sysmalakian:
TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!
362 days ago
dp:
dude
343 days ago
Bango_Rilla:
Shout Bananas!!
298 days ago
BillyBlastOff:
See you kiddies at the Convention!
282 days ago
GDW:
showman
233 days ago
Emilien03:
https://losg...
155 days ago
Pyronauts:
Happy Tanks-Kicking!!!
148 days ago
glennmagi:
CLAM SHACK guitar
134 days ago
Hothorseraddish:
surf music is amazing
114 days ago
dp:
get reverberated!
65 days ago
No polls at this time. Check out our past polls.
No contests at this time. Check out our past contests.
April Birthdays
Getting a tremolo sound with a fixed bridge guitar.
Joined: Jul 28, 2008 Posts: 473 Wichita Falls, Texas 
|
Posted on Jun 23 2021 12:07 PM
As someone who's always interested in new gear for surf musicians, this looks very intriguing. I'm curious if anyone in our community has ordered one during their pre-sale. I'm tempted, only because interesting options are available to those of us with fixed bridge guitars. No more whammy issues. https://www.gamechangeraudio.com/shop/bigsby-pedal-limited-offer/ —_ Hi, I'm Gellert, guitarist for The Fintastics. |
Joined: Feb 03, 2011 Posts: 111 Brampton, ON 
|
Posted on Jun 23 2021 03:51 PM
Interesting, but I’ve paid less for an actual guitar with a good trem. |
Joined: Aug 22, 2010 Posts: 1019 Portland, Oregon with Insanitizers 
|
Posted on Jun 23 2021 09:21 PM
My Zoom G1Xon pedal has a pedal-controlled pitch change that sounds at least as good as a real vibrato arm. You can hear my use of it on a bass guitar at the end of my recording "Fright Night." This recording is in the 2020 SG101 download collection, and it is also on SoundCloud: I also used the pedal pitch effect with several songs on my Insanitizers "Space Force" CD album including "Space Trip." This effect sounds great when used for a semi-tone or two. It can be used for larger pitch changes but I don't think they sound as good. This guitar multi-effects pedal also includes superb compression, spring reverb emulation, delays, and plate reverb, among other effects. Just make sure you never set the gain above 100% anywhere. I saw it available used on Ebay and Reverb for $79 and under. —Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com Last edited: Jun 23, 2021 21:36:26 |
Joined: Apr 02, 2019 Posts: 339 |
Posted on Jun 29 2021 09:33 PM
game changer stuff costs a fair chunk of money. i like the plus pedal but don’t care for their other stuff. that said, i’d like to hear it. i’m a huge fan of pitch shifting pedals. wish I still had a whammy. |
|
Joined: Jul 28, 2008 Posts: 473 Wichita Falls, Texas
|
Posted on Jun 30 2021 09:40 AM
In this demo video, the music takes away whatever benefits the pedal may have. In my opinion, they should have gotten a professional guitar player (in either the surf or rockabilly community) to demonstrate the effectiveness of its effects. I'm on the fence with this one. —_ Hi, I'm Gellert, guitarist for The Fintastics. |
Joined: Sep 04, 2017 Posts: 435 |
Posted on Jun 30 2021 12:08 PM
Not for me.......but to each his own. |
Joined: Jun 29, 2018 Posts: 801 |
Posted on Jun 30 2021 01:45 PM
TheFintastics wrote:
They probably didn't have many choices for bands there in Latvia. Otherwise, I'd like to hear a straight demo of it to see how it sounds without the noise of a whole band swirling around it. Integrating the Bigsby parts seems too much of a gimmick to me - they could have designed something to function the same but with fewer parts (and probably cheaper in terms of parts and licensing). |
|
Joined: Aug 22, 2010 Posts: 1019 Portland, Oregon with Insanitizers
|
Posted on Jul 01 2021 07:01 PM
Below is a link to my just-recorded demo of the Zoom G1Xon effects pedal's, "Pedal Pitch" built-in vibrato effect. I had set the effect to a maximum of one semi-tone, which is the pedal's minimum. Just click on the band photo at the bottom of the webpage (just above the index), labeled "Hunt Surf Vibrato-Pedal Plus." First comes the complete song (Huntington Surf), in which the pedal vibrato is frequently used. This is followed by some chords and notes with the pedal vibrato and without band accompaniment. These later chords are played with the same guitar effects as the song, then played with the pedal's splashy spring reverb. I can't say how long I will leave this reacording up. Any questions? —Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com Last edited: Jul 01, 2021 19:02:22 |
|
Joined: Jul 28, 2008 Posts: 473 Wichita Falls, Texas
|
Posted on Jul 01 2021 11:40 PM
