One of the most notable aspects of Jerry Garcia’s work is his attention to technical detail on the guitar. Tone is something that every guitarist is conscientious of, as the right combination of equipment can only enhance a musician’s skill on the fret board. Fortunately, this type of gear has been well studied, and has also been reproduced in the most creative of ways.
That brings us to NoiseKICK FX, a company in the business of creating custom-made pedals (see their work here). Founded by Matthew Zuckerman, his newest creation was inspired by guitarist John Mayer and his recent trip to see Phish in Las Vegas. Thus, “The Unicorn” was born.
The pedal is a double effect that features a Mutron III envelope filter (“Wah” effect) and a LimeTime delay with dip/warp modulation (“echo” effect). Says Zuckerman, “I made it for my personal board. I like to play jam/funk music and these 2 combination of effects really push it in that direction. Jerry is known for his “mutron” sound and you hear delay in almost all jam type music. But of course these are only tools. It’s impossible to replicate Jerry or John’s playing. Their tone is in their fingers.”
The image on the pedal was taken by Instagram user @custynoob, signifying one of the more well-known moments in the jam scene of 2016. You can see the Unicorn at work in the new video below, which showcases guitarist and photographer Jordan August demonstrating the pedal at work.
For more of Zuckerman’s creations, be sure to check out his page on Reverb. Zuckerman specializes in made-to-order customized pedals, so be sure to reach out if you have something groovy in mind!