When I was maybe twelve years old I asked my mom for an electric guitar. My parents were unusually generous with my sister's and my musical curiosities. At that point I had been learning piano and trumpet for several years but I started to get into popular music and I wanted to sound like my favorite groups. We went to a music store and I tried an instrument made by Ibanez. My favorite band at the time was Spandau Ballet and I noticed in a group picture that Gary Kemp's guitar was indeed an Ibanez. I never even touched a guitar before that point so when the man who worked at the music store plugged the Ibanez into an amp and invited me to test it out, I simply strummed the open strings and was disappointed with the sound. Why doesn't this sound like Spandau Ballet? I immediately abandoned the project and chose the path of a person who enters adolescence without a guitar.
The problem was pedals.
I didn't realize that the sounds I loved so much from my favorite artists were highly modulated and affected. I thought that some guitars simply sounded that way, just as a Stradivarius offers a violin tone like no other.
A year ago I started playing guitar. As an adult I realize that many of the things that I love are the result of a complex process of trial and error and wise decision making. Many beautiful things are elegant and perfect because great effort made them so. Or at least lots of gear...
So I became a gear head. I have bought and have been given over a dozen effect pedals at this point. My most recent acquisition arrived in the mail two days ago. I realize that I wanted the sparkly, shimmery sound I was able to make, thanks to my pedal board, to actually change shape over time. A flanger pedal was exactly the tool I required.
I watched several videos reviewing various flanger pedals. The Electric Mistress by Electro-Harmonix has been around since the 1960s. Jimi Hendrix used one. Electric guitar purists seem to love this model - though recent reviews were somewhat lackluster. The MXR allowed the musician to achieve a Van Halen sound. The stomp box itself is 'built like a tank'. The Boss Flanger would give you the Cure sound. Obviously I see myself more as a Cure guy than a Van Halen guy, yet I selected the MXR nevertheless. I have an equalizer by MXR which allows me to enhance the treble sounds and decrease the bass resulting in a brighter sound. I decided that the a flanger pedal by the same company would be equally satisfying.
I added the new pedal to the chain and turned the power on. I played a simple chord progression and my living room resounded with the color of a cathedral. Neither Cure or Van Halen but simply perfect.
