I've heard several stories recently metioning Grady Martin. Honestly I couldn''t pick him out of a line-up but I've been listening to him all my life. I appreciate channels like this that give more of the backstory. Merci beaucoup.
Thanks, Zac; cool story. A few years ago, listening to Satisfaction with headphones, I noticed various points in the recording where you can hear Keith clicking the fuzz off and on, and the clean tone is just as awesome.
Great when you hear those quirks in recordings. I distinctly remember Roy Buchanan’s recordings in which you can hear his pickup switching very distinctly; talk about a sensitive guitar...😉
Thanks Zac for a cool history lesson. I have known for years the story of the "accidental fuzz find" but it was nice to hear it again from you and have some names added along with it. I assume this happened in RCA Studio B? I loved Marty Robbins, got to see him up close in concert here in Cincinnati not long before he passed. Thanks again sir!
@@vayabroder729 you can hear the pickup switching in The Beatles ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’ also there’s an audible squeak off Ringo’s kick pedal in a few of their BBC recordings
I see that someone mentioned The Ventures 2000 Pound Bee. That was 1962 i believe and before that, Anne Margret had a song called, "I Just Don't Understand", with fuzz on it. That was 1961, The Beatles covered it too in '63. "Heart Full of Soul" came out like right after "Satisfaction" and Jeff Beck played the fuzz guitar because that was the sound they wanted. The sitar didn't sound right on it.
Thank you for posting this. I was so shocked at the 4:25 mark. Born and raised Nashvillan. 60 now. When I was 16 yrs old and a young rock guitar player, a wonderful gentleman at my church who was in the music business and ran/owned a studio in East Nashville put in a real sound system at church and recruited me to run it on Sundays. Being a big music guy, I asked if I could visit the studio and he said sure. I went and had a great day and sat in on a few sessions in the control rooms. The guy? Glenn Snoddy. I didn’t know until this video he designed the first fuzz box. Glenn was so unassuming. Never talked about himself! One of the nicest men I ever knew.
Hey Zac. I actually knew this story and told it on our local radio. I love YOUR story because of the details. Thank you for what you bring to the forefront. I remember Marty using the Tennessee State Police to excort him in for an Opry performance. Grady Martin is phenomenal, ask Willie Nelson.
Nailed that don't worry tone! First time I heard it, we were setting up in a little dive bar some time in the 80s. The whole band just froze in place and listened to it. None of us had ever heard it but this bar happened to have it on their jukebox.
Great story Zac! As a 70 year old, who started playing at 12, I had no idea about anything you speak of here. I, like many others, always thought that fuzz guitar was inspired by Link Wray slicing his speaker cones. Plus, I haven't even seen a photo of a BASS VI in years, and the one you have looks like it just came from the factory. Thanks for the great upload, & I'll look for any other historic tales you have on your channel.
The same fuzz tone was used on an Ann-Margret session cut of Marijohn Wilkins' "I Just Don't Understand" early in 1961, with Grady and Charlie McCoy on blues harp. With the Jordanaires on backup vocals. Later covered by the Beatles.
Very cool to get the full background on this, Zac. I bought a copy of the Martin Robbins record where Grady Martin first played fuzz on 6-string bass guitar. I have the 45 framed on my rehearsal studio wall along with a few other historic records like Prince Conley's "I'm Going Home" which I believe featured Steve Croppers first session recording.
I’m 77 years old, and started guitar by ear at 10. I bought one of the first maestro’s and it had instructions how to set it to emulate a horn or whatever (not too convincing 😂).. one thing I didn’t like was you had to play one note at a time; playing a chord would be a mess - so I returned it….dumb ol’ me! 🤷♂️….Thanks for all you do ~ Jack Bond
Satisfaction was recorded at RCA Studios in Hollywood, Ca., while The Stones were stateside. So Keith probably became familiar with the device while they were over here.
Great Vid Zac. I guess that kills the story of cutting a slit into the speaker with a knife. I like the white pick guard on your 57. Always look forward to watching your Vid's. Thanks for sharing!
I was impressed with your discussion and history on the fuzz pedal. You did a nice job of explaining it and making it interesting as well. I just stumbled across this video and I’m thankful I watched it. Keep up the great work.
Anybody remember the "Fuzzrite" from Mosrite Guitars ? It came in very handy playing the "psychedelic" music of the 60's, and was a GIGANTIC pedal, about 3 times the size of anything that BOSS makes. You could actually stomp on this stomp box without hurting it, as it was built like a tank. When it came time to kick it in for my solos, it never let me down, as long as I kept a good battery in it, of course.
