Lovetone
Encyclopedia
Lovetone is the name of a manufacturer of analog
effect pedals in England
in the 1990s.
The effects were created by Vlad Naslas and Daniel Coggins, and their pedals were noted for their tongue-in-cheek names like the "Big Cheese" and the "Ring Stinger".
Most Lovetone effects replicate a popular vintage analog effect in part, but usually implement the effect in ways not previously seen in smaller so-called "stompbox" effects units. Many Lovetone units are noted for the ability to control multiple parameters of the effect through the use of low frequency oscillators (LFO
s), expression pedals, or control voltage (CV)—features more commonly found in analog synthesizer
s and synthesizer
modules. This ability to create extremely unusual sounds has made the pedals highly regarded by musicians and producers. The company was able to attract a diverse list of notable musicians and producers to use its effects, including the Beastie Boys
, Metallica
, Radiohead
, Nellee Hooper
, Chris Kimsey
and Alan Moulder
.
In 2001 the company announced that they would cease production of all pedals. This led to an explosion in price of existing units. After this announcement, it was common to see Lovetone pedals on the secondhand market at prices nearly double their original sale price.
In 2003 the company announced that they would again be making the Meatball and Cheese Source pedals, to be sold through Daniel Coggins's newly formed company Dinosaural, which became the primary point of contact for Lovetone technical support and repairs.
Dan Coggins left the Lovetone business in April 2008. The Dinosaural website also now states that he is no longer providing repairs or technical support for Lovetone products as of January 2009. Repair work still remains available for the Dinosaural product legacy only.
It also has a tone selector switch, with four different settings:
Notable musicians who have used the Big Cheese include:
The filter section has the following controls:
It has an effects loop, where external effects could be placed after the trigger section but before the filter section. It also has two jacks for passive volume pedals to control the decay and the intensity. It was reissued by Dinosaural from 2003 to 2007.
The Meatball was used by Kirk Hammett for the Wah like sound in the opening riff of "I Disappear".
Analog signal
An analog or analogue signal is any continuous signal for which the time varying feature of the signal is a representation of some other time varying quantity, i.e., analogous to another time varying signal. It differs from a digital signal in terms of small fluctuations in the signal which are...
effect pedals in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in the 1990s.
The effects were created by Vlad Naslas and Daniel Coggins, and their pedals were noted for their tongue-in-cheek names like the "Big Cheese" and the "Ring Stinger".
Most Lovetone effects replicate a popular vintage analog effect in part, but usually implement the effect in ways not previously seen in smaller so-called "stompbox" effects units. Many Lovetone units are noted for the ability to control multiple parameters of the effect through the use of low frequency oscillators (LFO
LFO
LFO may refer to:* LFO , an English techno act* LFO , an American three-man pop/rap group** LFO , an album released by the American pop group LFO* Light Finding Operation, a form of mecha from the anime TV series Eureka Seven...
s), expression pedals, or control voltage (CV)—features more commonly found in analog synthesizer
Analog synthesizer
An analog or analogue synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog computer techniques to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s such as the Trautonium were built with a variety of vacuum-tube and electro-mechanical technologies...
s and synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
modules. This ability to create extremely unusual sounds has made the pedals highly regarded by musicians and producers. The company was able to attract a diverse list of notable musicians and producers to use its effects, including the Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
, Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
, Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, Nellee Hooper
Nellee Hooper
Nellee Hooper is a British producer/remixer/composer best known for his work with Björk, No Doubt/Gwen Stefani, Madonna, Sinéad O'Connor, Garbage, Andrea Corr, U2, Sneaker Pimps, Soul II Soul and Massive Attack...
, Chris Kimsey
Chris Kimsey
Christopher Kenneth Kimsey is a record producer, mixer and musician most famous for having co-produced The Rolling Stones' Undercover and Steel Wheels albums...
and Alan Moulder
Alan Moulder
Alan Moulder is one of Britain's premier alternative rock record producers. He has worked with such artists as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Elastica, Gary Numan, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Curve, Ride, Lush and My Bloody Valentine, Lostprophets, Shihad, Ivyrise and Placebo, as well as with many American...
.
History
The sale of Lovetone pedals began in 1995. Production was generally inconsistent, so after a given pedal's initial runs, it might become unavailable for a period of time. The Meatball was always quite popular and available fairly consistently. Still, some models would go out of stock for long periods.In 2001 the company announced that they would cease production of all pedals. This led to an explosion in price of existing units. After this announcement, it was common to see Lovetone pedals on the secondhand market at prices nearly double their original sale price.
In 2003 the company announced that they would again be making the Meatball and Cheese Source pedals, to be sold through Daniel Coggins's newly formed company Dinosaural, which became the primary point of contact for Lovetone technical support and repairs.
Dan Coggins left the Lovetone business in April 2008. The Dinosaural website also now states that he is no longer providing repairs or technical support for Lovetone products as of January 2009. Repair work still remains available for the Dinosaural product legacy only.
