What Is The Harmonic Percolator? (Montage - Albini, Examples, Clones, History, Circuit Design, DIY)

[@moroboshidan7960]

The harmonic percolator is an advanced use of the technology developed for the turbo encabulator. Using prefabulated aluminite diodes, they finally managed to prevent harmonic fumbling.

[@Geeztown]

LOL! I had to look this up, but it was worth it! 😂

[@lucky_spyke]

Good to know

[@doctortwang6147]

Well said.

[@erasenegatedelete]

Ah, now it makes sense.

[@OFR]

The original Marzel vanes sounded warmer.

[@Michael-97]

R.I.P Steve Albini

[@diabeticmonkey]

I had no idea until I read this. RIP

[@TheChadPad]

Lord rest his soul. I didn't know. He taught me so much about recording engineering. I will remember him as I record my music, and on analog tape mind you. RIP Steve Albini

[@Lantertronics]

Oh, hi, the Georgia Tech professor here! Thanks so much for the shoutout, that totally made my day. :)

[@TheChadPad]

Good for you! That's awesome! Love from Taylorsville, GA!

[@wbehrens62]

I'm a 62 year old rocker.... OMFG... I had one of these when I was a kid in 1981playin punk in a garage band....Sold it 4 years later after I had a bad bike wreck and needed to pay med bills...I used the Perc and a miked portable reel to reel that had been modded to allow the output to play through the built in speaker when in record mode or an original crate practice amp (ala tiny tube amps)....Man your grandpa made the shit bud...you should be proud.

[@Geeztown]

Thank you so much! That setup sounds crazy. So what were you doing with the reel to reel? Some kind of looping? Or tape delay? Or just cause it sounded cool?

[@wbehrens62]

Basically it just sounded very cool....basically using the built in amp it had a insane amount of sustain and was super creamy. It was a garage sale find sears and roebuck with a built in speaker that I would mic off to a PA. I have never been able to reproduce the tone to this day. Ahhh the ignorance and beauty of youth...I was sort of into the butthole surfers in those days :). I had an Echoplex for tape delay...I just really sound it had when paired the the HP1.@@Geeztown

[@FilipeDGuedes]

I know this is not the topic here but that whole "selling my stuff to pay med bills" thing is just too weird for non americans

[@wbehrens62]

@@FilipeDGuedes Yea...well this was back in the late 70's as well...Being 18 years old and working a starting job you can't afford insurance.

[@FilipeDGuedes]

@@wbehrens62 it's funny to see how you immediately thought of a private insurance but free healthcare doesn't even cross your mind (no criticism towards you, that's just how it is in your country). A 18 y.o. having to sell their stuff to pay medical bills (or a private insurance) is not a normal thing and definitely should not be normal in the greatest economy in the world. That's sad.

[@iainbaines4337]

Love that the first sound demo is Mr Albini just playing feedback… no “here’s my clean tone”…

[@DanBee]

Cool to see a snippet of the interview I did with Steve in here. Had to ask him about the HP, its such a cool mystery pedal.

[@MusicEnthuZone]

Straight away I'm all in on this. I've long been fascinated by the oddness of the percolator. ALS is a horrible disease. My father is currently having his dignity stripped away by it (he's one of the 'lucky' ones who's had it for years).

[@douchecraft3113]

1st circuit I ever hand wired because I couldn't get the real thing. Your gramps was the man!

[@Geeztown]

Thanks! I think he would have been thrilled that his pedal caught on the way it has with so many people building their own.

[@fives.]

The editing on this video is SUPER clean. Very cool. A great go-to video about the pedal, collating all of the information on it and the numerous almost-clones out there

[@Geeztown]

Thank you so much! I've just been doing a ton of research since I found out how popular my grandpa's pedal has become. It's overwhelming how much is out there, so I tried to boil it down, and show rather than tell the story. At least that was my goal.

[@Lantertronics]

I recently had a student build the "Harmonic Jerkulator" on the breadboard and we took some measurements. It's called "Harmonic Jerkulator Measurements on the Breadboard" (I'm listing the title so people can search for it instead of the link since KZbin sometimes eats links).

[@Chuck-Bob]

Lol, quick aside, still cracks me up to hear "Steve Albini" thrown around like a household name, when I still remember Big Black as the most abrasive, controversial, polarizing band of an era.

[@Geeztown]

Honestly, when I first found out about all this, I didn't know who he was. I had to do some research. He may not have been a household name, but he inspired household names, and recorded household names.

