
The TSVG Angry Jeff fuzz is a handbuilt stompbox of exceptional quality and a welcome deviation from the norm.
TSVG Angry Jeff - Volume & Fuzz at 100%, Bias at full CCW, CW, CCW (Epiphone Dot & Fender Deluxe)
In the guitar industry, the term āboutiqueā is a little like āorganicā in the farming world: Once both meant something was made in an uncomplicated, old-world kind of way by members of community too close-knit to dare abuse the term. But just as the agriculture industry discovered there was big money in the organic business, so too did guitar, amp, and pedal builders start bandying the ābā word with little regard to the craft, dedication, and principles that originally gave the term meaning.
Granted, a pedal built by a solder-huffing hermit is no guarantee something will sound good. But if there were a standard by which true handcrafted provenance could be judged, TSVG pedals would be a lock for certification. And as the Angry Jeff fuzz tested here reveals, handbuiltāfrom the right handsācan still mean stompboxes of exceptional quality that are a welcome deviation from the norm, too.
A Wolf in Cloth Wire Clothing
At a glance, the Angry Jeff doesnāt scream
āhandcrafted!ā For one thing, that universal
signifier of boutique-pedal statusāan
enclosure painted by handāis eschewed in
favor of a decal. And the lack of knob labels
suggests something cheekier than focus-group-driven wit. Thereās not even the
vaguest suggestion itās a fuzz. If you picked
Angry Jeff up in a recording studio without
any awareness of who or what TSVG is,
youād just have to plug the dang thing in to
find out.
Just as surprising is what you find when you remove the back panel. There isnāt a circuit board anywhere. Instead, you see an ordered, many-tentacled mĆ©lange of cloth wireāall point-to-point wired to a beautiful array of AC 128 germanium transistors, and Mullard tropical fish and Sprague capacitors.
The functions of the unlabeled controls are fairly easy to decipher with a little trial and error. But there is a twist. While the knob at far left is a pretty standard volume/level control and the one in the middle is a fairly typical fuzz control, the third is a bias control thatās a big part of what differentiates the Angry Jeff from more classically voiced fuzzes.
The Many Moods of Jeff
The voices that lurk within the Angry Jeff
elude the most obvious sonic touchstones.
The germanium transistor-based circuit has
the spitty, hectic qualities of an old Fuzz
Face. It can even take on the burly, bossy
intensity of an old Triangle Muff, though it
lacks that pedalās singing sustain. But itās the
differences that make it special.
Entering Angry Jeff ās world takes the willingness to experiment. Getting the pedal above unity gain means cranking the volume to about 2 oāclock. Once youāre there, things happen fast. Roll the volume back and crank the fuzz, and Jeff will spit out the buzzy, ā66-style sounds of a similarly configured germanium Fuzz Face. But the pedal is happiest when the volume is wide open, and thatās where you hear the unique colors of the Angry Jeff best.
The fuzz control is much more adaptable, and its range makes Jeff a chameleon. With fuzz and volume cranked, power chords take on the cool texture of chaos on top of a fat, smooth harmonic bed. Itās wilder than a Muff and more bossy than a Fuzz Face or Tone Bender. It enables first-position and power chords to pull of the cool trick of maintaining string-to-string clarity and articulation while fractured harmonics explode over the top. In this way, itās like a Univox Super-Fuzz with fewer octave overtones.
Ratings
Pros:
Beautiful, handwired, point-to-point circuitry. Lots of unique tones.
Cons:
Could use a touch more sustain.
Tones:
Ease of Use:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street:
$155
Company
tsvgpedals.com
Rolling back the fuzz tames the spittier aspects and rounds the output in a way that makes driving barre-chord progressions deliciously savage. It also makes single notes a little more controlled and singing. That said, the Angry Jeff is not a sustain machine, and while you can shape lead tones into everything from hectic to nearly violin sweet (especially when you throw in some fast finger vibrato), you wonāt get the even, lingering taper on a note youād get from a Big Muff. And if you dig the sweeter-to-squirrelly potential of the Jeff but crave a little more sustain, you may need to count on throwing some boost and subtle delay in the mix.
