WEM Rush Pep Box (1966/67)

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Thanks to Ian/Ghost Effects for posting this demo of the mega rare WEM Rush Pep Box fuzz from the 60s. I love how aged and angry this sounds///


for more info and pics of this crazy old man of a pedal, check out this thread on the D*A*M forum:
WEM Rush Pep Box


Thanks for reading!
-ed

Vox Tonebender Professional MKII (1966/67)

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So in an attempt to make the updating more of a daily experience I have decided to take cues from one of my favorite nerdy blogs, Matrixsynth, and put up some demo videos from time-to-time of pedals that I don't personally own but feel you would enjoy hearing.

So first to break the ice is a video from Pinstripedclips who is demoing a Vox Tonebender MKII fuzz from approximately 1966/67. This thing is mean, lowdown, gritty and grimey sounding, and I kind of wish it was mine! But I guess it's in good hands...

enjoy!


If you're interested in the history of this badass fuzz and want some drool-worthy pics, read more about it here:
D*A*M - The Wife

Thanks for reading!
-ed

Electro Harmonix Frequency Analyzer (1973)

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the violet makes it sound better...

So this week we jump out of the completely obscure and into more familiar territory with this awesome 1973 Electro Harmonix Frequency Analyzer.


The first commercially available ring mod for guitar players was (as far as I know...) the Oberheim Ring Modulator, which, in 1969 was rebranded and sold under the Maestro name. The effect was a really cool way to get some sci-fi tones, change your tuning on the fly and could even be used as an octave pedal. The Maestro Ring Mod ruled the school up until 1973 when Electro Harmonix decided it was time to break into the game and drop this monster of a pedal on the world.

Well they definitely thought it was something big and MONSTROUS! because in true EHX fashion their original description and claims for the Frequency Analyzer were a little on the ridiculous side (just take a look at this old product flyer below), and I still wonder how many woodwind and brass players brought one of these home in the mid 70's, stared at it for a few hours before boxing it back up and sticking it in the closet... where it lay for 35 years before they decided to sell it to me on ebay!


So, what the hell does it sound like! Well it sounds like a ring mod/// but a 3-titted, juicy, fat, martian of a Ring Mod! I personally use it as an octave pedal 90% of the time, as I am a huge fan of the MXR Blue Box. My one qualm though with the Blue Box has always been that the "fuzz" tone was so weak and kind of lame. But with the Frequency Analyzer you get a clean blend knob, so you can mix in whatever fuzzed out signal you want! Yes, I know there are actual lower octave pedals that can do this, but there is just something about the F.A. that sounds so wrong that it's untouchable in terms of low end power and warmth.

Yes, of course it can also do all of those cool ring moddy type tones that you are most likely familiar with, which may be the reason it's not quite as revered as the ram's head Big Muff from the same year, but! to me the simple addition of that clean blend allows this pony to offer up more than the 1 trick it is usually known for. Making it much more useful of a tool for us pedal freaks.

Ok, well here we go. I think I may have gone a little overboard with the pics on this one, but what hell!


 











Thanks for reading!
-ed

Ampeg Phazzer (1974)

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After scanning many digital pages of information and misinformation I still feel I don't know the exact history of the Phase Shifter effect, but I will try and give it a go.
The mother of all phasing, chorusing and vibes is the Univox Univibe. I am not 100% which came 1st, but as I understand, the Univibe was birthed from both the Honey Vibra Chorus and originally a section of the Honey Psychedelic Machine from the mid 60s. Although the effect was used by many a-famous guitar player, the Univibe lends almost all of its cred to Jimi Hendrix.
Then in the early 70's Maestro released their extremely popular phaser called the PS-1 (designed by Tom Oberheim) which created another faction of lush modulation perfection. Since that time period many pedal builders have attempted to create similar tones but from smaller packages, all the while using the 2 giants of guitar modulation, The Univibe and Maestro PS-1 as there benchmarks...

The reason I bring up all of this, seemingly unrelated, information is because I tend to refer to all phasers in terms of being inspired by the Univibe or the Maestro PS-1.
Just to let you know what I mean let me illustrate it in this way;
MXR Phase 90 = Maestro PS-1,
EHX Small Stone = Univibe (and was actually marketed as the way to get that "Jimi Hendrix" swirling vibe tone.)


So that finally brings us to the topic at hand, the 1974 Ampeg Phazzer. This was supposedly created for Ampeg Amplifiers by a company called Time Lab, Inc. and even though I have not been able to verify that particular bit of information, I do know it was the only "Ampeg" labelled effect other than the famous 1969 Ampeg Scrambler fuzz (not counting the rebranded 80's Japanese effectors).

