The Pedal Movie is the latest in the endless flood of music documentaries to hit the streaming screen in your living room, and the first from Reverb – an online marketplace for new and used music gear. While nothing takes the place of supporting your local mom & pop, brick & mortar guitar shop, Reverb offers more security and confidence than Ebay and Cragslist, and many of those locally-owned businesses rely on their Reverb sales to pad their walk-in business, especially as they struggle to stay afloat during a pandemic. Reverb does more than provide a platform and collect a fee for each sale, though. They offer great instructional videos and product demonstrations, and really go the extra mile to make sure listings are accurate and buyers are protected. In short – they know their stuff – and I can’t think of better hands for this documentary to be in.
Guitar pedals have become the rage in the last couple decades, transitioning from the earliest fuzz boxes Jimi Hendrix used to the affordable Japanese stomp boxes of the `80s to the boutique, hand-made science projects of today. As a tone-obsessed guitarist, I struggle with endless options and constant barrage of technological advancements and new products myself, but I am interested in the history and the present of these crazy little boxes, and always looking for that next cool thing, so when I had the house to myself for an evening I laid down the $4.99 and settled in.
The first hour or so of the 2 hour, 20 minute film focuses on the history of changing sounds of instruments, how early piano pedals and trumpet mutes set the precedent for the first delay effects and fuzz pedals used on more modern stringed instruments. This part of the movie was fairly riveting, presenting the pedals and the masterminds behind them as lead characters in a story about the history of rock music, and it would appeal to any fan of rock and roll.
The story about how Glenn Snoddy accidentally invented (discovered) fuzz when a blown transistor in a new board caused the 6-string bass to distort during a 1960 Marty Robbins session was pivotal (and well told). When a disappointed Nancy Sinatra showed up for a session and learned that the board had been “fixed,” he came up with the pedal.
Glenn Snoody
The early 70’s era was especially fascinating, with Peter Frampton talking about working with George Harrison and Joe Walsh around the birth and early years of the talk-box, doing hilarious limitations of each character as the story unfolded.
Most genres of rock and roll are at least touched on, with an early emphasis on Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and especially the massive impact of “Satisfaction,” which changed Snoddy’s original Fuzz Tone pedal from a commercial failure to a blockbuster. Frank Zappa is discussed at length by son Dweezil and bandmate Steve Vai, the brit-pop/shoegaze scene is well represented, and 90’s alternative rock guitar god J Mascis lends his dry, slacker perspective about his approach to pedal use.
As we get into the late `70’s prog-rock and the `80’s digital era, things take a turn for the technical and I expect some casual, less-vested viewers may start to fade. More time is spent on the schematics, parts, differences, and similarities between classes of pedals, and some level of understanding around or interest in electronics would help. There are respites from the science, as Billy Corgan (playing his signature Revered!) and Steve Vai wax nostalgic about the mass-produced Boss and Arion pedals, and the charm (and quality) that came in those identically shaped, but different colored boxes everyone collected in the late 80’s.
The arc turns more to business and social perspectives as the documentary winds down with a good overview of the modern boutique market and how so many DIY/basement hobbyists have grown into factory-owning, respected manufacturers. There is a legitimate effort to include the perspectives of women in the pedal industry, and a good segment about the lack of gender and racial diversity in the field.
The film works especially well when a reference to a specific sound is followed by a well-known example – as they did with “Satisfaction” and “Do You Feel Like We Do.” It would have been nice to see more of that, especially with Hendrix, Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd. Corrigan’s discussion about the pedals on the Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream album was interesting, but without a follow-up clip it was hard to really grasp what he was talking about and the segment felt a bit incomplete.
I wouldn’t recommend this movie for a date night or in place of the latest Pixar musical with the kids, but gear-geeks will definitely learn a thing or ten, and for pedal geeks and hobby builders, it’s an absolute must-watch. Cheers to Reverb for a job well done, and let’s hope they follow it up with more documentaries about the history or music gear!
