The guitar pedal in the mystery box

Did you guess what was lying in last week's mystery box?

It was a RingWorm guitar pedal, an analog ring modulator made by Way Huge.

Ring modulators are fascinating pieces of gear, especially when you know how masterfully Stockhausen used it for Mantra (I already mentioned this composition when I talked about the Electro-chamber music session around Mantra).

Ring modulation turns most harmonic sounds into inharmonic sounds. For instance, the grand pianos in Mantra often sound like different kinds of bells.

Other analog ring modulators include Moog's Moogerfooger MF-102 and the device used by Stockhausen in the 70s:

Picture by composer Felipe Lara

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