Tone Report Weekly 181 | Page 22

Radioactive TONE In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, it seemed like everyone was using effects—after all, the first fuzz pedals were marketed as ways to get guitars to sound like horns and cellos. Of course, we know these ancient fuzzboxes as germanium-powered splat machines, but back then they appealed to broad swaths of musicians. The market was ripe, and the effects world was blossoming. Here was a brand new avenue of musical instruments (think about the last time a new innovation swept the musician community—the guitar amp) ready to be harvested, with the added bonus of being 22 22 much easier to design and manufacture than an amplifier. Some of the first effects, such as the Rangemaster, used just nine electronic components—this opened the door for many companies to form pedal subdivisions with the intention of cashing in and making out like bandits. Of course, this is one possible theory about how the Victoreen Instrument Company, and by proxy, Jordan Electronics, got into the effects building industry despite having previously produced Geiger counters and other wholly non-musical products. Theoretically, engineers TONE // Secret Build Weapons the Modified Tone Report Staff Boss Tone DIY // TALK Radioactive Tone: Your of Own Jordan