OFFBEAT BEATNIK

Описание: OFFBEAT BEATNIK
These jazz chords would sound very different without the acoustic distortion and the acoustic granular reverb effect. The distortion drys out the natural reverb of the original tines sound and shortens the sustain of the higher notes, then the ball chain adds an unearthly granular reverb back in again that was once assumed impossible for acoustical sound.
Because the role of thin plastic that has been placed under the tines acts by cutting off only one side of each tines wave cycle we get an asymmetric fuzz that sounds like extreme TUBE DISTORTION with lots of both even and odd harmonics, which unlike for the electric guitar do not have to compete with the instruments nearly absent harmonics. The tines produce a loud 6th and a faint 17th harmonic, when the long low tines are played this 6th harmonic stands out louder than the bass fundamental, it sounds like a high clear sustaining note on the dominant of the bass two octaves and a fifth above. This 6th harmonic distorts along with the fundamental and that gets a very funky sound.
I was thinking that the dirty loose reed sax like sound of the longer lower tines with the acoustic distortion may be because the actual double sax reeds are in fact air driven tines that bang against one another so perhaps the effect is similar when the tine bangs against the plastic roll that makes the fuzz.
The higher notes tend to be much more inhibited by the fuzz roll and by the ball chain acoustically such that they have a very short sustain. This was recorded with acoustic sound only and by using a cell phone, but I expect that when this instrument is plugged in and heavily amplified (the pick ups under the solid body bridge hear the acoustic distortion as well) the short sustain of the high notes will be lengthened as feedback adds energy to sustain the tines against the restraining friction, thus this whole system will as if COME ALIVE when cranked up!
Even in this acoustic recording the very highest notes tend to peak through the mix undistorted and it sounds just like an electric guitarist poping string harmonics for super clear angelic high note chordal effects!
During a show while highly amplified this instrument will likely go a bit beyond the electric guitar and amp because for the guitar the distortion is only in the amp and speaker while for this it is also in the instrument itself, which is going to add a whole new layer of CRAZY to the sound. We won't really know what the instrument sounds like cranked up until it IS cranked up until it feeds back, this is just a hint of whats to come.
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