I love the black guard on the Esquire, it has a lot of character! It also brings out the beautiful maple shade on the neck and the wear of the whole guitar overall. It somehow reminded me of a Syd Barrett tele kind of vibe, I prefer it so much to the white guard!
I have a Maestro FZA-1 fuzz, it's the 2nd iteration. I was told it's the preferred version with upgrades to the first version. It's broken down and has been since I bought it 40+ years ago.
Great ! I remember the Marty tune as a kid (65 now). ha, story i read recently delved deeper into Keith's take on the Maestro. I guess they were on tour in the US and London released the single without the 'Stones knowing about it. They're driving to a hotel after a show and Satisfaction is playing. Keith is horrified. True ? Apochryful? Who knows. Happy New Year, y'all !
The Maestro Fuzz was readily available in Southern California when it came out! There was no Hendrix ,Cream or Doors yet but there was The Yardbirds who also used fuzz.
my Squire bass VI is my favorite instrument of the moment; plays like a guitar; I can ‘orchestrate’ counterpoint melodies and lots of other stuff just using my guitar knowledge; the neck is no fatter than an old Tele
First time I heard “Don’t Worry…” was in a booth around 2:30 a.m. at the Hermitage Cafe I think in the summer of 96. Mind Blow’d. I proceeded to play it about 10 more times.(Not all at once tho!)
Great video! I was 15 when Satisfaction came out. All us young rockers played it. I had read Keith got that sound with a Maestro, but what really made me buy one was Don't Bring Me Down by The Animals, although I think that was coupled with some sort of tremelo.
Without Grady Martin's Fuzz Solo, we wouldn't have Satisfaction, we wouldn't have Hendrix, we wouldn't have had a whole bunch of the great guitar sounds of the sixties and seventies.
I thought they weren’t aware of the channel failing, and didn’t notice until after they finished recoding “Don’t Worry”. The producer didn’t like the sound, but Marty dug it, and made them keep it. That’s how I understood the story at least.
You have to take musician stories with a grain of salt. As an engineer myself there's NO WAY that part wasn't intentional once they heard what the channel was doing.
@@AskZac exactly... To me it sounds like Grady came up with part to fit the sound itself or at least adapted it from his original idea. Fortuitous for sure.
I'm probably not alone, but - My Ma was teacher of advanced piano - Univ. and above, beginning 50s, while Pa finished Engineering degree, in Detroit. Thus, I was FORCED to listen to Mozart, Bach, Brahms, etc., from the WOMB. The only kids she taught was "Music Appreciation", which I joined, 4 sessions. Learned to make little instruments, ID different instruments in symphony, etc. ** I was 12 in 1965, and the first time I heard "Satisfaction" on AM radio, I thought it was a super- cool guy, somehow making his saxophone "buzz" - maybe with cellophane or somethin'... - Ma taught adv. Piano, ( incl. performers, grads ) FOR 70 YEARS, until recent illness, dementia. THANK YOU, for the history, Keith had presumed horns, and my 12 yr old ear was not far off...
@Ask Zac You may have heard this story before, but when The Cramps were recording their debut at Sun Studios, Alex Chilton took them to meet Grady Martin. They asked Martin how Marty Robbins reacted to it, and Grady replied that Robbins said "Hell, it worked for Link Wray... leave it in!"
I really like the tone of that pedal, it’s fuzz without being over the top. The black guard kinda gives that guitar a Vince Gill look. Not necessarily a bad thing in my opinion, but I kinda got used to the white guard look. Great content as always Zac!
Great story! I am building a "Keef' Tele now with the single ply blackguard and alnico !! humbucker neck p/u and 56 bridge p/u, so I like the black guard.
Hey Zac very cool to learn & pin point exactly where the first fuzz tone came from & I live hearing it was on a Marty Robbins record with Grady Martin playing it !! So talking about your 57’ esquire I always prefer the black pickgaurd on a white tele for one it looks great but my all time favorite player / songwriter / singer plays I think a 57’ tele with a black pickgaurd which I’m talking about Vince Gill so I say keep it on there!!!
The story goes that when the Stones were recording at Chess in Chicago during the summer of 1964, someone at Gibson loaded a bunch of stuff in a van or a station wagon and drove it over from Kalamazoo. Included were two Firebird VIIs, a number of the bigger piggy-back amps, and a Fuzztone (and some other stuff). This version of events appears in Andy Babiuk's excellent "Stones Gear," and it is supported by photos taken at the time. Apologies if someone else already chimed in on this.
Since you asked :) I definitely like the black on blonde contrast, but for your Tele I think the white pick guard looks the best. When I first saw it I was blown away, you don’t see that combo too often yet it still looks totally authentic and super cool.
