Looking for Strange and Unique Pedals

[40Hz]

The Way Huge Ringworm Ring Modulator is a pretty funky pedal that I had for a while. I don't think it's been listed.

Now that's cheating! A ring modulator? Good grief! Has any string player ever found a regular use for one of those?

Ring mods can work out quite well with mic'ed drums however. But that's about it in my experience.

Man...that's one funky scary pedal with a bass plugged into it. Now I know what a bass note sounds like when it's about to crawl into a corner and die...

Pretty cool though. Didn't know Way Huge made one of those. Thx for posting that. (I want one!)

 

[40Hz]

If you truly want strange and unique, this is the very top of the heap.

If you wanted to add the qualifier 'also potentially usable', then I'd say Arcadiator.

With something like the Miku Stomp why compromise the quintessential weirdness of the thing with any considerations of useability? Besides, you just know that thing is gonna be a collectors item someday.

And yes indeed... The Arcadiator...that too is one evil sounding pedal. Sounds like an innocent fuzzbox met the demon in The Exorcist and had a child by it.

 

[40Hz]

Of course there's always the mercifully discontinued Danelectro Sitar Swami...

 

[fishdreams]

I added these to my board yesterday
1) Fairfield Circuitry Unpleasant Surprise - thick fuzz with various gated settings. I also have their ring modulator (Randy's Revenge) which I love love love. Their stuff always sounds great on bass, not an imitation of something else, and very tweakable on the fly
2) Subdecay Proteus - just the filter I was looking for - not too envelope orierted, more like a great low pass, sounds fantastic, and easy to tweak. If you really want to change what your board can do with just one pedal, put this one at the front. New sound worlds open up. I am loving this thing
3) Old Blood Noise Endeavors Dark Star This is the most unususal I guess. I found this by accident and it has now replaced my delay. I am into textures and scapes, in an improvising setting, and a delay with repeats is not really something I need (the Randy's Revenge is a perfect repeater/tremolo). It is hard to describe what it does, but think of a pitch and/or delay manipulated reverb that morphs what you play in distintive swirls, twirls and clouds. Pairs perfectly with my 'normal' TC reverb. You can hold indefinetely, too per the left foot switch. Amazing thing.

 

[jwr]

Seppuku Fx or Ezhi and Aka

 

[FilterFunk]

WMD Geiger Counter

As for unicorn-rare pedals:

Pefftronics SB-101 Super Rand-O-Matic

 

[10cc]

Anything by chase bliss
Bit crushers
Ring mods
Variable wave tremolos

Yeah that bit crusher is way cool.

 

[amusicalperson]

Now that's cheating! A ring modulator? Good grief! Has any string player ever found a regular use for one of those?

Ring mods can work out quite well with mic'ed drums however. But that's about it in my experience.

Man...that's one funky scary pedal with a bass plugged into it. Now I know what a bass note sounds like when it's about to crawl into a corner and die...

Pretty cool though. Didn't know Way Huge made one of those. Thx for posting that. (I want one!)

No problem at all buddy! I actually did get to use it in a (objectivally) musical context once. I had it on the "Envelope Filter" (which sounds nothing like a normal Envelope Filter) and would use it on a heavy riff when my band would come back in on it. It sounded pretty sweet if you ask me. Wish I had a recording of us with it!

 

[cnltb]

Seppuku Fx or Ezhi and Aka

links please

 

[zontar]

I added these to my board yesterday
1) Fairfield Circuitry Unpleasant Surprise - thick fuzz with various gated settings. I also have their ring modulator (Randy's Revenge) which I love love love. Their stuff always sounds great on bass, not an imitation of something else, and very tweakable on the fly

I immediately thought of Fairfield Circuitry--some cool stuff--and some oddball stuff.
The Unpleasant Surprise was a fun, yet odd one to try (I didn't buy it though)--and also the Operator!? which is a loop type pedal is also strange.
Even their other pedals have an oddity to them.

