MusikMesse '99: Guitar/Bass Effects and Accessories
By Brett Ratner
ratocaster@harmony-central.com
Since the previous part of my report wound up dealing mostly with the German take on valve guitar amplification, today's installment will discuss some of the other cool products out there.
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One of the hottest demos I heard all week (and I heard quite a few) was for the "Slap Ring." The device is a metal sleeve that you wear on your thumb to aid you in funk "slap" techniques for the bass guitar. It helped that the guy demonstrating the Slap Ring was an absolute maniac (though he never slowed down long enough to lay an actual groove). However, the ring did seem brighten and enhance the attack of the thumb. Since the metal has less friction than bare skin, the ring also enabled the player to quickly alternate or strum between strings, thus creating a dizzying barrage of notes. Unfortunately, I think that many slap techniques have gone the way of two-handed tapping (i.e. they are becoming passé). However, if you manage to find a use for the Slap Ring, you might want the accompanying video to help maximize its effectiveness. You can contact the company in Germany at +49 (0)251-77-88-98.
Pedal heads will probably appreciate the Electro Harmonix Micro Synthesizers for guitar and bass. Though the $358 list price might at first seem high, I'd rather have one of these than a rack processor. The reason being is that the unit has a raw analog quality to it (nice for guitar). Also, once you know what you are doing, you can achieve a dizzying array of subtle to all-out-weird tones... and you can do it on the fly.
Like the name implies, many tones sound similar to the Moog synths of the early '70s. There are also '60s-ish "fuzz" distortions (think "Spirit in the Sky"), "swelling" effects, and many tones that are difficult to describe but nonetheless interesting to the ear.
The manner in which you manipulate the tones is also totally retro in that you use faders to adjust parameters on things like "square wave," "attack delay," "resonance," "start frequency," "stop frequency," and "rate." You also mix the direct guitar signal with an octave above and or below the original note.
The subtle nature of some of the sounds might become lost in a live gig, plus the thing takes up more pedalboard real-estate than a working musician might like. On top of that, the power supply situation seemed to be incompatible with most 9v power supplies (though the guy demonstrating the equipment couldn't confirm either way). Nonetheless, I can't help but think that this could be an indispensable tool in the recording studio.
Marshall has never really been known for pedals. That's okay, since the distortion found in their amps is legendary. Regardless, Marshall recently released a line of handsome, platinum-colored pedals featuring various types of classic Marshall overdrive. The new line also includes sounds Marshall isn't generally associated with; such as chorus, tremolo, and compression.
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| Marshall's new ED-1 Compressor |
I'd like to give these things a rave review based solely on stunning good looks and exceptionally rugged construction. Another plus is that they are compact and can run on batteries or 9v adapters. Unfortunately, the headphone listening stations provided by the Marshall booth did not do these things justice. Everything sounded thin and buzzy and something in the signal path was distorting (the bad kind of distortion). It also didn't help that the tester guitars were Epiphones in terrible need of a setup (not to mention real pickups). Regardless, I'd venture to guess that these pedals are worth a try when they reach your neighborhood dealer. Just make sure to bring your own guitar and your amp to the store.
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For the truly weird (and those with a truly fat wallet), there is a private builder by the name of Anthonie Barmentloo that sells handmade, all-tube pedals under the name Hendrixson and Pure Tube Technology. Even those who think they have heard it all should give these a listen cuz this guy is one of the few forging new ground in guitar manipulation.
Ranging from 750 to 1200 German Marks, they possess weird monikers like Tube Wahbrato, Tube Wahmolo, Tube Haddock, Tube Tron, and several other names beginning with "tube." No semiconductors are used in the signal path, and the pedals feature a true bypass using relays that provide automatic bypass if the necessary external power supply should fail.
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These products are similar to the Prescription Electronics Experience pedal in that they are basically fuzz boxes with octaves in them. However, Hendrixson takes it a few steps further. The end result is a note that sounds normal upon attack but then morphs into any number of mutant death ray warbles, depending on how the knobs are set. The true testament to these pedals is that the sounds drew quite a sizable crowd while we were testing the units. And if a surefire way to draw a crowd is what you're after, then the price doesn't seem that high after all. If you've gotta have one, you can contact the maker in Germany at Walter-Flex-Str. 8, D-91052 Erlangen, Germany, or via phone/fax at +49 (0)9131-29108. There is a chance some of the models will be put into larger scale production later this year.
As the week wore on, I tried several times, but never got a chance to play the Rocktron Prophesy. However, I did get to hear a demo of one. Playing along to a sequence, and running totally direct, the audience listened to the performance through headphones hanging from a truss overhead. Having heard several of these performances at several booths, my distaste for headphones was growing due to harsh, gritty tone. However, the Prophesy's modeling technology sounded smooth and very much like a miced amp, even through headphones. Especially good were the lead sounds; marked by refined overdrive, warm compression, and dripping with lush reverbs and delay.
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The performer didn't scroll through as many different sounds as I had hoped. This is a pity because the Prophesy is Rocktron's top-o-the line preamp, featuring all kinds of pitch shifting and multi-effects with massive control via "expression" pedals. Regardless, those I heard sounded record quality.
Speaking of "record quality," I was totally blown away (even through headphones), at the Digitech RP-7 Tube.
Feature-wise, the RP-7 is in the same league as most floor-mount units. It's got your basic banks of preset sounds, enabling you to blend the normal selection of delays, reverbs, chorus and such. It also has pitch-shift capability and a built-in expression pedal. What sets this apart from other boxes is the addition of a preamp tube. I'm not exactly sure how much positive effect the tube has on the tone since the distortion presets of the RP-7 would need tweaking before I'd consider them acceptable. The clean presets, on the other hand, would make even Andy Summers jealous... and this is turning one on right out of the box.
If you are a country picker, jazz player, electric-acoustic guitarist, or anyone else who relies mostly on your clean sound, you absolutely owe it to yourself to check this thing out. I'm not kidding!
In the final MusikMesse report, I'll be taking a look at some of the more interesting guitars that were on display at the show.
Brett.
Brett Ratner is a contributor to Guitar Player, Musician, Electronic Musician and Music & Computers. He also spent two years as the Creative Writer for www.gibson.com. Currently, Brett plays sessions and performs regularly around Nashville with the band Katoorah Jayne. Please email Brett at ratocaster@harmony-central.com with any questions, comments.
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