6
Original Effects
Masters
words by Fletcher Stewart
Producers to Inspire
Pedalboards and Vice
Versa
With all the wild and wonderful stompboxes
and plugins out there, we are entering
a new universe of hybrid hardware and
software intermingling. Boundaries and
genre borders are being knocked down
as we explore new networks of effects and
auditory adventures. Today’s feature is all
about looking to those that understand the
art of playing the studio as one enormous
instrument. We’ll take inspiration from
console conductors, cosmic dub warriors,
pedal pushers, DAW dwellers, techno
tweakers and interstellar producers of all
kinds. More and more I am looking to
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TONE TALK //
6 Original Effects Masters
psybient, trance, techno, chillout, dub and
electronic music for guidance and I find that
when I pick up the guitar again and start
patching pedals together on a board that
these incredibly rich (and largely non-guitar-
based) realms of music make me approach
the whole shebang differently. After all, a
pedalboard can be thought of as a mini-
microcosmic studio and when that little
sonic ecosystem is integrated into a larger
world of studio sound, the cross-pollination
flowers pure magic. Let’s wave the wands
and focus on the hocus-pocus of then and
now.