Ring modulator pedals?
- Thread starter lex666
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PFDarkside
of the Forum
Re: Ring modulator pedals?
I'm partial to the Electro Harmonix Frequency Analyzer, it's got fine tune, blend and a filter to remove the upper note for smoother sounds. No LFO unlike the Moog, so if that's part of the ring mod sound for you then it won't work. Check out the video on EHX's site.
The Zvex Ringtone is a sequenced ring mod that's really cool. Check out his video online. It's more than your budget though. Also the Alesis Bitrmn (I think that's the spelling) is a cheap but discontinued option you can find on ebay. Finaly Studio Electronics Modmax Ring Mod is pretty whacked out, but expensive as well.
I'm partial to the Electro Harmonix Frequency Analyzer, it's got fine tune, blend and a filter to remove the upper note for smoother sounds. No LFO unlike the Moog, so if that's part of the ring mod sound for you then it won't work. Check out the video on EHX's site.
The Zvex Ringtone is a sequenced ring mod that's really cool. Check out his video online. It's more than your budget though. Also the Alesis Bitrmn (I think that's the spelling) is a cheap but discontinued option you can find on ebay. Finaly Studio Electronics Modmax Ring Mod is pretty whacked out, but expensive as well.
M
MetalMike_II
Guest
Re: Ring modulator pedals?
what's wrong with the Moog? no one on this forum seems to like em or wants to spend the little bit extra.
don't want the Moog Ring Mod? Get the Moog Phaser. It does ring mod, too, and well. Plus, you'll be getting the best phaser there is. And you can use 4 expression pedals with it. Only phaser I've seen that has a sweep control. It flanges, too.
it's weird. Mention Moog and people go "meh." But they're fantastic.
?
(shrug)
what's wrong with the Moog? no one on this forum seems to like em or wants to spend the little bit extra.
don't want the Moog Ring Mod? Get the Moog Phaser. It does ring mod, too, and well. Plus, you'll be getting the best phaser there is. And you can use 4 expression pedals with it. Only phaser I've seen that has a sweep control. It flanges, too.
it's weird. Mention Moog and people go "meh." But they're fantastic.
?
(shrug)
baritone
Well-known member
Re: Ring modulator pedals?
The EHx Frequency Analyzer is a good ring modualtor pedal. I have an old DOD Gonkulator Modulator, which kind of sucks compared to the EHx, but I chose it due to the novelty factor. I also noticed that the Boss BF-3, Ibanez PM-7, an Ibanez CF-7 make ring modualtor sounds. The Boss Flanger is more tweakable.
The EHx Frequency Analyzer is a good ring modualtor pedal. I have an old DOD Gonkulator Modulator, which kind of sucks compared to the EHx, but I chose it due to the novelty factor. I also noticed that the Boss BF-3, Ibanez PM-7, an Ibanez CF-7 make ring modualtor sounds. The Boss Flanger is more tweakable.
PFDarkside
of the Forum
Re: Ring modulator pedals?
Well, they are by nature, atonal effects. Other than the great reverend, Billy Gibbons it's not really an effect I'd see most blues, classic and heavy rock musicians owning and using frequently.
These videos made me want one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghWg-JtYZM0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT5-yXaLpwA
Well, they are by nature, atonal effects. Other than the great reverend, Billy Gibbons it's not really an effect I'd see most blues, classic and heavy rock musicians owning and using frequently.
These videos made me want one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghWg-JtYZM0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT5-yXaLpwA
Rich_S
HomeGrownToneBrewologist
Re: Ring modulator pedals?
Build Your Own Clone has a kit that's the old Dan Armstrong Green Ringer and Orange Squeezer rolled into one stomp box.
The Green Ringer is a minimally-adjustable ring modulator. Might not be tweakable enough for you, but I thought I'd throw it out there.
Build Your Own Clone has a kit that's the old Dan Armstrong Green Ringer and Orange Squeezer rolled into one stomp box.
The Green Ringer is a minimally-adjustable ring modulator. Might not be tweakable enough for you, but I thought I'd throw it out there.
Re: Ring modulator pedals?
