External links
- A guide to the FY-2
- Discofreq's Effects Database entry for the FY-2, with modern clones and variations
- New Order interview- Melody Maker 1986
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The Shin-ei Companion FY-2 is a discontinued fuzz pedal, made by the Japanese Shin-ei effects pedal company from the late 1960s to the early 1970s. The pedal is known for its raw, distinctive, gated fuzz. FY-2 pedals are now rare.
Different versions were made, most using silicon transistors. These had a mid-cutting tone circuit, which lowered the volume. An earlier, rarer, version used germanium transistors. These did not have the tone circuit, and therefore had a louder output. The sound from this version is very rich, fluid and thick.
The pedal has two knobs:
Notable musicians who have used the FY-2 include:
| | This article relating to guitars is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing.
A wah-wah pedal is a type of electric guitar effects pedal that alters the tone and frequencies of the guitar signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic name "wah-wah". The pedal sweeps the peak response of a frequency filter up and down in frequency to create the sound, a spectral glide, also known as "the wah effect". The wah-wah effect originated in the 1920s, with trumpet or trombone players finding they could produce an expressive crying tone by moving a mute in and out of the instrument's bell. This was later simulated with electronic circuitry for the electric guitar when the wah-wah pedal was invented. It is controlled by movement of the player's foot on a rocking pedal connected to a potentiometer. Wah-wah effects are used when a guitarist is soloing, or creating a "wacka-wacka" funk-styled rhythm for rhythm guitar playing.
Univox was a musical instrument brand of Unicord Corporation from the early 1960s, when they purchased the Amplifier Corporation of America of Westbury, New York and began to market a line of guitar amplifiers. Univox also distributed guitars by Matsumoku, effects units by Shin-Ei Companion, and synthesizers by Crumar and Korg.
Fender amplifiers are a series of electric instrument amplifiers renowned by musicians worldwide. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuously manufactured guitar amplifiers since their foundation, Leo Fender began building guitar amplifiers before he started manufacturing electric guitars. The first of these were the K&F models, produced between 1945 and 1946. Fender amplifiers would become favourites of many famous guitarists such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, helping them pioneer their sounds.
Electro-Harmonix is an American New York-based company that makes high-end electronic audio processors and sells rebranded vacuum tubes. The company was founded by Mike Matthews in 1968. It is best known for a series of popular guitar effects pedals introduced in the 1970s and 1990s. Unknown to most people, EH also made a line of guitars in the 70's.
Octave effect boxes are a type of special effects unit which mix the input signal with a synthesised signal whose musical tone is an octave lower or higher than the original. The synthesised octave signal is derived from the original input signal by halving (octave-down) or doubling (octave-up) the frequency. This is possible due to the simple two-to-one relationship between the frequencies of musical notes which are separated by an octave. One of the first popular musicians to employ the octave effect was Jimi Hendrix, who also used a variety of other effects in his recordings and public performances. Hendrix used an octave-fuzz pedal known as the octavia.
The Ibanez Tube Screamer (TS9/TS808) is a guitar overdrive pedal, made by Ibanez. The pedal has a characteristic mid-boosted tone popular with blues, rock and metal players. The Tube Screamer, which various reviews give the honorific "legendary", has been used by many guitarists to create their signature sound, and is one of the most successful, widely copied, and custom-modified ("modded") overdrive pedals in the history of the electric guitar.
The Z.Vex Fuzz Factory is a fuzz pedal made by the American inventor and musician Zachary Vex of the Z.Vex Effects company. The Fuzz Factory is based on, yet vastly expands the tonal palette of, classic fuzz-tone designs from the 1960s. Invented in the mid-1990s, the pedals are mostly handbuilt and painted in Minnesota, United States, with a budget line being manufactured in Taiwan.
The Fuzz Face is an effects pedal for electric guitar, used also by some electric bass players. It is designed to produce a distorted sound referred to as "fuzz", originally achieved through accident such as broken electrical components or damaged speakers.
