Brian Johnston
07-13-2011, 05:44 AM
PART I
Pete Townsend and Jimi Hendrix. In the 1960s these two musicians set a new standard for guitar playing, demonstrating what can be done beyond the usual riffs and lead licks. With enough amplification and overdrive, the tones they produced were revolutionary to say the least. And it wasn’t just the distortion or fuzz, since other bands and guitarists were using pedals of the day to generate something beyond the usual clean twanging that was common with earlier classic rock n’ roll. Rather, it was the feedback and unusual sustain that perked our ears and aroused curiosity.
Feedback was used in the 1950s with the likes of Albert Collins and Johnny Watson, and likely was used first in rock music with the Beatles’ 1964 hit ‘I Feel Fine.’ But it was Townsend and Hendrix that set the wailing standard for modern rock guitarists to emulate (taken to extremes, in 1975 Lou Reed created his album Metal Machine Music entirely on feedback loops played at various speeds).
Feedback occurs during high volumes when a sound loop exists between an audio input (such as a guitar pickup) and an audio output (the speaker). In effect, a signal is received from a guitar that passes to a speaker, and then that signal is received back to the guitar, amplified further, and then out through the speaker again. This is achieved rather easily when holding a guitar close to a turned up amplifier, as Townsend, Hendrix and Beck did regularly. In fact, Hendrix’s entire solo performance on the song ‘Can You See Me?’ at the Monterey Pop Festival was created using feedback.
Feedback has become such an enigma and standard in modern guitar playing that devices have been developed specifically to produce the effect, including built-in pickups that increase a guitar’s sonic sustain and sonic transducers that you mount on a guitar head. A more common device is the Ebow, which focuses on a sympathetic oscillating magnetic field on a single string that causes it to vibrate, thus producing various tones and textures, including feedback sustain. One problem with the Ebow as an effective soloing tool is that it concentrates on only one string at a time and it needs to be held in the hand, which makes it very difficult, if not impossible, to alternate with regular picking, when using a guitar’s vibrato arm, etc. – in other words, when you use the Ebow that is all you use for a particular segment of music; you do not work it back and forth with standard picking/fingering technique unless there is a long enough lull in a composition so that you can set it down and resume picking. As well, though the Ebow works from nut to bridge, the signal strength is best and clearest only when it is held in the ‘sweet spot’ near the neck pickup; otherwise the effect is far less audible or not as desired. And as you glide, bounce and wiggle the device around to achieve different effects, the Ebow’s emitter may move off the string and silence ensues. Finally, because it is battery operated, the Ebow’s magnetic field is only so strong and will weaken as the battery weakens. My intention is not to slam the Ebow, as it truly is a unique and nifty little gadget, but for the serious musician wanting (natural sounding) feedback and sustain integrated with regular playing it has obvious shortcomings.
Now, if we consider other options, most guitarists are unwilling to affix specialized pickups or other gear directly in a guitar (thus losing the characteristics of the hardware and tone already there), and so we return to the usual way of achieving feedback – playing at high levels. This is not practical for the millions of people who play in their homes, or for many studio musicians or even bands practicing without enduring ear strain (ask Pete Townsend about his!). But even on stage good reproducible feedback conditions are a hit and miss, particularly if you’re not standing close enough to the speakers. And as a guitarist fiddles with the volume settings while playing in order to achieve feedback levels he can exceed the volume of the band.
Stepping up to the challenge to produce sustain and reproducible feedback is the Guitar Resonator, developed and created by Markus Pahl, an accomplished guitarist who was interested in electronics from an early age and who tried to achieve unique and different sounds from the norm. Markus started designing guitars, tube amps, speaker simulators and effects devices when he joined a band that had to practice in an apartment – where it was necessary to jam with everyone plugged into a mixer and while using headphones. He wanted that authentic guitar sound with feedback, but achieving as much was difficult since at the time there were no amp simulators or anything else available to fulfill his demands. He continued his electronics experiments with homemade speaker simulators to get that driving guitar sound at lower volumes, which he did achieve with some success. But what still was missing was a typical passing into feedback of a cranked tube amp and that distinctive liveliness and fullness when turning a Marshall on ‘number 11.’
Alas, with a bit more engineering experimentation, the Guitar Resonator (GR-1) was born and eventually patented. This device not only is a new effect, if you want to call it that, but it has created a new way of playing – in other words, the sounds we hear from guitarists not only is the result of the gear being used, but the technique and styling of the guitarist – the Guitar Resonator’s characteristics become as unique as the guitarist using it. For the less talented and newer guitar player, that is a negative, but for the experienced guitarist, it takes little time to create a new fingerprint.
This harmonic feedback generator can be used concurrently with regular playing, unlike other string drivers like the Ebow. Whether at home, on stage or in the recording studio, this alien-like flexible goose-neck device attaches to a standard mic stand and looks like something that emerged from War of the Worlds (The GR-1 standard package includes a stand for direct use, but you can attach it to a regular mic stand if you want to use it and a microphone at the same time). The adjustable gooseneck flexes to any position to accommodate any height guitar player and for specific placement; and best of all, the dynamics work at your command without having to hold anything.
What I think most guitarists will appreciate is that although this is a high end product, it still is very affordable and can be used by hobbyists quite effectively. Perhaps a bit more expensive than most pedals, this is not a pedal, but a device that enhances one’s playing on an intricate scale.
The GR-1 can be used with headphones and when using PC-based recording and sound simulators, like Guitar Rig, Amplitube plug-ins, etc., to create more realistic and dynamic tones and playing. And for working musicians, it can be used with amplifiers, or direct into a PA system for bands wanting to tame overall sound volume and mix. Imagine recording music at low volumes and getting some incredible feedback at any time!