I was waiting to see if you were going to mention Jimmy Page's fuzz session on PJ Proby's song "Hold Me". Pretty sure it was months before "Satisfaction ". Good site.
Paul's fuzz bass on Think For Yourself on Rubber Soul, 1965.That was in the Keith Richards era. Interesting to hear the first was a bass. nobody ever mentions Paul's fairly early licks. btw The original Rubber Soul album (in mono) my sister bought in 65 in Canada, a different version than US said on the back Check out Paul on fuzz bass on Think For Yourself. So knew about fuzz since I was 10, heh heh.
I ordered one of the Fender Micros a while ago. So cool to hear you say you like it! (I am still waiting for it to arrive, they are completely sold out here in Germany.) All the best to you. Cheers.
The story goes that the producer came in the next day and wanted to add another verse to Witchita Lineman but he didn’t know that glen played the bass line and finished the song the night before. And thank God Glen did because that song is a Classic for the ages…
I think Keith used his Les Paul for Satisfaction, in the middle position possibly. I do this with the Satisfaction pedal from EHX. I know it's not a Maestro circuit, it's a Bosstone circuit minus a couple parts. I love the sound of that combination, with the guitar volumes turned down to 6 or 7. I also like how Zac's telecaster sounds with the Sun Face pedal. Fat fuzz with single coils, compared to humbuckers and thin fuzz. Many ways to have fun.
Grady Martin recorded (at least) six tracks featuring fuzztone guitar between 1961-1962: Tippin’ In/The Fuzz (recorded on January 12, 1961 and released in January, 1961 on Decca 31211); Twist and Turn/Good, Good, Good (recorded on February 8, 1962 and released in April, 1962 on Decca 31381) and Ramblin’ Rose/Big Bad Guitar (recorded on February 8, 1962, but released in the US in July, 1965 under the name Beauregard and the Tuffs on Decca 31820). Curiously, all six tracks were never compiled onto an album for US release (even today), but all tracks were on Side B of the Grady Martin, His Guitar, And The Slewfoot Five’s 1963 album “That Good Grady” which only had a release in Australia and New Zealand. Some other early overdriven/distortion/fuzztone tracks -- 'What'cha Know Joe' by Johnny Lee Wills and His Boys (Decca 5948; 5/12/1941) 'Fat Boy Rag' by Bob Willis/Texas Playboys (Tiffany Transcription; rec 5/20/1946) [both above feature Junior Barnard on overdriven guitar] 'Rock Awhile' by Goree Carter (Freedom Recording 1506; rec 4/1949) 'Devil's Jump' by Texas Slim [John Lee Hooker] (King 4315; rec. 8/1949) 'Boogie In The Park' by Joe Hill Louis (Its The Phillips 9001; 1950) 'Train kept a-rollin' by The Johnny Burnette Trio -- (Coral 9-61719; rec 7/2/1956) 'Honey hush' by The Johnny Burnette Trio -- (Coral 9-61719; rec 7/3/1956) [I'd argue Paul Burlison is playing the distorted guitar parts on the above two] 'Go On Home' by Sanford Clark (London UK HLW 9095; 4/8/1960) [with session guitarist Al Casey -- preceding Marty Robbins' 'Don't Worry' by months] 'The Big Race' by (Ron Barrett with) The Duals (Juggy 321-A; 1962?) 'Don't Stop Now' by Frankie Avalon (2m58s version - Chancellor C-1139; 6/1963)
Cool story, I hadn't heard this before and had to go out and look it up, very cool. However, the fuzz sound had been around for a long time, blues guitarists playing big hollowbody guitars through tweed Fender and old Gibson amps had a lot of that fuzzy or farty tone just by the guitars overdriving the crude amps of the time. It wasn't something they were trying to do, it just happened due to the amplitude of the signal hitting the front end of the amp hard enough to drive the amplification non-linear. Even 10 years before this Marty Robbins song Ike Turner played with a lot of fuzz on Rocket 88. So not to take anything away from this ground breaking Marty Robbine, Grady Martin recording the advent of fuzz tone was building for quite some time, decades even.
Am I cheating by clicking "Like" before even watching the video, Zac? I haven't been wrong yet. My introduction to fuzz was the Rolling Stones and Satisfaction. Every band in Jr High (including me) was scrambling to figure out how that was done. My drummer and his dad eventually built a kit fuzz box, except the button you pushed with your foot had to be held down to get the effect.....release pressure, and it turned off. Not very convenient if you wanted to dance around the stage with your fuzz going. My second exposure to "fuzz" was when I got pulled over for speeding in my parents' car.....but I won't go into that. Thanks again for a sweet video, Zac.
