"Good Fuzzy Sounds"

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This is just a heads up on a cool new Zine (yes you read that right, as in a real paper DIY magazine) that is about all things fuzz, called "Good Fuzzy Sounds". It's all done by hand, with cool drawings and interviews by Simon Murphy.

Description in his own words:
...my zine, in which i unravel a few myths about the birth of fuzz and Glenn Snoddy's monster, and how Gary Hurst, the Yardbirds and Heartful of Soul beat Satisfaction to the punch. All illustrated by me, no photos, plus how I discovered fuzz, my first band, the origins of diy fuzz geekdom, a comic strip and interviews with Pepe Rush (of WEM-Rush Pepbox fame) and Devi Ever...

So as you can guess I jumped at the opportunity for one of these, received mine in the mail today and have been pretty damned entertained and school'd. I highly recommend it for anyone who is into this blog././

For more info and ordering details check out Simon's blog here:
!Good Fuzzy Sounds!


Thanks for reading!
-ed

Happy Halloween!

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sorry, my power was out last night, so it's a day late...but/
Hope your Halloween was extra dizzy!

Elka Dizzy Tone (1968)

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One of my favorite fuzzes.
The Elka Dizzy Tone!

I'll go into crazy detail at a later post(as I happen to have one), but for now let's check out this sick demo video from our good Italian friend, Ema:


Thanks for watching!
-ed

Jordan Boss Boost (1967)

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Welcome to Part 2 of the Jordan Juniors series; featuring the sweet, scarce and subtly awesome Jordan Boss Boost!

In Part 1 we looked at the first version of the Boss Tone fuzz from 1967 and also went over some Jordan Electronics history. So today I will keep the background details to a minimum, and instead give you some TONE talk and pedal pics... But before we get in deep, let's just do a mini story of where this little punk came from.

OK, so again taking a cue from VOX, specifically the Treble/Bass Booster plugin (1965), Jordan decided to make a plugin effect that boosted both the guitar's Treble and Bass. Improving on the design ergonomically and functionally, Jordan made the box more compact than the VOX and it had separate controls for Treble and Bass. Although the pre-history and inspiration are pretty clear, the production history of this little guy is somewhat hazy. It does appear as though Jordan only produced the Boss Boost for one year, 1967. They continued to advertise the effect until 1969 when they moved factories from Alhambra, CA to Pasadena, CA.


Before I got really into effects pedals I never understood the idea of a "clean boost". I also didn't own a tube amp nor did I understand the whole "stacking effects" thing. But my first encounter with the awesomeness of Boost pedals was a clone someone made for me of a Dallas Rangemaster. Being a huge Black Sabbath fan and knowing that Tony Iommi got his signature tone from a Rangemaster going into a Laney Klipp amp, I had to try one.

When I got it in the mail I ripped open the package like it was Christmas morning. Overjoyed, I plugged into my new, cool pedal. And there it was... complete disappointment; I heard nothing! All I could hear was that my guitar's high end was louder and more crisp. So I started to experiment. First running it into some fuzz pedals, then switching the order, which was pretty awesome but still not what I was looking for. Then I finally decided to run it into some hot tubeage, and in a devine moment a bright light shined down from the heavens and angels began sing my name. I finally got it! It was that big volume boost of the high end into the tubes that created THE Sabbath tone I grew up loving, and there it was for me. Needless to say I dropped in a wah and played Electric Funeral for about 4 hours.


The Jordan Boss Boost is great for what it is. You can easily get that Rangemaster tone, but with the added Bass boost, you can bang a full body to your sound too. I really like how it can fill out even the most thin fuzz tones, and add some "vintage" character to newer pedals. The best combinations so far have been Big Muff > Boss Boost and MKI Tonebender > Boss Boost. As I mentioned before, the Boss Tone > Boss Boost combo is pretty cool too. So it may not be one of the most unique or distinct effects ever, but it's nice and warm and stacks amazingly with your other fuzzes.

