Dispatch the Mystery Machine: Fuzzy Mystery Content

[Big Mon]

I need some Sonic Sleuths to help me solve the Electric Mud mystery. What fuzz did Pete Cosey use on this album? This is what I know: Electric Mud was recorded in '68. Available fuzzes (that I know of) back then were Maestro Fuzztone, Fuzzface/ Tone Bender, Mosrite Fuzzrite, and I believe that is when the first Superfuzzes were being made. Judging by the sound, it's either a Maestro, Fuzzrite, or Superfuzz. Treble-y, piercing, maybe less octave-y than a Superfuzz, but I could be wrong. MM? Dev? kosta? Chanx? Honestly, I have tried to Google this, but found nothing conclusive

[Big Mon]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvNjZGZ_UjI[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8zlhA0Tbyc[/youtube]
a couple points of reference.

[sonidero]

Most people reference the Jordan Bosstone...

I just bread boarded a Jordan Boss Tone (CA version) and it totally nailed that tone with an PNP in Q2 and running neg ground. The PNP with positive ground did not sound like it. It was way too splatty and you could hardly get a note to sound. I went with the CA Boss Tone due to the timeline. It has a slight hint of octave up effect

[Big Mon]

http://www.premierguitar.com/Default.aspx
Nice! Just found this^, wherein the Jordan Bosstone is confirmed as weapon of choice

[kosta]

Bosstones are sweeeeet.

[CaptainWampum]

Worlds most underrated bosstone clone.

[WeHuntKings]

Worlds most underrated bosstone clone.

agreed. i really want one of these, it can really bring the heavies.

[Chankgeez]

Ha ha. You guys are too quick.

Pete Cosey is the reason I bought a Bosstone.

http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/I ... _2012.aspx

He played that Bosstone when he was with Miles too.

I think Chris Mahoney is generally considered the Bosstone guru:

http://mahoneyguitargear.com/pedals/buzztone.htm

I've got some more info from an old Guitar Player article that I'll try to find after dinner.

[Chankgeez]

OK, ghost of bloo, I couldn't find that article online. So, I'll now proceed to type some of the pertinent bits out for you.

Talking about mid-Sixties Chess session:

For most sessions, Pete used his trusty Gretsch Tennessean, along with a '58 Fender Stratocaster and a customized Gibson ES-125, modified by Phoenix luthier Bill Ross to include 24 frets and a single cutaway. Some years later, Cosey devised a three-way cord that allowed him to feed the sound of one guitar through another and then into an amp. "I could feed the sound of the Gretsch into the Strat," he claims, "so that I could set my Gretsch on whatever tone setting I wanted , play my Strat, and it would come out as pure Gretsch sound. So I could have the fast neck of the Strat with the warm tone of the Gretsch. Or by adjusting the settings, I could get an interesting blend of the two qualities."

Talking about the Electric Mud sessions:

As Cosey recalls, Muddy did not seem too pleased during the session: "He was quite concerned because he had never experimented beyond just guitar and amplifier, and here I had all these gadgets - a Jordan Bosstone [fuzz], an Echoplex, and a few other toys running through a brand new Acoustic amp, which was a lot more high-powered than he was used to working with. During the session he'd walk up to me , shake his head and just keep repeating, "I dunno, boy ... I dunno, boy."

Talking about playing with Miles:

Cosey played various guitars during his Miles years. Most of the work for the Japanese recordings was done on a double-cutaway Guild that resembled a Gibson SG. He used two Gibson Les Pauls for Dark Magus, a '54 and a '59. His backup guitar was a '61 Strat.

Amplification varied from gig to gig. Pete used Yamaha gear for the Japanese tour, a Marshall stack at Carnegie Hall, and Sunn amps on other occasions. "I liked the Yamaha equipment best," he comments, " it gave me more highs, as opposed to the meatier sound you get with Marshalls. The Sunns were really powerful and sounded good, but the Yamaha equipment seemed to work best with my pedals."

Pete relied on two wah-wah pedals, a Morley for a warmer sound and a German Halifax model for soloing. He also sometimes used a Vox wah, preferring the Clyde McCoy model to the Cry Baby. His distortion came from a Jordan Bosstone and a Gibson pedal. Another important tool during those years was the Synthi, a peculiar little synthesizer made by EMS...

[Big Mon]

That's a wealth of great info, dude! Much obliged

[excane]

OK, ghost of bloo, I couldn't find that article online. So, I'll now proceed to type some of the pertinent bits out for you.

Talking about mid-Sixties Chess session:

For most sessions, Pete used his trusty Gretsch Tennessean, along with a '58 Fender Stratocaster and a customized Gibson ES-125, modified by Phoenix luthier Bill Ross to include 24 frets and a single cutaway. Some years later, Cosey devised a three-way cord that allowed him to feed the sound of one guitar through another and then into an amp. "I could feed the sound of the Gretsch into the Strat," he claims, "so that I could set my Gretsch on whatever tone setting I wanted , play my Strat, and it would come out as pure Gretsch sound. So I could have the fast neck of the Strat with the warm tone of the Gretsch. Or by adjusting the settings, I could get an interesting blend of the two qualities."

Talking about the Electric Mud sessions:

As Cosey recalls, Muddy did not seem too pleased during the session: "He was quite concerned because he had never experimented beyond just guitar and amplifier, and here I had all these gadgets - a Jordan Bosstone [fuzz], an Echoplex, and a few other toys running through a brand new Acoustic amp, which was a lot more high-powered than he was used to working with. During the session he'd walk up to me , shake his head and just keep repeating, "I dunno, boy ... I dunno, boy."

Talking about playing with Miles:

Cosey played various guitars during his Miles years. Most of the work for the Japanese recordings was done on a double-cutaway Guild that resembled a Gibson SG. He used two Gibson Les Pauls for Dark Magus, a '54 and a '59. His backup guitar was a '61 Strat.

Amplification varied from gig to gig. Pete used Yamaha gear for the Japanese tour, a Marshall stack at Carnegie Hall, and Sunn amps on other occasions. "I liked the Yamaha equipment best," he comments, " it gave me more highs, as opposed to the meatier sound you get with Marshalls. The Sunns were really powerful and sounded good, but the Yamaha equipment seemed to work best with my pedals."

Pete relied on two wah-wah pedals, a Morley for a warmer sound and a German Halifax model for soloing. He also sometimes used a Vox wah, preferring the Clyde McCoy model to the Cry Baby. His distortion came from a Jordan Bosstone and a Gibson pedal. Another important tool during those years was the Synthi, a peculiar little synthesizer made by EMS...

Post is worth its weight in gold.

Good Stuff Chankgeez!!

[MEC]

1990 Chanks: "I better hang on to this issue of Guitar Player, It might come in handy some day"

22 Years Later...

2012 Chanks: "I fuckin' knew it"

[excane]

[Chankgeez]

Thanks, guys.

Yeah, I pretty much saved almost all the issues of Guitar Player I've ever bought. (Even the crappier recent issues.) Bass Player on the other hand, I tossed most of those. Only a few worth saving. I stopped buying 'em though because both of those magazines totally suck now.

[kosta]

Damn Chankz. So legit, man! You rule. And the thought of Pete Cosey f'n with a Synthi!!! Mindboggling...