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NICE WORK, BROTHER! YOU'VE GIVEN A YEAR'S WORTH OF IDEAS AND EXPERIMENTS...IT'LL KEEP ME BUSY FOR SURE. YOURS IN TONE, TIM WWW.MYSPACE/TIMMUNGENAST -----Original Message----- >From: "loop.pool" <looppool@cruzio.com> >Sent: Feb 23, 2006 6:15 AM >To: "LOOPERS DELIGHT (posting)" <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com> >Cc: "Rick Walker/Loop.pooL" <looppool@cruzio.com>, Mr Dick ><purplehand@hotmail.com> >Subject: Percussive Sounds on El. Guitar > >I am not a conventional electric guitarist but I own two strats and two >mini toy electric guitars (that are nonetheless playable) and I mostly >play >these instruments as 'found objects'. > >I come from a percussion/drumset tradition originally with a heavy >emphasis >on world rhythms, >odd times and polyrhtyms so I exploit electric (and acoustic) instruments >a >lot for rhythm looping >effects. > >I agree with Max about not trying to get a drum set out of the electric >or >acoustic (although if you think of the >sounds as being part of an analogue drum machine the comparison is a bit >more accurate). > >An important thing to remember is that a drumset exploits hi sounds, >midrange sounds (which tend to have >longer envelopes) and bass sounds. > >If you think of the guitar as a percussion instrument, the important >thing >to remember is that most great >and complex percussion instruments have at least two ranges of sound: >lo >and hi, if not three ranges of >sound, like a drumset-----lo, midrange and hi. > >remember that even if you dont' have a cheap harmonizer that you can use >rapid tonal control >by either rolling off hi end and rolling on bass frequencies or even >rolling >off all hi and lo frequencies and maximizing >midrange frequencies (telephone effect) to radically change the sound of >your electric guitar percussion ensemple. > >Even a good wah wah pedal can be utilized to change or sweep the >frequency >characteristics of a your percussion noises. > >Speaking of cheap harmonizer pedals. The cheapest ones I've found are in >the $200 range: >the Digitech Red Whammy pedal and the Digitech Vocal 300 each have a >footpedal sweepable >harmonizer in them (with pretty low fidelity-------though I like them, >myself). > > >**************************** >and a quick mention about beaters on strings: > >Whenever I go touring I always take a couple of packets of those cheap >blue >swizzle Tiki head plastic swizzle sticks that they sell >(10 or so to a package). > >They are amazing because they act exactly like a hammer dulcimer >hammer.........in other words if you hold at the small end and just >let the Tiki head fall on the string it will bounce rapidly like a hammer >dulcimer or a kanun. > >Additionally, I use the back flat side of the plastic Tiki head as a >slide, >so that stick can be switched rapidly changing from a >sticking instrument to a slide instrument. > >If you are using two of these up hi near the bridge you can avail >yourself >of the closeness of the harmonics and switch one of the sticks to become >a >mini slide while the other one keeps hammering. > >Speaking of that devil, Hammer Dulcimer hammers are incredible on >guitars.......they are designed to have rapid multiple bounces which is >amazing for rapid rhythmic work. > >While we are on the subject, another wonderful aleatory rhtyhmic device >that I've used (and was inspired by Michael Haumesser who I believe was >inspired orignally by Fred Frith) is to take those metal chinese balls >that >are used for hand exercises and roll >them down the strings. > >Many sounds like snare drums, have a longer envelope (especially when a >reverb or gated reverb is added). If you are using >an Echoplex in INS = SUB mode and OVERDUB = SUS mode, you can roll the >large balls down the strings (really cool if you've already prepared the >strings nearest the bridge with things like forks, knives, alligator >clips, >et. al.) and then hold down >the INSert or the OVERDUB buttons down just when you want your sound to >occur rhythmically. > >You can get really unusual ersatz 'snare' drum sounds by using this >technique. > >I've seen people use very small BBs or tiny ball bearings (although this >is >just a mess to clean up quickly on stage at festivals---------trust me, >I"ve >tried it a couple of times) or, as I saw Fred Frith do once in Santa >Cruz, >rice or other grains and just drop >them on the strings. Again, utilized with the INS = SUB and OVRDB = >SUS >modes you can take a longer event and only >capture a bit of it. > >Remember too, that if you use an Echoplex, that you can use Silence as a >Replace or Substitue mode to create 'negative' rhythms. >Sometimes using INS = SUB and hitting the INS button rapidly only the >offbeats can chop up a more complex rhythm you've already >recorded with the insertion of rhytymic silence. This sounds better >on >off beats rather than on beats. > >I love playing very long envelope sounds but only grabbing slight bits of >them while using INS = SUB. >Sorry to mention the EDP so much but this instrument is probably the best >of >all loopers at creating rhythmic effects and slicing and dicing the loops >you make. > >I also use resampling from one looper to another in rhythmic ways which >really enhances percussive electric guitar playing (or any instrument, of >course). > >************************ >One last idea................................play the guitar percussively >with your fingers, rings, utensils, mallets (try different types to get >different timbres and different attack characteristics with one hand on >your >volume knob or rocking a volume pedal with your foot. >Play this constantly and rhythmically as you play and loop. > >In Indonsesia, they have the rhythmic concept of IRAMA which means that >every note of the syncopative resolution (lowest note value in your >rhythm) >is played. > >If you are playing radically different techniques almost randomly yet >using >a constant on and off of volume with your volume knob or >volume floor pedal you can create this trancey technique and ever time >the >volume swells up (great if it is really, really rapid) >you have a slightly different timbre from your random thwacking of the >guitar. > >***************** >Oh yeah, and Claude Voit must be sited as the person who innovatively >put >piezo pickups (I think) ABOVE the nut to pick up >the non-melodic elements of knocking, rubbing, playing the strings above >the nut and other possible above the nut percussion styles. > >*************** >Gosh, I keep thinking of different things............sorry for the length >of >this post: > >Super balls on the back of Acoustic Guitars can create cool whale >sounds..................they can then be dropped to create random >percussive, bouncing sounds. > >************* >Okay, I"ll shut up...............shouldn't of had that huge cup of dark >roast coffee so late in the evening..............lol. >