MOTM

JWBarlow@... wrote:
> 
> Since the list(s) are pretty quiet right now.....
> 
> Maybe not entirely synth related, but I know there are a lot of guitar
> effects fans out there. If you're one of them, you might want to check out R.
> G. Keen's geofex site (are you still on the synth diy list?) for his rather
> novel concept of modularizing guitar effects.
> 
R. G. Keen has always done some interesting things. I really like his
analysis of distortion effects.

This does bring up an interesting problem I've toyed with the past
few years. I actually have one of his redesigned fuzz faces. My 
problem is that my Strats are all equiped with EMG SA pickups, which
are active, so I don't get that original Strat->Fuzz Face sound (though
I do get lots of killer Gilmore-esque type sounds). It is further
complicated for those with Les Pauls or other humbucker equiped
guitars. I would like to see input circuitry that would allow
one to adjust their guitar output signal to match responses
of other guitars. I don't know enough about this to actually
design it. I do believe it is more than modifying signal strength
or filtering to modify frequency response. It may be impossible
to truely mimic lowly single coil pickups with active circuitry.

I still think about a conversation we had some time ago about
VC distortions and the idea of a two dimensional grid where each
corner was a famous fuzz or distortion device and two voltages
to control the location. An addition to this would be circuitry
to compensate for differences in various guitar outputs.
My corners would be:

Tube screamer           Fuzz Face
+-------------------------+
|                         |
|                         |
|                         |
|                         |
+-------------------------+
MXR Distortion+         Big Muff

These are my four favorites. Imagine being able to use a joystick
to move between these, or better yet, a couple of LFOs moving the 
signal around this grid. Of course these effects don't really shine
with static input amplitudes.

Thomas
P.S. Can anyone on the list tell me about Portland? My wife and
I are thinking about leaving Atlanta. What kind of music scene,
etc.