The bias knob has an enormous effect on Jeffās output. And like the fuzz control, it can be transformative. Cranked counterclockwise, it has less effect on the tone. And itās here that youāll get the most output and harmonic color. But turn it clockwise to starve the pedal of voltage, and unexpected things can happen. Between 9 oāclock and noon, the bias control has a smoothing effect on mids, creating a slightly boxy and wooly, but still very rich and sonorous lead tone that works great with bridge or neck pickups. Past noon, bias makes Angry Jeff progressively more rabidācreating a splintered, cracked, and chaotic mid- to high-frequency overtone field that gives power chords and leads a particularly feral edge.
The Verdict
The very individual, handbuilt Angry Jeff
is not a fuzz for everybodyāparticularly
not traditionalists who prefer working
within the well-known performance
parameters of the classics. But given how
confrontational it can sound, itās remarkable
how effective it is at shape-shifting
for different musical settings. Itās probably
best suited for garage and avant artists
who like their tones big and rich but
a little less pretty. But if youāre willing
to experiment, it can deliver interesting
twists on Fuzz Face, Super-Fuzz, and
Big Muff tones. And if youāre willing to
accept that the path to extracting your
own unique voice from this beautifully
built pedal will be a bit indirect, chances
are youāll uncover a universe of killer fuzz
textures along the way.
The Gibson EH-185, introduced in 1939, was one of the companyās first electric guitars.
Before the Les Pauls and SGs, this aluminum-reinforced instrument was one of the famous brandās first electric guitars.
Itās hard to overstate the importance of electric guitar in shaping American popular music over the last half-century. Its introduction was a revolution, changing the course of modern musical styles. Today, when we think of the guitars that started the revolution, we think of the Stratocaster and the Les Paul, guitars held against the body and fretted with the fingertips. But the real spark of this musical mutiny was the lap-steel guitar.
In the early 20th century, guitar music was moving out of the parlors of homes and into public spaces where folks could gather together and dance. Guitarists needed to project their sound far beyond where their wimpy little acoustic instruments could reach. Instrument manufacturers began experimenting with larger body sizes, metal construction, and resonators to increase volume.
Around this time, George Beauchamp began experimenting with electric guitar amplification. He settled on a design using two U-shaped magnets and a single coil of wire. Beauchamp was in business with Adolph Rickenbacker, and they decided to stick this new invention into a lap steel.
If we put on our 1930s glasses, this decision makes perfect sense. The most popular music at the time was a blend of Hawaiian and jazz styles made famous by virtuosos like Solomon āSolā HoŹ»opiŹ»i. Photos of HoŹ»opiŹ»i with a metal-body resonator aboundāone can imagine his relief at being handed an instrument that projected sound toward the audience via an amplifier, rather than back at his own head via resonator cones. Beauchamp and Rickenbacker were simply following the market.
As it turned out, the popularity of Hawaiian music gave way to swing, and electric lap steels didnāt exactly take the world by storm. But Beauchamp and Rickenbacker had proven the viability of this new technology, and other manufacturers followed suit. In 1937, Gibson created a pickup with magnets under the strings, rather than above like Beauchampās.
āWhen I plugged in the EH-185 I expected to hear something reminiscent of Charlie Christianās smooth, clean tone. But what I got was meatierācloser to what I associate with P-90s: warm and midrange-y.ā
The first page of Gibsonās āElectrical Instrumentsā section in the 1939 catalog features a glowing, full-page write-up of their top-of-the-line lap steel: the EH-185. āEverything about this new electric Hawaiian Guitar smacks of good showmanship,ā effuses the copy. āIt has smoothness, great sustaining power, and an easy flow of tone that builds up strongly and does not die out.ā
Picking up the 1940 EH-185 at Fannyās House of Music is about as close as one can get to traveling back in time to try a new one. It is just so clean, with barely any dings or even finish checking. Overall, this is a 9/10 piece, and itās a joy to behold. Speaking of picking it up, the first thing you notice when you lift the EH-185 out of the case is its weight. This is a much heavier instrument than other similar-sized lap steels, owing to a length of thick metal between the body and the fretboard. The catalog calls it āHyblum metal,ā which may be a flowery trade name for an early aluminum alloy.
This 1940 EH-185 is heavier than other lap steels in its class, thanks to a length of metal between its fretboard and body.
