How to get "broken speaker(?)" sound in a recent a la

[TimWalter]

Hi guys and gals.

Not sure where to post this, but i think is is a production or mixing effect rather than performance effect, if not feel free to correct me.

In a recent listing, a Raconteurs song was given as an a la. Link below. This is for Blues Rock song for a Sports theme type listing.

In the video listed, for about 5 seconds there is a breakdown and all can be heard is Jack White's guitar being played through I can only describe as a badly broken speaker. It fits with the genre, and when the rest of the band comes in, it seems (to me) the effect was either attenuated or eliminated. It really works for a temporary effect, and I would like to be able to add this move to my toolbox for future listings where it might be appropriate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lL1CW140FQ

The effect I am speaking of comes in at 1:45 of the video. I would guess there are plugins that will do that, if anyone has a recommendation as to the best one(s) pls share if you feel generous (lol).

Just curious how to best duplicate this (without jamming a pencil in a speaker cone, a la I think it was DIck Dale lol)

Thanks and best regards.
tim

[andygabrys]

to me its a fuzz tone pedal.

its got the trademark sound of that.

it might be either a bass guitar played through a fuzz tone, or a guitar with an octaver effect (maybe post fuzz tone) with a little high octave and mostly low octave.

[mojobone]

A germanium fuzz, to be specific; maybe an octave fuzz. Only a few of them can manage to sound that broken, LOL

The trick to getting that sound is adjusting the guitar's volume relative to the fuzz knob on your pedal to get that almost ring-modulated dying-transistor sound. It helps if the fuzz is first in your signal chain, cuz any buffers between the two will mess up the interactions.

You'll probably have to buy or audition a few different fuzzes, to get there. I own and know of some boxes that'll get you close; they're mostly not commonly available, except on the used/vintage market, but this one might be just the thing.

http://proguitarshop.com/video-reviews/ ... #?type=182

Or this: http://proguitarshop.com/mxr-csp203-la- ... -fuzz.html

There's also a version of La Machine with a sub octave you can blend in, called the SubMachine.


Oh, and that wasn't Dick Dale; he gets his tone by brute force and some long-ago personal collaborations with the late Leo Fender. (Dick was among the first endorsers of Leo's space-age invention) The guy you're thinking of is Link Wray, and he used a razor blade to reproduce a sound originally made by a broken tube at a dance that reportedly nearly caused a riot, hence the title of his legendary 'stroll' number that we know today as "Rumble". (there's a scene in John Waters' Cry Baby, loosely based on the incident and featuring Link's original version) The record was actually banned in some southern states, for fear of...mosh pits or sex orgies, I'm not sure which. Of course, there's also a similar story involving Dave Davies of the Kinks, who reportedly used a pencil to partially demolish a speaker to get the tone heard on "You Really Got Me". I suppose both stories could be true, LOL

[TimWalter]

Thanks Andy and Mojo. Very insightful and helpful.
And yes, mojo, I should have said Link Wray.. brain fart...
Thanks and regards.
Tim