Radio signals? What the f*ck??!

[Nejra Leffor]

Hii fuzz ,

i've heard that it's possible with some fuzz pedals to recieve radio signals / waves. How is this possible? Is it caused by the type of transistors that are used or is this caused by something else?

The reason i'm asking this is that i'm not trying to avoid this, but i'm looking for this. Also, are there any pedals out there that have this radio signal "problem" a lot?

Thanks a lot! ,

Nejra from the Netherlands

[bigchiefbc]

The one time I got radio signals with a pedal was through my Devi Bit, volume and control cranked up near max, and I was using like a 20 foot cable to connect it to my amp. Something about the amount of gain the pedal was putting out, in addition to a really long (unshielded) cable, and the radio was quite clear

[veteransdaypoppy]

I pick up a radio station almost every time i spend about a half hour playing with my wolf computer deluxe.

I normally get the best results when I have the fuzz, bias, and sag, just about all the way up.
(tone and volume controls on the guitar all the way up, too.)

Once I get a radio station, though, I normally turn on reverse reverb and my small stone.
Just to see what happens.

[metalmariachi]

Lack of shielding helps.
As does long wire runs in the pedal itself.

A lot of the old amps with 2 prong plugs and early fuzzes would pick up radio stations easily. Especially those early EH pedals (notorious for build quality).

Funny, over 7 decades have been dedicated to trying stop this phenomenon.

MM

[cloudscapes]

any sort of amplification hooked up to unshielded metal is potentially a radio circuit. they're very simple!

[ifeellikeatourist]

my old never drive always picked up radio signals when the texture knob was all the way to the left.

[jcksn1234]

i always get them, specially on my high gain pedals and fuzzes. my wolf computer and devis' give me a nice jazz station. i think it is kinda cool and adds a little .

[starcastic]

I always thought it would be a pretty sweet idea to have a pedal that received radio signals on purpose with a dial and everything. Then maybe having a fuzz circuit and/or a bit crusher to manipulate the signal and the ability to dial your guitar into the madness.

God that would be awesome. Is it possible?

[ifeellikeatourist]

Yeah, I bet you could use actual radio guts as part of a pedal to get those settings/controls...

Okay, brainstorm...you basically rehouse a small radio, putting it into a pedal enclosure with a footswitch to turn the radio on/off and knobs to change stations. THEN, a fuzz circuit or something else awesome like that with a separate on/off footswitch. The radio should go into the fuzz circuit so that when both are turned on, you get distorted radio, but you could also use either the radio or the fuzz independently. Your guitar signal should not go into the radio at all; there should also be a clean blend knob (and radio vol. knob) so that you can have the exact ratio of guitar signal to radio signal.

[starcastic]

Yeah, I bet you could use actual radio guts as part of a pedal to get those settings/controls...

Okay, brainstorm...you basically rehouse a small radio, putting it into a pedal enclosure with a footswitch to turn the radio on/off and knobs to change stations. THEN, a fuzz circuit or something else awesome like that with a separate on/off footswitch. The radio should go into the fuzz circuit so that when both are turned on, you get distorted radio, but you could also use either the radio or the fuzz independently. Your guitar signal should not go into the radio at all; there should also be a clean blend knob (and radio vol. knob) so that you can have the exact ratio of guitar signal to radio signal.

That's sounding good to me, brother. If someone made something like this I'd throw down the money in a heartbeat. This is something I wanted since my DS-1 first picked up Hot 102.1 when I was 13 years old!

[TheAttackman]

I always thought it would be a pretty sweet idea to have a pedal that received radio signals on purpose with a dial and everything. Then maybe having a fuzz circuit and/or a bit crusher to manipulate the signal and the ability to dial your guitar into the madness.

God that would be awesome. Is it possible?

Beavis audio did something like that where he put an intenna into the pedal with a mix knob.. (itouch=no link sorry)

Michael schniker(I know that's spelled wrong..) once picked up a phone call such he answered thru the pickups...

( in lou of recent events.. too soon??)

When I'm breadboarding usually touching a connection gives me radio.... I play along with songs sometimes )

[Nejra Leffor]

The bass player of my band uses a Fuzz Factory and we have succeeded in getting a few AM radiostations for a couple of times. But everytime we try to get it again, with using the same settings on the pedal as before, nothing happens. And i just want to be able to have control over this. Thanks for all your stories, explanations and experiences.

I think i'm gonna try to build a germanium based Tonebender clone with extra long wires hehehe. I also read somewhere that transistors can make a difference. Some germanium transistors pick up radio signals easier than other germanium transistors. Does anybody know if this is true and which transistors are the best to use to get radio signals???

Thanx

[TheAttackman]

The circuts I'm using don't have transistors....

[smile_man]

Beavis audio did something like that where he put an intenna into the pedal with a mix knob.. (itouch=no link sorry)

[FuzzHugger]

That voice you hear at the beginning of Weezer's Falling for You was, I think, a Big Muff picking up radio waves. That was how I first heard about pedals picking up radio waves. Not long after, I experienced it for myself!

Fun, cause it's often crazy preachers or a different language. haha.

From what I've seen, it really depends on time of day, chance, etc. Sometimes I'll get em clear, sometimes not. I always wish I had a record button around when it does so I can have some great intros and outros on songs!