My Pedal Board
I’ve got a modest pedal collection, mostly set aside for recording. For my road/live rig, I’ve always assembled my pedal board with two priorities – it’s gotta be lean and durable. I don’t want a bunch of pedals to lug around and to have to troubleshoot and dial in every night on the road, and the ones I do use have to be able to take a beating. They’re going to get banged around in the back of the van, kicked around on the stage, and just maybe even take the occasional spilled beer or whiskey while they’re up there. I also like my pedals to have as few knobs and switches as possible. I’m easily confused and overwhelmed, especially at a gig.
Paisley Overdrive (by Wampler) [Link] – The story goes that Brad Paisley gave Wampler a list of about 20 requirements he had for an overdrive and they met each one in a small, blue, metal box. It’s not super dirty, but it has a nice rock bite. There’s a toggle that I liked down but would accidentally kick up constantly, and they recently re-engineered it to go left-right, solving that problem, so I had to get the new one.
Nightshade Overdrive (by Grindstone) [Link] – I bought this at a guitar show in Columbus the day after a Saturday matinee with Colin Gawel & The League Bowlers at the Rumba Café during Snowmageddon January 2019. It’s hotter and dirtier than the Paisley so I’ll kick it on in the occasions when I really want some extra distortion. It’s got some great gain and I keep it dialed just back of fuzz.
Saturn V Harmonic Booster (by Spaceman) [Link] – My favorite pedal. A great boost with an overdrive knob to add a little extra mustard to your solos. The bolt on the output jack kept coming off, and I posted a photo of myself on Instagram fixing it on a bar-top in Toronto before a show. Someone at Spaceman saw it, contacted me, and had it permanently fixed before our next run. A+ customer service by my favorite pedal company.
Carbon Copy Analog Delay (by MXR) [Link] – I’ve tried other delays, but haven’t topped this one yet. It does exactly what I want, every time. I don’t use it often, but it’s great for rockabilly and garage stuff.
Grand Orbiter Phaser (by Earthquaker) [Link] – I switched from a chorus to a phaser for my self-imposed single modulation pedal a couple years ago and it’s served me well. Maybe a little too well as I’ve had a tendency to over-use it a bit. It’s got a couple too-many knobs for my taste, but I deal with it for the great sound.
StroboStomp HD Strobe Tuner (by Peterson) [Link] – I’ve probably gone through a half-dozen Boss TU-2 tuners in my life. I used to run two at once, one on bypass so it was always on (so I could tune mid-song without cutting signal) and the second so I could mute-tune between songs. Explaining that to curious-minded musicians got annoying, the jokes about how my tuning was so bad I needed two tuners didn’t help, and real-estate on my board is precious, so I got the Peterson, which does that in one pedal. It’s a fantastic tuner, great options, great quality, great purchase.
The Amp Detonator ABY Switch (by Orange) [Link] – My live rig most nights is 2 amps; a 2x12 Matchless Chieftain quarter-stack and a Fender Deluxe Reverb w/the Rivera Mod. This ABY switch does a great job splitting the signal and sending it to both amps. I tried a couple others before I landed on the Orange. It’s built like a brick shithouse and does what needs doing very well.
Other Favorites:
Home Made Chorus made by my friend and pedal hobbyist Brooks down in Conroe, Texas. It sounds great and I love the hand-painted box. I’ve been using it at practice and I’m trying to figure out how to work this into the live rig.
Mercury IV Geranium Harmonic Boost (By Spaceman) [Link] – A truly special pedal. I don’t run this live, mostly because of the effort and real estate it would take, but I use it constantly when recording and often at practice, just for fun. I just turn it on and leave it on. It adds a subtle but really nice chimey sheen to the overall sound and everything just sounds somehow….better. It wasn’t cheap, but it’s a lovely piece of the arsenal and money very well spent.
What’s on your board?
Jeremy Porter lives near Detroit and fronts the rock and roll band Jeremy Porter And The Tucos. Follow them on Facebook to read his road blog about their adventures on the dive-bar circuit.
www.thetucos.com
www.facebook.com/jeremyportermusic
www.rockandrollrestrooms.com
Twitter: @jeremyportermi | Instagram: @onetogive & @jeremyportermusic
