Thursday, August 14, 2008

Explain The Effect, Vol 1

Following is the first solo from French Frith Kaiser Thompson's "Killing Jar". I have it both forward and backward.

"Killing Jar", Kaiser solo, forward (1:09)
"Killing Jar", Kaiser solo, forward (1:09)

My take is that this is a reversed solo, that they ran tape backwards to record it. The steel guitar on "This Moment", Matthew Sweet's contribution to the Sweet Relief compilation, has about the same sound. It sounds so otherworldly. First question is this: How can I get something like this effect while playing live? What box should I shop for?

Second question is more detailed. About :50 on the solo, there's a flutter. That's about :20 reversed. It's more than just a BB King butterfly vibrato, although that's kind of what it sounds like. It's there in the reversed, so it's not just the backward-recording. So, what is it, and how can I get my hands to do it?

3 comments:

patrick said...

To get the backwards sound live, you need an envelope-controlled volume pedal. It basically turns down your signal when you're loud, and turns it up when you're quiet, making your decay reversed. It helps if you add in some compression afterwards, drench it in chorus and reverb, and play slowly.

patrick said...

See here:
http://filters.muziq.be/type/volume/envelope/pedal for some examples. I listened to some clips of the Pigtronix ASDR Attack Sustain and it seems like it would come close (http://www.pigtronix.com/products/ASDR.htm).

Dave Jacob said...

Seems I can get a Behrenger copy of the Boss Slow Gear for $30. Much more in my gear budget. But the audio samples sound interesting.