Re-re-re-re-re-re-visited. Needless to say, we’ve been after this sound for some time now. It’s one of the first tones we debuted with, and this is now the sixth iteration in our quest. We’ve got something new to share, take a listen.
Download AmpStamp now from the App Store and tap the Explore button to load curated presets like Woodstock VI.
First Rays of the New Rising Cabinet Drive
With the release of AmpStamp 1.10, we introduced Cabinet Drive, meant to simulate speaker distortion when running amps at louder volumes. The effect ranges from adding subtle bite helping guitars stand out in a mix, to blurring and distortion almost like a fuzz pedal. We found the sound Hendrix conjured for Woodstock to be somewhere in between. His Marshall amp was running loud, but maybe not at full bore.
Active Bypass
Another interesting find that we haven’t directly spoken about before is that Hendrix was using the heel of his UniVibe foot pedal to cancel the effect. This was certainly not true bypass, the effect of pushing down on the heel of an original UniVibe pedal disables modulation, which in turn moves the swirling filters out of audible range. In their resting position these filters still have some impact on the guitar signal. We’ve provided this feature in the PH100 Phaser, in fact several of our pedals offer this capability though it may not be obvious. In this case, it’s critical!
Based on our listening tests the UniVibe pedal was placed after the Fuzz Face. Though there has definitely been some debate on pedal order, we clearly hear the UniVibe modulating the distortion of the Fuzz Face. This helps create that sharp top end heard during blistering solos in the recorded performance. Additionally, the bright treble quality of the guitar, when not due to the wah pedal, is probably due to the UniVibe in cancel mode.
Setting Gain Levels
Hendrix was one of the handful of players that regularly used their volume knobs, even with the Fuzz Face engaged. It was like another version of a tone control, and you should be able to experience the same detail with this preset. Try rolling back the volume so that with the FZ102 Fuzz off, the guitar is relatively clean. Then, with the fuzz on, you should still get the same intense blast of energy even with the volume down, but the fuzz should now have more bass, a bit more hair. It’s a cool middle ground. Of course, when leads need to be ripped, you can push the volume to full blast and let your fingers dance across the fret board.
And so here it is. The latest iteration in our quest for Woodstock tone. We updated the preset switch for the PH100 Phaser to utilize the Cancel feature when off as opposed to true bypass. And we added a healthy amount of Cabinet Drive to push the guitar into sonic chaos. We left the expression pedal for the WH100 Wah, adding the ability to change the speed of the phaser via knob.
Preset: Woodstock VI
The sound finishes with the VG402C Amplifier, configured for ’69 topology, and the VG 4x12A 100W ’67 Cabinet for period correct tone. We think you’re going to really love jamming on this sound, we’ve found the combination of fuzz and phase shifting to be extremely inspirational, for both clean and heavily distorted tones. It’s no wonder that one of the most memorable live performances was created from this sound. Now it’s your turn.
The Musicology Group 