Given to Fly - Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam is the sole band out of the commercially successful ones from the so-called "grunge" era (grunge is a ridiculously overused and meaningless term, so from now on we'll call it - behold! - alternative rock) that have been continuously playing since their debut album in 1991, Ten, without any longer hiatus or a complete change in their lineup. Pearl Jam aged well, like a wine or a cheese, there are no two albums that share the exact same style, their music has blues, classic rock, punk, country, and many other elements that are audible in their music, however, they've managed to create their own sound and own style.

Pearl Jam's history is so long and varied that I will not attempt to tell you the whole story; if you are interested, you should definitely check out PJ20, Pearl Jam's 20 anniversary film. Worth the time. PJ has gone through a bunch of drummers since their inception, but all the other founding members are still part of the group. Vocalist/Guitarist Eddie Vedder, guitarist Mike McCready and Stone Gossard, bassist Jeff Ament, along with drummer Matt Cameron (who also played and plays with Soundgarden) and guest keyboard player Boom Gaspar form one of the most creative and influential bands of all time.

Hopefully those who want to recreate Pearl Jam's sound have thousands of dollars/euros/whatever lying around, 'cause it will be expensive. PJ has always used a "classic" sound, it blends together perfectly, experimental sounds have rarely appeared on their songs. Since they usually go with 3 guitars, but at least 2, it is essential that their parts do not overshadow the others. The two full-time guitar players could be called "Strat" (McCready) and "LP" (Gossard) - in the early years of the band, they mostly played these two instruments, but since then, they've been switching them more regularly (money is good). McCready can be seen playing a Les Paul Junior, while Gossard uses Strats and usually an acoustic if the song requires one.

 There are some pedals that we can say are mainstays of the Pear Jam sound, but there they have used dozens of pedals throughout the years, so we'll only take a look at the most basic ones. One of the pedals that is used by both Mike and Stone is the famous Ibanez TS-9. This overdrive pedal is capable of giving your sound from a mellow middle boost to a crunchy distortion-like tone. (Low Budget Tip - You might want to check out the Joyo Vintage Overdrive pedal, which is a clone of the TS-808 with the same chip, sounds great for its price.) Pearl Jam often uses phased sounds, using pedals like the MXR Phase 100, which is available at almost any shop if you want to try it out. For delay, they've used a wide range of BOSS delay pedals, including the DM-3, DD-3, and DD-5. Two Dunlop effects are usually used in their rigs, the famous CryBaby (535q) and the Rotovibe, which is a chorus/vibrato pedal, simulating the sound of the rotating Leslie speakers. If you are interested in a complete list of gear used, with tabs, biographies, etc, you should check out GivenToWail.com, great site.

Blues for the Red Sun - Kyuss

Kyuss, the legendary desert rock/stoner rock/metal band, that launched the career of Queens of the Stone singer/songwriter/guitarist/generalbadass Josh Homme, is an interesting take on a blog dealing with guitar effects. Their sound can be attributed to Josh's unusual choice of amps, tunings, but not so much to the extensive use of effects, which stands in contrast with the approach of QotSA.

Kyuss was formed in 1988 under the name of Katzenjammer, then Sons of Kyuss, and in 1991, they finally changed their name to Kyuss. The two continous members were singer John Garcia and guitarist Josh Homme, other members included Nick Oliveri, Scott Reeder, and Brant Bjork among others. The band disbanded in 1995. Today, two original members, John Garcia and Brant Bjork are touring as Kyuss Lives!, playing Kyuss songs.



Kyuss became the prototypical stoner act, drone guitar riffs, heavy bass, hard'n'loud drums, and strong vocals. Josh Homme mainly used an Ovation GP guitar, which is the single most important part; this guitar is capable of producing a unique sound that no other guitars can. Homme later said in an interview that he prefers unique guitars, guitars with a story, and that he tends to buy used guitars because of this. He also said that he never owned a Gibson Les Paul or a Fender Stratocaster. To get that solid stoner sound, you should also roll back the tone knob on your guitar a bit (or a lot). Kyuss mostly played in a C standard tuning, so you'll want to set up your guitar to accommodate that, and .12 or .13 strings are recommended. Use your neck pickup.

Josh used bass amplifiers in Kyuss, we know of a Tubeworks Mosvalve RT2100 ES in particular, but he used various other amps, including Marshall JCM900s and 2000s. Though we know some of the models he used, we don't really know the little "magic tricks" they used to tweak the sound of the amps, this is the main reason Josh Homme's sound is so elusive. As for the equalization, you should turn up the bass and the mids, and turn down the treble. You should also crank up the volume to get a natural, crunchy, overdriven sound.



As for the effects, you can get a fuzz or a Boss SD-1, after all this amp magic, the distortion will mostly come from the amp itself. As for the fuzz, an EHX Big Muff could work as a general solution, or you could get an EHX Germanium Muff for a bit more crunchy low end. Though Josh never really used fuzz in Kyuss, it might work for some of you with amps that have a lower gain. The other effects are quite elusive, and haven't been used a whole lot in Kyuss, but a few people recommended getting a Visual Sound H2O for the chorus/delay modulation.

Black Arts Toneworks

In this post I am going to introduce you to my favorite boutique pedal makers (boutique pedals usually mean high-quality, hand-built stuff), Black Arts Toneworks. They have 3 main models, the Pharaoh, the LSTR, and the Black Forest, all of them being some sort of overdrive/distortion/fuzz effects. Every BAT pedal is hand-built, and their quality and appearance separates them from all other companies, but Mark still manages to keep prices relatively low. BAT's collaborator, Gr8Scott Graphics also offers custom graphics for a few more dollars.

Pharaoh

First of all, the Pharaoh is a killer looking Fuzz pedal, absolutely wonderful. It is also probably the most verstatile of the three. It has four knobs (Tone, High, Fuzz, Volume), and two switches (Hi-Lo output, Germanium-No diodes-Silicon). This fuzz is capable of giving you from a cleanish boost, through a gentle overdrive, to a facemelting fuzz tone. It's special characteristic is that it lets through enough of your mids so that your guitar sound won't be "highjacked", you'll still retain your guitar's sound. The Hi-Lo switch sets the headroom, so Hi will sound a bit more saturated and distorted (fuzzy) than Lo. The most intriguing part is the 3-way switch, which lets you choose between a Germanium or Silicon diode/transistor, or you can bypass them if you leave the switch in the middle position. Another interesting thing is that Pharaoh is capable of functioning with bass guitars, and some people actually use it for that.



LSTR

Another fuzz pedal, the LSTR ("Lester") is "the Pharaoh's unruly brother, LSTR provides the opposite of the Pharaoh. The LSTR is an all out rock machine tuned and blended to deliver the signature Black Arts low end along with more fuzz than mamma allows , unique tone controls and LSTR's understated, striking beauty. Teaching kids to smoke, play games and drink beer." After these words there is not much more there to say. While the Pharaoh is a bit dialed back, this fuzz's gain is over the top. Its 4 switches (Tone, Scoop, Fuzz, Volume) lets you create a variety of sounds, from the classic Big Muff to a Pharaoh-ish open sound.



Black Forest

The Black Forest overdrive/distortion is a traditional OD/Distortion, but of course at its best. Black Arts Toneworks created a versatile (see a pattern here?) pedal, that can give you overdriven, distorted, or even fuzz-like tones. "The pedal takes the classic ColorSound OD circuit and drags it through the soil." The 6-way Depth control switch makes you have total control over this pedal, cycling through different capacitor modes. The first thing you'll realize when you stomp on this pedal is its rich and fat sound, definitely a must have for players looking for a more classic sound.