I was listening to Steve Wonder's "Higher Ground" song on the oldies station the other night, and I was wondering if anyone would know what the effect was that was being used in that song. There may be no effect perse', it may be a setting on the keyboards. It was a sort of wah tone that happenened after every note that was played. I don't know if it was thumbed base through an auto-wah or what, but it's ultra funky. It's more of a "bonk" sort of sound, where the note cuts off real quick. I can get a similar sound with my electric banjo through my French Fries, since there is no sustain from the note. Take that through a MOC-1 Octave pedal, and you have a really nice funk bass!
It's been a while since I heard that song (too long -- it's a great song). I could very well be wrong but I remember two very popular things being released around this time which I think Stevie WOnder used a lot: the Hohner Clavinet and the Mutron envelope follower (which I forget the proper name of at the moment).
I really think that is what he uses, but I could be thinking of a different song.
That's a Mutron III that you're hearing. :D
http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=135&Itemid=149
If I recall correctly, Stevie was one of the first users and Higher Ground was one of the first recordings done with it.
Now for Clavinet upgrades.... ;)
http://www.gti.net/junebug/clavinet/d6upgrade.htm
Thanks for the links! I have not been around keyboards much, so I hadn't heard of the Clavinet.
Quote from: jmusserThanks for the links! I have not been around keyboards much, so I hadn't heard of the Clavinet.
Yeah, the Clavinet was very cool. It's the sound of Stevie Wonder's Superstition as well (possibly without the Mutron -- I need to dig out some of my old Stevie Wonder records to catch up).
the Mutron (& Q-tron) inventor (Mike Beigel) got infos on one of his sites:
http://diystompboxes.com/sboxforum/viewtopic.php?t=28074&highlight=mutron
Dave Hunter's book also claims that the clavinet Mutron combo used in "Higher Ground" was one of the things that effectively "launched" sales of the Mutron III and Musitronics.
Thanks for the links Puretube. There was a whole lot of information there that I never knew, because I haven't been into effects all my life like a lot of you. From what I understand of the article, that particular effect is what put Musitronics on the map period, just like Mark said. It interesting that out of all the songs there are, I would have picked that one out specifically because of it's unique sound, and it just happened to be a release of a new product, by a new firm, at the time of song's release!
Neat stuff.
I finally got my computer fixed, and redownloaded PDF, so I could check out your Neutron Filter. Wow! What a labor of love that must have been for you to put in that kind of time and effort into the documentation process. You have not 1, but 4 options on optoisolators, full parts list with values and Mouser part numbers, PC layout, off board wiring, and the actual layout for a specific Hammond box. Very impressive!