fuzz pedal | Guitar Tone Talk

How to Get Singing Sustain

Getting singing sustain on an electric guitar is no easy task, but if you follow these tips, it’ll help you get closer there.

The first thing I want to talk about before getting into the gear, is technique. This is vital in achieving those singing tones. So knowledge of soloing is necessary. Now if you can solo, the important thing is being able to do vibrato well. For those of you who don’t know what vibrato is, think of it as slightly bending a note up and down very quickly. Once you have your vibrato down, then achieving that singing sustain becomes much easier.

Now lets talk about the gear. The purest form of singing sustain comes from the right amp. This amp would ideally be a lead amp, such as a Marshall Plexi. Don’t worry if you don’t have a lead amp, as I’ll talk about pedals that can help as well. The great thing about a good tube lead amp, is the singing sustain will be more pure. On a Marshall Plexi, the louder you go, the more sustain you will get. So volume is also a key in the puzzle. Attenuators can be used if you don’t want to bother the neighbours. Also with a Marshall Plexi, you can get almost unlimited sustain without the use of any pedals.

Speaking of pedals, putting a good overdrive or fuzz pedal in front of the Marshall Plexi will make the sustain have more of a singing tone. Now this is where vibrato comes in. Once you have the sustain going well with the amp/pedals, using a lot of vibrato will make those extended notes have a singing quality, and the longer you hold it, more overtones and harmonics will start to overlay, which is another key to the puzzle. And if you keep holding the note, you can even get some nice controlled feedback.

Now if you don’t have a lead amp, you can still achieve it with pedals, though the tone won’t be as pure. But you can get it stacking a pre-amp or overdrive pedal with your favourite fuzz box or distortion pedal.

Another good technique to facilitate the singing aspect is to do a lot of bends. Bending is more reminiscent of a voice than just single notes.

So basically to sum it up, combining vibrato and bending in your solos with a good lead amp cranked running a fuzz or overdrive pedal will definitely get you closer to singing sustain.

Roger Mayer Axis Fuzz Review

As one of the most sought after pedals of all time, the Roger Mayer Axis Fuzz has become an instant classic since Jimi Hendrix used it on his album Axis: Bold as Love. I remember the day I went to Moog Audio in Toronto, Canada to try out the pedal. I a/b’d the axis fuzz against many other fuzz pedals, such as the OX Fuzz, the Zvex Fuzz Factory, and the Fulltone ’70 Fuzz. Right off the bat, I knew the axis fuzz was a clear winner. Why, you ask?

It’s quite simple. The axis fuzz has more textures, more depth, and more tonal variation. I was able to get a wide variety of distinctly different tones, just from the the two knobs on the pedal. One knob controls the volume output, and the other controls the fuzz/drive. My first instinct was to crank both knobs, and instantly I was in fuzz heaven. Infact it was so over the top, that my amp was feedbacking like crazy!

After playing some purple haze on my strat with an extended out-of-control solo, I decided I needed to calm things down a bit. I turned the fuzz knob pretty far down, so there was just a touch of fuzz, but kept the volume knob fairly high, around 3 o’clock. This put me into the chimy-ist, bell-like tone I’ve heard from an amp! I was getting amazing clean tones that had added texture from the touch of fuzz I had on. Also the guitar was more touch sensitive, letting me do hammer-ons and pull-offs with complete ease, while maintaining that sweet clarity. I now realize how Hendrix got some of his great sound clean tones. It was crazy to hear a marshall amp have fender-like cleans, but with more mid-range.

I decided it was time to get back to fuzz mayhem. I set the knobs high, but kept my guitar volume low. I was surprised how clean the tone was with my guitar volume down, and as I turned it up, it just got dirtier and dirtier. As I got into really fuzzy territory, I could get some great harmonics, sustain, and controlled feedback. The best is when you bend a really high note with plenty of vibrato, and wait for it to change into a screaming upper harmonic feedback tone. What a great way to end a song. My final thoughts on this pedal.. amazing!

Here are some helpful hints that will help you use the Roger Mayer Axis Fuzz better. Since it is sort of an instrument in itself, there are a few things you need to learn to get it working the way you want it to:

1) Crank your amp! This fuzz needs a cranked amp in order to sound good! Otherwise the fuzz with sound thin and shrill, which is very unpleasant to the ears. If you can’t go too loud, try stacking the fuzz with an overdrive or preamp pedal.