[@jaysharpESQ]

I'm getting off on Albini being said like he's common pop culture knowledge too. No one I know here in NYC is familiar with any of his bands or records he's produced ... Well except for one dude I met in 2010... And well, that's why he was asked And joined my band 😂

[@Chuck-Bob]

@@jaysharpESQ Yeah man. My punk band moved to Chicago at the end of the 80s. Albini and Big Black were gods to us, but the average monkey had no earthly idea who that was.

[@onlyusernameleft2]

​@@jaysharpESQ I have a hard time believing you don't know anyone who hasn't heard In Utero. Yeah it was over 30 years ago but Nirvana was massively successful and Kurt Cobain is an icon. Side note: GY!BE's Yanqui U.X.O. is my favorite Albini recorded album.

[@wormdamage]

Fantastic! Love your tribute to your Grandfather! I've been meaning to deep dive on this design for a long time. But, listening to the clips, it's clear there's more than just the Percolator to Albini's tone.

[@rickwood]

Brilliant compilation and edit. Thank you for making this and making it available.

[@EricMerrow]

Thanks so much for including clips from my video! I hope my information was at least mostly accurate 😂 I remember seeing your comment on my video. Making my video really helped bring a great appreciation for the circuit and pedal. ❤❤🤘🤘

[@Geeztown]

No problem man! Seeing your video is what got me started on all this. I ended up making a 33 page PDF about Ed, how he pioneered multi track recording and built recording studios, InterFax, as well as my story using the pedal growing up. Lots of old photos, newspaper clippings, and original InterFax stuff. I made a software model of the pedal using machine learning as well. But it was too much for one video so I thought doing a highlight reel of the info that was already out there would be a good place to start. And I'll be doing more videos about the stuff that isn't already on the internet soon. Your video was probably the best one out there honestly, but there just isn't a lot of info about my grandpa on the internet. So it's my job to fix that. I included links to all the videos used in the description as well. So hopefully anyone watching that wants to go a little deeper can find your video too.

[@allenschmitz9644]

Look at that 'young' Steve Albini...sharp!

[@jaysharpESQ]

No he's Albini. I'm Sharp

[@mpaige101]

Great vid. Amazed how many people can’t pronounce percolator properly. 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@Geeztown]

Lol. It's such a weird name. It's kind of fun to say though haha. I mean having your harmonics percolated sounds way more fun than using distortion or fuzz.

[@cholling1]

Nucular perculator.

[@skoobie2962]

Awesome pedal and awesome video. I built myself one and there is nothing else like it. Thanks for collecting all this info into one video.

[@Geeztown]

Thank you so much! That's awesome that you built one! Making this video was a blast, so I'm glad you enjoyed it. More to come... ;)

[@waziammm]

It's time for the percolator It's time for the percolator It's time for the percolator It's time for the percolator It's time for the percolator It's time for the percolator It's time for the percolator It's time for the percolator It's time for the percolator It's time for the percolator It's time for the percolator It's time for the percolator It's time for the percolator It's time for the percolator It's time for the percolator It's time for the percolator

[@andrewmaile3809]

steve albini would've hated this =D

[@redmodpedals9100]

thanks for putting my pedal in the video!

[@Geeztown]

No problem! Thanks for making an awesome clone! I have the link to your vid in the description. I know the clip wasn't super long, but hopefully anyone that likes what they hear can find you.

[@itsratso.]

very very cool and thanx for sharing this with us.

[@Geeztown]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@J0hnSell]

So Cool to hear your grandpa was the “og epoxy gooper” I bet alot of people like myself thought it was Bill Klon Finnegan 🤣💯 this circuit looks so unique and awesome I can’t wait to build one for myself! Shout out to your gramps and his huge contribution to the pedal world

[@Geeztown]

Thanks, that means a lot. It still blows my mind how much this has caught on. I mean how many small companies have built pedals in small batches over the years that have been completely forgotten? And of all the things my grandpa did, this is the thing he is remembered for haha. It's ironic because so much of what he did involved trying to eliminate distortion.

[@hellf.o]

This unit is just great! Never seen something like that a part from Catalinbread Heliotrope which is an "harmonic pixelator" though.. Thanks a lot for sharing

[@Geeztown]

Glad you enjoyed the video. I just looked up the Catalinbread Heliotrope. That sounds more like a ring modulator which does some weird things with pitch. Definitely a cool pedal but way different than the HP-1.

[@thekarmafarmer608]

Incredible video. Thanks

[@figydscnvn9rek]

RIP Steve Albini.