Distortion and overdrive are forms of audio signal processing used to alter the sound of amplified electric musical instruments, usually by increasing their gain, producing a "fuzzy", "growling", or "gritty" tone. Distortion is most commonly used with the electric guitar, but may also be used with other electric instruments such as electric bass, electric piano, and Hammond organ. Guitarists playing electric blues originally obtained an overdriven sound by turning up their vacuum tube-powered guitar amplifiers to high volumes, which caused the signal to distort. While overdriven tube amps are still used to obtain overdrive, especially in genres like blues and rockabilly, a number of other ways to produce distortion have been developed since the 1960s, such as distortion effect pedals. The growling tone of a distorted electric guitar is a key part of many genres, including blues and many rock music genres, notably hard rock, punk rock, hardcore punk, acid rock, and heavy metal music, while the use of distorted bass has been essential in a genre of hip hop music and alternative hip hop known as "SoundCloud rap".
A treble booster is an effects unit used by guitarists to increase the high end of their tonal spectrum. Many units boost the overall volume as well. Treble boosters were commonly used by guitarists in the 1960s and 1970s. During the last couple of decades, their popularity has increased again and many clones and reissues of the classic circuits have become available.
Bass effects are electronic effects units that are designed for use with an electric bass and a bass amplifier, or for an upright bass and a bass amp or PA system. Bass effects are commonly available in stompbox-style pedals, which are metal or plastic boxes with a foot-operated pedal switch or button which turns the effect on and off. Most pedals also have knobs to control the tone, volume and effect level. Some bass effects are available in 19" rackmount units, which can be mounted in a road case. As well, some bass amplifiers have built-in effects, such as overdrive or chorus.
The Univox Super-Fuzz was a fuzzbox produced by the Univox company, primarily for use with the electric guitar or bass.
Tone Bender is the name of several fuzzboxes. Macari's Ltd, who also own the Sola Sound Brand, and who have built and sold the pedals since 1965 now own the Tone Bender trademark. Korg used to own Tone Bender trademarks in the 1990s.
BJFE Guitar Effects is a company which manufactures effects pedals for use with instruments such as an electric guitar. These pedals are commonly used by guitarists to modify the sound of their guitar before it reaches the amp. The company is located in Sweden, and was founded in 2000 by Björn Juhl. "BJFE" stands for Björn Juhl Förstärkarelektronik. Pedal types include distortion, overdrive, "vibe" (vibrato), compression, and equalization (EQ). Due to the limited production and handbuilt nature, these pedals are considered "boutique" guitar effects.
The Big Muff Pi (π), often known simply as the Big Muff, is a fuzzbox produced in New York City by the Electro-Harmonix company, along with their Russian sister company Sovtek, primarily for use with the electric guitar. It is used by bassists as well due to the Big Muff's squeaky frequency response.
Fuzz bass, also called "bass overdrive" or "bass distortion", is a style of playing the electric bass or modifying its signal that produces a buzzy, distorted, overdriven sound, which the name implies in an onomatopoetic fashion. Overdriving a bass signal significantly changes the timbre, adds higher overtones (harmonics), increases the sustain, and, if the gain is turned up high enough, creates a "breaking up" sound characterized by a growling, buzzy tone.
Vintage musical equipment is older music gear, including instruments, amplifiers and speakers, sound recording equipment and effects pedals, sought after, maintained and used by record producers, audio engineers and musicians who are interested in historical music genres. While any piece of equipment of sufficient age can be considered vintage, in the 2010s the term is typically applied to instruments and gear from the 1970s and earlier. Guitars, amps, pedals, electric keyboards, sound recording equipment from the 1950s to 1970s are particularly sought. Musical equipment from the 1940s and prior eras is often expensive, and sought out mainly by museums or collectors.
Lovetone was a manufacturer of analog effect pedals in England in the 1990s and 2000s. The effects were created by Vlad Naslas and Daniel Coggins, and their pedals were noted for their tongue-in-cheek names like the "Big Cheese" and the "Ring Stinger".
Gibson's Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz-Tone was the first widely marketed fuzz distortion guitar and bass effect. Introduced in 1962, it became popular in 1965 after the Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards prominent use of the Maestro on "Satisfaction". In its wake many recordings, in particular from garage rock and psychedelic groups, featured Maestros on guitars. In the 1990s Gibson re-issued and again discontinued the FZ-1.