Fun With Guitar Effects

[Purge]

Thought this might be a cool place for all you string slingers to show off any nifty tricks you've picked up over the years, or even just various ways to use the 8735 effects that your floor box from hell came with. Some might be "bleah" and some might be "zing!", but throw it out there anyway.

1. The Limiter From Beyond Hell

Pretty neat when used as an effect on a clean channel with a bit of delay. Just crank the piss out of your limiter, play with the delay beat, and you've got a bizarre "backward guitar" sound.

2. How to Make the Autoriff on the GT-6 Worth a Shit

Turn on the autoriff. Turn up your amp. Pull the cord out of your guitar. Grab the plug with your fingers. Record it. Instant industrial song. Spontaneously combust with a bout of sheer depressive angst.

3. Delay

Not exactly a trade secret, but I've gotta admit that it took me longer than it should've to actually figure this out. Set the delay at 200 ms with the level at 100% and have it feed back the delayed note once. Start playing to the point where you pick one note and then pick the next one on time with the next delay beat. Keep going with this pattern. Now set the delay for 300 ms and play at the exact speed that you were before. Enjoy playing "Big Sur Moon" by Buckethead or Petrucci's solo in "Surrounded" without having to possess any of their talent.

4. "Hit By A Bus" Distorted Power Chords

Take your amp and set it up in the middle of the street with the distortion on. Play a power chord. Then get hit by a bus. Drives girls insane.


What else ya got?

 

[Sloan]

Reverb + Chorus and use the smooth round edge of a pair of pliers to rub the strings creating a kind of synth-type sound.

Distortion + little reverb - throw your guitar really hard into a wall or drop it. Record it and throw some lyrics over it for a nice Sonic Youth tribute.

 

[Be Loveless]

Pitch shifter one ovtave up and one octave down. Neck pick up. roll off all your tone. Play only above the twelfth fret. Cool organ sound.

 

[boingoman]

3. Delay

Not exactly a trade secret, but I've gotta admit that it took me longer than it should've to actually figure this out. Set the delay at 200 ms with the level at 100% and have it feed back the delayed note once. Start playing to the point where you pick one note and then pick the next one on time with the next delay beat. Keep going with this pattern. Now set the delay for 300 ms and play at the exact speed that you were before. Enjoy playing "Big Sur Moon" by Buckethead or Petrucci's solo in "Surrounded" without having to possess any of their talent.

That's cool- I'll check it out.

This is fun with old digital and analog delays- not sure if it works with new stuff. It works best if the unit has an infinite repeat setting.
Feedback/repeats- all the way up.
Delay- start either all the way up, or all the way down.


Hit a harmonic, let the pedal grab it, damp the string. Play with the delay time to change the pitch. If you start with the delay time all the way up, and hit a 12th fret low E harmonic, and turn the delay time all the way down, you can get a tone so low it will make any subwoofer ask for mercy. And it is unrecognizable as guitar.
The variations are infinite.
It all depends on the initial pitch you play and the delay setting you start from. Harmonics are great because they sustain at an even volume while the pedal grabs the sound.
If you play with it enough, you can get specific pitches and play melodies with the delay time knob, or create drones or even beats.
Sounds like bizarre slide or a demented theremin with high pitches.

 

[gusfinley]

here's one...

Not exactly too crazy, but I have had great results with running a TS-9DX straight into the effects return of a tube amp. It really gets those power tubes going. With my DSL401 I can get a really great low end response with it - almost MESA-ish in taste. It sounds even better when I split the input, and send one signal to the TS-9 and one to the stock preamp. Marshall Mid with Mesa Low....... It's a beautiful thing!!