JangleBox

JangleBox is the flagship product of a corporation that goes by the same name. The Janglebox, now available in 4 different models, is a compression/sustain guitar effects pedal created with the goal of capturing a special sound in the history of pop music: the bright ringing chime made famous by the Beatles and the Byrds. (The opening riff of the Byrds' cover of "Mr. Tambourine Man" is an example.) Scores of artists and rock bands including Tom Petty, R.E.M., the Pretenders, Counting Crows, the Church, Teenage Fanclub, the Smiths, and many others have utilized this sound over the past forty years.

Origin of the term Jangle: Although the word "jangle" technically means a harsh metallic sound, through usage it has also come to refer to the pleasant sustained chime of the electric 12 string most noticeable when both compressed and arpegiated. This transition of meaning is most likely traced to the song written by Bob Dylan, Mr Tambourine man, wherein the sound of the tambourine is described as a jingle jangle. However, when the Byrds covered the song in 1965 shortly after the Bob Dylan release, it featured the Rickenbacker 12 string of Roger McGuinn, highly compressed and played with a finger style whereby the chords were more often arpegiated than strummed. Over time, that unique 12 string electric sound was identified with the phrase "jingle jangle" and the Byrds version of Mr Tambourine Man became the point of reference that defined the sound. Today the picking style and unique compression is utilized on not just a 12 string electric guitar but also on 6 string electric guitars yet still referred to as "jangle."

Artists including Roger McGuinn, Mike Campbell, Elliot Easton, Buddy Miller, and Dave Malone have made a JangleBox their compression pedal of choice.

Guitar Player Magazine gave JangleBox an Editor's Pick Award, citing JangleBox for enhancing the guitar sound of professionals and amateurs alike who love a little jangle in their music.

Audio compression is an alteration of the dynamics of amplitude that reduces the difference in volume between the softest and the loudest sounds. Applying the effect in a straightforward manner can result in an unpleasant pumping sound and other distortions. However, the jangle sound was created using careful settings on high quality recording studio equipment and a complex approach that captured the most pleasant aspects of compression while reducing or eliminating the distortion and pumping sounds. The exact approach is not easy to duplicate which is why the Janglebox became such a popular effects pedal. It recreated the popular jangle sound in a portable effects pedal without the unpleasant artifacts that other compressors might create when attempting to dial in the parameters.

The four models currently available are the JangleBox Reissue; the JangleBox JB2 which has a larger layout and offers additional tweakable parameters; the JB3 which has yet more features including full EQ, dual mono output and a mute switch; and the new JB Nano which is essentially the original JangleBox configured with a treble boost foot switch in a much smaller enclosure.

See also

• Jangle pop

References

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