Vacu-Fuzz and Vacu-Trem

I have always been involved with fuzztones (brother Ben Miller used an "Arbiter Fuzz-face", the type Hendrix used, in Sproton Layer). When I came to Boston, I had an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi unit. It broke, and when I tried to buy a new one I found that they had altered the components: now when you hit the pedal, the volume dropped. I was at a loss in early Burma.

Lou Giordano was a big fan from early on (I believe it is his semi-afro-haired sillouette on the back of the Acad/Max single). He was in an MIT band called The Vacuum Heads (no air-heads in that band). They were so-so, but we all liked Lou's attitude. (He later produced the TAANG! tapes for release, and is a well-known producer: LIVE, Bob Mould, Fiona Apple, etc.) When he heard what I was looking for, he delved into his MIT electronic engineering chops and took apart a Big Muff Pi. He then proceeded to hyperize every component and enclose it in a metal box that could withstand a direct hit from a bomb. (Big Muff on steroids). It was, and still is, an amazing box. Smooth, yet producing exquisite feedback when wanted.

Tremelo units have always been less required: I'd used them off and on in bands I was in for their shimmering quality. My Peavey Amplifier had built in tremelo, and early on Clint wrote "Tremelo", thereby making a tremelo effect mandatory (we couldn't do the song without it's pulse). When the Peavey amp mercifully died, I chose a 50 watt Marshall amp - which had no tremelo. Again, Lou Giordano to the rescue. In the same type of "hit me with a bomb, I couldn't care less" metal box, he built a hyper tremelo unit. The two parameters, speed and intensity, were both maxed out. My later song, "Trem II", was at a slow speed setting w/the intensity on full (becoming a strong on/off pulse). Lou had maxed the speed and intensity so far out that at levels of "11" or higher, it sounds as if 3 or 4 chords are piled on top of each other about 1/16 step apart. Possibly used that effect on "Sing Along." In early 1990 I asked Bob Weston to modify the unit: he altered a foot pedal to function as a speed control. It is difficult to deal with live (I'd rather run around), but it has interesting potential in a studio setting.

It is worth noting that, in keeping with a certain post-punk minimalism, both these effects only modify gain structure: tremelo turns volume off and on, and distortion unit piles one gain on top of another gain.

(RM)