 

[cnltb]

I added these to my board yesterday
1) Fairfield Circuitry Unpleasant Surprise - thick fuzz with various gated settings. I also have their ring modulator (Randy's Revenge) which I love love love. Their stuff always sounds great on bass, not an imitation of something else, and very tweakable on the fly
2) Subdecay Proteus - just the filter I was looking for - not too envelope orierted, more like a great low pass, sounds fantastic, and easy to tweak. If you really want to change what your board can do with just one pedal, put this one at the front. New sound worlds open up. I am loving this thing
3) Old Blood Noise Endeavors Dark Star This is the most unususal I guess. I found this by accident and it has now replaced my delay. I am into textures and scapes, in an improvising setting, and a delay with repeats is not really something I need (the Randy's Revenge is a perfect repeater/tremolo). It is hard to describe what it does, but think of a pitch and/or delay manipulated reverb that morphs what you play in distintive swirls, twirls and clouds. Pairs perfectly with my 'normal' TC reverb. You can hold indefinetely, too per the left foot switch. Amazing thing.



View attachment 838259

The subretention on the subdecay is good too?
Also; there seem to be at least 3 versions of it, judging by videos I found...
A very interesting pedal, I recon!

The unpleasant surprise is a real fun pedal!!
It can do odd but is ,at the same time very useable on gigs and recording.
I like it A LOT!

 

[dannybuoy]

- Prunes & Custard
- CoPilot Orbit
- WMD Geiger Counter
- Source Audio Manta & Hot Hand
- EHX B9 / C9 / K9 / Mel9

 

[Fuzzonaut]

Now, I like strange pedals myself, there are already a lot of good ones mentioned.

Now that's cheating! A ring modulator? Good grief! Has any string player ever found a regular use for one of those?

Ring mods can work out quite well with mic'ed drums however. But that's about it in my experience.

Man...that's one funky scary pedal with a bass plugged into it. Now I know what a bass note sounds like when it's about to crawl into a corner and die...

Pretty cool though. Didn't know Way Huge made one of those. Thx for posting that. (I want one!)

I have one of those. I use it to manipulate bass loops by twisting knobs. I think there lies the magic of this pedal.

As for links.
Here's the Judder on bass:


Ezhi and Aka have a few of them (not bass though):







Copilot FX is also a good place.
Here's a little test I did with the Caracol, in between two fuzzes, fed by a sequencer:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Then anything PLL related is fun as well.

Oh, and I have Miku - strange strange strange.
Although she struggles with low notes, which is glitchy fun as well.

 

[Blaargh]

Another vote for the WMD Geiger Counter here. It's the most terrifyingly brilliant distortion/bitcrusher pedal I've ever heard and has a ton of different settings. You can use an expression pedal on it too! Seems like a better idea than get an ordinary bitcrusher or ring mod pedal which I feel has a lot more limited usage, as it's also the gnarliest distortion I've ever heard on the right settings.

This is a guitar demo- I feel like it shows it off in a more usable way than Juan does on the Pedals and Effects vid on it.

 

[P-oddz]

I didn't get to try it out on bass when my guitar player had one, but if you want weird, take a look at the Catalinbread Anticthon. Watch into 6:30.

 

[nshuman]

As for links.
Here's the Judder on bass:

It will be so much fun...

 

[fishdreams]

The subretention on the subdecay is good too?

It is dub heaven, fattyfatfat.

 

[karla684]

I didn't get to try it out on bass when my guitar player had one, but if you want weird, take a look at the Catalinbread Anticthon. Watch into 6:30.

The Antichthon is fantastic! Weird, but heaps of fun. It's definitely better (i.e. more expressive) with a passive bass. I usually use it with a buffer buster since I have active pups. There is a short example with it on bass (without the buffer buster) in the third part of Bass Dirt on Parade here:
Bass Dirt On Parade!

There is more to the pedal than shown in that short clip, but it might give you an idea.

/Kalle

 

[cnltb]

It is dub heaven, fattyfatfat.

Interesting!
Looking at videos of it though, there seem to be three versions or so...
is that just updates or are there actually a number of versions available?
...and is it touch sensitive?

Sorry for all the questions!

 

[fishdreams]

Interesting!
Looking at videos of it though, there seem to be three versions or so...
is that just updates or are there actually a number of versions available?
...and is it touch sensitive?

Sorry for all the questions!

thy had 2 versions in the store, also this one Prometheus DLX - Resonant Filter - Guitar Effects - Subdecay with sounded excellent but i wanted something small and simple, to filter, so I ended up with the Proteus. Yes it is touch sensitive (in terms of the amount of enveloping) , I just got it so I am not well rounded on it yet but it sounds awesome to me.