Best guitar pedals for making pure noise?

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I'm looking for a stomp-pedal (i.e. just one effect, off and on, not one of those Zoom boxes with like 24 effects) that can make a ton of beautiful distorted noise. I need it to be able to switch back and forth between clean and distorted easily. I'm trying not to spend more than $100, but I could if I had to. Anything that will produce a bunch of noise/feedback....

― Christian, Wednesday, 27 July 2005 19:16 (twenty years ago)

The Swash pedal sounds like your thing, although it's a pedal-sized pedal with about 24 buttons...

But why would you want just one button? Do you expect the pedal to read your mind as to what kind of beautiful distorted noise you want? What if you buy it, and it's sucky distorted noise? Or even if it's beautiful, it will be the same effect every time, which would get boring. There's a ton of parameters needed for "beautiful noise", ya know.

Best advice, just get the cheapest distortion pedal possible (i.e. really noisy) and get to know somebody who thinks he/she knows how to sodder/weld hardware circuits.

― donut ferry (donut), Wednesday, 27 July 2005 19:35 (twenty years ago)

I remember the dude from Unwound used a MXR Micro-Amp pedal. I boosts the gain a fuckload and all the noise comes from overdriving the amp. YAR.

― Boring Satanic Space Jazz (sexyDancer), Wednesday, 27 July 2005 19:37 (twenty years ago)

the MXR Distortion+

you can get it used for like fifty bucks

― kingfish (Kingfish), Wednesday, 27 July 2005 19:39 (twenty years ago)

or, if you like even more control, go for the MXR Distortion II, which is more of a Sonic Youth/Trail of Dead pedal. It has twice the knobs for more knob fun!

― kingfish (Kingfish), Wednesday, 27 July 2005 19:45 (twenty years ago)

http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pics/products/15/158331.jpg

― gygax! (gygax!), Wednesday, 27 July 2005 19:49 (twenty years ago)

good choice.

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 27 July 2005 19:51 (twenty years ago)

Zvex Fuzz Factory is a fun factory. The old handmade version was pretty pricey but they have a more mass produced version now that's about $160. It does a spectrum from 60s fuzz tones through to uncontrollable squealing feedback.

http://www.zvex.com/vexter.html

― walter kranz (walterkranz), Wednesday, 27 July 2005 19:54 (twenty years ago)

good luck finding one of those Moogerfooger ring modulators for less than $100 though.

x-post

― Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 27 July 2005 19:55 (twenty years ago)

MXR Blue Box. Distortion, ring modulator and slight pitch shifter that is utterly uncontrollable and unpredictable and makes the most ear-shattering squeals imaginable!

― Masonic Boom (kate), Thursday, 28 July 2005 09:26 (twenty years ago)

Can you solder? Check this out:

http://www.musicfromouterspace.com/

not guitar pedals admittedly, but cheap, and most likely much better for pure noise purposes.

Otherwise, DOD gonkulator modulator, Dod buzz box (tho' both would need something plugged into them) &/or frostwave resonator.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Thursday, 28 July 2005 09:30 (twenty years ago)

I have an old cheap distortion box that I managed to short out, to the extent that when switched on it generates white noise. Not ideal but very very cheap (original pedal cost about £20 I think).

― tissp! (the impossible shortest specia), Thursday, 28 July 2005 09:37 (twenty years ago)

eighteen years pass...

Hell yeah

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLyTeXyxoBQ

― Jordan s/t (Jordan), Tuesday, 10 October 2023 16:58 (two years ago)

Most guitarists don't step on their pedals frequently enough

― Jordan s/t (Jordan), Tuesday, 10 October 2023 17:00 (two years ago)

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