Wat is the Whizzer ??

[kagliostro]

Wat is the Whizzer ?

not this kind of Whizzer



this kind of Whizzer build for Niel Young



and how it works ???

Thanks

K

[sluckey]

Neil Young had his tech build him a device he called the whizzer. It was a box with servos that sat on top of his fender amp and allowed him to control the pots from his pedal board. The couplers on those 3 shafts connected to the pot shafts on his 5E3 amp. So he could tweak the volume and tone knobs with his foot if he could be still long enough.   

[tubenit]

It was a box with servos that sat on top of his fender amp and allowed him to control the pots from his pedal board.

That's interesting!

With respect, Tubenit

[kagliostro]

Many Thanks Steve

Now, for that purpose, we can use motorized pots like this

http://www.pcm63.com/?229,motorized-alpha-rc102



only, this way, the amp must be modified, this one aren't an external add on

Franco

p.s.: In the link above those pots are at $ 5.00, seems really to be a good price for Alpha quality

Thinking further to the Whizzer, I think tat it can be done also via the use of this pots as servos connected shaft to shaft to the original pots on the amp as to turn it via a switch

so you can use it as an external mod without any mod to the original amp, excluding to take off knobs

[Willabe]

Young plays through an old 5E3, has for many years, he uses the Whizzer to take advantage of the interactive controls playing live.


           Brad   

[kagliostro]

Oh, is very simple

google Whizzer on google images

https://www.google.it/search?hl=it&biw=991&bih=527&site=imghp&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=whizzer&oq=whizzer&gs_l=img.3..0j0i24l2.5345.7548.0.8601.5.4.0.1.1.0.109.409.2j2.4.0....0...1c.1.32.img..0.5.413.OiHtTU_1_kQ

 

K

[smackoj]

In the mid-western part of the US, out behind the barn, a whiz w/o the 'zer' is slang for watering the weeds.

Jim Carey is famous for his use of the word "looz-a-zer" and he's done alright with that term too.

And our Canadian Comrade, Neil Youngster, might use a "whizzer" although I've never seen him play that black Les Paul anything but wide open!

If I was a famous traveling musician, I would definitely go with one of the Japanese life-like robots to tweak my amp stack.

 

[tubeswell]

I was always under the understanding that he had the whizzer set-up to provide 'control preset positions' for the vol and tone controls on his modified 5E3 (a thing with 6L6s). One setting for these parts of these songs, another for those parts of those songs etc. Tap your foot on the footswitchy thing and it changes the knobs automatically - like a kind of a obsessive-compulsive guitar amp twiddler thingy like monkey uses foot to save hands for other tasks king of thing

[Willabe]

I was always under the understanding that he had the whizzer set-up to provide 'control preset positions' for the vol and tone controls on his modified 5E3 (a thing with 6L6s). One setting for these parts of these songs, another for those parts of those songs etc. Tap your foot on the footswitchy thing and it changes the knobs automatically - like a kind of a obsessive-compulsive guitar amp twiddler thingy like monkey uses foot to save hands for other tasks king of thing.

Yes that's it. It's for the interactive volume controls. The servo motors that change the volume controls are controlled by foot switches that are interfaced to the "Whizzer" through a midi system that has a memory for keeping his settings. It's a custom set up a guy made for him.

You can get a lot of different amounts of gain by playing around with the setting of the 2 volumes.

I've never seen him play that black Les Paul anything but wide open!

He doesn't need, to he's using the amps volume controls instead.

He also has the tone controls disconnected on his Les Paul.

Tone Quest Report mag. has interviewed his guitar/amp tech a couple of times and went through what/how his rig and guitars are are set up. If you really like Neil's sound/music it's a pretty good read.


           Brad    

[Willabe]

From another thread;

Turn one channel's volume full-up. Turn the other channel's volume to half.

When playing through the full-up channel, the guitar will be distorted and have maximum midrange; the mids seem to be increased when the un-used channel's volume is about halfway up.

When playing through the half-up channel, the guitar will be clean and have minimum midrange; the mids seem to be reduced when the un-used channel's volume is full-up.

Some have suggested an A/B pedal and these volume control settings allow for two distinct sounds from the 5E3. Of course, the tone control for the one channel adds some extra flexibility.

[kagliostro]

Hi Brad

really a good documentation 

Thanks

Franco

[tubeswell]

With just being plugged into the instrument channel's 'hi-input', I find the 5E3 gets to maximum vol with the instrument channel on full vol and the mic channel vol on about 2/3, and the tone on anything between balanced and 'trebly'. But if you jumper the instr channel's 'lo-input' jack to the mic channel's 'hi-input' jack, and have the guitar plugged into the instr channel's hi-input jack, you get the most with everything dimed.

[Platefire]

Just wonder if Neil Y modified his amp with a upgraded PT for 6L6's as they take quite a bit more heater amps than 6V6's. Platefire

[Willabe]

Just wonder if Neil Y modified his amp with a upgraded PT for 6L6's as they take quite a bit more heater amps than 6V6's.

His tech said no, but they do keep a fan running from behind the amp.


            Brad     

[Platefire]

I don't know about you but everytime I play around fans it effects may speaker and gives it a warboling sound--maybe that's part of Neil's signature sound? Just kidding--I know he's got it worked out to a tee! Platefire

[dude]

Just wonder if Neil Y modified his amp with a upgraded PT for 6L6's as they take quite a bit more heater amps than 6V6's.

His tech said no, but they do keep a fan running from behind the amp.


            Brad     

Well that must be some powerful fan, I too have a 5E3 w/6l6s and blew the small PT, upgraded to a larger one and no problems, used Zeners to keep the voltage the same.

"Down by the River"  here I come...

al