With the release of AmpStamp 1.9, we explore a funk classic, dive deeper into late ’80s hair metal, and solve one of rock’s most revered and long standing mysteries.
ACHIEVING HIGHER GROUND
It goes without saying that the envelope filter is a really cool crossover effect. Stemming from early electronic music pioneers like Bob Moog, the E combines the functions of an Envelope Follower with a Voltage Controlled Filter, both available as early as 1968 in modular synthesizer format.
When Mike Biegel of Musitronics set out to build something new for guitarists, it’s unlikely he could have predicted the instant success of this effect. By tracing the amplitude of an input signal, in this case the guitar output volume, this could be converted into a voltage that could shift the frequency of a filter. The sound is similar to rocking a wah pedal back and forth, but automatically, hence the common alternate name for this effect, auto-wah. The EF100 Filter inspired funk classics from artists like Stevie Wonder and Bootsy Collins, and paved new sonic highways with artists like Jerry Garcia. It’s an effect with instant appeal that continues to be sought after today!
And in a similar vein, we’re introducing another synthesizer classic, the RM100 Ring Modulator! More experimental in nature, a ring modulator takes two inputs and generates frequencies at the sum and difference of the input and output. It gets even more complex when each of the inputs represents more than one frequency, for instance with chords on the guitar. We encourage you to try this effect on everything, but be careful!
SIDECHAIN INPUT
We’re also excited to introduce support for Sidechain Input, specifically with the EF100 Filter and RM100 Ring Modulator, for use in DAWs like Logic Pro. Sidechaining is a technique that became popular when using compression. The concept involves using an alternate signal to control the amount of compression that’s affecting the main audio signal. For instance, the mix bus could be compressed more heavily whenever the kick drum hits, a common practice in dance music production. For guitar, however we have repurposed this solution to provide multi-input capability to these two effects.
- For the EF100 Filter, this means that your sidechain input with control the filter, however your main input, likely your guitar, will be the signal that the filter is affecting. So you could in fact modify the filter on your guitar whenever a kick drum hits.
- For the RM100 Ring Modulator, the sidechain input will act as the carrier and replace the internal oscillator. This means that you could modulate your guitar with virtually any input, including your voice! Now you can unlock the demonic spoken intro to Iron Man by Black Sabbath, “I am Iron Man!”
NINETEEN EIGHTY-SEVEN
Clad in silver tolex, the VG4008F Amplifier and VG 4×12 300W ’87 Cabinet are going to be a welcome addition to any thrash metal enthusiast’s collection. The tonestack was truly dialed for thrash, but the amplifier remains versatile with decent crunch and clean tones as well by disengaging Rhythm Clip.
LEGENDARY TONE
Stay tuned for a new Classic Sounds Series post coming up. We’ve unlocked on of rock’s great mysteries and we’re extremely excited to share our findings with you. Of course, we’re talking about the unmatched tone of Eddie Van Halen on their debut record, recorded in 1977, released on February 10th, 1978. Many have tried, all have failed. It’s a tone that has become mythological at this point. Unachievable by mere mortals. There are pedals involved, possible modifications to the amplifier, a specific selection of speakers and cabinets, the recording techniques employed, not to mention the virtuosic playing. There is a lot to unpack, and we (the collective we) have been unpacking it for 46 years. Not anymore!
SAME SUBSCRIPTION, MORE GREAT PRODUCTS
As always, we think you’ll find that AmpStamp has endless variations of tone to satisfy guitarists in any genre of music. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you! If you haven’t subscribed yet, hurry up! You’re missing out! Check out the Gear Shop and stay tuned for new products.
The Musicology Group 