The Moog is hands down the best choice and I think well worth the money over the other options like the EHX, however that said, I personally didn't really find I enjoyed the effect enough to make it worth the money so I didn't keep any LOL
I love effects as much (or more than) the next guy but the ring mod sounds just didn't seem as cool after a couple of days
The Moog is hands down the best choice and I think well worth the money over the other options like the EHX, however that said, I personally didn't really find I enjoyed the effect enough to make it worth the money so I didn't keep any LOL
I love effects as much (or more than) the next guy but the ring mod sounds just didn't seem as cool after a couple of days
M
MetalMike_II
Guest
Re: Ring modulator pedals?
Science Fiction sonics. Disregarding the scientific definition of the effect for half a moment....Let's keep it to faux-, quasi-, or pseudo-ring mod and it's musical applications. Simulation. Po' man ring mod.
Imagine yer favorite phaser/flanger's speed knob had such a range that it could go past stun, past Capt. Kirk's phaser's kill setting, past death ray gun up into 200+ cycles a second. Most won't go that high, some get close. EDIT: better yet, imagine a super fast TREMOLO instead of a phaser/flanger.
But, depth at subtle, like almost zero. And imagine you could select the freq range that gets harmonically excited or delayed, as various phase/flange knobs will allow. No bleepity-boop lows or grindy, seizury highs, but subtle, mid-rangey hyper-gurgles. Sub-tull, though.
Taint yer clean signal with it, and slowly arpeggiate. Ah. Nirvanic transportation....Or, go crazy with it, run a synth through it, yadda.
If ya do house, ambient, or Jean Michel Jarre stuff, it's almost required equipo.
I heard such soundtracking (I bet it was a fast phaser though) done well on a last year's slower episode of Battlestar Galactica for a lovey-dovey in the sun-dappled garden type of scene involving the leggy blonde Cylon and the ultra-heinous Baltar, who gets more pussy-willow than the rest of the cast and me (over the last 10 years) combined, the bastard. It sounded so nice that I wanted whatever that composer was using -- though I'm sure my Moog can do it. Maybe it was that blonde Cylon working on me. Sounded magical; not lush like a chorus--no, it was the soft hyper-gurgle-tainted arpeggiation that spoke to me. I've had other phasers/flangers with such a speed range, too. Boss, MXR. My yellow Ibanez flanger falls way short, but it's so warm that I forgive it. It can't do it. All of this is simulated, not true ring mod. I don't know the derivation of "ring" mod, what it actually means.
Anyone?
oh, here we go:
Ring modulation is a signal-processing effect in electronics, related to amplitude modulation or frequency mixing, performed by multiplying two signals, where one is typically a sine-wave or another simple waveform. It is referred to as "ring" modulation because the analog circuit of diodes originally used to implement this technique took the shape of a ring. This circuit is similar to a bridge rectifier, except that instead of the diodes facing "left" or "right", they go "clockwise" or "anti-clockwise"...Ring modulators combine (or heterodyne) two waveforms, and output the sum and difference of the frequencies present in each waveform. This process of ring modulation produces a signal rich in overtones, suitable for producing bell-like or otherwise metallic sounds...
...A ring modulator effect is added to the guitar solo in the song "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath.
In one of the lineups during the 1970s electric period of Miles Davis, Chick Corea played a Rhodes piano through a ring modulator. This gave the distinctive electric piano a very different and unusual sound. It can be seen and heard on a DVD release of Davis' performance at the Isle of Wight...
...Jon Lord from Deep Purple often used the Ring Modulator with his Hammond organ during live shows (Made in Japan, California Jam)...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_modulation
Whatever. It's all about leggy blonde Cylons.
Science Fiction sonics. Disregarding the scientific definition of the effect for half a moment....Let's keep it to faux-, quasi-, or pseudo-ring mod and it's musical applications. Simulation. Po' man ring mod.
Imagine yer favorite phaser/flanger's speed knob had such a range that it could go past stun, past Capt. Kirk's phaser's kill setting, past death ray gun up into 200+ cycles a second. Most won't go that high, some get close. EDIT: better yet, imagine a super fast TREMOLO instead of a phaser/flanger.
