| More Detailed Diminished Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V Part VI |
The examples given in today’s lesson continue to resolve the diminished tension into the minor pentatonic scale (1 – b3 – 4 – 5 – b7). With the blue note (b5) added, (1 – b3 – 4 – b5 – 5 – b7) we create a blues scale and provide a platform for launching the diminished line. The blue note in the pentatonic scale is also the main tone in the diminished line and therefore opens a pathway for the inclusion of the diminished idea.
From another perspective, the diminished 7th can also function as a natural 6th when combined with the minor pentatonic scale. Adding this note to the minor pentatonic scale creates a more Dorian sound. The 6th note of the scale is the only thing that makes the Dorian mode (1 – 2 – b3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – b7) different from the Aeolian (1 – 2 – b3 – 4 – 5 – b6 – b7). As you can see, the notes from the minor pentatonic scale are included in both the Dorian and Aeolian modes.
You should be reasonably acclimated to the common fingerings of the diminished line from the previous installments in this series. This will be quite useful in creating logical fingering approaches for these examples. Assigning the four digits to adjacent frets is a great place to start if you have trouble with the melodic patterns in this lesson.
Ex.1 We begin this melody with a diminished arpeggio at the twelfth position and resolve into the pentatonic minor scale, ending on the root A. The first note should be played with finger 3 of the fretting hand. Download Example Audio...
Ex.2 Here we take the same arpeggio from example one and launch into the pentatonic from the b5 of the scale. This coincides nicely with the diminished arpeggio and resolves with a bit more mystery for the ear. Download Example Audio...
Ex.3 Now we begin with a descending diminished line resolving into the pentatonic scale and ending with an ascending octave displacement. Notice after the ascending displacement we immediately descend to the root adhering to the theory of contrary motion. Download Example Audio...
Ex.4 Making more use of the diminished tension, we utilize it throughout the line and add a tritone at the culmination for an ear-catching instability. Download Example Audio...
Ex.5 Using a bit of deception we begin the pentatonic line with an emphasis on the b5 and use the diminished idea as a spice at the end before finally resolving to stability. Download Example Audio...
That wraps up our series on the diminished mode. I hope you’ve gained a firm grasp of the diminished concept and its functions and are able to apply the diminished idea into your everyday guitar playing. You can also contact me with any questions. Thank you for logging on and tuning in. See you next month here in Lethal Guitar.
Vox’s Valvenergy Tone Sculptor
I spent a day workshopping ideas in my studio using just the Vox Valvenergy Smooth Impact compressor and Tone Sculptor EQ, and a dash of amp tremolo and reverb to taste. In the process, I produced more arresting sounds than I had heard from my guitars in many days. There were radical direct-to-desk-style Jimmy Page/Beatles distortion tones, sun-sized, cosmic electric 12-string, Bakersfield twang that could burn through crude, and many other sweet and nasty colors. Most decent EQ and compressor combinations can achieve variations on all those themes. But the Smooth Impact and Tone Sculptor also reveal interesting personalities in unexpected places.
The individuality and energy in the Vox Valvenergy pedals is attributable, in part, to the Nutube vacuum tube used in the circuit. Though it looks little like a vacuum tube as most guitarists know them, the thin, wafer-like Nutube is, in fact, a real vacuum tube like those used in fluorescent displays. Fluorescent display tubes have limitations. A maximum operating voltage of around 40 volts means they aren’t useful for bigger power tube applications like a 6L6, which has an operating voltage of about 400 volts. But it can work quite well as a preamp tube in concert with an op amp power section, which is how the Nutube is used in the new Valvenergy pedals, as well as older Vox products like the Vox MV50 and Superbeetle amps.
Valvenergy Tone Sculptor
When you think about “cinematic” effects, you likely imagine big reverb or modulation sounds that create a vivid picture and feeling of space or motion. But narrow, hyper-focused EQ profiles can evoke very different and equally powerful images. Radical EQ settings can add aggression, claustrophobic intimacy, and stark, explosive dark-and-light contrasts more evocative of Hitchcock’s Psycho than Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner.
