BBC covers invention of guitar effects pedal

[Joe Snod]

Beofrre the wah-wah pedal, there was the Octavia, which "reproduced
the input signal one octave higher, and mixes the two sounds with some
added fuzz." [Wiki]

After discussion at his friend Jimmy Page's house, and Page's friend
British naval electronics engineer and amateur guitarist Roger Mayer
invented it. BBC radio (World Service) reported this story last
night, but since they don't post radio stories to the internet,
there's no BBC link for confirmation. Here's what google says.

http://www.roger-mayer.co.uk/history.htm

The Roger Mayer Wiki page puts the invention shortly after The
Kingsmen recorded Louie Louie and before the Kinks wrote You Really
Got Me, making this device equal in importace to and generally
simultaneous with those two songs.

BBC also said that Mayer invented a lot of new equipment for Bob
Marley ca. 1980, and on the radio, it was clear that the instrument
had a LOT of new capabilities. It reminded me of crappy 80's dance
music.

IMO, this means that, not only did Mayer start the hard rock period,
but fifteen years later he killed it. Sometimes engineers don't know
their own strength.

 

[Len Blanks]

Joe Snod <joe.snod@yahoo.com> writes:

Beofrre the wah-wah pedal, there was the Octavia, which "reproduced
the input signal one octave higher, and mixes the two sounds with some
added fuzz." [Wiki]

Interesting to see the effect of the box represented in the first word of
the quote. This is like smell-o-vision.
--
Len

Trill makes budgies bounce with health. -- Murray Walker

 

[globular]

Joe Snod wrote:

Beofrre the wah-wah pedal, there was the Octavia, which "reproduced
the input signal one octave higher, and mixes the two sounds with some
added fuzz." [Wiki]

After discussion at his friend Jimmy Page's house, and Page's friend
British naval electronics engineer and amateur guitarist Roger Mayer
invented it. BBC radio (World Service) reported this story last
night, but since they don't post radio stories to the internet,
there's no BBC link for confirmation. Here's what google says.

http://www.roger-mayer.co.uk/history.htm

The Roger Mayer Wiki page puts the invention shortly after The
Kingsmen recorded Louie Louie and before the Kinks wrote You Really
Got Me, making this device equal in importace to and generally
simultaneous with those two songs.

BBC also said that Mayer invented a lot of new equipment for Bob
Marley ca. 1980, and on the radio, it was clear that the instrument
had a LOT of new capabilities. It reminded me of crappy 80's dance
music.

IMO, this means that, not only did Mayer start the hard rock period,
but fifteen years later he killed it. Sometimes engineers don't know
their own strength.

The other guitar distortion method used was to overdrive an amplifier.
If you listen to groups like The Sonics and The Kinks they sound very
much like overdrive and not fuzz. The technique as I understand it when
done well was to use an amplifier that was overloaded, then that was
connected to another amp for the volume of sound heard. There was and
probably still is a Boss sound effect unit that reproduces this called a
Super Overdrive, based it says on an overdriven tube amplifier.
This method is much dirtier sounding than fuzz.

 

[JeffM]

Joe Snod wrote:

Beofrre the wah-wah pedal, there was the Octavia

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