But, depth at subtle, like almost zero. And imagine you could select the freq range that gets harmonically excited or delayed, as various phase/flange knobs will allow. No bleepity-boop lows or grindy, seizury highs, but subtle, mid-rangey hyper-gurgles. Sub-tull, though.
Taint yer clean signal with it, and slowly arpeggiate. Ah. Nirvanic transportation....Or, go crazy with it, run a synth through it, yadda.
If ya do house, ambient, or Jean Michel Jarre stuff, it's almost required equipo.
I heard such soundtracking (I bet it was a fast phaser though) done well on a last year's slower episode of Battlestar Galactica for a lovey-dovey in the sun-dappled garden type of scene involving the leggy blonde Cylon and the ultra-heinous Baltar, who gets more pussy-willow than the rest of the cast and me (over the last 10 years) combined, the bastard. It sounded so nice that I wanted whatever that composer was using -- though I'm sure my Moog can do it. Maybe it was that blonde Cylon working on me. Sounded magical; not lush like a chorus--no, it was the soft hyper-gurgle-tainted arpeggiation that spoke to me. I've had other phasers/flangers with such a speed range, too. Boss, MXR. My yellow Ibanez flanger falls way short, but it's so warm that I forgive it. It can't do it. All of this is simulated, not true ring mod. I don't know the derivation of "ring" mod, what it actually means.
Anyone?
oh, here we go:
Ring modulation is a signal-processing effect in electronics, related to amplitude modulation or frequency mixing, performed by multiplying two signals, where one is typically a sine-wave or another simple waveform. It is referred to as "ring" modulation because the analog circuit of diodes originally used to implement this technique took the shape of a ring. This circuit is similar to a bridge rectifier, except that instead of the diodes facing "left" or "right", they go "clockwise" or "anti-clockwise"...Ring modulators combine (or heterodyne) two waveforms, and output the sum and difference of the frequencies present in each waveform. This process of ring modulation produces a signal rich in overtones, suitable for producing bell-like or otherwise metallic sounds...
...A ring modulator effect is added to the guitar solo in the song "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath.
In one of the lineups during the 1970s electric period of Miles Davis, Chick Corea played a Rhodes piano through a ring modulator. This gave the distinctive electric piano a very different and unusual sound. It can be seen and heard on a DVD release of Davis' performance at the Isle of Wight...
...Jon Lord from Deep Purple often used the Ring Modulator with his Hammond organ during live shows (Made in Japan, California Jam)...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_modulation
Whatever. It's all about leggy blonde Cylons.
Last edited:
lex666
New member
Re: Ring modulator pedals?
Yep, I'm gonna use for my covers of Paranoid, Dope Show, and The Beautiful People.
I've tried simulating this effect with my Digitech Whammy - not doin' it.
Someone suggested tweaking the setting on a BF3 flanger. I have that, but never tried to get a ring mod sound out of it. I'll have to experiment.
Otherwise, the Moog is actually at the top of my list. I'm a little weary about spending $200+ on a single effect for just a few songs, but I guess thats what us tone connisuers are all about...
Yep, I'm gonna use for my covers of Paranoid, Dope Show, and The Beautiful People.
I've tried simulating this effect with my Digitech Whammy - not doin' it.
Someone suggested tweaking the setting on a BF3 flanger. I have that, but never tried to get a ring mod sound out of it. I'll have to experiment.
Otherwise, the Moog is actually at the top of my list. I'm a little weary about spending $200+ on a single effect for just a few songs, but I guess thats what us tone connisuers are all about...
M
MetalMike_II
Guest
baritone
Well-known member
Re: Ring modulator pedals?
Like better ring modulators, the BF-3 can kind of be "tuned". If you set it to "Gate/Pan" and use either of the 2 output jacks alone, then crank up the rate, it sounds like a ring modulator. Adjusting the other knobs of the pedal lets you fine-tune the pitch and tone of this sound. I don't imagine this was an intended feature, but it is a lot more usable than the Gonkulator. I have an old Korg multi-effect unit with a ring modulator effect. This one is totally tweakable, plus with parameters assignable to the rocker pedal.
As described above, ring modualtors produce sci-fi sounds. They can make your guitar sound like some sort of zapper or like pots and pans banging. A ring modulator is used during the 1st verse of A Perfect Circle's "The Hollow".