Photo by Madison Thorn
There are numerous other fancy appointments on the EH-185 that Gibson didnāt offer on their lesser models. Itās made of highly figured maple, with diamond-shaped decorations on the back of the body and neck. The double binding is nearly a centimeter thick and gives the instrument a luxurious, expensive look.
Behind all these high-end attributes is a great-sounding guitar, thanks to that old pickup. Itās got three blades protruding through the bobbin for the unwound strings and one longer blade for the wound strings. When I plugged in the EH-185 I expected to hear something reminiscent of Charlie Christianās smooth, clean tone. But what I got was meatierācloser to what I associate with P-90s: warm and midrange-y. It was just crying out for a little crunch and a bluesy touch. Itās kind of cool how such a pristine, high-end vintage instrument can be so well-suited for a sound thatās rough around the edges.
As far as electric guitars go, it doesnāt get much more vintage than this 1940 Gibson EH-185 Lap Steel. It reminds us of where the story of the electric guitar truly began. This EH-185 isnāt just a relicāitās a testament to when the future of music was unfolding in real time. Plug it in, and you become part of the revolution.
Sources: Smithsonian, Vintage Guitar, Mozart Project, Gibson Pre-War, WIRED, Steel Guitar Forum, Vintaxe
Columnist Janek Gwizdala with heroes Dennis Chambers (left) and Mike Stern (right).
Keeping your gigging commitments can be tough, especially when faced with a call from a hero. But itās always the right choice.
Saying āyes!ā to everything early on has put me in a place now where I can say no to almost everything and still be okay. That wasnāt without its challenges. Iād like to share a story about a āyesā that would haunt me for years.
As bass players, we can, if we choose, quite easily find ourselves in a wide variety of situations without having to change much about our sound or our playing. If your time is good and youāre able to help those around you feel good and sound better, the telephone will pretty much always ring.
Playing jazz as an electric-bass player living in New York City from 2000 to 2010 was somewhat of a foolās errand in terms of getting work. No one wanted electric bass, and bandleaders would go to the bottom of a list of 100 upright players before they would even think about calling you. Not only that, but I wasnāt even at the top of the electric list when I first moved there. Not even close. Anthony Jackson, Richard Bona, Will Lee, Tim Lefebvre, James Genus, Lincoln Goines, Mike Pope, John Benitez, Matthew Garrisonāthatās a whoās who of the instrument when I first moved to town, and I was very much a freshman with almost no experience. Almostā¦
Iād been lucky enough to play extensively with Kenwood Dennard (Jacoās drummer), and a little with Hiram Bullock (Jacoās guitarist) before moving to NYC which helped create a little momentum, but only a VERY little.
This is where the story begins:
Iād sent Mike Stern a demo back in late ā97. Heād not only taken the time to listen to it but had called my parentsā house right after I moved to the U.S. to tell me he loved it and wanted to hang. I missed the call but eventually met him at a clinic he gave at Berklee.
Of course, I was buzzing about all of this. It helped me stay laser-focused on practice and on moving to NYC as soon as possible. I got the typical ālook me up when you get to townā invitation from Stern and basically counted the seconds through the three semesters I stayed at Berklee until I could split town.
I arrived with a ton of confidence but zero gigs. And nothing happened overnight. It really took saying yes to literally everything I was offered just to keep a roof over my head. Through that process, I felt like I was getting further away from playing with my jazz heroes.
The early gigs were far from glamorousālong hours, terrible pay, and sometimes, after travel expenses, they cost me money to play.
āWhenever I have a single moment of doubt, I think about the time I had to say no to my heroesāthe reasons I moved to America, the reason I do what I do.ā
When Stern finally called, a few years into living in NYC, things started to move pretty quickly. I began playing a lot of gigs at the 55 Bar with him, and short road trips became a thingāa four-night stint at Arturo Sandovalās new club in Miami, gigs in Chicago, Cleveland, and upstate New York, and then some international work, including a tour of Mexico and a trip to Brazil, if I remember right.
But the hardest phone call of my career came from Mike not long into my time touring with him. It went something like this:
āHey man, whatās your scene in April? Lincoln canāt make a trip to the West Coast. Itās just one gig. Trio⦠with DENNIS CHAMBERS.ā
Mike didnāt shout Dennisā name, but thatās how I heard it. My all-time hero. Someone Iād been dreaming about playing with for over 15 years. And hereās the kicker: I had to say no.
