How Grady Martin's 1961 Fuzz Solo birthed Keith Richard's "Satisfaction" in 1965 - Ask Zac 89
April 17, 2020
Did you know that the fuzz pedal was born because a Danelectro Bass 6 was recorded using a faulty channel on a studio mixing console? The part, played by the great Grady Martin, was a hit for Marty Robbins in 1961, and the requests to replicate the sound led the studio engineer, Glenn Snoddy, to design the Maestro Fuzz-Tone for Gibson in 1962. Unfortunately for Gibson, the pedal was not a hit right away. They had to wait till Keith Richards used one on "Satisfaction" in 1965, which led to them quickly reissuing the product. To boot, Keith had used the device only to mimic a horn, as he thought his fuzz guitar part was just a guide for the horn part to be overdubbed later. The horns were never added, the fuzz part was kept, and the fuzz craze was born.
Marty Robbins "Don't Worry About Me."
Grady Martin on "The Fuzz"
James Burton on Bass VI with fuzz
What Keith envisioned for "Satisfaction."
Gear Used:
2018 Fender Squier Vintage Modified Bass VI
Strings: La Bella Flatwound 767-6F https://amzn.to/2Wio3iu
1957 Fender Esquire with added neck pickup. Restoration and aging on the body by Dan "Danocaster" Strain. Bridge re-wind by Ron Ellis
Strings: D'Addario NYXL 10,12,16,24,34,44
Pick: Medium
Amp: 1965 Deluxe Reverb with Celestion Vintage 30 speaker, and bright cap clipped on the vibrato channel.
Effects used:
Analog Man Sunface 2N