Re: Saxaphone and Fuzz

Mr. Green <cliff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On 22 Mar, 14:02, "Dr. Zontar" <drzon...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Mar 22, 9:14 am, jimmy <bigtoeh...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I can't find the thread but, recently Tony D. was asking how to get a
saxaphone like tone.  I was flipping thru the Oct. 09 edition of
Guitar Player and they had an article caller "All About Fuzz".  They
state that fuzz boxes were originally designed to imitate a sax.  When
the Stones first recorded Satisfaction keef just filled in the riff
and the intention was to replace it with sax afterwards.  Turns out
they liked the guitar and left it.  

There was an early fuzz called the "Brass Master" that was supposed to
sound like trumpets. So I think a fuzz might help with brassiness. But
for a sax sound, I'd add a wah - left in a stationary position to
boost the mids. Also, since a sax doesn't have a sharp attack, I'd
play without a pick to avoid that telltale guitar "click" attack.

- Rich

That makes a lot of sense. Wasn't Santana's requirement from Mesa
Boogie that he wanted a sax type of sound. Old Boogie amps have a lot
of mids and smooth attack, like you were recommending.

Green

my 2 cents is that in order to get that sax sound you have to also
get that sax feel. And that means GOBS of sustain. Whether the amp
or pedal or amp/pedal combination also gives you some grit the first
thing you need is lots of sustain - then on top of that you can add
in the fuzz or grit. A cranked up tube amp saturated out can give
you some sustain or an amp with a high gain preamp can also but that's
just the sustain part. I've never heard an amp (power tube distortion
or just high gain preamp section driving the sustain/tones) that can
do the sax thing by itself without a little pedal (grit/slight fuzz) help.
I had a Mark III and on the lead channel it would get real close gained up
but I used a Sun Face pedal (fuzz face type pedal) set on lower fuzz settings
to get a bit of slight fuzz grit and it felt like playing a sax although
obviously nothing sounds like a sax except a sax. Depending on how I
bent notes I could also get that 'vowel' sound that a sax can get and so
I didn't use a fixed wah or anything (although someone mentioned in this
thread the use of a wah could help too - which is a good idea if not
overdone). A tube screamer type pedal that has a big mids boost could
also help along with note bending technique (slow forceful bends rather
than fast 'gotta get to the next note in the next beat' type bends)
ah well... what do I know anyways... just my take on it.
.

Relevant Pages

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  • Re: Saxaphone and Fuzz
    ... Guitar Player and they had an article caller "All About Fuzz". ... state that fuzz boxes were originally designed to imitate a sax. ... Also, since a sax doesn't have a sharp attack, I'd ...
    (alt.guitar)
  • Re: Saxaphone and Fuzz
    ... Guitar Player and they had an article caller "All About Fuzz". ... state that fuzz boxes were originally designed to imitate a sax. ... sound like trumpets. ...
    (alt.guitar)
  • Re: Saxaphone and Fuzz
    ... Guitar Player and they had an article caller "All About Fuzz". ... state that fuzz boxes were originally designed to imitate a sax. ... Also, since a sax doesn't have a sharp attack, I'd ...
    (alt.guitar)
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