Wibbly Wobbly Swirly FX

not_the_dj

I love modulation effects. I've got phasers, flanger, chorus, univibe....so what am I missing?

What's new and GAS-inducing in the world of wibbly wobbly swirly effects?

EricTheWeary

Well, what's old is tremolo ( although not strictly modulation). Also old are vibrato effects. Bit of a resurgence of Magnatone style vibrato. Magnatone amps are back ( if hugely expensive), Robert Cray has been using a rack mount Magnatone like custom vibrato unit, Bigfoot have been making a Magnatone type pedal ( cloned by Handome Ric on here, amongst others no doubt) and, most importantly, the Magnatone vibrato has been getting some love over in Twang Corner. Check out Lonnie Mack ( SRV's first influence), Bo Diddley, Pops Staples, Buddy Holly, David Gilmour ( I don't know what tracks but apparently he has used it) and Robert Ward.

not_the_dj

I'll check out some Magnatone clips at lunch time.

I didn't list tremolo in my first post, I've got the Suhr Jack Rabbit which has some very cool wave forms for pulsing sounds that are almost delay like. (sort of |\ and /| if that makes sense)

EricTheWeary

not_the_dj said:

I'll check out some Magnatone clips at lunch time.

I didn't list tremolo in my first post, I've got the Suhr Jack Rabbit which has some very cool wave forms for pulsing sounds that are almost delay like. (sort of |\ and /| if that makes sense)

I guess vibrato in general but some of it can be a bit sickly or makes everything sound like the Dave Clark 5. The Magnatone type is good for adding a bit of interest to clean lines without doing the whole fairground thing. Following a line of thought from Sporky you could spice up your existing modulation pedals with an expression pedal ( although probably not that many allow you to do that).

not_the_dj

EricTheWeary said:

Following a line of thought from Sporky you could spice up your existing modulation pedals with an expression pedal ( although probably not that many allow you to do that).

Somewhere out there is a rather Heath Robinson lookikng expression pedal with some sort of flexible twisty turny thing that you attached to a regular pedals control knob, allowing you to do just that...I'll google it (although I don't think I'd ever actually want one!

not_the_dj

I didn't dream it...

EricTheWeary

not_the_dj said:

EricTheWeary said:

Following a line of thought from Sporky you could spice up your existing modulation pedals with an expression pedal ( although probably not that many allow you to do that).

Somewhere out there is a rather Heath Robinson lookikng expression pedal with some sort of flexible twisty turny thing that you attached to a regular pedals control knob, allowing you to do just that...I'll google it (although I don't think I'd ever actually want one!

You could buy those things that look like mini helicopter blades that replace knobs on pedals and you can turn with your foot ( although fairly sure that playing guitar, standing on one leg and kicking one at the same time would lead to me flat on my arse).

kelvinburn

Not new but the rainbow machine is very wobbly

EricTheWeary

kelvinburn said:

Not new but the rainbow machine is very wobbly

I haven't heard of that before but am anxious about googling it at work as it sounds like a sex toy.

mike_l

not_the_dj said:

I didn't dream it...

I have no need for one, but want one now....

I did consider putting a micro-chorus into a crybaby body so the chorus rate could be varied with a sweep of the foot

not_the_dj

kelvinburn said:

Not new but the rainbow machine is very wobbly

Oh shit, there's a Pro Guitar shop demo of that with Andy...I usually end up buyings things after watching those clips.

EricTheWeary

EricTheWeary said:

kelvinburn said:

Not new but the rainbow machine is very wobbly

I haven't heard of that before but am anxious about googling it at work as it sounds like a sex toy. Well, I did google it - pink and white thing with knobs. Yep, could well be some kind of sex toy.

ragingben

I have always wanted to try the Earthquaker Devices Rainbow Machine for some wibble and wobble! A strange sounding mix of chorus phasing and delay from what I can tell, get's pretty etheral!

RocknRollDave

Leslie sim? Or do you get close enough to the sound of that with a flanger?

Sporky

Nothing exactly new in it, but the TC Nova Modulator's ability to run two different (or identical) modulation effects at the same time, either synchronised or not, means you can make some very nice noises with it.

shady

not_the_dj said:

kelvinburn said:

Not new but the rainbow machine is very wobbly

Oh shit, there's a Pro Guitar shop demo of that with Andy...I usually end up buyings things after watching those clips.

Yeah - he's a complete bastard he is.  Seen his demo of the Boss Tera Echo?  Kind of the same ball park as the Rainbow Machine I guess.

not_the_dj

Ooo, I'd forgotten about that one (the Tera Echo) Hmmm.

Paul_C

http://www.gig-fx.com/products/chopper/

Sporky

Boss Slicer! I've even got one but still forgot about it.

Basically a pattern tremolo, plus filtering (on some settings) and a very basic looper. Also an intriguing colour.

And the Ibanez Flying Pan, which is phaser and tremolo/pan together in one huge box - I bought one of the limited reissues as an investment piece. I suspect this was a poor investment, but it's a nice sounding pedal.

handsomerik

EricTheWeary said:

Bigfoot have been making a Magnatone type pedal ( cloned by Handome Ric on here, amongst others no doubt) 

I do in fact have a variation on this magnavibe pedal currently available. It's a very subtle vibrato pedal but very nice for the magnatone sound. Your for £45 if you'd like. Check my handmade listings on the classifieds for pics.

Fazer

running a mono or stereo setup?

the next step for modulation is a stereo setup.

also different numbers of phaser stages - 2,4,6,8,10,12 etc