The Gizmo

MartinBushMartinBush Frets: 294
edited July 2024 in FX
Hi all

Simple question... Is there an alternative to the Gizmo effect?

I'd love one but can't afford the investment, but would like to get a similar sound via a pedal if such a thing exist.


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Comments

  • KittyfriskKittyfrisk Frets: 22273
    edited July 2024
    This might sound insane (it might even be so...), but try getting hold of a very cheap hand held portable fan which has blades of a soft plastic material (harder blades give more brittle tones).
    Altering the angle & pressure of the blades on the strings changes the depth of the effect.
    I have used this technique for many years to get effects that are not exactly the same, but not dissimilar to the Gizmotron.
    I call it the 'handheld electric mandolin technique' © me   B
    Or, use a handheld rotary tool like a dremel with a smooth-ish shaft tool to stimulate the strings near the bridge.
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  • BillDLBillDL Frets: 10650
    I can ask a lady friend of mine if she still has THIS for me to borrow and test  :)
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  • thermionicthermionic Frets: 10345
    BillDL said:
    I can ask a lady friend of mine if she still has THIS for me to borrow and test  :)
    Remember to wipe your strings down afterwards.
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 15650
    I already answered in your other thread about this topic.

    As far as pedal options go, the original mid-Eighties Maniac Music Sustainiac system is probably the only one. Even then, it is necessary to attach the inductor/transducer device to the guitar headstock - from which runs a big ol' cable.

    Older forumites may recall the MM Sustainiac being reviewed in one of the American guitar magazines and demonstrated on a flexidisc.

    This product is not to be confused with the Fernandes Sustainer™ which relies on magnetic induction.

    The old BOSS DF-2 Feedbacker & Distortion compact pedal has a mode that generates simulated infinite feedback, pitched one octave above the note you were just playing. This effect is monophonic and sounds horridly fake.

    By now, granular audio technology ought to have come up with something. 

    At this point, you are bordering on guitar synthesis territory. The Roland VG-99/GK-3/FC-300 outfit has a Freeze function that can make sustained "pad" sounds. Unfortunately, this gear is expensive - even pre-owned - and still involves having gubbins attached in the vicinity of the bridge of your guitar.
    You say, atom bomb. I say, tin of corned beef.
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  • hotpickupshotpickups Frets: 1838
    Maybe @ThorpyFX ; could fill that hole in the market one day 
    Link to my trading feedback:  http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/59452/
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  • ThorpyFXThorpyFX Frets: 6384
    tFB Trader
    Maybe @ThorpyFX ; could fill that hole in the market one day 
    unlikely, its such  niche product that its unlikely to be commercially viable, at least for us anyway.
    Adrian Thorpe MBE | Owner of ThorpyFx Ltd | Email: thorpy@thorpyfx.com | Twitter: @ThorpyFx | Facebook: ThorpyFx Ltd | Website: www.thorpyfx.com
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  • MartinBushMartinBush Frets: 294
    Thanks all for the replies and apologies to @Funkfingers for my memory lapse. 

    @Kittyfrisk do you have any recordings of the effect you achieved? 
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  • KittyfriskKittyfrisk Frets: 22273
    Thanks all for the replies and apologies to @Funkfingers for my memory lapse. 

    @Kittyfrisk do you have any recordings of the effect you achieved? 
    Afraid not Martin. Arthritis has bolloxed up my fingers so I haven't really been playing anything for ages.
    I can't even find the fan I used to use & having looked online, almost all the styles have changed from the unguarded flexible plastic blade type, to fully enclosed or EVA foam bladed types which cut out with any pressure. Ridiculous...
    Anyway I found some cheap multi pack ones on eBay & ordered them, so if they work alright I can send you one to try  ;)

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  • MartinBushMartinBush Frets: 294
    edited August 2024
    That would be excellent @Kittyfrisk ;;;;

    I also wondered whether something like a cassette pinch roller or similar might work if attached to the fan spindle.


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  • KittyfriskKittyfrisk Frets: 22273
    That would be excellent @Kittyfrisk ;;;;

    I also wondered whether something like a cassette pinch roller or similar might work if attached to the fan spindle.


    Good idea that. A dremel or other adjustable speed rotary tool might be worth a try, possibly with some rubber polishing tips https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/2255068847?iid=395218658937
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  • MartinBushMartinBush Frets: 294
    I've checked and Sonic Youth don't seem to have employed a Dremel so we are good to go :)

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  • KittyfriskKittyfrisk Frets: 22273
    There are experimental techniques they haven't tried? Who knew  ;)
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  • SeziertischSeziertisch Frets: 1603
    edited August 2024
    https://store.gizmotron.com/

    This isn’t that much more than a lot of pedals.


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  • BrioBrio Frets: 2682
    Wow. Didn't know they were out there.
    I'm enjoying ensemble mode on the Couldburst using the expression pedal an expression pedal controlled parametric eq.
    Very versatile and vocal/string  ish 
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