computer sounds

[castiron]

hey guys,

i just wanted to start a thread about some crazy pedals that do unique things. does anyone know how to get computer noises out of a guitar? would you use a ring modulator? and feel free to post any cool pedals that you really like. im looking for some creative toys :wizard:
thanks

 

[millsart]

Re: computer sounds

Effector 13 has an entire line of pedals that frankly I think sound horrible but may be just what your looking for. Crazy unuseable 4 transitor silicon fuzz units and that sort of stuff, "Truely Beautifu Disaster" might be a good one to look into.

That said, I'm not quite sure what you mean by "computer noises" though. Theres all the synth bleeps and bloops etc but those really aren't what I'd consider computer noises per say, If you mean harsh digital industrial type tones though that are very electronic and lo-fi digital then the Effector 13 stuff might be up yoru alley

ZVex has some good stuff too such as the Fuzz Factory, or "The Machine"

 

[these_go211]

Re: computer sounds

MOOGERFOOGER MURF. it's hard to describe what this thing can do. it's very fun to mess with.

 

[millsart]

Re: computer sounds

All the Moog stuff is definatly cool, but the prices are a bit crazy if you ask me. Their analog delay is like $600 isn't it ? the MURF, the filter etc are a bit more "reasonable" in the $300-400 range but still, you've got to really love some crazy sounds to spend that type of cash and not have buyers remorse after you get tired of wierd noises lol.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: computer sounds

As Milsart mentioned, E13 has some insane stuff, the Truly Beautiful Disaster is a combo pedal, crazy fuzz + feedback looper. You can put any pedal into the looper to do crazy stuff. Phasers sound like the resonance goes to 20, delays oscillate like crazy, fuzzes bleep and bloop. I like the EHX Frequency Analyzer for a ring mod, it can be crazy or sane.

Another cool thing for noises is the Digitech XP line, there's the Whammy/Wah, Modulator, Space Station and Reverberator. There's a guy on ebay and guitargeek.com that does a mod called the 'Jetpack Mod' that gets you all 4 into one pedal. I bought a cheap XP-200 on ebay and him mod it, you can experiment for hours with it now.

There's also peals like the 8-bit fuzz and the Pitch Pirate for some out of this world fuzz tones.

I think I like thr Fuzz Factory the best though, it can walk the line between sane and insane nicely.

Good luck, let me know what you end up with.

 

[millsart]

Re: computer sounds

Another option is to consider a simple synth such as the Korg MicroKorg which is only $400. I've got one and its got tons of great sounds, plus a vocoder and you can run other audio through it as well.

Theres lots of effects units that try to give synth and pads etc to guitar but they all pale in comparison to a real synth. Guitar stuff just doenst track well and usually sounds pretty bad (in a bad way)

 

[Gamera]

Re: computer sounds

What about that VG Strat, that Gibson LP thing and those Variax guitars? Don't they somehow act as MIDI devices that could interface with a computer, therefore capable of sounding like any MIDI sound set? Or am I assuming too much here?

 

[millsart]

Re: computer sounds

Your forgetting that tracking is still pretty poor. Forgot about string bends and for most patches you need to play very clean single note lines.

They've come a long way but still have a good ways to go.

 

[baritone]

Re: computer sounds

Check out the Ibanez PM7 Phase Modulator and the CF7 Chorus/Flanger. Both are capable of producing ring modulator sounds with the super fast wave settings. The PM7 also has a square-wave mode which is really fun to mess with. The sounds are far from "natural" or even classy, but I think they are a lot of fun to have, and they are fairly inexpensive.

 

[Gamera]

Re: computer sounds

A theremin can give you some funky, spacey, computery sounds too. It's not a guitar pedal but it's cool. Someone makes a smaller, pedal-like theremin effect box too.

 

[Mincer]

Re: computer sounds

What about that VG Strat, that Gibson LP thing and those Variax guitars? Don't they somehow act as MIDI devices that could interface with a computer, therefore capable of sounding like any MIDI sound set? Or am I assuming too much here?

Absolutely not. The Fender VG and the Variax does process each string individually, and you'd think for the crazy money they want from the Fender, they would include a 13 pin output. Nope. They have the pickup, not the jack.

For less than the cost of most Moog pedals you can add a Roland GK pickup to any guitar and buy a midi interface to trigger synths all day. Its a lot of fun, too.

 

[James Rock]

Re: computer sounds

Absolutely not. The Fender VG and the Variax does process each string individually, and you'd think for the crazy money they want from the Fender, they would include a 13 pin output. Nope. They have the pickup, not the jack.

I'm sure I saw a godin guitar a little while back in a guitar magazine that had 3 outputs one for electric, one for piezo and a 13 pin out for connection to synths.