O
ne of my first great artistic
passions before music
was film. I never really got
into directing or shooting
my own films, (aside
from shoestring spy films
with my brothers), but I
have always loved and
appreciated film. Since beginning on
my path as a musician, I have paid
much more attention to the aspects of
the film beyond the visual, namely the
acoustic and psychoacoustic. Lately,
my focus has been on the Foley
effects (the “practical” sound effects;
footsteps, dishes clanking, punches,
etc.), but even more so on the
sounds under the practical that can’t
be placed; the sounds that evoke
emotional responses. These sounds
go beyond just “scared,” “happy” and
“sad,” and have the ability to create
moods and arouse feelings more
powerful than words can describe.
They can drop you into neon soaked
cities of the future, or the dusty towns
of the Old West, with just a well-
placed sound, musical or not.
When Tone Report Weekly asked me
to create one of my signature sonic
articles for EarthQuaker’s latest pedal,
the Avalanche Run, I couldn’t refuse.
Due to my latest film proclivities,
I decided to do something a little
off the beaten path with this pedal.
Instead of opting for the standard fare
of trying this unit out in a bunch of
musical situations, I decided to flex its
muscles in a different way, by doing
a bit of film-inspired soundscaping.
Since it is a combination reverb and
delay with a host of cool control
features, I thought it would be perfect
for this specific task.
For this demo, I went straight
into my DAW, with the help of the
Effectrode Blackbird preamp to
both add some tube warmth and
distortion. The Avalanche Run came
after the Blackbird, and I used an
expression pedal to control some of
the parameters on this pedal. Hope
you enjoy!
ToneReport.com
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