Tag: pink floyd

Make your Guitar Sound Like an Organ

The sounds of an organ are amazing, but if you’re a guitarist who doesn’t have time to learn how to play the keys, then why not make your guitar sound like an organ? Imagine getting sounds of a combo organ like The Doors and Pink Floyd with your favorite axe, or the famous rotating tones of a Hammond B-3, or perhaps you want those long choir sounds of a church organ. This article will show you various ways to achieve an organ sound with your guitar.

EarthQuaker Devices Organizer
The EQD Organizer is a pedal that is specifically designed to make your guitar sound like an organ. You can get sounds of a Hammond B3, church organs, and also some really experimental stuff. There are blend controls that allow you to specify the amount of your original guitar tone coming through the pedal. I personally own this one and its the only digital pedal on my board. Read the full review (with sound clips) of the EarthQuaker Organizer here or view the Organizer on Amazon.

Vox V251 Guitar Organ
In the ’60s, Vox made a guitar specifically to cop organ tones. It can be used as a regular electric guitar as well. The circuitry was built similarly to their popular Vox Continental combo organ (used by Ray Manzerak of the Doors) which was the organ sound of ’60s psychedelic music. The touch sensitivity of the V251 is done in a way to emulate what its like when you press a key on an organ. So it was easier to make it sound like an organ, rather than a guitar trying to emulate one. Included is a remote power supply to provide the necessary voltages for the Vox Guitar Organ.

Pedal Combinations
Another popular method is stacking an Electro-Harmonix POG2 with some other pedals, such as reverbs, delays, and compressors. Of course some experimentation is needed. Go a step further and add a Leslie Rotating Speaker to the mix to get the warbly tones. One of the closest simulations I’ve heard with using a pedal is actually the Electro-Harmonix HOG, which is a harmonic octave generator. With various settings, I’ve heard this pedal get the closest to the B3 sound.

Any of these ways will get that great organ sound on your guitar. Though if you are looking for a pure authenticity of both sound and the way an organ is played, then only the real thing will suffice. If you just want to cop some organ tones, then these methods are sure to please.

FoxRox Aquavibe Review

As promised, I said I would post my Aquavibe review. I finally got it, and have had a chance to play with it for about a week now, and I must say, I am very impressed. I also own a BBE Soul Vibe, and after some comparing, really there was no competition. The Aquavibe is far better. Enclosed in a cool blue casing with green LED, it sure looks as awesome as it sound. So lets get to the features, as well as some tips and tricks!

One thing to note is that the Aquavibe definitely sounds better with single coil pickups, compared to humbuckers, but thats just my opinion. Another thing I noticed is that the Aquavibe is extremely quiet! I found my soul vibe to get annoying when stacked with other pedals. Definitely not the case with the Aqua.

In terms of tone, this pedal really cops some Hendrix vibes. I was able to dial in Machine Gun settings, and Hey Baby settings in the vibrato mode. I also got some nice Pink Floyd sounds as well (Breathe). But whats great about the Aquavibe is that it does much more than the other vibe clones out there. With the Center knob, one can dial in variations of the sweep. Since the original Univibe varied from unit to unit, this Center knob helps to get a different range of vintage Univibes! Very awesome, especially if you wanna tweak it a bit so no one else has your exact vibe tone.

I like how the speed dial is big enough to control with your feet. I however still prefer to use an expression pedal, but if you don’t wanna spend the extra cash, you really don’t have to. The speed knob has an incredible range going from really slow phasey sounds to super fast underwater tones. The width knob controls how pronounced the effect is. You can go from a very subtle effect, to an exaggerated sweep.

Chorus Mode: So this is your typical univibe mode. I found the chorus on the Aquavibe to be very nice, and not too overpowering. Based on the clips, the Megavibe may have a slightly better chorus sound, but its hardly noticeable. And when you have Randy Hansen doing clips for you, of course its gonna sound good! Still, the aquavibe does some impressive vintage univibe tones.

Vibrato Mode: Probably the best I’ve heard in terms of Univibe clones. This mode is really great and can get really psychedelic! What I really love is how well it keeps your original guitar tone, especially in vibrato mode. If you put in a a subtle sweep, you can’t even really notice any tone coloration!

Awesome Aquavibe Settings:

Chorus mode

Great authentic univibe: Speed: 12:00, Width: 1:00, Center: 11:45

Great underwater tone: Speed: 3:30, Width: 3:30, Center: 12:00

Vibrato Mode

Psychedelic vibe: Speed: 2:00, Width: 1:00, Center: 11:45

Aliens have landed!: Speed: 5:00, Width: 5:00, Center: 12:00

As you can tell, I’m having a lot of fun with this pedal. Every time I play it, I find a new sound. The FoxRox Aquavibe scores a 10 in my books. I find that its a very inspiring pedal, and really helps in the creative flow of things. If you are planning on getting one, get on the waiting list now.. its about a 1 year wait, but totally worth it!

If you already have an aquavibe, post some settings you like (along with a description) in the comments section.