World Domination Enterprises' Guitar Tone

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

How'd he do it? Every guitar nerd I ask has a different answer, but nobody's figured it out yet. I'm convinced that pitch-shifting synthesis is involved, but I have no clue what the tech might be.

Listen here.

― Shoes say, yeah, no hands clap your good bra. (goodbra), Sunday, 19 November 2006 19:30 (eighteen years ago)

hahaha that was great

it sounds like transistor amp abuse to me; maybe overdrive with a digital delay with a very low delay time and feedback turned up?

― millenarian (millenarian), Sunday, 19 November 2006 20:45 (eighteen years ago)

Have I mentioned that I strongly suspect pitch-shifting? Perhaps microtonal shifts + up-octave layers.

Bad haircuts aside, I've worshipped that tone since I first heard it in the late 80s. It wasn't until recently (ILM, hello?) that I discovered their poor taste in barbers. The rock-crit press I read at the time (Conflict and FE-satellites) absolutely savaged WDE, and maybe now I know why: They'd seen them or this vid. It's still a great song, though, off of a great album.

― Shoes say, yeah, no hands clap your good bra. (goodbra), Monday, 20 November 2006 02:05 (eighteen years ago)

i guess i dont really hear any pitch shifting aside from maybe bent notes on the guitar? it sounds like he's really savaging the guitar and amp, arto lindsay style

and those hair cuts are great

― millenarian (millenarian), Monday, 20 November 2006 02:25 (eighteen years ago)

I'll see if I can get someone to answer this:

― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 20 November 2006 09:41 (eighteen years ago)

i think he just had the guitar overdriven and tuned weirdly - a lot of the strings were basically the same note a la lou reeds 'ostrich' guitar, but slightly detuned from each other giving it all those microtones, with maybe one or two tuned down two semitones - i remember him just playing with one finger across the frets & moving that finger up and down, there weren't a lot of chord shapes being pulled! - i did try this all out once & it seemed to replicate the sound pretty well.

― zappi (joni), Monday, 20 November 2006 14:33 (eighteen years ago)

this has become my new favorite song

― millenarian (millenarian), Tuesday, 21 November 2006 01:05 (eighteen years ago)

Hey - What's wrong with those haircuts!!??!!
zappi has it most right. No pitch shifting, just tuned to maximum dischord, with some notes almost the same as others, but not quite. Have to thank Victor Van Vugt too - an inspirational engineer/producer/friend.
And millenarian, you are right about the transistor abuse.
I used a Marshall valve amp live, but nothing could beat the sound of my tiny old Vox transistor busking combo for recording.
I also used two treble booster pedals - which killed most amps i had within a few weeks, until i realised what was doing it, and cut down to just one.
I'm touched by your interest and kind words everyone, and thanks to mark grout for emailing me about this.
btw does anyone know how i can go about getting some royalties for that video???!!?
Stay crazy!

― keith dobson (dobbo), Thursday, 23 November 2006 00:21 (eighteen years ago)

whoa!!! imm's second celebrity visit, ian crause being the first! yeah i had never heard of WDE before this thread but now i am gonna seek out some stuff

― millenarian (millenarian), Thursday, 23 November 2006 00:45 (eighteen years ago)

You won't be dissapointed. Alex in NYC was the one who brought them to my attention a couple of years ago. Hard to find, but worth it.

― John Justen says Toonces was one of the most talented cats on televison (johnjus, Thursday, 23 November 2006 00:49 (eighteen years ago)

one month passes...

I am pissed that Keith visited right before ILX went down. I hope he comes back.

― Braise: pointed offal. (goodbra), Thursday, 4 January 2007 00:25 (eighteen years ago)

There's some slim evidence of WDE's magnum opus existing on CD, but personally, I've never seen it. LP versions are quite easy to find if you hit the online rare dealers, such as GEMM, though. Yet another reason I need to get a t'table hoox0red up t'my Mac.

― Braise: pointed offal. (goodbra), Thursday, 4 January 2007 00:28 (eighteen years ago)

I just got the last WDE single from just such a dealer. I really, really need to get a turntable.

― Braise: pointed offal. (goodbra), Thursday, 4 January 2007 00:30 (eighteen years ago)

Hello, I am here to say yes the "Let's Play Dom" CD does indeed exist, although I have not seen one for a very long time, apart from the one I own...

― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 4 January 2007 09:32 (eighteen years ago)

four weeks pass...

Hi people - I created an unofficial WDE Myspace page (which of course, I would turn over to Keith if he requested).

http://www.myspace.com/worlddominationenterprise

I really don't know much about the band, though. I first heard them on college radio, then picked up a "Promotional Copy" from a record store in Philly in 1990. Since it's out of print I suppose there's no harm in sharing - I'll upload the album onto sendspace and then post the link, which will only be active for a few days anyway.

― Tim G (Tim G), Thursday, 1 February 2007 03:45 (eighteen years ago)

heres a link to download the vinyl transfer - zip file 70mb

― Tim G (Tim G), Thursday, 1 February 2007 14:35 (eighteen years ago)

heres a link to download the vinyl transfer - zip file 70mb

http://www.sendspace.com/file/jx2esv

― Tim G (Tim G), Thursday, 1 February 2007 14:35 (eighteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

Today's thread revive 45!

― Mark G, Monday, 26 February 2007 16:20 (eighteen years ago)

It's very Solid state device. There's slapback echo. That and a synth often playing that same things leads to the sound.

― Windy G Moisture, Wednesday, 28 February 2007 03:33 (eighteen years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.