it's a Smiths cover (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWAtdN6KrHA) and there's audible warbling, that's just shitty.

David_Dovey · « **Reply #42 on:** 03 Nov 2010, 19:20 »

By binaural recording, do you mean Dummy Head/Kuntskopf technique? Cos uh, that shit be mad gimmicky and not really necessary or even noticeable at all ever

Christophe · « **Reply #43 on:** 03 Nov 2010, 19:36 »

Favorite musical effect: Oscillating delay that folds in on itself and making wild noises.
Least favorite musical effect: Wah. At best it's mildly tasteful, at worst it's fucking cliche and stupid.

PintsizesBloodyCock · « **Reply #44 on:** 03 Nov 2010, 20:11 »

Quote from: David_Dovey on 03 Nov 2010, 19:20

By binaural recording, do you mean Dummy Head/Kuntskopf technique? Cos uh, that shit be mad gimmicky and not really necessary or even noticeable at all ever

Yeah, dummy head recording. I think it's a spectacular effect when heard on headphones. Of course, it doesn't sound so great on speakers. I'm still a fan.

Spluff · « **Reply #45 on:** 03 Nov 2010, 22:01 »

That stuff is brilliant. I'm not sure how much I'd want it in an album but in terms of accomplishing directionality it is brilliant. Ideally they'll port it into the vidya gaems eventually.

Kwaping · « **Reply #46 on:** 04 Nov 2010, 10:12 »

Best musical feedback evar: Zhong Nan Hai by Carsick Cars. Keep listening after it sounds like the song is over.

David_Dovey · « **Reply #47 on:** 04 Nov 2010, 13:31 »

Incorrect the best feedback is from the start of "Limbs" by Agalloch

The Duke · « **Reply #48 on:** 04 Nov 2010, 15:52 »

Crunchy distortion. When it's done well, I cannot stop myself from air guitaring along.

I cannot

I have tried

Spluff · « **Reply #49 on:** 04 Nov 2010, 18:09 »

Quote from: David_Dovey on 04 Nov 2010, 13:31

Incorrect the best feedback is from the start of "Limbs" by Agalloch

pretty sure that's an ebow

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Author Topic: What's your favorite musical effect? (Read 15372 times)