Do not adjust your computer because Bill Ruppert has put together a nice set of sound effects using only EHX pedals and some creativity. I love how he makes a clock sound with just the pick-up switch and then adds in some bells for spooky effect.

You can see all of Bill’s gear here but I doubt we’ll be able to recreate his sweet tones without years of practice and fifty full listens to the Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House, an album that I used to own.

Are you the operator on your pocket calculator? Electro-Harmonix has a new Effectology video out showing how to recreate Kraftwerk’s Autobahn with some pedals and an electric guitar. There are lots of loops and lots of great guitar work.

Sorry for the clipping but this sucker was loud. This is Electro-Harmonix’s local tester running the brand new POG2 pedal through its paces. The pedal makes a standard guitar sound like a harpsichord and an organ or even an 18-string guitar.

The POG2 will take you even higher. Use the new attack control to fade in lush, smooth swells. Tune in the new second sub-octave to reach deeper than ever before. The 2-pole resonant low-pass filter now includes two additional Q modes. Slide in the newly enhanced detune to further refine your sound.

The POG2 delivers unrivaled tonal variations — and now you can save your favorite settings, and recall them with a click. The POG2 just plain sounds better, thanks to an enhanced algorithm that delivers a more focused and in-the-pocket harmonic performance. And all this is now packed into our rugged and pedalboard-friendly diecast chassis.

You can up the octave automatically and add extra octaves to each sound that comes out of the guitar. It is very lovely.

Jack Conte is an Internet musician who makes his living from selling MP3s online and generally running around like a madman making great music. I was introduced to him through Electro-Harmonix but I was amazed when I found the rest of his great music online. I met with him at a cafe in San Francisco where we drank huge bowls of coffee and talked music, technology, and hardware. He makes videosongs of himself recording his songs and sells his music online. Oddly enough, he also Tweets.

CG: So from a hardware perspective, and I know you use a lot of gear, it’s interesting how far things have come from your Dad’s old amp in the basement to a box that does everything for you. How have things changed in your experience so far and in terms of being a musician trying to get an authentic sound?

Jack: I think my ear is pretty good, but I don’t have formal training so my ear isn’t that good. I know when I like a sound. I’m pretty confident knowing when I like something… sometimes it’s the “wrong thing” but in terms of gear I always like the old stuff. My philosophy is that if it’s still around, it’s stuff people couldn’t bear to throw away.

The thing that’s cool about Electro-Harmonix is that they still make all those old pedals and old tubes. It’s tempting to get those electronic guitar boxes that does everything – I’ve had those before – but instead of opening doors they kind of close doors. The limitations imposed by that gear, using certain analog pedals, adds creative stimulation.

A certain number of musicians won’t be using the pedals, they’ll use the electronic stuff. But there’s a huge contingent of people who love the analog stuff. A lot of the modelers are really good, but I would rather use a pedal than a model of a pedal.

What would be the metaphor here for a non-musician? Something like a zoom lens vs. a prime lens?

If your options are limitless it can really hinder you. You don’t know which sound to choose.

People like knowing they’re using the original gear and the original sound. Another metaphor is computer animation… think about animated movies that include real people. Computer animation is good, but it’s not that good. It’s not the real thing. It’s kind of like that with the gear.

The main thing for me is just how it feels. It feels better to have a button you can stomp on. You can mess with analog stuff, which you can’t really do with computerized stuff unless you’re really familiar with the software.

What about overproduced music? Top 40 stuff? Is it too much?

I love well-produced stuff. The craft and the art of production is something I really, really love. I guess it’s about what the goal is. I listen to a lot of top 40 stuff on the radio that’s incredibly crafted — I don’t necessarily love the songs but I love the production for the skill level.

On the other hand, someone like Bon Iver recorded an album in a cabin in Vermont and that’s really raw and human. I love that as well.

You use mostly acoustic instruments that you run through pedals and other good stuff. Tell me about that.

I don’t love using synthesizers, but I do use synthesizers. I’m more inspired by acoustic instruments — as long as there’s something making the sound it’s something I really like. I like that I can unplug my Wurlitzer and still hear hammers striking the tines.

I’m not sure you can hear the difference but I feel the difference when I record.

How does it feel being an Internet music celebrity? How has it helped your career? How would things have been different if you did this 10 years ago? 5 years ago?

It couldn’t be done ten years ago. I wouldn’t be writing this many songs. You have to be careful because you have to be sure you’re making something for yourself while making something for the audience. I don’t want to be making something and asking the question “Will other people like this?” I’m asking “Will I like this?” That said, the incentive is that people will want to listen to the songs I make and it’s a business incentive because I’m making my living selling my MP3s.

