Earliest recorded use of guitar fuzz/distortion?

[singlecoil]

My earliest so far is 'Hold Tight' recorded 11th January 1964, by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky Mick and Tich. Can anyone come up with something earlier?

You tube link for those not familiar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o28RaxfFC8

[Use Psychology]

(from wikipedia)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gbfnh1oVTk0

(1951)

[Use Psychology]

I think the kinks song is one of the best known (where they cut slashes in the speaker cone)

[singlecoil]

Perhaps I should have drawn a distinction between a 'not very clear sound' and actual distortion/overdrive/fuzz where a deliberate attempt to use clipping for its beneficial effects. I think the Ike Turner song would be an example of the first, I don't know which Kinks song was being referred to but slashing a speaker would mean less clarity but wouldn't produce clipping.

Edited by singlecoil on Thursday 3rd May 20:59

[Use Psychology]

fair enough, the 1951 example was apparently recorded (deliberately) with a damaged amplifer.

how about chuck berry from 1955 (the solo bit) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUHaubTv_Rs&fea... (perhaps more overdriven than distorted).

the kinks song I was referring to was 'you really got me', definitely distortion:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTV48ZUrfnI

[singlecoil]

I've been thinking a bit more about just what it is that I am getting at. Chuck Berry's sound might be described as raunchy, overdriven maybe, but there are none of the characteristic attempts to exploit what might be available with a system that is allowing clipping. He's simply playing the same notes as he would if the amp had more headroom.

In 'Hold Tight' we start to hear the results of experimentation into the musical possibilities. At the start of the song the guitarist is just playing quarter notes, allowing the sustain to keep the sound going til it's time for the next one. The solo uses the sustain available to really emphasise the slow bends, notes which would have decayed to the point of being almost inaudible without the sustain. I've often wondered why it hasn't attracted more attention as being ground breaking.


"You Really Got Me" was recorded somewhat later in 1964 than "Hold Tight", BTW

[Disastrous]

Odd, I was wondering this the other day. You mean distortion as distinct from tube overdrive, right? As my conclusion was that people were overdriving amps from the second they were invented probably. No idea when the first deliberate use of distortion occurred...

Interesting topic (only to musos)!

[singlecoil]

Disastrous said:

You mean distortion as distinct from tube overdrive, right?

No, I certainly don't. It's difficult to find words to describe effects that will mean the same thing to everybody. There certainly isn't enough room in a PH thread title to make myself clear in, so let's give it a go now-

What I am talking about is what happens when the clipping is so bad (good?) that the sound is no longer simply an overloaded front end of an amplifier system. The next level, the level I am talking about, is when one stage of an amplified system (which could be a pre-amp of some kind) pprovides an input voltage to the next stage that that stage simply doesn't have the headroom to accommodate. For instance, out put of the guitar, a few millivolts. First stage of amplification raises that to a voltage that is higher than than the supply rail of the next stage. Result, hopeless intermodulation distortion, BUT, if you stick to single notes or roots and fifths, no IM distortion and lots of lovely sustain. But guitarits had to discover this stuff for themselves, it needed a whole new approach.

[Disastrous]

singlecoil said:

Disastrous said:

You mean distortion as distinct from tube overdrive, right?

No, I certainly don't. It's difficult to find words to describe effects that will mean the same thing to everybody. There certainly isn't enough room in a PH thread title to make myself clear in, so let's give it a go now-

What I am talking about is what happens when the clipping is so bad (good?) that the sound is no longer simply an overloaded front end of an amplifier system. The next level, the level I am talking about, is when one stage of an amplified system (which could be a pre-amp of some kind) pprovides an input voltage to the next stage that that stage simply doesn't have the headroom to accommodate. For instance, out put of the guitar, a few millivolts. First stage of amplification raises that to a voltage that is higher than than the supply rail of the next stage. Result, hopeless intermodulation distortion, BUT, if you stick to single notes or roots and fifths, no IM distortion and lots of lovely sustain. But guitarits had to discover this stuff for themselves, it needed a whole new approach.

I think we're saying the same thing. To me, that IS distortion, as distinct from overdrive??

Anyway, I get what you mean (guitar solo tone in 'who's that lady?' by the Isleys, for example?) but have no idea...would like to know though

[Dr Z]

Cool stuff! Distortion to me is modifying the guitar signal to distort/clip before it hits an amp, not unlike [guitar>fuzz pedal>amp running reasonably clean] where something is added to the guitar signal to make it clip before the amp. Overdrive would be [guitar>tube amp turned up to 11] or even [guitar signal>boosted up to high heavens>amp running clean]. So the chuck berry link would be the latter and the OP's clip (no pun intended!) will be the former. The question would be, where is the clipping happening? At the amp or before it?

Makes sense?

Edited by Dr Z on Friday 4th May 13:14

[singlecoil]

in this live clip of 'Hold Tight', we are treated to a quick glimpse at 1.18 of an effects pedal at the lead guitarist's feet
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwODy5xSrcc&fea...

I don't recognise it, and it doesn't really look like a commercial unit.

So as to where the clipping occurs, we don't actually know, if it was a straight preamp the clipping would be at the front end of the amp, whereas if it had two stages then the clipping could be between the two. My guess is the former.

[Dr Z]

^Interesting. Maybe a booster of some sort? It sounds like a fuzz pedal in the original clip. I could have argued that it sounds like a dimed Tweed Champ being hit with a hot boosted guitar signal but in the OP clip it sounds quite 'heavy' and not quite farty for a tweed champ! lol - a lot like a fuzz pedal to my ears.