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Nunomo calls its Grain a tremolo pedal. It is, in the sense that it modulates the amplitude (volume) of your signal. But the sonic results aren’t like anything you might expect from a conventional trem effect.
Here, the modulating signal is a fast square wave. This is hard, on/off modulation at rates that begin where most trem effects max out. Grain doesn’t do slow, throbbing sounds. Instead, the speedy modulation generates a unique distortion timbre. “The original idea,” says Nunomo, “came from how a human shouts. In rock or metal songs, people shout like ‘goaaaahhh!’”
This sonic stroboscopic flicker reminds me of the throaty, trilling sound Spanish speakers produce when properly pronouncing double-r words like torre and borracho. Since Nunomo creates the effect by nixing portions of waveform cycles, the modulation rate varies according to pitch and modulates faster at higher pitches. If, say, you bend a note, you can hear the rate change as you stretch and release the string. I suppose it sounds something like a heavy metal singer shouting “burrrrrrrr-ito!”
The pedal also includes gain and volume controls capable of overdriving an amp on their own. But, as Nunomo points out, the Grain sounds most dramatic when placed after a separate distortion or fuzz pedal. (I used a Tone Bender MkII clone for the demo clip.) The Grain doesn’t change your fuzz pedal’s innate timbre. It just sort of flutters it.
Meanwhile, the process also generates sub-tones between two and four octaves below the pitch you play. Many settings are reminiscent of the old MXR Blue Box effect heard on Led Zeppelin’s “Fool in the Rain.” Like a Blue Box, the Grain is clearest when playing above the 12th fret. Below that, the sub-octaves become indistinguishable. Anything other than single notes (and sometimes fifths) sounds pretty sloppy. But hey—depending on how much noise you like in your rock, “indistinguishable” and “sloppy” might suit your style and tastes.
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