[@CreepyT]

I had wanted a HP for a long time (yes cuz Big Black/Albini) and 5 years back spent a few months researching the history, what was available, other bands using one.. just like got completely obsessed seeking out the right one whenever I had time. I ended up getting a LLA Hurts. I got the one with all options (Jackson Brooksby's video in description) and asked if he had any custom ones. What I got is #2 of 2 custom graphic. It's Steve Albini in black ink on an unpainted housing with two red LEDs for his eyes. Image of #1 of 2 can be found on the Latent Lemon Audio In.sta. I left all stickers off mine.

[@Geeztown]

That sounds awesome!

[@HomespunEffects]

I love the Harmonic Percolator so I always watch videos about it. Never expected to see myself in it though. 😂😂

[@ScamLikely9327]

Hell yeah dude I just got the Part Garden and it’s an insane box of fuzz glory.

[@MisterRorschach90]

For me I didn’t even care what it sounded like. It looks cool enough to own.

[@Geeztown]

You must be talking about one of the clones.

[@Lantertronics]

This is really well put together.

[@thor_kb]

Nice video. I learned about the HP when I came across the Drunk Beaver Secret Sauce and then looked up about the original. Really like this clone, haven't tested any others yet to compare.

[@Geeztown]

I just checked it out. Being able to switch between silicon and germanium on the transistors as well as the diodes is a nice touch. It's crazy how many different versions there are.

[@walkerdeserttracer6767]

Love this style of video

[@Geeztown]

Thank you so much!

[@grungegazer]

RIP Steve Albini the legend

[@mark6302]

sounds like a great way to make coffee :0

[@Geeztown]

If the coffee doesn't wake you up those percolated harmonics sure will! ;)

[@michelvondenhoff9673]

Got some Big Black albums... Steve is always interesting to listen to.

[@rock.stones]

I did live sound for a few bands last night, in one of the bands the guitarist was only using this pedal. I meant to ask what it was but I didn't get to. So thanks for the vid

[@pwurso]

I made something like 80 of my take on it back in the 2000’s: The Urso Splinter

[@Geeztown]

Very cool. I tried searching for it, but found nothing on youtube and only a photo on google on effects database. Looks like it had 3 knobs. Another rare pedal I guess. Thanks for being a part of this!

[@mackk123]

if you put the circuit "differential distortion" before (or after i forgot) the harmonic jerkulator, it makes a liquid heavy metal circuit. i could never build it right my self but im sure someone will

[@ModularMemories]

I remember buying a cassette of of Songs About F#cking by Big Black, probably only because of the cover, although I had heard Bad Penny. Probably 1988.

[@bhhNC]

Was the DID 'Harmonic Enhancer' an cloned iteration of this effect? I bought one on a whim for $40 in a pawn shop 30+ years ago and inserted it into my pedalboard - untried - just before a Worcester MA gig. During our set, I hit that thing and the SQUALLING BEAST NOISE that came out of the PA was uncontrollable...lovely, actually, until the bassist unplugged my amp and fired me from the band. LOL.

[@teblake3]

Great video Thanks for this

[@Geeztown]

Glad you liked it!

[@atomnetton]

It was cool to see Soaring Tortoise in your clips. I think he can build anything.

[@Geeztown]

Glad you enjoyed watching. It was cool to see Soaring Tortoise build a really unique take on the Harmonic Percolator with recycled materials!

[@jerrywatt6813]

Pretty cool ive read about this pedal over the years but never got a chance to listen to one verry knarly when i was young i ran an origionl colorsound overdrive thru my 73 50w marshall That was my favorite i finally broke it and by then they were discontinued so i sold it big mistake now they are worth a fortune thanks for the video cheers 😊

[@Geeztown]

I know what you mean. I wish I still had some of the gear I had when I was younger. I'm glad you enjoyed the video!

[@obelusyt]

The HP-1 besides being a rite of passage for any builder, it's also the definition of "obscure", i just found out that Mr. Giese passed in 93!... also did my own take on the Percolator's analysis (in spanish) but wish i had found some pictures or interview footage of the man himself.

[@Geeztown]

Yeah, he passed long before youtube, or much of anything useful was on the internet like we have now unfortunately. I'm working on getting more info out there though. For now, I have an E-book with lots of photos on my website (link in description). As of now, no interviews exist that I know of. There are some articles that mention him that are included in my e-book. Most of what I found were in his old files that my dad still has. But if the story reaches enough people, maybe someone will come forward with more info that I don't have. I already had a guy email me that knew him in the 70s. So we'll see.