Like better ring modulators, the BF-3 can kind of be "tuned". If you set it to "Gate/Pan" and use either of the 2 output jacks alone, then crank up the rate, it sounds like a ring modulator. Adjusting the other knobs of the pedal lets you fine-tune the pitch and tone of this sound. I don't imagine this was an intended feature, but it is a lot more usable than the Gonkulator. I have an old Korg multi-effect unit with a ring modulator effect. This one is totally tweakable, plus with parameters assignable to the rocker pedal.
As described above, ring modualtors produce sci-fi sounds. They can make your guitar sound like some sort of zapper or like pots and pans banging. A ring modulator is used during the 1st verse of A Perfect Circle's "The Hollow".
M
MetalMike_II
Guest
Re: Ring modulator pedals?
+1 to the BF-3's gate/pan in mono only.
Fast = ring moddy
Slow = tremoloish. Not a real wuh-wuh-wuh tremolo, but a gated one. It cuts out, with silence in between the peaks cuz you don't have the other half of the stereo signal to be able to hear the crests (EDIT: troughs). So, when playing just a power chord and letting it ring out, you get chuk-chuk-chuk-chuk-chook-chook-chook-chook-cheek-cheek-cheek-cheek-chike-chike-chike-chike....If you play along with the tempo of it, it sounds reeeeaaally cool.
Wrote a song around that feature. For now it's called "Chuk-chuk-chuk-chuk-chook-chook-chook-chook-cheek-cheek-cheek-cheek-chike-chike-chike-chike."
Hey y'all! Don't ring mods and tremolos do the same thing? But one is fast and the other is slow?
+1 to the BF-3's gate/pan in mono only.
Fast = ring moddy
Slow = tremoloish. Not a real wuh-wuh-wuh tremolo, but a gated one. It cuts out, with silence in between the peaks cuz you don't have the other half of the stereo signal to be able to hear the crests (EDIT: troughs). So, when playing just a power chord and letting it ring out, you get chuk-chuk-chuk-chuk-chook-chook-chook-chook-cheek-cheek-cheek-cheek-chike-chike-chike-chike....If you play along with the tempo of it, it sounds reeeeaaally cool.
Wrote a song around that feature. For now it's called "Chuk-chuk-chuk-chuk-chook-chook-chook-chook-cheek-cheek-cheek-cheek-chike-chike-chike-chike."
Hey y'all! Don't ring mods and tremolos do the same thing? But one is fast and the other is slow?
PFDarkside
of the Forum
Re: Ring modulator pedals?
No. Ring Mods create lower and upper frequencies based on a set internal frequency. You can incorporate an LFO (Moog) to change that frequency but what you guys are describing is a quasi ring mod tone. Sure it'll buzz and get weird sounds, but can you get the bell like tones of a properly tuned ring mod? To me that's the cool part, not turning a trem to ultra high rate and having your guitar tone turn to bee buzz. Listen to the ring mod part of the Paranoid solo, it sounds nothing like a Flanger turned to ultra high rate, it's a pitch shifted effect that can only be achieved with a ring mod. If you want that quasi ring mod tone then buy a cheapie Ibanez Tone-Lock CF7, it's "whacked" switch does all that.
M
MetalMike_II
Guest
Re: Ring modulator pedals?
Quote:
Originally Posted by MetalMike_II
Hey y'all! Don't ring mods and tremolos do the same thing? But one is fast and the other is slow?
ring mod = amplitude modulation - not freq modulation? and super-duper fast
tremolo = also amplitude modulation - but slow
in the last bit about the flanger's stereo gate/pan in mono, it creates a stuttering effect, a la a tremolo. Not talking about flanging right then, and it doesn't go fast enough anyway to do fake ring mod. But it does sound neat. My input there was off topic just a smidge.
but yeah, on all the rest of the crap I wrote about phasers & flangers that go super-duper-pooper fast (and most don't except the Moog phaser at 250 cycles per second and maybe a handful of others) I definitely meant *fake* ring-mod. But the Moog Phaser does a really good fake. Like Academy Award winning fake. Cuz it's soooo fast. Yeah, it does sound nice and bell-like and not buzzy.
are you comparing the Moog Phaser's ring mod spoof to "a cheapie Ibanez Tone-Lock CF7?"
