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Topic: George Harrison 'What Is Life' effect |
b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 20 Dec 2017 11:19 pm |
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Does anyone know of a box that can get the effect that George Harrison used on the intro of "What Is Life" on All Things Must Pass? It's similar to the sound in "Think for Yourself" on Rubber Soul, and I'm sure there are other examples.
I'm not talking about the phasing - I mean the distortion effect. It's like a big fat squarewave with no dynamic range. I don't think I've ever heard anyone but George use that sound.
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Last edited by b0b on 21 Dec 2017 8:21 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Jack Stanton
From:
Somewhere in the swamps of Jersey
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Posted 21 Dec 2017 4:15 am
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b0b,
Pretty sure the effect on think for yourself was McCartney playing fuzz through his bass. I'll bet if you can locate a copy of the book Beatles gear it will tell you what type of fuzz |
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Jerry Jones
From:
Franklin, Tenn.
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Posted 21 Dec 2017 5:46 am
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"What Is Life" on "All Things Must Pass" has got to be an Electric Sitar played with distortion. 
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Jerry Jones
Last edited by Jerry Jones on 21 Dec 2017 6:07 am; edited 1 time in total |
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ajm
From:
Los Angeles
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Posted 21 Dec 2017 6:03 am
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Not to be persnickity, but the name of the song on "All Things Must Pass" is "What is Life".
George did have a song called "This is Love" on the album "Cloud Nine". |
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Tim Heidner
From:
Groves, TX
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Posted 21 Dec 2017 8:19 am
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| Silicon FuzzFace? |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 21 Dec 2017 8:21 am
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| ajm wrote: |
Not to be persnickity, but the name of the song on "All Things Must Pass" is "What is Life".
George did have a song called "This is Love" on the album "Cloud Nine". |
Corrected. Thanks.
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-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 21 Dec 2017 8:26 am
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Mark Lewisohn's book says that it was an Abbey Road custom fuzz box on Paul's bass on "Think For Yourself". The effect is cleaner on "What Is Life", so I don't think it's the same box or instrument.
I'm wondering if there's a modern fuzz box that can make that sound. I think it would be fun to play with.
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-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Tim Heidner
From:
Groves, TX
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Posted 21 Dec 2017 8:40 am
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It sounds very similar to the fuzz on Satisfaction, which interwebs say was a Maestro FZ-1.
Shouldn't be too hard to find a modern version of it. |
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Tim Heidner
From:
Groves, TX
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Posted 21 Dec 2017 9:15 am
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| I would try the Analogman Peppermint Fuzz if I was going for that old school fuzz, he makes great pedals. |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 21 Dec 2017 12:08 pm
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From some researching I did earlier, I'm surprised that this is not settled knowledge, with all the Beatles gear geeks out there.
The most frequently cited fuzz type on this question seems to be the Tone Bender. But everyone seems to be guessing. I have no experience with this. You can google 'Tone Bender clones' for some options. |
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Tim Heidner
From:
Groves, TX
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Posted 21 Dec 2017 12:09 pm
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With the Peppermint Fuzz you can adjust the bias of the germanium resistor, that knob in the middle. It has a big effect on the overall sound of the fuzz. They don't just have one sound, you can tweak it.
Also, different guitar and amps as well as recording at Abbey Road Studios have an effect on the tone.
It just sounds like a basic, old school fuzz to me. Did you compare it to the Satisfaction fuzz tone? They sound almost identical to me, with just a bit of difference in the eq. |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 21 Dec 2017 12:21 pm
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It's similar to Satisfaction, but it doesn't sound as ragged to me. It's cleaner. Maybe it's just studio pixie dust or something.
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Tim Heidner
From:
Groves, TX
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Posted 21 Dec 2017 12:25 pm
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| You can adjust the amount of fuzz on them. Haven't you ever fooled with a fuzz pedal? |
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Tim Heidner
From:
Groves, TX
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Posted 21 Dec 2017 12:30 pm
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They don't really sound all that great with pedal steel anyway.  |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 21 Dec 2017 1:19 pm
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I've used tube amp overdrive a lot and I have an Earth Drive on my pedal board, but those things sound completely different. I used to have a BossTone - didn't like it.
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Michael Brebes
From:
Northridge CA
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Posted 21 Dec 2017 1:20 pm
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Here's a link to the recording of the basic tracks for the song. No delayed signal panned hard right so you can hear what the fuzz pedal really sounds like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UIQTKrKFkY
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Michael Brebes
Instrument/amp/ pickup repair
MSA D10 Classic/Rickenbacher B6/
Dickerson MOTS/Dobro D32 Hawaiian/
Goldtone Paul Beard Reso
Mesa Boogie Studio Pre/Hafler 3000
RP1/MPX100 |
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Tim Heidner
From:
Groves, TX
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Posted 21 Dec 2017 1:22 pm
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| That sounds pretty gnarly! |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 21 Dec 2017 1:37 pm
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| There are fuzz freaks out there who hear things that I just don't hear. For them, there are so many variations of fuzz on the market. For me, I can find pretty much anything I want out of a fuzz on the only one I have--a newer EHX Big Muff Wicker. It can do smooth, raspy, rude or refined. I just came close enough to this guitar sound we're talking about (on steel) to satisfy myself. I know that there will be skeptics. Nothing I can do about that. |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 21 Dec 2017 5:16 pm
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| Tim Heidner wrote: |
| That sounds pretty gnarly! |
Yeah, the raw sound is a lot rougher than what you hear on the record. Studio pixie dust at work.
Here's George's original track. Sounds like it's on the verge of feedback in places. I wonder what they did to smooth out the roughness on the attacks.
https://youtu.be/Ptlw52PvhHs
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-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Tim Heidner
From:
Groves, TX
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Posted 21 Dec 2017 5:43 pm
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| I hear a little reverb on it. You only hear two lines, then about thirty other instruments come in and half bury it, so that makes it sound a bit smoother. |
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Paul Arntson
From:
Washington, USA
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Posted 21 Dec 2017 7:48 pm
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I only hear one note at a time. Could that have something to do with it?
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Excel D10 8&4, Supro 8, Regal resonator, Peavey Powerslide, homemade lap 12(a work in progress) |
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gary pierce
From:
Rossville TN
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Posted 21 Dec 2017 7:52 pm
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| To me it sounds like a real tight fast vibrating fuzz, almost like a blown tweeter, not like the Boss Tone which is harsh sounding to me. |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 22 Dec 2017 6:05 am
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If I were asked to reproduce this on steel for a project, I'd say that if I got the touch and the intonation a lot better (the little things, you know?) I'd be fairly satisfied that this sound (left channel).
http://picosong.com/wRcix
A large sputter vs. smooth saturation variable is the strength of the input signal. After tuning the Big Muff itself, I backed off the volume pedal and starved the steel's feed a little bit. |
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Steve Pawlak
From:
Arizona, USA
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Posted 22 Dec 2017 7:13 am
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| I used to own a Vox Super Beatle Amp The one with the speakers supported in a metal stand. The amp was solid state and had a built in fuzz effect that nailed the "Beatle Fuzz Sound" |
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