Recreate electronic rock music effects
For centuries, making music had relied on the simple principle of objects vibrating when they’re plucked or hit, or columns of air vibrating as that air is blown through a pipe. This changed with the popularity of early electric organs – most notably the Hammond Organ – in the 30s, 40s and 50s, but widespread change didn’t come about until the 60s and 70s. This was the dawn of rock music, and marked a real growth in electronic music. One important element of 70s electronic music was the synthesiser.
Synthesisers generated musical notes purely synthetically, but a different approach was also a part of the sound of the 70s. This alternative form of electronic music involved generating the notes using the time-honoured tradition of plucking or hitting something – most typically the strings of an electric guitar – and using electronic circuitry to modify the sound.
Two of the best-known effects – which surely epitomise 70s rock – are fuzz and wah-wah. These effects were originally implemented using analogue electronics, but they can be replicated digitally, and that’s our theme here. Using a hands-on approach, we’ll show you some of the physical principles of electronic musical manipulation, and go on to see how you can recreate the effects, starting with ordinary guitar music and transforming it to something that Jimmy Hendrix would have been proud of.
Under the hood
The software tool we’re using is called GNU Radio Companion and it’s available in all the main repositories. It was designed specifically for designing software-defined radios (SDRs), but it’s equally suitable for trying out audio effects. And unlike turnkey software that’s designed for real-world use, you can easily
