Caevan O'Shite Posted March 5, 2011 Posted March 5, 2011 WARNING: ___ ~Monster compilation post ahead~ I love and have used ALL methods for volume-swells, simulated "reverse"/"backwards"-guitar effects, and controlling gain, overdrive and distortion, including "pinky" manipulation of the volume-knob, volume pedals, envelope-controlled "auto volume/swell" pedals (see below), and even misguided noise-gates. (That's essentially what the various "Slow-Gear" type pedals are.) "Pinky" swells, manipulating the guitar's volume-knob with the picking-hands little-finger, work particularly well when using the thumb and fingers to pick. With practice, this skin-on-strings approach also allows for greater nuance in tone and dynamics. I especially like Tele-style knurled metal knobs on a Strat or Tele for the "pinky" volume-knob technique; Strats are particularly well suited to this approach by design. But, I can also manage on a Les Paul with either "bell", "speed", or "top-hat" knobs- and also in spite of the dual neck and bridge volume-knob arrangement. "I use those small rubber bands from teeth retainer braces to wrap the volume knob, helps in rolling the volume knob, less pressure needed with the little finger....." An excellent idea, Lee! Do you file or otherwise make a groove in the knob to better hold the rubber-bands? You might also like these, as well: O-Ring Knobs from Hipshot Available in Black, Chrome, Gold, and Satin finishes "An excellent idea, Lee! Do you file or otherwise make a groove in the knob to better hold the rubber-bands?" "No Caev, the retainer rubber bands when wrapped twice around the top hat knob just above the shoulder really hangs on quite well, also I have used a small O ring with good results. When the rubber band is not in use I roll it back so it sits between the body of the guitar and bottom of the volume know (around the volume shaft loosely)" _________________________________________________________________ Now, while I really like the "pinky" on the volume-knob approach, I also enjoy "auto-swell" (aka "attack-delay") type pedals or effects; it's a different feel and sound, and it's genuinely a pleasure to play passages with swelled notes that are literally controlled by your touch. I have and really like a Guyatone SV2, which is like but superior to the old Boss Slow Gear pedals and also costs far less- they can easily be found brand-new for $86 US, and probably even less used. AND, THEY'RE [font:Comic Sans MS]tiny[/font] ! The colorful, tiny little pedal product-line they're part of, Guyatone's Micro Effects Series, has a Matchbox Cars like vibe. It's 100% analog, too. It works best with at least a bit of a gainy signal and/or compression following it somewhere upstream, and is especially fantastic when used along with my Sustainiac acoustic feedback-generator and some reverb and echoes. As for technique, best performance is gotten from it by employing deftly controlling damping and muting with both hands, particularly if playing fingerstyle like many slide-players. Here's mine (I think you'll easily pick out which pedal it is): http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs902.ash1/181009_177189922324160_100000994594751_389262_122641_n.jpg I'll tell you what, though, the swell/attack-delay effects of the built-in noise-gate parameters on digital-modelers like my old Johnson J-Station and somewhat newerish DigiTech GNX4 are even better, seemingly telepathically and intuitively controlled. Here's my J-Station in volume-swell action. Note the rapid-fire swells in a segment of the short lead line. I can get similar swell-effects with the Guyatone SV2. I really, really really want to try out the (out of production) Pigtronix Attack-Sustain when I can get my hands on one; 100% analog, control over both attack AND decay, and designed with Howard Mick Davis, designer of the Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man, op-amp based "V4" Big Muff Pi, and other EH classics... _________________________________________________________________ Searchin', Googlin' around the 'net, I ran across these two, very promising looking "Slow Gear"-inspired pedals... The first is the Guyatone SVm5 "Mighty Micro" Slow Volume, Guyatone's roll-bar equipped, subcompact upgrade from their tiny SV2 Slow Volume Micro-series pedal (the little purple one that I have). It has a greater number of controls for tweaking its response, envelope and tracking. Their proffered example clips and vids are dreadful, IMHO, although still better than that one pathetic YouTube vid demoing the Boss SG-1 that's been bandied about. But through the poor demonstrations they faintly indicate to me the true potential of this pedal for a player with the damping and muting chops to get the most out of it. I just might know someone... http://files.effectsdatabase.com/gear/pics/guyatone_svm5_001.jpg Next up is the boutiquey, hand-made/one-at-a-time-to-order by one man, but quite reasonably priced (actually less than the Guyatone SVm5!) VFE Bumblebee volume-swell + optical-compressor pedal. This one looks VERY interesting with its combination of envelope-controlled volume-swell and optical compressor squeeze, sustain, and boostable output. Unfortunately, the demonstration vid is really a TERRIBLE example; seems like a really nice, great guy with a great, well-made product, but man, though I can tell that the pedal works, the video is not likely to inspire anyone who isn't experienced with swell-effects to buy this pedal! I still think it's very likely an EXCELLENT pedal, don't get me wrong! http://www.vfepedals.com/VFE_Pedals/Bumblebee_files/shapeimage_1.png Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _
SEHpicker Posted March 6, 2011 Posted March 6, 2011 The master of SEHpicker The further a society drifts from truth the more it will hate those who speak it." George Orwell
Caevan O'Shite Posted March 6, 2011 Author Posted March 6, 2011 I knew that was gonna be Jeff Beck... I even typed this before I looked. Really! But I thought there was a REALLY good chance that it'd turn out to be Roy Buchanan (and y' know that Beck was "his friend Jeff")... ! I love both Jeff Beck and Roy Buchanan, by the way. Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _
SEHpicker Posted March 6, 2011 Posted March 6, 2011 You're right - Roy was also a master at the pinky swell. I should have written "A Master" rather than "The Master". SEHpicker The further a society drifts from truth the more it will hate those who speak it." George Orwell
Caevan O'Shite Posted March 6, 2011 Author Posted March 6, 2011 Iddunno, Jeff really has that down, and just may BE "The Master"! Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _
picker Posted March 6, 2011 Posted March 6, 2011 You oughta hear Phil Keaggy get into that. It's scary. Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else.
