Red Witch
Red Witch founder Ben Fulton’s design approach is heavily influenced by
sounds he gleans from recording artists that share a “purity of expression.” |
The seeds for New Zealand’s Red Witch
pedals were sown when founder Ben
Fulton’s girlfriend bought him a Holden
50-watt amp head in need of work. The
repairs, as well as the need for some effects
to put in front of the amp when it was
healthy again, prompted a fascination with
preamp, amp-modulation, and pitch-modulation
circuits that led to his first effect—the
Moon Phaser. The project was originally
intended for Fulton’s personal use, but his
friends dug the little pedal and the requests
started coming in so fast that a business
was born.
Today, Red Witch’s line includes the Deluxe
Moon Phaser, the Pentavocal Trem, the
Empress Chorus, the Fuzz God II, the
Famulus Distortion, and the Titan Delay.
The motivation behind each of these pedals
is the same that guided the design of
the first Moon Phaser: “The boutique pedal
scene was much smaller eight or nine years
ago, and there were a lot of guys building
clones of classic, out-of-production pedals,”
says Fulton, recalling the early days
of Red Witch. “There were a lot less folks
doing new or innovative stuff. I’ve never
had any interest in copying or cloning other
people’s designs. Manufacturing anything—
your own idea or someone else’s—is a
huge amount of work. So I figured from the
outset that I’d prefer to put my time and
energy into something that was unique, different,
and, most importantly, my own.”
Though he was eager to carve out his own
niche, Fulton knew what sounds he liked on
record. Not surprisingly, Fulton’s list of sonic
influences was broad and varied, ranging
from experimental Japanese guitar expressionist
Keiji Haino to pioneers like Jimmy
Page and Mick Ronson—players that, as
Fulton put it, had “a purity of expression.”
“Page’s palate has had an influence,”
Fulton says. “The range of tones that he
got with guitar, amp, and pedal combinations
in the studio is staggering—layer
upon layer of guitar parts, each with a
slightly different treatment. Beautiful.”
Another Brit was also a huge influence on
Fulton’s sonic philosophy. “I loved Alvin
Lee’s guitar sound, that blistering playing
in the late ’60s—very clear and articulate.
I guess with our Fuzz God II and Famulus
distortion, I really strived to get that clear,
punchy sound happening. No additional
frequencies, nothing that would allow the
guitar to get muddy in the mix.”
Fulton’s interest in not just the specific
pedal tones but the overall playing
approach of the greats keeps him from
obsessing over emulation, which means
he can focus on the flavors that make
his pedals different. It also means he can
refine them to the point of being practical
rather than a gimmick. “I’ve designed
every device to offer guitar players
really useable flavors in the specific effect
genre—and then something totally new
that’s not available elsewhere, but that’s
also totally useable.
“There’s no point offering bells and whistles
that you’d never use,” he continues.
“For instance, our Moon Phaser offers
three different styles of phasing, as well
as a gentle tremolo setting. In addition,
it offers our unique Tremophase—where
the phase shift occurs at the same time as
the tremolo’s volume pulse. No one else
has done that before, and the Red Witch
Moon Phaser remains the only source of
this new, useable sound.”
For all his concerns with practicality, Fulton
also doesn’t mind tinkering with radical
sounds. Though even his pursuit of more
“out” sounds are in the name of musical
ends. “I’ve always loved contrast within a
piece of music,” he says, describing one
of his musical guidelines for design. “You
want to make a section of song seem really
loud? Play really quietly before it. And
vice versa. The Fuzz God can do really
subtle fuzz sounds—but then you can click
one footswitch and enter a world of sonic
insanity. It allows you to shift between two
extremes very easily.”
In the end, Fulton’s concern with musicality
reinforces his own primary directive—staying
creative as a pedal maker so that musicians
can be creative with his creations.
“I think our customers are the players out
there who really pay attention to their whole
approach—playing, tone, and gear,” Fulton
says. “They want the classic sounds but they
also want to push the boundaries. They
don’t just want to emulate their heroes, they
want to develop their own voice.
I try to design stuff to help folks do that. I’ve
never considered whether people use them
to the full extent of the box’s capabilities. As
long as the pedals are helping to open new
creative avenues for them, I’m happy. I think
that’s part of the appeal of our stuff: you can
use as few or as many of the features as you
like. Either way, offering something unique
opens new avenues of expression for them.
I like that idea a lot!”
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