Sunday, June 02, 2013

EH Switchblade to Harmonic Jerkulator (Redux)



A request for interesting fuzz pedals on an online forum made me suggest a number of circuits. The Harmonic Jerkulator was chosen. I took a commission and built a version of Tim Escobedo's circuit (with silicon transistors and no clipping diodes) into an EH Switchblade pedal. I think it was a success, from treble boost to chunky, gated-fuzz.



It's not going to make all guitarists sound like Steve Albini, but it has a character unlike many other fuzzes and overdrives that is fun to play. I was not trying to recreate the original Harmonic Percolator (by Interfax), but to make a pedal which could give a range of tones that would have impact when used live, and would deliver useful shelving (without needing to use extra EQ) when used in a studio.

It creates plenty of hiss and rumble, and even had traces of radio ghost voices in some settings; It does a great job of distorting that is not done by digital plug-ins.

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3 Comments:

Blogger Tanya said...

Hi Barry!

My name's Tanya,I'm from the website _Maker. It's an online platform where we teach electronic musicians, instrumentalists and sound artists, how to make, modify and customise the electronics they use. We wanted to know if you'd be willing to be interviewed about your music and the equipment you use as part of our regular interview slot. It'll preferably be either face to face or by Skype. You can contact me back on blog@maker.ie, sorry for messaging you on this comment, I couldn't find any better contact details. Anyway, let me know if this is something you'd like to be part of. Hope to talk to you soon. Thanks!

9:27 PM  
Blogger dodgystereo said...

Hi Tanya - get in touch by email if you have time: dodgystereo at gmail dot com.

6:37 PM  
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