That's a very convincing tremolo effect. Especially the sound demo at the very end. Did you hear about the Zoom's effect from another surf guitarist or did you come across it by accident? I think it'd be cool if a guitar came equipped with a digital tremolo bar. —_ Hi, I'm Gellert, guitarist for The Fintastics. |
|
Joined: Aug 22, 2010 Posts: 1019 Portland, Oregon with Insanitizers
|
Posted on Jul 02 2021 09:48 AM
I found the vibrato effect in the Zoom pedal after I bought it. I bought it for splashy spring reverb, dual delays, compression, EQ and combining effects into groups I can select among quickly. Operating the vibrato effect with my foot frees my hands to do maneuvers that simply can not be done while operating a vibrato bar. I can emulate Leo Kottke's slidey tone, for example. —Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com Last edited: Jul 02, 2021 09:50:00 |
Joined: Feb 27, 2006 Posts: 1062 Berlin, Germany
|
Posted on Jul 02 2021 10:55 AM
The best way to get a tremolo effect on a fixed bridge guitar is with a tremolo pedal, amp tremolo or simply the volume knob on the guitar itself. —The Exotic Guitar of Kahuna Kawentzmann You can get the boy out of the Keynes era, but you can’t get the Keynes era out of the boy. |
|
Joined: Aug 22, 2010 Posts: 1019 Portland, Oregon with Insanitizers
|
Posted on Jul 02 2021 05:55 PM
This discussion is about controlling pitch rather than volume. —Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com |
Joined: Feb 02, 2008 Posts: 4542 Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ.
|
Posted on Jul 03 2021 09:13 PM
While the pedal appears to be an excellent piece of gear, I couldn’t imagine having to use my foot every time I wanted to dip the trem. I mostly play Gretsch and use a Chet Atkins wire arm. I tend to give the Bigsby just a subtle rub at key points in the song, and speaking only for myself, I think that positioning myself in front of the pedalboard, shifting my weight to my left leg and then trying to duplicate the way I use a Bigsby just wouldn’t work. I think it’s a great idea, but I’d have to try one before I even considered making the purchase. —The artist formerly known as: Synchro When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar. |
|
Joined: Feb 02, 2008 Posts: 4542 Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ.
|
Posted on Jul 03 2021 09:33 PM
Kawentzmann wrote:
I think along similar lines. I don’t “dive bomb” with any vibrato tailpiece I use, with the possible exception of the Gm chord at the end of Penetration. For the most part, I just give it a very slight rub, which dips the volume slightly. There has been a lot of discussion regarding Leo Fender’s use of the term tremolo to describe the vibrato tailpieces on his guitars. I have wondered if he chose that term because when a vibrato tailpiece is used subtly, and only to lower pitch, that the reduction of string tension has the effect of lowering the volume during slightly. Just a thought. —The artist formerly known as: Synchro When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar. |
|
Joined: Aug 22, 2010 Posts: 1019 Portland, Oregon with Insanitizers
|
Posted on Jul 04 2021 01:35 PM
synchro wrote:
For your amusement here are the Fender company's current thoughts about vibrato and tremolo terminology and concepts: Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com |
|
Joined: Feb 02, 2008 Posts: 4542 Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ.
|
Posted on Jul 04 2021 01:43 PM
Squid wrote:
That’s the way I’ve always understood it. —The artist formerly known as: Synchro When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar. |
|
Joined: Jul 28, 2008 Posts: 473 Wichita Falls, Texas
|
Posted on Sep 12 2021 09:38 PM
|
|
Joined: Aug 22, 2010 Posts: 1019 Portland, Oregon with Insanitizers
|
Posted on Sep 17 2021 09:42 AM
It (The "virtual Jeff") costs $499. https://store.fomofx.com/ The specifications of the G1Xon pedal I demonstrated in an earlier post's link seem about the same. The G1Xon is a small fraction of that price and it does much more (delays, spring reverb, compression, amp modeling). As a foot pedal it is not attached to your guitar front. —Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com Last edited: Sep 17, 2021 09:44:53 |
Please visit our friends in the surf music community:
Contact Us • About Us • Terms of Service • Privacy Policy • Colophon
SurfGuitar101.com © 2004 - 2025 by Brian Neal. All comments and user contributed articles are property of the posters.
Thanks to all the surf bands, past and present. And thanks to all the fans who care about and keep surf music alive.