Caevan O'Shite Posted March 6, 2011 Author Posted March 6, 2011 You oughta hear Phil Keaggy get into that. It's scary. Good call; you're right. He's GREAT. Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _
Larryz Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 +1 on I thought Roy Buchanan would have been the master... Take care, Larryz
picker Posted March 7, 2011 Posted March 7, 2011 Hey, Caev, didja ever try a Morley Attack Control pedal, with the electric pick? It made the volume swell thing, fast or slow, as easy as picking. I had one and I wish I'd hung onto it. Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else.
Caevan O'Shite Posted March 7, 2011 Author Posted March 7, 2011 Y' know, I've never seen one in real-life; I'm not even sure if I've even ever seen a photo of one! I'd love to give one a whirl. So, maybe my claim to have tried and used ALL methods for volume-swells, simulated "reverse"/"backwards"-guitar effects, and controlling gain, etc. has a hole in it... ! Morley made some really wild, unusual effects with some very unique designs way back a few decades ago... !! Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _
Winston Psmith Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 I remember the ads for those Morleys, with the electric pick, but I can't swear I ever saw one in a music store. There's at least one old ad copy in Art Thompson's "Stompbox" showing a pedal with the attached pick. Back to those swell effects - if you've got a Line 6 DL4 or an Echo Park delay pedal, the Auto-Volume Swell makes a perfectly good swell effect when you dial back the delay - of course, it sounds really cool with some delay added. There's also a String Pad effect on the Digitech DHP-66/Studio 5000, which allows you to swell the wet & dry signal, or the wet signal alone. It's a lot like the String Swell effect on the old Digitech XP300 Space Station, but you can actually program it - a used DHP-66/Studio 5000 would probably be less expensive than a vintage-priced Space Station, too. BTW, Caevan, I left some Vortex patches for you . . . "Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King http://www.novparolo.com https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com
Caevan O'Shite Posted December 4, 2011 Author Posted December 4, 2011 > B U M P < for the swell-curious of late on these 'boards... Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _
Zephyr Posted December 4, 2011 Posted December 4, 2011 Another "pinky swell" piece: [video:youtube] Never argue with an idiot. They'll bring you down to their level and beat you with experience. http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=810593 http://www.myspace.com/dandelavega
Caevan O'Shite Posted December 4, 2011 Author Posted December 4, 2011 Another "pinky swell" piece: [video:youtube] Nice... I remember when that was brand spankin'- ehr, swellin' new... Now, if someone's ankles swell every time they fart, it means they're wearing pantyhose. So just what does it mean if their pinky swells?! Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _
Winston Psmith Posted December 5, 2011 Posted December 5, 2011 Well, Caevan, you're just a swell guy for bumping this thread. Recently found a used Behringer Slow Motion - it's their take on the infamous Boss Slow Gear, or at least it's supposed to be, and I'd been wanting to try one out. I hadn't gotten to try any of Behringer's Boss clones, and the Slow Gear was a personal favorite, so I was really glad to find this one. It has the same Sens and Attack knobs, housed in a drab green plastic housing, with the 9-volt AC jack on the right-hand side. The switch/battery cover pops off like the ones on the Digitech X-series and Hardwire pedals, although it works better if you use an 1/8th-inch mini-plug, instead of a 1/4-inch, to push in the pins. Sonically, it's an Attack Delay, like the Slow Gear, although the sound quality isn't the same. It put out one hell of a noise floor with single-coils. Admittedly, my only SC guitar is a cheap Squier, but if you use SC's or P-90's, you might want to try this thing out before you bring one home. Using it with HB's I didn't get any of the noise problem, and I realize I'd checked it out in the store with an Epi LP, another HB-equipped guitar - the noise also dropped out when I switched to the hum-canceling positions on my Squier. The overall sound quality isn't great - nothing I can really define, just not great - once I got past 2 o'clock or so on the Sens knob, it seemed like the gate effect was always open, so no slo-mo, and the Attack time set at Max didn't seem to be quite as long as the old Slow Gear, but it's been a while since I had a Slow Gear for comparison. I will A/B it with my SV2 sometime soon. I don't mean to slam the Slow Motion - it works, and it's got to be the cheapest Slow Gear clone out there, anywhere, and I mean cheap. AMS has it for about $24 online, but you'll probably have to pay shipping, too, so add about $5, depending. If I didn't already have a Guyatone SV2, I'd get another Slow Motion as a backup. "Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King http://www.novparolo.com https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com
Caevan O'Shite Posted December 9, 2011 Author Posted December 9, 2011 BTW, O'ChristmasTree, don't know if you caught my post, under the Just Swell thread, but I found a Behringer Slow Motion. For the price, it's not bad, but IMHO, the SV2 is still a better pedal, and there are still a few available online. I didn't want to get a swelled head... I thought I'd give someone else a chance to post, if anyone else would... I'm not all that surprised at your findings; I think that the Guyatone SV2 Slow Volume is superior to the hoary old venerable standard Boss SG1 Slow Gear. I kinda hate to admit that the digitally-derived swells on some digital-modelers like my old Johnson J-Station and DigiTech GNX4 are even better yet! Whichever swell devices you fiddle with, picking-hand damping and muting is key to getting a rise out of 'em. Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _
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