I need someone with trained ears

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Kasey

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I'm trying to get somewhere close to the guitar sound at the end of this song:
"The Pull" by The Microphones

(skip to the 3/4th's point in the song and wait a second for the explosion of sound)
I know i already posted this in recording techniques but no one would reply there... so i figured i'd go ask the guitarists. I know that he's using an old hollowbody guitar (made by kay) and is running the signal through at least one tape deck for the distortion (he does weird stuff like that). I tried doing this using my brian moore (with humbucker "jazz" pickups) and my fender princeton chorus amp. I ran the signal through one tape deck. It got a little fuzzy, but really wasnt even "distorted". It just sounded thicker. So i ran it through two tape decks... closer but not there yet.... so i sent my guitar signal through three tape decks. Finally i got what you could call "distortion". But it's still not the same screeching distortion that he has acheived. Anyone have any suggestions?
I've been trying to get this for a week with no real luck yet. At one point i sent my signal through a tube preamp with the drive and gain turned to the max, then through a distortion stompbox, with distortion turn to the max, then through the three tape decks, then finally to the amp (on the gain channel with distortion turned full blast). it was pretty cool. It almost sounded more like a distorted synth than a guitar.
 
I didn't hear much tone there that I would want to copy, but nevertheless, it sounds like distortion and reverb combined.

There are any number of effects boxes that should be able to reproduce this. Still not sure why you would want to...

Ed
 
I have no idea what you mean by "running it thru some tape decks"......

That is just a positively horrid sound. Are you seriously trying to reproduce that or are you just looking for some extra nasty distortion?
 
metalhead28 said:
I have no idea what you mean by "running it thru some tape decks"......

That is just a positively horrid sound. Are you seriously trying to reproduce that or are you just looking for some extra nasty distortion?
Click to expand...

"running it through some tape decks" as in literally plugging my guitar into the mic input of a tape deck then running the cord from the speaker output to my amp. obviously this distorts the sound.

I'm doing this as a study in experimental recording techniques and as an 'experimental' artist myself i'm trying to figure out how other guys get their unusual sounds.
you dont get this, i dont get the idea of metal vocals that sound like the singer has a massive loogie in their throat or double bass drum on every 16th note...
 
Dude, I was serious about the tape deck thing....I didn't know what you meant.

Furthermore, I was asking a serious question about if you were actually trying to mimic that exact sound, not about why you're doing it.

.....and at what point did I say I didn't "get" it?
 
sorry man, i'm not in a very good mood and im not thinking straight. my response was a blurred reply to both you and the guy before you. sorry. I knew you were serious about the tape deck thing though.
 
I'd be careful patching a speaker output of anything into the input on the amp. That is likely not a method used frequently, if at all. YMMV
 
It's pretty straightforward:

octave fuzz

hey, if you're into experimental type guitar stuff be sure and check out:
http://kronosonic.com

there's a big concentration of experimental guitarists there -- largest community on the netI know of
 
octave fuzz? as in... an octave doubler, or whatever you call it... where theres a mix of the note your playing and the note an octave below it... plus fuzz? is that what you mean?
thanks for that website, ill have to check it out.
 
Kasey said:
octave fuzz? as in... an octave doubler, or whatever you call it... where theres a mix of the note your playing and the note an octave below it... plus fuzz? is that what you mean?
thanks for that website, ill have to check it out.
Click to expand...

Basically, yeah, that's the concept...there are a lot of them on the market and some of them do some pretty weird and unexpected things. Check the Zvex site for one, and then, of course, there are plenty of others that each put their own, unique stamp on the octave fuzz concept.

I used to have a Lovetone pedal that was absolutely insane when it came to octave + fuzz -- it combined all sorts of oddness and a light-sensing diode to the whole affair.
 
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