6/6/2016 HowtoCreateaShoegazeGuitarSoundwithEffectsPedalsSoundfly

(http:// ypaper.sound y.com/)

FIND YOUR SOUND.

BY GUEST WRITERS (HTTP://FLYPAPER.SOUNDFLY.COM/AUTHOR/GUEST-WRITER/)

/ JANUARY 8, 2016

HOW TO CREATE A
SHOEGAZE GUITAR
SOUND WITH EFFECTS
PEDALS

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6/6/2016 HowtoCreateaShoegazeGuitarSoundwithEffectsPedalsSoundfly

byKenneth Estrada y Santiago(http://flypaper.soundfly.com/?

s=Kenneth+Estrada+y+Santiago)

S
hoegaze music has a way of sticking around in our heads for a while
that familiar but distant sound of the guitar echoes endlessly in our
memory. There are so many ways to create this kind of soundscape
with your guitar. In my last article, How to Create Dreamier Guitar
Chords(http:// ypaper.sound y.com/tips/musical-tips/how-to-create-dreamier-guitar-
chords/), I started to investigate various chord structures that lead to
signature shoegaze song crafting, so here Ill be looking into affordable
effects pedal combinations that can achieve that shimmering wall of sound.

If you are a guitarist writing songs(https://sound y.com/courses/new-songwriters-

workshop) and keen to shape your tone like the unforgettable sounds of My
Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Ride, and even Mazzy Star, here arethe
keypedals that can get you there! Who says you need three boards with 20
or more pedals like the original shoegazer Kevin
Shields(http://www.effectsbay.com/2011/08/kevin-shields-my-bloody-valentine-pedal-
boards/#prettyPhoto)? Save your money and go buy a better amp stack or a

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cooler guitar!

So lets get started. What are the most essential effect pedals you need?

Well, youre going to need a tuner pedal; all that hard, consistent strumming
is bound to detune some of your strings after every couple of songs! Tuning
by ear is pretty tough in club gigs, so its always handy to have a direct-signal
going into your chain. Almost every guitarist I know uses the Boss TU-
3(http://www.bossus.com/products/tu-3/), but the Korg
PB01(http://www.korg.com/us/products/tuners/pitchblack/) works just as welland is
cheaper! Boss and Korg are household brands. Were just talking about a
tuner pedal here, it doesnt need to be high end. My little trick is to put my
tuner at the end of my effects chain, so I can mute all of my FX noise abruptly
just by stepping on it once. Its a lot of fun with powerful climactic endings.

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Okay, so the rst effects pedal I would recommend for that signature
shoegazer sound is a reverse reverb pedal the one essential pedal that
creates a noticeably different sonic palette(https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=TCm0VcMYv04) than all other musical genres. A standard reverb pedal will
fade out your playing after the attack; youllhear yourself hitting the strings
and after that, the reverberation. The reverse reverb does the opposite. Its
kind of a twisted reverb sound, as you will hear the clean attack and, just as it
starts to die out, youll hear the reverb fading in, eventually bringing the
reverberated attack back at the end.

+ Read more: Have all the gear you need? Take your shoegaze sound to the
next level with these chords and tunings.(http:// ypaper.sound y.com/tips/musical-
tips/how-to-create-dreamier-guitar-chords/)

The best and cheapest ones Ive found are the Digitech RV-
7(http://digitech.com/en/products/rv-7) and the Electro Harmonix
Cathedral(http://www.ehx.com/products/cathedral). Both have reverse settings but
the RV-7 is much smaller, in case you need to save space on your
pedalboard(http:// ypaper.sound y.com/tips/the-art-of-being-an-organized-guitarist/)!
If youre playing your favorite chords through this effect they will sound like
psychedelic, dreamy synthesizer strings, especially when youre playing a
guitar that has a whammy. First try it with your clean sound. Yum! And if you
put it through a distortion pedal BAM! Shoegaze!

A common distortion pedal for shoegaze is the fuzz, and theres almost none
more famous than the Big Muff Pi(http://www.ehx.com/products/big-muff-pi). Its
famous for a reason. It creates a high quality, juicy, fat sounding distortion for
303 a comparatively lowprice and is sought after for its sustain as well. The Big
Shares
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Shares
Muff is really quite perfect for creating those colorful walls of noise, but
theres such a huge range of overdrive and distortion pedals out there, you
59 really need to nd what ts your personal taste.

