“It reminds me of when I go into a coffee shop”: Pixies Joey Santiago refuses to use a chorus pedal because “it sounds compromised”
Joey Santiago, guitarist and co-founder of the Pixies, isn’t a fan of the humble chorus pedal, as he feels they sound “compromised”.
Santiago formerly didn’t use any pedals, but it seems that now he’s completely swung the other way, and has a board overflowing with all sorts of effects.
READ MORE: Five essential Pixies tracks that guitarists need to hear
Speaking to Guitar World in a new interview, Santiago says, “Back in the day, I took pride in having no pedals. All I had was a tuner. Now I have a crapload of pedals! I was talking to Charles [Black Francis], and he said, ‘Look, we’re playing different venues all the time…’ and for me, the easiest way to carve out a sound for each venue was the pedals. But I do like the tones and the variety, and now I just enjoy collecting and using pedals.”
He later adds, “The thing I don’t use is chorus. I just don’t like it. [Laughs] It reminds me of when I go into a coffee shop and someone is performing, and they put the chorus pedal on. It’s just not good in my ears; it sounds compromised. I like overdrive and gain because of the whole character of the sound… I find it interesting that none of them sound exactly alike. But if my pedalboard gets any bigger, I’d have to seek help!”
In case you were wondering what Santiago is filling his board with, he currently uses a Maxon AD999 Delay, a Boss GE-7 Equalizer, an Atomic Boost OC 44 from the Stewart Amplifier Company, a Fulltone OCD overdrive, and a whole load more.
His current favourites though? “I like the Atomic Boost,” he tells the outlet. “It’s a good thing to put in front of my OCD pedal… An OCD through a Marshall is the Pixies sound.”
You can catch Pixies on tour next year. Their new album, The Night The Zombies Came, is out now.
The post “It reminds me of when I go into a coffee shop”: Pixies Joey Santiago refuses to use a chorus pedal because “it sounds compromised” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
