Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun And Fact Filled, August 17, 2005
Not only is this one amazingly info-packed book, I found it a fascinating and very enjoyable read on many levels, and I wouldn't normally categorize myself as a "gear head" (although I think this book has converted me...). Although the chapter on Vintage Pedals is fascinating, I really appreciated the author's inclusion of an extensive chapter covering Current Pedals too. I agree with his view that "better pedals are being made now than ever before," and the newer effects often don't get their due. If you don't have $500 to spend on a rare, noisy, expensive but occasionally cool sounding box from the late `60s, Guitar Effects Pedals will point you to some alternatives, and will explain why the new options might even be more satisfying. On top of all this, the History, Tech, and Interview chapters are really useful and very entertaining. I have to say, I was a little puzzled - even stunned - by another reviewer's claim that this book "wasn't well written..." Huh? It flows beautifully, tells you what you need to know, and keeps you gripped along the way (then again, I believe that reviewer admits to being a writing teacher - kind of says it all). On top of that, the reviewer makes odd claims that seem to indicate he didn't really read (or understand) the book: he says that the JRC4558 chip isn't covered, but I found tons of info on it in here, and he also seems dismayed that the book didn't teach him how to build effects or something, where I don't find that angle promoted anywhere on the cover or inside, and that's not the stated intention of this book. Overall, I can't imagine packing more information - or a better read - into the pages allotted here, and we all know that no publisher is going to attempt to even print a 1,000-page to-it-all effects book. Ultimately, this is a book that every guitar player, pedalhead or not, would love to have on his or her shelf.
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24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pedal Power, November 2, 2004
Musician-turned-journalist Dave Hunter describes the current market for guitar pedal effects as "booming." His book, which covers everything from the history of pedals to tips on expanding your arsenal of effects, is an indispensable bible for guitarists who are trying to make sense of today's flood of available options.
My favorite part of the book is Chapter Six. Entitled "Meet the Makers," this section includes extended interviews with legendary effects inventors such as Roger Mayer, Mike Matthews, Mike Fuller, Pete Cornish, Josh Fiden and Dan Coggins. These interviews give a behind-the-scenes peak at what inspired many of the innovations that have shaped the effects industry.
Beyond the text, "Guitar Effects and Pedals" comes with a 92-track CD which demos many of the sounds described in the book. In other words, when you read about a certain effect in the book, you can hear how it sounds by switching on the CD. Chapter Seven of the book provides a thorough index of the CD, so you won't have any trouble finding the track that you are looking for.
Overall, the no-bull approach of this book is probably what is most appealing: it doesn't try to tell you what to buy, or what pedals you need to play "to be cool," but lays the big, wide wonderful world of effects out in front of you so you can make your own sound-based decisions. No plugged-in guitarist should be without it.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very good book if you are into effect pedals, June 6, 2005
The book attempts to cover a lot of ground: a history of effects, an explanation of how they work (including some schematics, though be forewarned - these are frequently inaccurate or incomplete), a stroll through the history and most prominent models of a large number of manufacturers (including boutique types), some tips on using them effectively, 58 pages of interviews with notable designers/makers (Matthews, Cornish, Fuller, Vex, Voodoo Labs, Frantone, Visual Sound), and a CD with 92 nicely documented sample tracks of a wide assortment of contemporary and vintage pedals, both boutique and major maker.
All in all, a pretty reasonable yield for the money.
The writer clearly has a bias towards analog and seems to be the sort that finds images of sloppy overburdened pedal-boards with a dog's breakfast of devices crammed in with patch cords running everywhere just the sort of thing he wants on his wall calendar in the garage/basement (GET A LOAD OF THE KNOBS ON THAT ONE!). Perhaps because of the language barrier or just because you can meet a lot of folks justy hanging around New York, there is a decidedly American/British slant to the coverage. Not to say he shuns Boss, Ibanez, Guyatone, et al, but that he doesn't really have a lot of juicy insider stuff to offer about them the way he does with English-speaking makers. There is, as you'd expect of a 2004 book, a keen awareness of the emergence of the vintage market, and the challenge of knowing when stuff from the old days was good, when it has been surpassed by more contemporary stuff, and what constitutes a bargain vs a ripoff.
Chapter 2 has schematics to more precisely explain the inner workings of different kinds of pedals, but it's not clear what he's getting at. The circuits shown do not have accompanying "walkthroughs" such as you'd see in a project article in ETI. They show component values, but in most instances there are a few seemingly randomly selected components where values are not shown, and in other instances the diagram leaves you just scratching your head. For instance, the schematic intended to explain analog delay shows a chip labelled as "NE577 BBD IC" doing all the work. Um, yeah.......that's the chip you see in just about every commercial delay line since the first Memory Man. I'm not sure if he was simply trying to delicately skirt around patent/copyright law or if he and his editor just don't understand enough to know how off they are. DO NOT plan on building anything based on those diagrams.....but it's nice to at least see someone try to provide more technical detail. There is, of course, the requisite discussion/mention of the JRC4558 and germanium.
The alphabetical maker-by-maker listing of effects could have benefitted by colour pictures (it's B&W throughout) but then I guess I would have paid a lot more than I did), however there are decent shots of lots of items, some fairly recent, some quite old, with production years and controls listed for each pedal, as well as a brief description of its general sonic properties. Some nice old ads thrown in for good measure.
The interviews are interesting. So far I've read the one with Mike Matthews and forum regular Zachary Vex. Those folks dreaming about a career in the "glamourous" life of boutique pedal-making would do well to read the interviews of folks like Zach. I am reminded of the requirement Jewish rabbis have to "turn away" those seeking religious conversion three times, so as to spare them from lightly undertaking a change which they know will be hard and unforgiving in its demands. The interviews with the "old farts" like Matthews certainly give a better understanding of how things evolved. Mike Matthews' interview is fascinating in that regard, although I question the veracity of his memory sometimes. There are occasions when the physical reality of the pedals themselves contradicts a memory that is heavily influenced by 3 decades of immersion in marketing blurb (e.g., if he is so besotted with having control over everything and allowing players to produce sounds on the edge without constraints, how come E-H has such a long tradition of "one-knob wonders"?). Still, interesting to know that apparently Hendrix DID own an early Big Muff, what the hazy relationship was between Guild and E-H, where the LPB-1 came from, and that the Sovtek thing essentially grew out of Matthews having a Russian girlfriend with military connections.
One interesting tidbit. As of the printing of the book, Bill Finnegan of Klon Centaur fame was able to brag about having sold some 5,000 units. That sounds like a lot (actually it is), and yes the Klon costs a pretty penny, but do the math and figure out how much Bill makes from each pedal after factoring in overhead. Then spread that out for 5000 units over the number of years he has been making it, and tell me it's making him rich. Thanks, but I'll keep my government job and build on weekends.
Haven't heard any of the sound samples yet (that'll be today's cleanup music later on), but I'm looking forward to it. Many are pedals I've heard OF, but never heard. To his credit, Hunter includes a sort of reference sample of a tweed Tremolux to compare against pedal tremolos and pedal overdrives. There are also 4 samples of *bypass* using different bypass circuits to give a sense of tone-sucking potential. Now THAT'S hip.
Review by Mark Hammer of diystompboxes.com
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