Electric Guitar Effects Flashcards
How was distortion originally achieved?
By overloading the circuitry at some point in the signal chain
When valve amplifiers used almost exclusively until?
The late 60s/early 70s
What did solid-state amplifiers use in their construction rather than valves?
Transistors
Why were transistors used in solid-state amps rather than valves?
There were cheaper, smaller and more reliable
Why has there been a resurgence in the use of valve amplifiers?
They soft clip the signal, giving a warmer overdrive
What is overdrive?
A term commonly used to describe a form of distortion that is smoother than fuzz
What is guitar overdrive usually used for?
Chordal passages and riffs
Who made the guitar effect ‘fuzz’ famous?
Jimi Hendrix
Why does the guitar effect, fuzz, work better with solo lines than with chords?
Because simultaneously sounding notes all interfere with each other, merging in a dissonant fashion
With regards to distortion effects, what is the gain?
The drive, giving the amount of distortion
With regards to distortion effects, what is the output parameter?
The volume of the output to compensate for the increase in gain necessary to achieve distortion
With regards to distortion effects, what does the tone control do?
Controls the cut-off frequency of a low pass filter
In what genre is wah wah commonly used on guitars?
Funk
How is a wah wah effect created?
By sweeping the centre frequency of a band pass filter
What does the effect, vibrato, do?
modulates the pitch of the signal using an LFO