Well that's that! The end of our Jordan Juniors post, until I get my Vico Vibe././ So thanks for hanging with us today.><. and now, I leave you with some pics:













Thanks for reading!
-ed

Jordan Boss Tones (3 Versions)

Some listening/viewing for you while I prepare the Jordan Boss Boost write up!

Take a listen to how different these 3 versions of the Jordan Boss Tone are;
1. 2nd version made in Alhambra, CA around 1968
2. 3rd version made in Pasadena, CA around 1969/70
3. 4th version made in Nashville, TN around 1975

Big thanks to Jerms and the North West Fuzz Crew for supplying the whole internet with this fine demo!



Thanks for watching!
-ed

Jordan Bosstone (1966)

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Welcome back! Ok, so today we are going to be looking at 2 of the 3 plugin effects from the early Jordan Juniors series made by Jordan Electronics out of Alhambra, CA. featuring the 1966 Jordan Boss Tone and the 1966 Jordan Boss Boost. I really should be showing the Vico Vibe too, but unfortunately I just missed one on the bay! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's all good, we will do with what we got. Let's just pretend they never made a vibrato and that this is the most comprehensive Jordan Juniors-based informational site in the world.,.

So to jump right into it, let's take a look at the always amazing Jordan Boss Tone ///


By now this is an extremely well known fuzz that defines thickness and saturation; but it wasn't always like that, and in fact this early first version of the Boss Tone has a completely different sound than any other version that came after it.

The story goes that in the early '60s Jordan Electronics was building amplifiers in order to capitalize and compete with the VOX/British amp explosion that was sweeping the nation, via the Beatles. They then decided to come out with a fuzz unit as the popularity of pedals such as the Maestro Fuzz Tone, the Tonebender MKI, and the Mosrite Fuzz Rite were finding their way into all facets of popular music. So in 1966 they developed the Boss Tone, a trebly fuzz that stood out amongst the crowd for being more articulate and much less gated than either the FZ-1 or the MKI. How many test and 1st production units were made are not known, but as pictured below from a 1966 magazine ad, you can see the cool 1st logo that Jordan decided NOT to go with once it went into full production.
I kind of like it actually>/


Jump ahead a few months and we find Jordan Electronics poised and ready to drop some cool new gear on the world of Rock & Roll. Although the idea of effects that plugged directly into your guitar instead of lying on the floor most likely came from VOX, with their Distortion Booster (1965), Jordan took the idea and made it more compact and work better! The first of these, and the king of all plugin effects, was the Boss Tone fuzz unit.


So how does it sound, you ask?
My real answer is; totally weird! This earliest version of the circuit sounds very nasally and does a great impression of a small swarm of bees trying to eat your brain by way of your ears. It's not nearly as biting as the Maestro FZ-1a, but it has absolutely no low end or thickness at all.

Now I know you're thinking, "but Ed, you're making this thing sound like it's a piece of crap!" I know, I know. I promise you though, it's Not... The real magic happens when you run it through an EQ or a low-end boosting pedal and then BLAM! it comes to life. I actually love to run the Boss Tone into the Boss Boost in a process where the original weak signal has coalesced on the other end into this loud, thick, stinging Neanderthal of a fuzz tone; that sort of reminds me of a rusty razor blade you might find on the floor of an old bathroom or something?

Although I don't consider myself a pedal circuit understanderer, I can say from hearing it that there are similarities between this original Boss Tone and the FZ-1a and possibly a little Shin Ei FY-2 thrown in the mix for fun (although that definitely came out 4 years later). Either way, it is a distinctive tone and it's really cool to see where this grand master of the fuzz world got its start.

In later posts we'll dissect the other versions of the Boss Tone, but for now it's all about numero UNO!

(Big thanks to Chris Mahoney for his help on the history of Jordan Electronics and cool photos from the old magazine ads.)

Ok kids, it's picture time!!!











stay tuned for part 2... The Jordan Boss Boost!

*Update:
for info on the 2nd version of the Bosstone: Go Here!

*Update 2: 

check out this post for the earliest Boss Tone advertisement I have ever found.

thanks for reading!
-ed