One of my personal favorites in the digital distortion category is the Digitech

Hot Rod(http://digitech.com/en/products/hot-rod). Its cheap enough to try out in
your shoegaze setup, and has settings to make your sound both very thin,
scratchy ,and dirty, as well as fat and warm. Scott Cortez of the lo- shoegaze
band Astrobrite(https://www.facebook.com/astrobrite/?fref=ts) uses one. And so I
do

There are some slightly more expensive pedals built by Devi Ever FX like the
Soda Meiser(http://www.devieverfx.com/soda-meiser.html), the self-explanatory
Shoegazer(http://www.devieverfx.com/shoegazer.html) (used by Ringo
Deathstarr(http://ringodeathstarr.org/)) or the
Rocket(http://www.devieverfx.com/rocket.html)fuzz. Theyve got nearly endless
sustain, can sound chaotic and super duper fuzzy. But Devi pedals are also
pretty unpredictable, which can be fun but sometimes you have to ght with
some disturbing frequencies that show up to the party. Thats what you get
with analog pedals though its the true experience!

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Youre also going to need a delay, one way or the other. When it comes to
delay pedals, there is analog modulation and digital
modulation(http://www.differencebetween.net/technology/communication-
technology/difference-between-analog-and-digital-modulation/). Many people
automatically point to analog delays to say they are better than digital, but
its always a question of taste, and most guitarists out there exploring
expansive sound palettes will have both on their board. Analog delays sound
more like a tape machine; their echoing tone changes the pitch a bit up or
down and its darker fading out then a digital delay. The latter sounds more
like an exact copy of the inserted signal that fades away. If you are a guitarist
wholikes to tap the delay time with your feet, this will affect your pedal
choice as well.

The simple, digital BOSS DD-7(http://www.bossus.com/products/dd-7/) is small,

durable and has the ability to tap delay time very accurately. Another unique
pedal, which has its own sound entirely, is the VOX Delay
Lab(http://www.voxamps.com/delaylab), which offers a pitch shifting delay mode to
really turn your signal upside down! It will add one octave up to the note you
are playing as the rst echo you hear. The second echo you hear is an octave
up from that, and so on Its such a dreamy swarm of tones, you should give
it a try at your local guitar store sometime! As much as I love this pedal, its
actually enormous, and no longer ts on my board, so for something a bit
more compact you can try the BOSS PS-3(https://reverb.com/p/boss-ps-3-digital-
pitch-shifter-slash-delay).

+ Read more: For more cant-miss pedals, check out Finding Your Ideal
Guitar Tone: Guitar Pedals!(http:// ypaper.sound y.com/features/guitar-pedal-tone/)

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There you have it, you can create huge shoegazing walls of guitar sound
without having to strain your back carrying a hugepedal case. Of course, this
is only the tip of the iceberg, but if you want your guitar tones to be as cold as
that iceberg, this is a great place to start. Be creative and mess around, and if
youre ready to start writing, check out my post on nding your shoegaze
sound through different chords and
tunings(http:// ypaper.sound y.com/tips/musical-tips/how-to-create-dreamier-guitar-
chords/). I hope to hear some music from you guys soon! Post your tunes in the
comments below.

Keep on dreaming, Kenneth

Kenneth Estrada y Santiago is a songwriter,

musician, and design artist, based in Berlin,
Germany. He currently singsand plays bass in his
band Downhill
Willows(http://www.facebook.com/downhillwillows), is
CEO of the Berlin indie production company
Pitchbox(http://www.facebook.com/pitchboxproductions),and writes for the
BerlinShoegazer(http://www.facebook.com/berlinshoegazer)blog. Read the rest of
his writing here(http:// ypaper.sound y.com/?s=Kenneth+Estrada+y+Santiago).

Keep up with the latest from Kenneth Estrada y Santiago on

Facebook(http://www.facebook.com/berlinshoegazer) and
SoundCloud(http://www.soundcloud.com/kennethestradaysantiago).

(https://sound y.com/courses/orchestration-for-strings)

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AdamHovey amonthago
Hmm,Thanksforthearticle.IreallylikevariousAltRocksubgenreslike
GothRockandShoegaze,soImaytakethisadvice.Thanks!
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