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Mostly useless but fun effect pedal?

I have more than a few effects fitting this... I'll throw out the
LAL Misty Cave. I love it... but I really have no idea how to utilize it yet.

mc-1.jpg


This looks like pure joy. Do you have any samples you can share?
 
Recently, I picked up a pedal that is a blast, but probably useless in nearly all situations. It is an old Morley oil can echo pedal. It was supposedly not working when I got it, but it works just fine for me after a little tweaking. It has three functions - it works as a volume pedal, a wah, and a reverb/echo. The volume and wah are what you would expect, but the reverb/echo is like a Hammond through a Leslie at the bottom of a swimming pool. It is absolutely a fantastic sound, but I haven't figured out what to do with it, either with the bass or the guitar. Using the reverb/echo and wah at the same time is even more fun. Finding one for a reasonable price can be a challenge, and finding a working one at a reasonable price is even more challenging. It is worth the effort, because there is absolutely nothing else quite like it. As a bonus, it is huge, chrome, and has a line voltage plug. No batteries or adapter, and I guarantee it won't fit on your pedal board at all.

It looks like this:

morley-pedal-side.jpg
 
I think they're discontinued, but the Ravish Sitar pedal can be pretty interesting. They occasionally pop up on eBay or Craigslist in the $400-ish range.

http://youtu.be/bi4zPDLqn9g

I would love to try one of these ... but yeah, I imagine they're probably pretty useless in most traditional band situations.

Much less useless, but also a total luxury, is the EHX Freeze. I love mine, but I'm going to have to be creative to find a bass use for this in my band. That and my Mooer Trelicopter.
 
You need to get yourself a Source Audio Bass Envelope Filter with a Hot Hand 3. I wouldn't say it's mostly useless, but it's definitely not an "always on pedal". It's very fun to play with and you can go from a "more usable" envelope to some experimental stuff with the Hot Hand. Great pedal!

+1 Definately cool to play with. I got the hot hand and the filter, and it really brings out the rumble. Although, I wouldn't say it's just a useless noisemaker. There have been times where I've set the envelope all the way off and just use the freq knob as a sweepable eq. I say, if you want a useless noise effect, skip the bass and get an industrial fan... ime I haven't come across an effect that I can't think of a use for.
 
I just got a minifooger ring mod and i'm trying to work it into a song. I had to try it and it sounds awesome - just don't know how much I'll actually use it.

I'm surprised more people don't suggest this. If I had to pick one effect that is both amazingly fun and almost totally useless in a musical context it'd be a ring modulator. I'm in the process of saving up for the new minifooger ring, myself.
 
I just got a minifooger ring mod and i'm trying to work it into a song. I had to try it and it sounds awesome - just don't know how much I'll actually use it.

I'm surprised more people don't suggest this. If I had to pick one effect that is both amazingly fun and almost totally useless in a musical context it'd be a ring modulator. I'm in the process of saving up for the new minifooger ring, myself.


How does it perform compared to the real deal? I'd love me a ring mod, but I don't want to buy something that's too limited. Keep in mind I'm a fiddler...
 
When I saw the thread title, immediately my mind skipped to ...

Montreal Assembly

and to

Link Removed.


As well, in a parallel synapse firing within the grey matter, these also came immediately to mind:

Ring Modulator

then to

Bit Crusher



Montreal Assembly's "Wrong Side of Uranus" is a cool bit crusher something or other – well, any of MA's pedals are cool ("Probability of A Fax Machine"), but may be tough to fit into most band contexts. Ahh I see there are some newish MA pedals I wasn't aware of. Must check them out...

Sonic Crayon's "Anti-Nautilus" is a cool auto-glitch that could be used as an intro or outro for a song and in other ways more creative minds than mine own could come up with. The "Crushed Glass Granular Sampler/Looper/Glitcher" pedal gives you an idea where the Mad Scientist Mind at SC is coming from.


I LOVE what these two pedal companies are doing with both useful and not-as-useful sounds alike. Both co's offer several "mostly useless but fun effect pedal".

No affiliation, I don't even own any of their pedals yet... :(
 
Last edited:
When I saw the thread title, immediately my mind skipped to ...

Montreal Assembly

and to

Link Removed.


As well, in a parallel synapse firing within the grey matter, these also came immediately to mind:

Ring Modulator

then to

Bit Crusher



Montreal Assembly's "Wrong Side of Uranus" is a cool bit crusher something or other – well, any of MA's pedals are cool ("Probability of A Fax Machine"), but may be tough to fit into most band contexts. Ahh I see there are some newish MA pedals I wasn't aware of. Must check them out...

Sonic Crayon's "Anti-Nautilus" is a cool auto-glitch that could be used as an intro or outro for a song and in other ways more creative minds than mine own could come up with. The "Crushed Glass Granular Sampler/Looper/Glitcher" pedal gives you an idea where the Mad Scientist Mind at SC is coming from.


I LOVE what these two pedal companies are doing with both useful and not-as-useful sounds alike. Both co's offer several "mostly useless but fun effect pedal".

No affiliation, I don't even own any of their pedals yet... :(


Yeah, completely spaced on Montreal Assembly. I kept going to his website and trying to justify buying something. Now, I am back on there looking for any new updates I might have missed :)
 
Anything from montreal assembly, ohnoho and chamber of sounds.

The best part is the demos though. They look like they were filmed in 1985. And, some of them look like they were filmed in some sort of torture basement. You almost expect the Dharma Initiative guy from Lost to come on and give a speech or something.
 
Sorry im Having to type all this on my phone.. another great resource is ilovefuzz.com. earthquakers on there, dwarfcraft, iron ether and so on. You can interact directly with the builders which is awesome. Ask questions, give input with other users etc. Most are up for doing custom jobs and i like that my money is going directly to the person making the pedal. They all have a lot of personality too, watch any of dwarfcrafts videos to see what i mean.
My current favorite is my pitchgrinder. Bit crush sequencer, makes Nintendo sounds. Watch a video for it. The great destroyer is another good one.
Next up on my list is super ego, particle, and starlight dlx. Subdecay is a great company to look at too and they just put out a new ring mod.
 
The best part is the demos though. They look like they were filmed in 1985. And, some of them look like they were filmed in some sort of torture basement. You almost expect the Dharma Initiative guy from Lost to come on and give a speech or something.

Ha yeah especially one of those ohnoho ones. I spend sooooo much time goofing around on YouTube watching this stuff. Dwarfcraft, pedalsandeffects, mrexcane, bhendy.. i may be butchering those. But they all have great videos for rather Noisy pedals