Active Band Man Chats - Pedal Type Effects Pedals Edition

The theme this time is effects pedals!

We've been doing this a lot already.

So, this time it's limited to pedal-type!

Huh? Pedal-type? You mean things like volume pedals or wah pedals?

Exactly.

Do you really use those that much?

No!

That was quick, haha.

Those thingies make it so you can't move from the spot, right?

"Those thingies," haha, well, that's true. You have to operate them with your feet.

I want to move!

Alright, alright.

I want to jump!

Are you a bug? (laughs)

But, you know, there are effects unique to the pedal-type ones!

Of course. I used to use a volume pedal quite a bit.

Ah, for when you want those subtle dynamic expressions to come out under the lime light, right!

Yes, that’s right. We’re the kind of band that focuses on those details.

Yeah, yeah. What about in other bands?

When I play in National, depending on the song, we would use a wah pedal more like a special effects pedal.

Ah, that small one seems convenient. Is that the Hot Tone?

Yes. This one can be switched between a volume pedal and an expression pedal.

Very impressive!

It’s not on your board, though, right? The pedal-type ones.

Nope! Because I can’t move them!

That’s honest.

I like the switch pong kind better!

I see... so why bring up this theme then? (laughs)

Because I love my whammy pedal!

I see. The ultimate special effect, huh?

I wrote a song just using the whammy!

You have used it in live performances for a while, right?

Yeah! Two octaves, wooooo! I feel so free!

Haha… you were going back and forth, having fun with it.

I also loved the detuned sound of the whammy!

But you’ve taken it off your board now, right?

Yeah… it’s big, and too heavy…

Yeah… they even released a bass version of the whammy, but I haven’t touched that one either. I was interested in it, though.

But! Moore released a whammy called the "Pitch Step"! It’s small and light! I tried it as soon as I could get my hands on it!

And?

The sound and the way it works are totally different from the whammy! I still prefer the unique thickness and sharpness of the whammy.

But it’s heavy, right?

Yeah… And then, for a while, I had the George Lynch Signature whammy pedal on my board!

George Lynch? I can’t picture that.

The design was amazing! It was orange with a dragon drawn on it, and kanji like Kamikaze and Sensei written on it!

The design, huh! I guess the signature guitar models also have kanji on them. It came up in the last column, too. You must really like Chinese characters.

But it was big and heavy…

So you took it off.

Yeah…

You don’t use volume pedals… right, kizuhiko?

How do you know!?

Just a feeling. You’re the type of person who has either zero or a hundred.

How do you know!?

I can tell (laughs).

I guess that’s about it with my pedal memories.

As expected, there are fewer compared to regular effects pedals.

Yeah, since Hotei didn’t use them...

That’s it! You’re so loyal (laughs).

Well, I did try the Jim Dunlop Wah pedal and the VOX Wah pedal.

But they didn’t feel right.

There are some songs in the Group Sounds genre where you use a wah-wah pedal.

That’s from around the end of the '60s, so it makes sense. That’s when wah-wah pedals were starting to come out.

But I don’t think I really need any on my board.

Yeah, that’s true.

Jackie uses it a bit though.

Well, I guess it’s something for lead guitarists to use… Since you’re mainly a rhythm guitarist, kizuhiko.

Yeah, singing while Wahing would be a bit tough!

Right. Though some people do it. They’re quite skilled.

Who's clumsy?! (laughs) But lately, there are all kinds of pedals! I think Ernie Ball has a pedal that lets you control the amount of distortion.

Ah, yes, there is.

Also, there are pedal-type tuners too!

That’s the one. It’s hard to see because you end up stepping on the screen.

Yeah, right.

Anything else?

I think there’s one that can change the speed of the tremolo?

Hmm, I see. So, it’s a pedal that changes the effect in real-time, right? Personally, I like seeing guitarists crouch down at the end of a solo, adjusting the knobs of their effects pedals. Like Ingie does.

But, with modern multi-effects, they come with pedals where you can assign any effect you want, right?

Yup, we’re in that age.

I want to think of something interesting as a standalone, and not just as a multi-effect.

Oh, you got something?

How about a pedal where the type of distortion seamlessly changes as you press it?

Not volume or gain, but the amount of distortion we talked about earlier?

Yeah. Like fuzz → overdrive → distortion, for example.

I see. That might be interesting. I can’t imagine how it would be used in a song… but it sounds like it could create some mysterious effects.

Right! I can imagine the boundary between overdrive and distortion, but...

The sweet spot between fuzz and overdrive would be really tasty, right?

Exactly! I hope something like that comes out someday. So, everything is...

Because of love!