That wasn’t possible 10 years ago. The infrastructure wasn’t in place. That is an exceptional transformation. I communicate with people through Twitter and MySpace. What I’m doing now probably wouldn’t be possible then. I’d be touring, trying to make a living. Now I can make music.

Will young musicians be following your footsteps? Will there be touring musicians?

There are going to be guys doing it like this. Lots of people think the record industry is falling apart. It’s not, but it’s changing. I think there’s always going to be a place for labels and there’s always going to be a Bono.

Finally there are people on the outside who get to say something. I’ve always felt like I’m on the outside of the music industry. I don’t know anybody who can get placement on TV or radio. But now I’m really glad that it can happen this way, completely outside of the traditional industry. It’s a great experience.

I just took a tour of the Electro-Harmonix factory in Queens, New York and came away with an interesting bit of information. Their lead web guy, Scott Matthews, has created a number of systems to connect musicians and EHX products in ways that I’ve never seen on other conventional music supply sites.

EHX is famous. They’ve been making pedals and effects since 1968 and the sounds their pedals produce have been heard in countless recordings in the last few decades. But how is the average Joe supposed to share his experiences with the pedals? Or, more importantly, how does the professional or amateur guitarist supposed to know how to use the pedals and which pedals to buy?

To tackle this problem, Scott created a media sharing system that allows folks to submit videos of their own performances using the devices. More importantly, he has also introduced Effectology, an abundantly cool series created with musician Bill Ruppert who recreates classics sounds – synths, harmonicas, harpsichords – just with the pedals.

Scott even built up a forum for the series complete with feedback from Bill himself. The are also reaching out to web-savvy artists like Jack Conte who creates amazing mixes using EHX pedals and acoustic instruments.

So why is this so special? Pop over to any other music equipment site and you get a picture and a description. Some folks like Diamond are trying this tact as well, with mixed results. But for a small company like EHX to embrace the techniques of e-marketing with a passion adds value for everyone. EHX gets sales from folks who might want to try to make their guitars sound like a chorus of angels while folks get to hear – and understand – the vague and murky world of pedal acoustics. Win-win, people. Win-win. Instead of trying to create buzz with Twitter and Facebooking their board meetings, EHX is creating content to share with the world and, because of their niche audience, they can be appreciated and see real return.

Electro-Harmonix, pedal designers since 1968, have added a little of their effects magic to Rock Band 2 in the form of this cool new Overdrive pedal. Instead of shaking your guitar like a madman you calmly and professionally tap the main button on this effect, sending your riffs into the heavens with extra overdrive.

The company originally wanted the accessory to work like a real effects pedal when plugged into a guitar but the complexity got a little high. Instead, Harmonix and EHX designed the pedal to look like the Little Big Muff Pi and its built like a tank, just like the rest of EHX’s gear.

The box will be available soon for $29.99. This thing is so well built you’ll be able to stomp on it for years without an issue and it might even turn you Rock Band whippersnappers in to real guitarists one day.

More EHX goodies…

Joel at BBG got some great footage of the Electro-Harmonix factory, makers of the Voice Box that we showed you a few days ago.

Apparently this little Mom and Pop in Long Island City makes most of the vacuum tubes for the world; an amazing feat in today’s transistorized world. Great stuff from a great company.

The music is a little bit precious but this Electro-Harmonix Voice Box thing is amazing as a music tool. The box follows along to background music and works in harmony or vocoder mode.

One thing that you’ll notice is that in a few iterations of the market instinct, you’ll probably hear more and more bands using these tools. Even in my limited musical experience, I’ve noticed “tricks” that have shown up in hardware or software form ending up in popular music a few weeks after they are launched commercially. It’s like an arms race in which everyone is really emo about fighting.

The harmony processor creates 2- to 4-part harmonies directly from your vocals, in the same key as your accompanying instrument. Studio-quality reverb lets you independently add depth to your dry and harmony vocals.

The focused 256-band articulate vocoder, designed by the same EMS genius who made vocoding famous, features adjustable harmonic enhancement and controllable formant shift.

* Harmonically matches any electric instrument you plug into it
* Professional quality pitch shifting algorithm produces realistic harmonies
* The Low & High Harmony independently produces two harmony notes: 3rd and 5th
* 9 accessible programmable presets
* Natural Glissando
* Gender Bender knob allows for male/female formant modification
* Built-In Mic Pre with Phantom Power & Gain Switch
* Balanced XLR Line Output: Interface directly with any mixing board or A/D converter
* US96DC-200BI power supply included

The box is available now but I think it’s special order.

via Make