Big Cheese
The Big Cheese is a fuzzbox. Its controls are:- "Curds" (Gain)
- "Whey" (Volume)
- "Hog/Bee" (Tone)
It also has a tone selector switch, with four different settings:
- Off (tone bypass)
- 1 (mid-scoop)
- 2 (mid-boost)
- "Swiss" (gated)
Notable musicians who have used the Big Cheese include:
- The EdgeThe EdgeDavid Howell Evans , more widely known by his stage name The Edge , is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record...
of U2U2U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
(can be heard on "DiscothèqueDiscothèque (song)"Discothèque" is the lead single from Irish rock band U2's 1997 album, Pop. It peaked at number one in many countries' charts, including the UK Singles Chart. The song received mixed reviews from critics.-Release history:...
") - Nick Wheeler of The All-American RejectsThe All-American RejectsThe All-American Rejects are an American rock band formed in Stillwater, Oklahoma in 1999. The band consists of lead vocalist and bass guitarist Tyson Ritter, lead guitarist, Nick Wheeler, rhythm guitarist, Mike Kennerty, and drummer Chris Gaylor....
- Colin GreenwoodColin GreenwoodColin Charles Greenwood , is an English musician and composer, best known as the bassist of the rock band Radiohead. Apart from bass, Colin plays keyboards, synthesizers and works on sampling on the electronic side of Radiohead...
of RadioheadRadioheadRadiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
(can be heard on "The National AnthemThe National Anthem"The National Anthem" is the third track from the rock band Radiohead's 2000 album Kid A. The song is moored to a repetitive bassline, has a processed electronic production, and develops in a direction influenced by jazz...
" and "Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin BoxAmnesiacAmnesiac was generally well-received by critics. It was also ranked as one of the best albums of the year by several publications. The Village Voice Pazz and Jop poll ranked it number 6 on their top 10 albums of the year. Alternative Press declared it the #1 album of the year...
", only when played live) - J MascisJ MascisJ Mascis is an American musician, best known as the singer, guitarist and songwriter for Dinosaur Jr.. In 2011, he was ranked in Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.- Biography :...
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(can be heard on the live version "At Least That's What You Said". Contrary to popular opinion, the studio version was recorded using a small 1x12 Supro amp) - Jimmy PageJimmy PageJames Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
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- Gary MooreGary MooreRobert William Gary Moore , better known simply as Gary Moore, was a Northern Irish musician from Belfast, best recognised as a blues rock guitarist and singer....
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Meatball
The Lovetone web site describes the Meatball as "an amazing envelope follower/triggered filter". The effects produced are similar to those of wah and flanger/phaser pedals. The Meatball has two sections—the trigger section and the filter section. The trigger section has the following controls:- "Sensitivity" - Determines the level at which triggering operates.
- "Attack" - Filter attack response
- "Decay" - Filter decay time
- "Up/Down" - A two-position switch that determines whether the filter sweeps up or down.
- "Full/half/off" - A three-position switch that determines the level of the bandwidth. Half the bandwidth affects only higher frequencies, while the off position turns off the trigger section, allowing the Meatball to be used as a static-tone filter.
The filter section has the following controls:
- "Colour" - Filter resonance
- "Intensity" - Filter depth
- "Blend" - Filter decay time
- "Frequency range" - A four-position switch that determines the range of the frequency, from low to high.
- "Filter selection" - A three-position switch that determines the level of the bandwidth, between low-pass, band-pass, and high-pass fiter.
It has an effects loop, where external effects could be placed after the trigger section but before the filter section. It also has two jacks for passive volume pedals to control the decay and the intensity. It was reissued by Dinosaural from 2003 to 2007.
The Meatball was used by Kirk Hammett for the Wah like sound in the opening riff of "I Disappear".
Other effects
- Brown Source - overdrive
- Doppleganger - dual LFOLFOLFO may refer to:* LFO , an English techno act* LFO , an American three-man pop/rap group** LFO , an album released by the American pop group LFO* Light Finding Operation, a form of mecha from the anime TV series Eureka Seven...
phaserPhaserPhaser may refer to:* Barber pole phaser is an analog synthesizer specially designed to create Shepard tones, an Auditory illusion.* Endosulfan, an organic compound* Phaser , in the Star Trek fictional universe...
/vibratoVibratoVibrato is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms of two factors: the amount of pitch variation and the speed with which the pitch is varied .-Vibrato and... - Wobulator - dual LFOLFOLFO may refer to:* LFO , an English techno act* LFO , an American three-man pop/rap group** LFO , an album released by the American pop group LFO* Light Finding Operation, a form of mecha from the anime TV series Eureka Seven...
tremoloTremoloTremolo, or tremolando, is a musical term that describes various trembling effects, falling roughly into two types. The first is a rapid reiteration...
and stereo pannerPanning (audio)Panning is the spread of a sound signal into a new stereo or multi-channel sound field. A typical physical recording console pan control is a knob with a pointer which can be placed from the 8 o'clock dial position fully left to the 4 o'clock position fully right... - Ring Stinger - ring modulator, octave fuzz, simple analog synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
- ? (Flange with No Name) - stereo flanger, multi-function time/stereo modulation effect, simple analog synthesizer
- Cheese Source - combination of the Big Cheese and Brown Source in one unit