Pretty Years settings/notes/hax

[Eric!]

Damn... idk if that's really cool or if I want to cry for it. It's definitely a commitment.

Used-to-be-Pretty Years

Well eventually it's going to DannyW for a full face-lift. But I'm loving the relic'd look for now.

[coldbrightsunlight]

Footswitches for the FM is a great mod! I'm more into the original sparkles but you do you

[goroth]

I think it looks pretty sick tbh.

Demo with those switches dude!!

[Eric!]

Maybe this weekend I'll hook up the demo stuff in our lil room here. Haven't made a video in a hot minute...but holy moly. I set the base sound thick but not toooooo dirty, and then as long as a gain and FM are at a decent level, each footswitch acts like a different momentary fuzztone. HELLA FUN. There goes my GAS for a Fuck (well, not entirely)...

Thanks dudes your patience shall be rewarded

[baremountain]

so what happens when you press both switches? does the FM cancel out?

[Eric!]

so what happens when you press both switches? does the FM cancel out?

Sometimes. And sometimes it goes dead quiet..depends on settings obv. So with that, I can have the toggle set one way and stomp to unfuck it (sometimes)

..I can't figure out how Bri has the stomp+toggle configured to fuck/unfucks on the Fuck OF..so this works!

[dandy13]

I'd like to control the frequency with an expression pedal, but options seem to be limited. Any suggestions?
Also, has anyone tried this: https://koma-elektronik.com/?product=kommander

[baremountain]

I haven't ever tried that, but it will surely accomplish your goal of using an external expression device to control the frequency.

[Tall Walls]

Three years with no shared settings is long enough. I'm kind of crazy about this one, a trombone with lots of spit. The most trombone-ish tones are in the middle range of the guitar--go lower and the spit takes over, go too high and it loses that brass flavor.



Here's a little demonstration, where I don't always stick to believable trombone phrasing, but it still gets the point across I think:

https://soundcloud.com/charles-b-gillett/pretty-years-trombone/s-aHiqDQnGFyh

(Edit: updated Soundcloud link)

[goroth]

track not found

I do like me some trombone tones.

[Tall Walls]

track not found

I do like me some trombone tones.

Yeah, it looks like I neglected the little code at the end that makes private tracks accessible. I've updated the link in my original post, but here it is again:

https://soundcloud.com/charles-b-gillett/pretty-years-trombone/s-aHiqDQnGFyh

Plus a direct mp3 link for good measure:

http://brownrainbow.com/other/prettyyears-trombone.mp3

I did some experiments, tweaking this and that knob, and it's easy to lose the tromboniness. The key element is the FM knob, where there's a very narrow range where it gets that spitty sound. And bringing up either gain knob brought out too much guitarishness. And I thought playing with fingers instead of a pick might work, but it seems like it needs the attack from a pick.

I have a fairly high amount of possession-anxiety about the Pretty Years, since it does so many things that no other pedal does and getting another one would be prohibitively expensive.

[coldbrightsunlight]

Normally when people describe fuzzes as sounding like brass I'm like yeah right. But in that clip there are times when it really works!

You're making me miss mine a bit haha

[Tall Walls]

Thanks! I've been trying out different guitars with this setting, with mixed results. It doesn't help that my guitars are all cheap/oddball. The guitar in the clip is a Peavey Generation EXP two-humbucker tele-style with a bridge piezo (using the bridge pickup and a tiny touch of piezo, picking near the pickup). I tried it with my Peavey T-25 and couldn't really get the trombone vibe--close, sometimes, but never really there. I tried my Squier Bass VI and the situation seemed dire, but finally I got there by using just the middle pickup, with the tone rolled almost all the way back, fretting around the 12th fret on the 3rd and 4th strings, and playing with my fingers--with a pick it just sounded like any other fuzz. The FM knob had to be turned down a little as well.

[goroth]

That was amazingly brass like! Well done!

[Schlatte]

Or you could... you know... just play trombone?