Like its older brother, the Scrambler, the Ampeg Phazzer is quite a rare bird. Sometimes the collector nerd in me gets excited purely at looks and rarity, which can be disappointing when I plug it in and hear the actual tone; but in this case, luck be had, it sounded awesome! Also, how could you not jump on the BIN button after seeing that sweet 70's "Phazzer" logo///


Going back to my original classification system for phase shifters, the Ampeg Phazzer clearly and purely lies in the Univibe camp. So much so that if I ever need that tone, it's the pedal I reach for 90% of the time. It's so close to the Univibe that it even has that irregular cycle in oscillations, if you know what I mean? Sure it doesn't do the deep Vibe and Chorusing of the Univibe, but there is no mistaking where the Ampeg Phazzer got its main inspiration from.

The speed knob has a pretty wide range, going from very slow to a fast wobble. Team it up with some fuzz and you'll feel like a total badass while you play the Star Spangled Banner all night long. There is an internal trim pot (see pics) that tunes the modulation so it can sound better on the low end or the highs, depending on what you are going be playing. Overall I wouldn't say the Ampeg Phazzer is abnormally "lush" or "organic", like some of the phasers I have from this same time period, but it sounds good and what it does do, it does it very well.

Apparently these are out there, as I have found a few other owners while digging through the net; but in the last 3 years I have only seen 2 for sale, one of which we are looking at right now, and the other one was all rusted out and not working. So the only conclusion is that the people who do have one must like em, because no one is selling!

This is a cool pedal in looks and flavor, so I won't muddy it up any more with words; Here's the Porno:







Thanks for reading!
-ed

Earth Sound Research Graphic Fuzz (1976)

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This right here is probably one of the coolest looking effects of all time. With that orange and yellow paint job, those chilled out graphics and by far the best knobs ever to be placed on a pedal, the 1976 Earth Sound Research Graphic Fuzz is one bad ass stompbox.


My personal search for this grumpy orange troll started a few years back when I first saw a photo of one. At that point I decided that I didn't care at all what it sounded like, it looked so damn amazing I knew I needed one! Fast forward a couple years and I was lucky enough to score this one with the original box and manual (which I always find entertaining). As I waited for it to get here I was still struggling with what it might actually sound like. The very few demos and actual audio samples floating around online were little to no help, but as it turned out, it sounded really cool!


When getting into the whole effects pedal scene one quickly realizes that many of them, even vintage ones, seem to be a clone or tweak on an existing design; but the ESR Graphic Fuzz really stands out on its own. The fuzz itself is a thick, crunchy, buzzing tone and with the Filter knob put into play it can create some really interesting, whacky and weird sounds. The EQ section is somewhat of a resonance filter that comes after the fuzz. If you take a look at the manual, it was meant to be tuned to what you are playing and used to add some harmonics. Cool idea, but it doesn't necessarily work how they planned. Now that's not to say it sounds bad, its just not what I would personally use it for. The Boost knob is just that, a volume knob that boosts the signal quite a bit above Unity. You can control the amount of gain with your guitar's volume. Which also brings out some other cool effects.

So there's not too much more to be said other than some people seem to love this pedal and some seem to think it sounds like crap. I think that has more to do with the variance of sound from pedal-to-pedal rather than the entire design. I happen to love mine///

Ok, enough of the jabber...
Here's your favorite part:






Thanks for reading!
-ed

Dharma Sound Phaser (1974)

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Next up is the elusive and way cool Dharma Sound Phaser. These little puppies were made in the mid 70's out of Kent, UK. There has been much speculation on the net about the history of this company, and as much as I would like to add to the lore, I have decided to keep my assumed facts to myself...

But! What I can tell you is this is one thick, fat, warm juicy sounding phaser. It's in the Phase 90, Maestro PS-1 family, but goes a bit deeper than both of those. I have quite a few olde timey phasers (to be explored in later posts!) and although the typical clean-signal-into-phaser sound is cool, I tend to get the most use out of them when smashing the front end with a fuzz pedal, or vice versa. There is just something about that sound where it seems to take your brain, pull it into a black hole and spit you out into another dimension. And for that tone, the Dharma Sound really excels.

I'm not sure how many of you have seen the movie "Flight of the Navigator", but for some reason the graphic on the front of this pedal reminds me of it? Whether it does that for you or not, trust me, this is really the perfect visual representation of how this pedal sounds:


so..... It's running off of two 9v batteries and a bunch of awesome.
Take a look for yourself:





*update: check out the Dharma Sound Distorter that I got in HERE. 😎

Thanks for reading!
-ed