Quote:
Originally Posted by MetalMike_II
Hey y'all! Don't ring mods and tremolos do the same thing? But one is fast and the other is slow?
ring mod = amplitude modulation - not freq modulation? and super-duper fast
tremolo = also amplitude modulation - but slow
in the last bit about the flanger's stereo gate/pan in mono, it creates a stuttering effect, a la a tremolo. Not talking about flanging right then, and it doesn't go fast enough anyway to do fake ring mod. But it does sound neat. My input there was off topic just a smidge.
but yeah, on all the rest of the crap I wrote about phasers & flangers that go super-duper-pooper fast (and most don't except the Moog phaser at 250 cycles per second and maybe a handful of others) I definitely meant *fake* ring-mod. But the Moog Phaser does a really good fake. Like Academy Award winning fake. Cuz it's soooo fast. Yeah, it does sound nice and bell-like and not buzzy.
are you comparing the Moog Phaser's ring mod spoof to "a cheapie Ibanez Tone-Lock CF7?"
PFDarkside
of the Forum
Re: Ring modulator pedals?
A ring mod works like this: You 've got two inputs, and the output is the sum of the two frequencies and the difference of the two frequencies. Usually the first frequency is an internal oscillator (carrier) that can be tuned, and the second is your guitar input. Here's an example:
Ring Mod freq: 220Hz
Guitar: A440Hz
Output: 220Hz and 660Hz. (An octave below your guitar's A and a fifth above)
If you crank the internal frequency very low or very high, the difference turns into basically an LFO (0.5-3Hz or so) and that's where you get the tremolo effect. Obviously depending on the range of the oscillator you can get a wide range of speeds. The shape is different than a standard tremolo just by the nature of how the volume modulation is being created.
I believe then on top of that, the Moog Ring Mod has an additional LFO to modulate the frequency of the internal carrier wave.
I've never heard the Moog Phaser doing the pseudo-ring mod thing, I'm sure it's beautiful, all those Moogerfoogers sound great. But see the difference? Pan the solo of Paranoid all the way right and I think you'll find you need a real ring mod to do that sound.
A ring mod works like this: You 've got two inputs, and the output is the sum of the two frequencies and the difference of the two frequencies. Usually the first frequency is an internal oscillator (carrier) that can be tuned, and the second is your guitar input. Here's an example:
Ring Mod freq: 220Hz
Guitar: A440Hz
Output: 220Hz and 660Hz. (An octave below your guitar's A and a fifth above)
If you crank the internal frequency very low or very high, the difference turns into basically an LFO (0.5-3Hz or so) and that's where you get the tremolo effect. Obviously depending on the range of the oscillator you can get a wide range of speeds. The shape is different than a standard tremolo just by the nature of how the volume modulation is being created.
I believe then on top of that, the Moog Ring Mod has an additional LFO to modulate the frequency of the internal carrier wave.
I've never heard the Moog Phaser doing the pseudo-ring mod thing, I'm sure it's beautiful, all those Moogerfoogers sound great. But see the difference? Pan the solo of Paranoid all the way right and I think you'll find you need a real ring mod to do that sound.
baritone
Well-known member
Re: Ring modulator pedals?
Ring modualtors use a mathematic algorithm rather than a sonic algorithm. That's why the sound is not very musical. In the instance of flangers, phasers, tremolos, and the "reverse" mode of the Boss DD-20, the ring modulator sounds are the result of glitches from pushing the parameters too hard. As far as I know, there is no risk of damage in doing this, so I go with whatever I have hooked up at the time.
Ring modualtors use a mathematic algorithm rather than a sonic algorithm. That's why the sound is not very musical. In the instance of flangers, phasers, tremolos, and the "reverse" mode of the Boss DD-20, the ring modulator sounds are the result of glitches from pushing the parameters too hard. As far as I know, there is no risk of damage in doing this, so I go with whatever I have hooked up at the time.
the guy who invented fire
Fuzzy. Guitars
Re: Ring modulator pedals?
:smack:
:smack:
