Pedal Emotions

Started by Josh?, November 29, 2018, 08:36:54 PM

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Josh?

Hey everyone, I came up with a little thought experiment recently, and I'd love to hear your opinions:

Let's suppose you can only play one note.
A high note, low note, but no chords.
However, you can run this note through any pedals you like.
What's the happiest, most joyful note you can make?
The saddest? Angriest? Most nostalgic?
Any other combination of emotions you like?

patrick398

I always thought a B through an octave pedal mustered a certain sense of ennui.
Whether this is two B's, or not two B's: that is the question.

mth5044

I feel very strong connections between sound a color. I suspect if colors were emotions, then I'd call a low B on the A string through a direct drive blue and sad. Something like an open G through the harmonic tremolo is yellows and reds, which would be happy I suppose.

highwater

Saddest? C# on the A-string, Big Muff with the tone set fairly low, into a short, slightly modulated delay. Gain on the muff and regen on the delay set *just* shy of feedback; that level where you could set the guitar down and go on vacation, and either come back to silence if the guitar were on a stand, or still have sustain a week later if you leaned it against the amp.

Angriest? A low note, maybe an F#, through a *really* choppy tremolo and a couple fuzz/distortion/overdrives... perhaps a Fuzz Face with *way* too big an input cap, then a mis-biased/gatey JFET booster stage or two.

Happiest, most joyful? I have no idea. Maybe a really shimmery reverb.

Most nostalgic? I don't think I'd get nostalgic over one note, at-least not without additional notes before and/or after it. Closest I can think of would be a glitchy octave-down, evoking memories of old video-game music.
"I had an unfortunate combination of a very high-end medium-size system, with a "low price" phono preamp (external; this was the decade when phono was obsolete)."
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DIY Bass

Dunno exactly what emotion, but tune a bass into drop D and then play that D nice and long sure does something good for me.

Joncaster

Slide up to A on the B string, 10th fret as you sweep a wah: Playful/Happy

D on 7th fret, G-string through a slow Univibe: Nostalgic/Pensive

Hard-hit, bottom Eb on a strat through a cleanish amp with a touch of spring and tape: Hopeful/Promise
Music is Eternity: stretched like the sky over the landscape of our lives.

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iainpunk

#6
I have synesthesia, every note is colour mapped for me, but when i tune my bass or guitar to D standard, the colours stay with the frets/intervals. Even when using alternative tunings, the interval to the lowest note mostly creates the association with the colours, not the note names and/or actual pitches.

Edit: i dont associate timbre with emotion, i associate intervals with emotion
friendly reminder: all holes are positive and have negative weight, despite not being there.

cheers

bool

Quote from: Josh? on November 29, 2018, 08:36:54 PM
...
What's the happiest, most joyful note you can make?
...
BROWN note!

... Free Your Ass And Your Head Will Follow ...