2) As mentioned, control the fuzz with your guitar’s volume pot. This will ensure the smooth transition between rhythm and solos.

3) Tweak the pedal a bit and find a great setting that works with your rig.

4) Use a strat! Single coils seem to work best with this fuzz. In addition, having a whammy bar just adds to the fun. Dive bombs become super powerful with the axis fuzz.

5) Let your guitar sing. Hold notes longer with the fuzz while using vibrato. With the extra sustain on tap, you can really fill the space, and the vibrato will help add some nice overtones.

If you haven’t already played an Axis Fuzz, try it out. You will not be disappointed! View the Axis Fuzz on Amazon.

Roger Mayer Axis Fuzz Sound Clip (Recorded on iPhone)

How to get Jimi Hendrix Tone

When it comes to tone, Jimi Hendrix never fails to amaze me. Of course his guitar playing is light-years beyond any human form, and top it off, even his tone is untouchable. With his rig, he was able to project a harmonically-rich, monstrous roar that was so elusive, so mind-boggling, yet very pure and organic. His rig gave him the dynamic to be able to tell a story with his amazing skill. The components of his rig allowed him to express himself deeply, whether he wanted to make his guitar sing, laugh, cry, scream, or whisper. With all of this dynamic, Jimi could take us on a trip, describing the ways of the universe, enlightening our souls with pure energy. No one will ever be able to do what Jimi did. But wouldn’t it be great to come close? Wouldn’t it at least be awesome to get some of those great tones that he got?

Well lets start with the basics. First the guitar: it should be a Fender Stratocaster, with three single coil pickups. These pickups should be low-output as that’s how they were in the late 60s’ and play a big role in the tone equation. There are some good copies on the market that’ll do better than a lot of Fender Strats produced today. If you can get your hands on an 80s’ made in Japan Tokai Strat, you’ll get a really well crafted guitar, a lot having the 60s’ specs. Jimi’s guitars were coated with nitrocellulose which some say allow the guitar to breathe better then today’s poly finish. In the last two years of Jimi’s short life, he primarily used a black and a white strat, both with maple necks. Also he typically used light strings (10-38) tuned down a half step (Eb), allowing him to bend notes with total ease.

On to the Amp: its gotta be a 100-watt superlead, superbass, or jtm45/100 with at least 1 4X12 cab. The 100-watters offer a lot more headroom, and the cab will make for a bigger sound. The amp power tubes can be KT-66s, EL-34s, or 6550s. Two great amp makers that specialize in building these plexi style amps from the late 60s are MetroAmp and Germino. Both excellent brands that go the extra step to nail that vintage tone. Don’t forget about the speakers in the cab; they are very important in achieving the sound. Jimi used Celestions, a very good brand. However, currently they don’t make the same speakers today that they once did. Scumback is great brand of for getting vintage spec speakers. Finally, you will realize that a 100-watt stack will blow your ears off. Consider getting a PPI Master Volume installed, or look into purchasing an attenuator. This is crucial since cranking the amp is part of getting the tone, and getting into pure tube saturation.

Lets talk about Effects: Hendrix used a wah, univibe, fuzz, and octave in a live setting. I’m sure most of you know what these pedals do, so I won’t go into it too much, but I will recommend some brands. Most mass produced pedals on the market today do not replicate the pedals used in the 60s/70s, and even worse, a ton of them are digital! So to get closer to the tone, you’ll want to look into boutique pedals. For the wah, the Real McCoy Teese Picture Wah is said to be the closest. For univibe, an original shin-ei would be amazing, and incredibly expensive. So the Megavibe by KR, and Aquavibe by Foxrox are fantastic. For the Fuzz pedal, Roger Mayer Axis Fuzz and KR’s Gypsy Fuzz are very expressive. Here’s more on Hendrix Fuzz Pedals. And for the octave, the Chicago Iron Octavia is a favorite of Hendrix enthusiasts. Finally, the cables used also are also a piece of the puzzle. Jimi used coily cables that are said to smooth out the treble a bit.

Now go out there, hook everything up, crank the fuzz and control it with your volume knob to go between clean and fuzz tones, and start exploring the world of great tones. You’ll find that there really are endless amounts of different tones you can get with a little tweaking. Enjoy!