Electric Guitar Effects Flashcards

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1
Q

How was distortion originally achieved?

A

By overloading the circuitry at some point in the signal chain

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2
Q

When valve amplifiers used almost exclusively until?

A

The late 60s/early 70s

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3
Q

What did solid-state amplifiers use in their construction rather than valves?

A

Transistors

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4
Q

Why were transistors used in solid-state amps rather than valves?

A

There were cheaper, smaller and more reliable

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5
Q

Why has there been a resurgence in the use of valve amplifiers?

A

They soft clip the signal, giving a warmer overdrive

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6
Q

What is overdrive?

A

A term commonly used to describe a form of distortion that is smoother than fuzz

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7
Q

What is guitar overdrive usually used for?

A

Chordal passages and riffs

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8
Q

Who made the guitar effect ‘fuzz’ famous?

A

Jimi Hendrix

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9
Q

Why does the guitar effect, fuzz, work better with solo lines than with chords?

A

Because simultaneously sounding notes all interfere with each other, merging in a dissonant fashion

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10
Q

With regards to distortion effects, what is the gain?

A

The drive, giving the amount of distortion

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11
Q

With regards to distortion effects, what is the output parameter?

A

The volume of the output to compensate for the increase in gain necessary to achieve distortion

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12
Q

With regards to distortion effects, what does the tone control do?

A

Controls the cut-off frequency of a low pass filter

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13
Q

In what genre is wah wah commonly used on guitars?

A

Funk

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14
Q

How is a wah wah effect created?

A

By sweeping the centre frequency of a band pass filter

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15
Q

What does the effect, vibrato, do?

A

modulates the pitch of the signal using an LFO

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16
Q

How does a guitarist create a vibrato effect?

A

By moving their finger on the fretboard

17
Q

What does the effect, tremolo, do?

A

Modulates the volume of the signal using an LFO

18
Q

Historically, how were modulation effects created?

A

Using tape machines or rotary speakers

19
Q

How were tape machines used to create modulation effects?

A
  • Recording would be duplicated and played simultaneously on two tape machines
  • Hand pressure was applied to one of the reels, slowing it down, creating a slight delay and variation in pitch
20
Q

What physics effect does a rotary speaker take advantage of?

A

The Doppler Effect

21
Q
A