A Distorted View . . . Pt. 1

To kick off 2009 in style, the Tone Farm is proud to present the first in a multi-part feature on one of modern guitar's most musically significant benefactors . . . distortion.

Distortion:

• Also referred to as clipping, distortion is a change in an audio signal resulting in the appearance of frequencies at the output that were not present in the original waveform.
• Changes in a signal that involve the addition of spurious tones at frequencies not present in the original sound.
• A process, often found desirable by guitar players, that alters a sound's waveform.

I'd venture to say that there are probably as many stories and theories about how "guitar distortion" was discovered / invented as there are now varieties of devices that produce it. Even more interesting than that is the fact that in the eighty or so years that electrified guitar has been around (*several internet resources indicate 1928) - it took almost thirty of those years, or around late 1950's, for it to come into vogue as an accepted incarnation of guitar tone.

A partial explanation for that might certainly involve the equipment itself, as most of the amplifiers and guitars being used back then were not designed to produce the kind of harmonic distortion today's guitar players seek, much less that of which would might be termed as "desirable". Another may relate to the music that was popular at the time - very little of which required the "over-the-top" volume levels that are associated with the distorted tones common to yesteryear's classic & today's modern rock music.

Most players would agree that distorted guitar traces its roots to the earliest days of a new form of 50's music called - - rock n' roll. Guitarists like Chuck Berry and Link Wray developed unique, agressive styles of playing that took full advantage of distorted guitar - and are commonly looked upon as pioneers of the genre. Wray was rumored to have punched holes into the speaker of his amp with a screwdriver in order to get the "fuzzy" tone found in his trademark song "Rumble".

While it may be one thing to purposely damage a piece of equipment in the pursuit of tone, in other cases, distortion happened purely by accident. Take for example Johnny Burnette's 1956 remake of "Train Kept a Rollin'". Apparently, while playing a show, one of the tubes fell out of his amplifier. When a reviewer raved about how fantastic the song sounded, Burnette decided he'd go into the studio and record it that way. Genius!

Instrumental artists The Ventures could very well have been the very first band to use a purpose-specific device to distort a guitar signal. Inspired by the "fuzz tone" on the Marty Robbins song "Don't Worry 'Bout Me" (*again, created by a faulty amplifier), Ventures' guitarists Nokie Edwards and Bob Bogle asked their friend - an electronics whiz named Red Rhodes, to design a device that would produce a similar "fuzz" tone. A few months later, Rhodes presented them with custom "fuzz box", and the band immediately put it to good use in recording their hit "2,000 Pound Bee". Hence, the concept of a stand-alone guitar distortion device was born.

As guitarists became more "in-tune" with the inner-workings of their equipment, they began to discover didfferent ways by which to "drive" tube amplifiers into their natural state of harmonically-rich distortion. Eric Clapton was one such player. Using a Dallas Rangemaster treble booster, Clapton coaxed his now-legendary "Beano" tone from a 2x12 Marshall JTM-45 combo. Other players like Pete Townshend and Jimi Hendrix would take Clapton's lead even further by using bigger / louder amps to achieve their distinctive saturated tube sound.

The music of the 1960's would put an indelible imprint on distorted guitar - especially in terms of how it was created and recorded. But perhaps more importantly were the musicians and players of the era who aspired to its boldly creative and expressive powers, thereby creating for the listener a window that gazed outward upon a brave, new musical landscape. - - J.