Here is the fabulous Mandy Barnett singing Don't Worry About Me with Duane Eddy supplying the fuzz. Mandy has the best friends anyone could wish to have! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c5n_XiYEGjQ.html There was a Gibson video about Travis Wammack where he talked about his early hits and he had created his own fuzz system- and mentioned that Gibson approached him after Firefly and Scratchy were hits about him sponsoring their Fuzztone but he declined. As he said, "He was just a kid" and had no idea what he was doing. Unfortunately, that video is not on YT any more.
Great story Zac! Enjoyed the video….very cool…and didn’t think I could love that 57 anymore than I already did…..but the black pickguard puts it over the top…….definitely a tone improvement……lol….
Cool to see you playing a Squier 6. Believe it or not I have a Squier Affinity Strat that I absolutely love the neck on. I appreciate higher end axes, but at the end of the day a great playing guitar is a great playing guitar, don't let the name on the headstock effect your ego.
I dig that esquire zac. Im guessn you do too. I notice alot of folks mentioning vince gills but jeff becks esquire imediately comes to mind. But that guitar and you look like the best of friends man...cheers
Howlin' Wolf's guitarist Willy Johnson and other bluesmen around Memphis predated Marty Robbins with the fuzz tones back in the early 1950's. Check it out.
Grady Martin's contribution to modern music has been so forgotten its sickening. I have found a few examples of his playing on youtube and he was a Genius. He is the only guitarist to have backed the big 3 - Hank Williams, Elvis and Buddy Holly in the studio. He also played with so many greats of country and pop of the 50's and 60's. Here's just a few.. Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, Kris Kristofferson Patsy Cline, Brenda Lee and Willie Nelson. Just his contribution to Patsy Clines hits ( on his Wikipedia pg.) is staggering.
I love fuzz, and I bet I wore out my mom's copy of Marty Robbins' "Gunfighter Ballads." So, this one was a real treat, Zac.As for the guard on the Esquire, if it's good enough for Jeff Beck, it's good enough for you...or me- I've done it to every white blonde Tele I've ever had, save the Hahn Model C. I think they look so great. Like a Tux!
This story was at the beginning of the Pedal Movie. Have you seen it? Did they do an accurate job of explaining it in your opinion? Very cool that it started in Nashville. Who would have thought!
Snorty, Snotty's good friend, gave Snotts the idea to market the sound. Some thought the sound was too nasal, but when the transformer started blowing, Snots loved the result. On a side note, It was also the birth of the Kleenex.
The first fuzztone number 1 was the Kinks You Really Got me which went to Number 1 on the pop charts which very much every guitar player wanted that sound but when satisfaction got played everyone wanted one.
@2:22--And let's not forget Martin's intro and fills on nylon string guitar on "El Paso." From nylon to fuzz; now that's quite a range. "The Fuzz" on excellent CD anthology on Atomicat (Germany?): Grady Martin, "Diesel Smoke, Dangerous Curves and Hot Guitar." Btw. "fuzz" meant police in the slang of the time.
I love the Esquire with the black guard. That’s what they all looked like in the early 50’s. Fuzz is almost a requirement for everyone to own. The different types get totally unique sounds. I prefer the non gated non octave type, like a Tone Bender or Fuzzface. I do have an octave fuzz, the JHS Supreme and I do enjoy it for lead playing. Horrible for chords and rhythm though.
That is an important recording. I believe I stated that the Robbins session was in 1960, and a hit in 1961. It caused Glenn Snoddy to create the Maestro Fuzz, and Red to create the Fuzzrite. However Red had no connection to the song and session in question.
I'm pretty sure The Yardbirds beat the Stones to the punch by using a Fuzzbox on "Heart Full of Soul" (a top 10 hit on both sides of the Atlantic) which was released a month before "Satisfaction". The Fuzz box Jeff Beck used was a custom one-off built by Roger Mayer and borrowed from his buddy Jimmy Page. ⚡🎸
@@AskZac Did some digging and I was right. Music writers also identify Beck's use of a fuzz box as a milestone: according to French, "'Heart Full of Soul' was one of the first significant uses of fuzz guitar on record-taped a month before the Stones recorded '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction'",[4] while Lavezzoli states that the song is "the first time such a tone had been used, soon to be employed by Keith Richards"
When we were kids and Satisfaction came out in '65 we tried to copy that sound but didn't know about a fuzz box. I took a screwdriver and punched a hole in my 10" Fender speaker. Not quite the fuzz sound but very raunchy.