Pete Townsend and Jimi Hendrix. In the 1960s these two musicians set a new standard for guitar playing, demonstrating what can be done beyond the usual riffs and lead licks. With enough amplification and overdrive, the tones they produced were revolutionary to say the least. And it wasn’t just the distortion or fuzz, since other bands and guitarists were using pedals of the day to generate something beyond the usual clean twanging that was common with earlier classic rock n’ roll. Rather, it was the feedback and unusual sustain that perked our ears and aroused curiosity.
Feedback was used in the 1950s with the likes of Albert Collins and Johnny Watson, and likely was used first in rock music with the Beatles’ 1964 hit ‘I Feel Fine.’ But it was Townsend and Hendrix that set the wailing standard for modern rock guitarists to emulate (taken to extremes, in 1975 Lou Reed created his album Metal Machine Music entirely on feedback loops played at various speeds).
Feedback occurs during high volumes when a sound loop exists between an audio input (such as a guitar pickup) and an audio output (the speaker). In effect, a signal is received from a guitar that passes to a speaker, and then that signal is received back to the guitar, amplified further, and then out through the speaker again. This is achieved rather easily when holding a guitar close to a turned up amplifier, as Townsend, Hendrix and Beck did regularly. In fact, Hendrix’s entire solo performance on the song ‘Can You See Me?’ at the Monterey Pop Festival was created using feedback.
Feedback has become such an enigma and standard in modern guitar playing that devices have been developed specifically to produce the effect, including built-in pickups that increase a guitar’s sonic sustain and sonic transducers that you mount on a guitar head. A more common device is the Ebow, which focuses on a sympathetic oscillating magnetic field on a single string that causes it to vibrate, thus producing various tones and textures, including feedback sustain. One problem with the Ebow as an effective soloing tool is that it concentrates on only one string at a time and it needs to be held in the hand, which makes it very difficult, if not impossible, to alternate with regular picking, when using a guitar’s vibrato arm, etc. – in other words, when you use the Ebow that is all you use for a particular segment of music; you do not work it back and forth with standard picking/fingering technique unless there is a long enough lull in a composition so that you can set it down and resume picking. As well, though the Ebow works from nut to bridge, the signal strength is best and clearest only when it is held in the ‘sweet spot’ near the neck pickup; otherwise the effect is far less audible or not as desired. And as you glide, bounce and wiggle the device around to achieve different effects, the Ebow’s emitter may move off the string and silence ensues. Finally, because it is battery operated, the Ebow’s magnetic field is only so strong and will weaken as the battery weakens. My intention is not to slam the Ebow, as it truly is a unique and nifty little gadget, but for the serious musician wanting (natural sounding) feedback and sustain integrated with regular playing it has obvious shortcomings.
Now, if we consider other options, most guitarists are unwilling to affix specialized pickups or other gear directly in a guitar (thus losing the characteristics of the hardware and tone already there), and so we return to the usual way of achieving feedback – playing at high levels. This is not practical for the millions of people who play in their homes, or for many studio musicians or even bands practicing without enduring ear strain (ask Pete Townsend about his!). But even on stage good reproducible feedback conditions are a hit and miss, particularly if you’re not standing close enough to the speakers. And as a guitarist fiddles with the volume settings while playing in order to achieve feedback levels he can exceed the volume of the band.
Stepping up to the challenge to produce sustain and reproducible feedback is the Guitar Resonator, developed and created by Markus Pahl, an accomplished guitarist who was interested in electronics from an early age and who tried to achieve unique and different sounds from the norm. Markus started designing guitars, tube amps, speaker simulators and effects devices when he joined a band that had to practice in an apartment – where it was necessary to jam with everyone plugged into a mixer and while using headphones. He wanted that authentic guitar sound with feedback, but achieving as much was difficult since at the time there were no amp simulators or anything else available to fulfill his demands. He continued his electronics experiments with homemade speaker simulators to get that driving guitar sound at lower volumes, which he did achieve with some success. But what still was missing was a typical passing into feedback of a cranked tube amp and that distinctive liveliness and fullness when turning a Marshall on ‘number 11.’
Alas, with a bit more engineering experimentation, the Guitar Resonator (GR-1) was born and eventually patented. This device not only is a new effect, if you want to call it that, but it has created a new way of playing – in other words, the sounds we hear from guitarists not only is the result of the gear being used, but the technique and styling of the guitarist – the Guitar Resonator’s characteristics become as unique as the guitarist using it. For the less talented and newer guitar player, that is a negative, but for the experienced guitarist, it takes little time to create a new fingerprint.
This harmonic feedback generator can be used concurrently with regular playing, unlike other string drivers like the Ebow. Whether at home, on stage or in the recording studio, this alien-like flexible goose-neck device attaches to a standard mic stand and looks like something that emerged from War of the Worlds (The GR-1 standard package includes a stand for direct use, but you can attach it to a regular mic stand if you want to use it and a microphone at the same time). The adjustable gooseneck flexes to any position to accommodate any height guitar player and for specific placement; and best of all, the dynamics work at your command without having to hold anything.
What I think most guitarists will appreciate is that although this is a high end product, it still is very affordable and can be used by hobbyists quite effectively. Perhaps a bit more expensive than most pedals, this is not a pedal, but a device that enhances one’s playing on an intricate scale.
The GR-1 can be used with headphones and when using PC-based recording and sound simulators, like Guitar Rig, Amplitube plug-ins, etc., to create more realistic and dynamic tones and playing. And for working musicians, it can be used with amplifiers, or direct into a PA system for bands wanting to tame overall sound volume and mix. Imagine recording music at low volumes and getting some incredible feedback at any time!