squelch/squashed effect.. how do i do it?

Posted on Jun 05, 2009 04:07 am
skeg0
www.dorian-music.co.uk
Member Since: Apr 04, 2008

hello everyone,

i was wondering if anyone could help me with how they create a kind of squelch effect on guitars and such.. i think its apparent in the main riff in my iron lung by radiohead, if i had to pick an example... unless that is just a random side effect of the pitch shifter used.. but i think it has the same characterstics anyway of the effect I am trying to achieve.

anyone know the effect im talkign about?

many thanks in advance!

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timexone
producer
Member
Since: Dec 07, 2006

Jun 05, 2009 09:36 am

I always just thought the sound in the Radiohead song was inherant with the octave effect he has on there but maybe there is some other type of subtle ring mod or envelope filtering going on.

here is his live set up from 1997 which im sure was armed to the teeth with all the appropriate tools for every song off The Bends album...

www.guitargeek.com/rigview/510/

In the end, it wouldnt surprise me if that sound was achieved using the octave effect built into the Digitech Whammy.

skeg0
www.dorian-music.co.uk
Member
Since: Apr 04, 2008

Jun 05, 2009 10:29 am

hmm interesting...

ive found another example here (www.dorian-music.co.uk/mp3/squelch.mp3) its on the guitar riff panned to the right, and it has that kind of squashed/squelch feeling effect as if its being held under water or somethign temporarily before being let back.. out as its not on it all the time..

Though the guitar sounds fairly high so maybe they have used another octave effect and therefore maybe the same digitech that radiohead used??

hmmm.. interesting..

Noize2u
Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002

Jun 05, 2009 07:27 pm

Yep, my thought is as timexone stated it is partially and after effect of using an octave effect and more then likely is using the Mutron Mutator along with it. The Mutator is causing a bit of ring modulation which really pushes that screechy sound out into left field.

I do that here with some synths by driving them into self oscillation and then cranking the rez on a filter up a bit to really squeeze it hard.

crux
Typo Szar
Member
Since: Jul 04, 2002

Jun 06, 2009 12:37 am

It sounds like when my DAW is on high CPU usage and it starts to lag... or when a pitch pedal doesnt track right. i think both cases would indicate something like wat is being said about an octave pedal being set to create a type of ring modulation

timexone
producer
Member
Since: Dec 07, 2006

Jun 06, 2009 04:41 am

if it is a ring mod or filter, its probably a dfferent unit than the Mutator because that unit came out in 1995 and the album was recorded in 1994...unless he had some type of prototype...which is very possible.

i would try an octave (preferrbly the digitech whammy or anther comparble unit) with the pickup selector possibly at the neck position and experiment from there.

Noize2u
Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002

Jun 06, 2009 01:10 pm

Ya, it could have been something else or as you state. But the Whammy is probably the main item being used to give an octave effect. You can hear a slight sweep in there, but its very slight.