Well Folks: Zachary Vex; as expected, has come up with something new: "a dual frequency- tripler"! After our own comments, we've included additional orientation by Maestro Vex. This effect is different enough, that we chose to be as neutral as possible in our first audio sample. Machine was connected before a Boss HM-2 distortion pedal, (selected for it's popularity), with the Amp set clean. All we did was play a very few single notes, then occasionally stop a string from sustaining, or occasionally let it ring. This way Machine could be heard interacting with the other pieces in the signal chain, without distraction.
Particularly at the end of the first sample; you'll hear how a modest vibrato on one string, sounds like the note is being choked to it's last gasp. It makes one think of those slow motion, close ups of Bruce Lee, when he really lets the bad guys have it. When he shakes, and makes those strange noises, it looks like he's driving his entire life energy into the blow! Too "Artsie-fartsie" for ya? No prob! OK: Ever see a dog really attack something? Ever have one of those little bastards bite you? Once they're satisfied their teeth have penetrated your soft flesh; enough to do real damage, they shake their heads hard, and fast: instinctually anticipating the taste of BLOOD: ARRRRRRGGRR! GRRRRhhh! GHHHHhhggh! (We thought a few Metal Heads might be checking this particular write-up, we wanted to have a little something to make you guys feel at home, and welcome)! After all that restraint on the first sample; we indulged ourselves with three edits; in "Machine Lead", for fun. They are at the very beginning, very end, and dead center of the sample.
Listen to the way Machine seems to zero in on the center of your sound, not an envelope filter, not a tired battery, or noise gate shutting down: it digs in, (remember the mean dog)? There ya go, it's different. We hope using the minimalist approach in recording the first sample helps identify it's unique qualities.You'll likely be hearing them in the work of Metallica, and Nine Inch Nails, before very long. The following comments on MACHINE were written by Zachary Vex:
"Most every guitarist is familiar with the limitations of puting one fuzz or distortion into another...
losing the detail but perhaps gaining that fun "shutdown" effect as one overloads the other, and the "where's my fuzz?" experience of playing a fuzz into a really dirty amp. Limitations. They increase your creativity but hob-gobble your plan. I designed this new distortion generator, Machine, with some different limitations. Like try playing chords through it. Hmmm. But put it in front of any string of fuzz pedals, and try to make it disappear. Machine is actually a dual frequency-tripler circuit that uses crossover distortion for the first time in any pedal, ever. It generates the distortion of the
wave in the sloped part of the cycle, instead of the peaks and valleys like all other distorters and fuzzes. In other words, it distorts when your guitar string is in the middle of vibrating, while it's swinging, not as it's turning around. That's the same place where your speaker cone is sort
of coasting, between all the way in and all the way out. Where nothing is happening, this pedal happens. With Machine you can leave your favorite distorting pedals on and still add a new element of energetic grind."
"Knobs are Drive, which is drive; Limit, which clips the original waveform off at about the same size as the harmonics (if you want); and Volume, which is output level. If the Limit knob is set to the right, the signal remains unclipped. You'll notice the dynamic response is higher than most pedals. If you put a tremolo pedal set smooth in front of it you'll hear it sweep through it's wild frequency multiplying stages, or if the trem is set for square wave it will jump back and forth between crunchy harmonics. Conversely, you can get ringing harmonic effects using a dynamically freezing pedal in
front of it like a compressor. The biggest drawback to this pedal is that of anything in your arsenal, it's the most likely to get you kicked out of the house by your mom, girlfriend, boyfriend, or wife. Or roommate or Dad. Or Grandma. Even your dog".
"Keep in mind that this pedal needs to see a sloped wave in order to do it's thing, so an undistorted guitar signal going into it will allow it to generate the strongest harmonics. Read the other Z. Vex sheets to find out about how I'm trying to reduce pollution and save battery life and stuff. Machine draws about 3 mA. Freaky, huh?" (Sound Files below)
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