Iād just committed to six weeks with Jojo Mayerās band Nerve in Asia and Europe, and there was no way I could bail on him. And there was no way I could afford to ditch six weeks of work for a single gig with Mike. To say that haunted me for years is an understatement. I was destroyed that I had to turn it down.
The tour with Jojo was amazingāthe posters hang in my studio as a reminder of those times to this day. And thankfully, I was able to go on some years later and play dozens of shows with Mike and Dennis all over the worldātruly some of the highlights of my career.
I still think about that phone call, though. Whenever I have a single moment of doubt, I think about the time I had to say no to my heroesāthe reasons I moved to America, the reason I do what I do. I get emotional writing and thinking about it even now. But I've learned to never have regrets and understand you just have to believe in the process and maintain the willpower to continueāno matter what.
On our season two finale, the country legend details his lead-guitar tricks on one of his biggest hits.
Get out the Kleenex, hankies, or whatever you use to wipe away your tears: Itās the last episode of this season of Shred With Shifty, a media event more consequential and profound than the finales of White Lotus and Severance combined. But thereāll be some tears of joy, too, because on this season two closer, Chris Shiflett talks with one of country musicās greatest players: Vince Gill.
Gillās illustrious solo career speaks for itself, and heās played with everyone from Reba McEntire and Patty Loveless to Ricky Skaggs and Dolly Parton. He even replaced Glenn Frey in the Eagles after Freyās death in 2017. His singing prowess is matched by his grace and precision on the fretboard, skills which are on display on the melodic solo for āOne More Last Chance.ā He used the same blackguard 1953 FenderĀ Telecaster that you see in this interview to record the lead, although he might not play the solo the exact way he did back in 1992.
Tune in to learn how Gill dialed his clean tone with a tip from Roy Nichols, why he loves early blackguard Telecasters and doesnāt love shredders, and why you never want to be the best player during a studio session.
If youāre able to help, here are some charities aimed at assisting musicians affected by the fires in L.A:
https://guitarcenterfoundation.org
https://www.cciarts.org/relief.html
https://www.musiciansfoundation.org
https://fireaidla.org
https://www.musicares.org
https://www.sweetrelief.org
Credits
Producer: Jason Shadrick
Executive Producers: Brady Sadler and Jake Brennan for Double Elvis
Engineering Support by Matt Tahaney and Matt Beaudion
Video Editor: Addison Sauvan
Graphic Design: Megan Pralle
Special thanks to Chris Peterson, Greg Nacron, and the entire Volume.com crew.
Grez Guitars has introduced the Grez GrandTour Bass, a short scale semi-hollow carve-top instrument available in 4-string format.
The Grez Grand Tour Bass, designed in collaboration with bass powerhouse Ian MartinAllison is, like all Grez instruments, a modern sleek interpretation of the classic instruments from the 50ās and 60ās.
The instruments feature a carved Spruce top, Honduran Mahogany body and neck. The 30" scale construction includes a Macassar ebony fretboard, 12ā radius with 21 jumbofrets. Each bass comes equipped with a Halon bridge, Grez string anchor and LaBellaDeep Talkinā long scale 45-105 flatwound strings. Electronics include Curtis Novak Bisonic/Darkstar pickups with coil tap.
The Grand Tour bass features a nitro finish and is available in a variety of colors(pictured here in custom Toasted Marshmallow).
Grez Grand Tour Bass with Ian Martin Allison
Barry Grzebik explains: āI love process of design instruments, marrying acoustical,electrical, visual and ergonomic engineering with industrial and artistic design. In this case creating something that artfully balances the desire for a robust acoustic voice with the need to hold up to professional touring and stadium stage volumes. One small notable detail is that although this is a short scale instrument, because of the after-length of string past the bridge, it uses standard long scale strings which dramatically increases sting options and availability.ā
Ian Marin Allison shares, āIām inspired by the unique character of vintage hollow andsemi-hollow basses, but they donāt always live up to our modern expectation of stability, playability, versatility and QUALITY. Iām proud to have helped create something that doesā.
The Grez Grand Tour Bass, is available now from Grez Guitars and their dealers with astreet price starting at $5,999. Light customization is welcome with delivery times aslittle as 8 weeks.