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Canterbury Scene and fuzz pedals

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Polymorphia View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Polymorphia Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 18 2019 at 09:34
I was looking at the two Wattson clones earlier. Apparently, they're the most accurate. (They've even been sued by Univox - good sign).
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote handwrist Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 21 2019 at 04:55
I don't have specifics, but the key to the Canterbury organ sound from my experience, comes not so much from a specific pedal or amp, but from cheapness. If you have a cheap keyboard and a cheap amp with incorporated distortion, or a cheap fuzz pedal, you will get pretty close. The cheaper the better actually.

With VSTs you can explore more, but in the end, remember that the sound grew from the bands having no money to buy proper equipment. Necessity is the mother of invention as they say, or something to that effect.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Magmatt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 19 2019 at 09:04
It is well documented that Chris Squire from Yes used a Maestro Brassmaster fuzz device. No longer made.
There is actually a modern version of this made by Mallekko Heavy Industries and it's called  The (B)Assmaster.
it's not cheap as far as effect pedals go and it is well built. I obtained one when I played with a Deep Purple tribute. Our keyboard player tried it on his Hammond with success also. I love that it comes with a set of rubber teeth inside and the control pot read " More Ass ".  Best fuzzy organ sound has to be Wakeman on Strawbs "The Hangman and the Papist ' . 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote hugo1995 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 15 2020 at 16:11
Surprisingly this is yet to be mentioned in the thread.

Mike Ratledge and Dave Stewart 100% used the Shaftesbury Fuzz pedal. There is a photo archive with Dave using it, and he had it to the left of him on a stand instead of using it with his foot.



Edited by hugo1995 - January 15 2020 at 16:13
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote derickgtwk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 09 2024 at 13:16
reading this topic, I wanted to make my contribution.

i've been researching the equipment used by the bands in the canterbury scene, not just the pedals, but also the amps and cabinets.

about the fuzz pedal used by MGP's bass player: based on the photos I've seen of the band's gigs, I believe it to be the "elka dizzy tone".

in the case of EGG, KHAN, Hatfield and the North, National Health: all the organ sounds consist of the harmmond l100 through a superfuzz/duo-fuzz and a wah pedal called "schaller bow-wow yoy-yoy."

both Dave Stewart and Mont Campbell used the same model of amplifier and cabinet, each had a pair of 100w hiwatts with wem starfinder cabinets, which from the sound of it, I'm sure they didn't have Fane Crescendo, I believe the starfinders they used had rare goodmans power audiom 50w speakers.

In the case of some other bands like Supersister, Quiet Sun, Cos, STUBBS: they all used electric organs with fuzz.

Quiet Sun and STUBBS used vox organs.

Supersister's keyboard player: Robert Jan Stips used a farfisa compact series at first and then switched to a farfisa vip series organ, and I can see from the band's pictures that they used london city amps.

Cos keyboard player Marc Hollander used a Farfisa Professional Duo.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote moshkito Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 15 2024 at 05:52
Hi,

I was kinda thinking ... that above all ... you really had to have a FUZZY mind first ... to end up doing all kinds of funny/funky/farout stuff. 

Nice break down of things derickgtwk. Enjoyed reading that, however, I have to admit that for me, many times the sound was more indicative of a specific feeling/idea to move the piece along differently than the commons ways and styles. Always thought this was one of the special things about the Canterbury folks ... and sometimes it was for fun. I have a hard time thinking that people did it simply for the sake of using something different ... and new ... however, the non-stop proliferation of ideas on how to use anything is neat, and far out to read. An organ through a wah pedal ... hmmmm ... but it reminds me of Edgar Froese i his book describing their experiments with echo chambers, before they became electronic, and it is crazy and then some, but they made it work and you can hear the sound in the early LP's, if you can identify them, which TD was really clean on that part more often than not .. and then ... the incredible use and constant development of sequencers, which Christopher Franke had to do manually for a long time!!!!



Edited by moshkito - May 15 2024 at 05:58
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Jacob Schoolcraft Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 20 2024 at 20:40
Phil Miller sounds like he's using the "Big Muff" but you never know. Distortion or a fuzz tone which was built into guitar amps back then was rather impressive sounding. I believe guitarist Jeff Beck was using Orange Amps at the time. A good example is on Rough And Ready where his guitar is singing...rather crying..A good example of that particular guitar sound would be present on Camel recordings.

Camel sometimes had similarities to what one would hear from Canterbury bands. "Supertwister" from Mirage, Several tracks from Moonmadness and Rain Dances and of course CAMEL A LIVE RECORD. With Richard Sinclair on vocals and Mel Collins on sax it has definite similarities to what exists in the Canterbury style. Andrew Latimer's guitar sound is more like Jeff Beck and far from sounding like Phil Miller.

Phil Miller ...in some cases captured the fuzz tone that Bob Fripp used on Larks Tongues In Aspic Part 1. The same fuzz tone is heard on Matching Mole recordings. On National Health albums the fuzz is less and the sustain is more.

In some cases Phil Lee from Gilgamesh captured that fuzzy tone during improvisation on electric guitar. He was a brilliant Classical guitarist as well.

Steve Hillage didn't have a fuzzy tone. He produced a full sounding tone where the treble of his high pitched notes and the bass of his lower sounding notes were pronounced with clarity. Even though he used Distortion it sounded off quite differently and sophisticated not unlike Frank Marino or Ronnie Montrose playing Jazz Rock.Gong were thought to be Canterbury and Hillage contributed immensely on their important albums.

Mike Oldfield was briefly affiliated with Canterbury musicians and he sounded like he was using a Big Muff on Tubular Bells. The distorted sound that Hillage used in Gong was eventually reproduced with an MXR pedal. For a while though it seemed as if you could only produce that sound through a Marshall Amp that had built in Distortion...or an Orange Amp. I might be wrong..but I believe the only way to get that sound was by turning up the amps along with using the Distortion dial.

In some cases guitarists with Steely Dan often produced that driving energetic affect on "Reelin' In The Years" or "Bodhisattva ". I remember in 68' there wasn't a pedal for it. ..but there was "The Big Muff"

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