Any of these moods can be summoned from the Valvenergy Tone Sculptor. Six sliders cut or boost 10 dB frequency bands spanning 100 Hz to 5.6 kHz. A seventh slider cuts or boosts the master output by 12 dB. This platter of options might not sound like much. But you can use these seven controls together to very specific ends.
“Radical EQ settings can add aggression, near-claustrophobic intimacy, and stark, explosive dark-and-light contrasts.”
For example, bumping the high-midrange and the master output produces narrow cocked-wah-like filter sounds with enough push to produce extra amp overdrive—effectively turning the Tone Sculptor into a buzzy, almost fuzz-like filter effect. But unlike a wah, you can carefully scoop high end or add a spoonful of bass to blunt harsh frequencies or give the tone a bit more weight. You can also broaden the palette of an amp/guitar pairing. I matched a particularly trebly Jazzmaster bridge pickup with a very hot and toppy Vox AC15-flavored amp for this test—a recipe that can be spiky on the best days. But with the Tone Sculptor in the line, I could utilize the same sharp, fuzzy, and filtered Mick Ronson wah tones while shaving some of the most piercing frequencies.
EQ pedals exist on many points along the cost spectrum. And at $219, the Tone Sculptor lives on the high side of the affordable range. Does it offer something less expensive models can’t deliver? Well, for one thing, I found it relatively quiet, which is nice whether you’re shaping toppy high-contrast effects or performing more surgical adjustments. And the sliders feel nuanced and nicely tapered rather than like a dull axe with a few basic frequency notches. But in many situations I also liked the color imparted by the circuit—generated, presumably, by the Nutube. “Color,” in audio terms, is a broad and subjective thing, and one should not necessarily expect the warm, tube-y glow of a vintage tube Pultec. Still, the Tone Sculptor has many forgiving, flattering qualities—typical of studio EQs—that enable fine tuning and experimentation with more radical and creative applications of the effect.
Valvenergy Smooth Impact
As with the Tone Sculptor, the Smooth Impact’s use of Nutube engenders certain expectations. It’s easy to surmise that because Smooth Impact has a vacuum tube in the circuit that it will behave like a little Teletronix LA-2A leveling amplifier. That’s a big ask for a $219 stompbox. On the other hand, the Smooth Impact exhibits some appealing characteristics of studio tube compression. At lower compression levels, it works well as a thickening agent—adding mass without much additional noise. And at higher compression levels it can sound snappy, crisp, and tight without feeling like you’ve bled every trace of overtone from your signal.
The Smooth Impact’s controls aren’t totally atypical. But because it lacks some familiar features like variable attack and release, yet is more complicated than a 1-knob DynaComp, you have to trust your ear to navigate interactions among the controls. The most unfamiliar of these is the 3-way vintage/natural/sag toggle. The first two are defined by preset attack and release settings: Vintage is slow attack and long release, and natural is the opposite. The sag mode’s compression is more like what you get from tube saturation, and it’s useful for adding thickness and complexity to a thin amp tone at modest compression levels.
Though the vintage and natural modes certainly have a different feel, they don’t always sound worlds apart. And like the sag mode, the thing they have in common is the way they enrich lifeless amp output at low to medium compression, with a bit of grind from the tube gain and a little extra makeup gain from the output. At the most aggressive settings, the tube gain can get a little crispy. And really crushing the compression can flatline your tone without adding much in the way of extra sustain. These are limitations common to many compressors with similar features. But unless I was chasing very ultra-snappy Prince and Nile Rodgers fast-funk caricatures, I enjoyed the Smooth Impact most in its in-between ranges, where mass, mild, harmonious drive, and low noise showcase the pedal’s sometimes studio-like personality.