[@obelusyt]

@@Geeztown C'mon this is a piece of a documentary that every gearhead would love to see!, its really great to finally see your grandad at the workbench. if soever you'd like to assemble a bigger video, i would gladly help you with the spanish grammar, YT's autotranslate sometimes needs a tweak, and many latin america would love to see it.

[@Geeztown]

@@obelusyt wow, thanks. I'll keep that in mind. As of now, my plan is to make a series of shorter videos that can be put into a playlist. I feel like that format works a little better for KZbin, and wouldn't be as daunting of a task. It's possible that a longer video could be made at some point in the future as well though.

[@666pinkster]

hey, thanks for the shoutout!

[@Geeztown]

No problem! Thanks for building a Harmonic Percolator and making a video about it! People like you are the reason anyone is still talking about my grandpa's pedal. I included links to all the videos used in the description as well. I think yours says Jimi Photon though, not 666pinkster. But hopefully anyone that wants to watch more of a particular video can find it.

[@666pinkster]

@@Geeztowni think if they google jimi photon, that will come up. i designed a 4 knob version that effects the bias of both stages as well, called the photonic juergulator, its in my videos. it lets ya really get on top of the tone and fine tune it. you may diggit. your granpa was visionary!

[@Geeztown]

Thank you so much! I'll check it out. :)

[@666pinkster]

@@Geeztownlmk if you need a copy of the schematic and a vero layout. peace!

[@Wstarlights]

Is there an Al Stevebini anywhere ?? You think 🤔

[@Geeztown]

Lol.

[@svenjansen2134]

There is a Plini.

[@mikebozik]

The harmonic percolator is nothing more than "two-stroke, chainsaw grind". It's distorted, but each note is clear and distinct. No smearing. It's a Les Paul through a cranked Marshall plexi. There is a touch of Hi-Fi (The Motels) Tom Schultz did it, too.

[@GoDrex]

no

[@adlegol]

Who is the dude at 12:52? That was my favorite part seeing how the different transistors sounded.

[@Geeztown]

@@adlegol here's the full video, it's also linked in the description. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z5aWpaupqJh8osksi=4F4WsQdhvB0cU_V6

[@redline2115]

Nice video! I grew up minutes from your grandpa’s shop! The Chuck Collins Theremaniacs HP-1 is the only good reproduction of the Interfax circuit. Don’t waste your time with the others.

[@AROtotheN]

What a great legacy.

[@futrookie9786]

thank you

[@morddas]

We need the Cafe Bustelo pedal!😂

[@stylinghead]

Cool!

[@iLikeTheUDK]

Easy feedback without it becoming a howling out-of-control mess. I wonder if Robert Fripp ever used this pedal, I think he'd like it

[@Geeztown]

No idea. I'm no expert on him, but given the rarity of the pedal, and that it came from Milwaukee Wisconsin, not England, and that Steve Albini was more in the punk/ noise/ extreme genres of music not progressive rock it seems unlikely. That would be cool though to hear what he might do with it.

[@redline2115]

Nope. Robbert liked the Burns Buzzaround, Guild Foxy, and the Foxx Tone Machine.

[@FFGG22E]

The HP that I built using very basic internet schematics sounds nothing like the landevices HP-2 or whatever the greenbox is called. I love that pedal and I love the one that I made myself and I'm 100% sure that I'd love a working original. It's that kind of topology, it's easy to make but difficult to reproduce. But that said, who WANTS to sound like Steve Albini? Have you listened to his records? That's the tone you want? Go with what you built and enjoy whatever terrible noise it makes.

[@Geeztown]

I agree. There are so many factors that make up a guitar tone it's just about impossible to recreate someone's tone 100%. You should be able to get it close enough though if that's what you're looking for. But I think it's better to come up with your own sound based on what inspires you. That said, I used machine learning to create an accurate software model available on my website link in description. Thanks for the comment!

[@jackbonobo]

Wait, what Die Kreuzen record did Albini engineer?

[@JonDeth]

A very clever design that does something I set out to do a couple years ago with a previous design of mine, and that by chance is very similar to this and it's variants. The way Q1 and Q2 bias runs it as a quasi Class-A/B amplifier relying on a portion of the input swing to complete the biasing of the bases, so each half cycle supplies some of it's D.C. time signature to switching the transistors on and off allowing the use of just NPN's or just PNP's to effectively produce a quasi Class-A/B amplifier. My design succeeded in the ultimate goal, but I am not a fan of running outside Class-A without good reason with preamp stages, so I decided against this biasing topology.

[@clarkhayes9142]

Ode to Scabby The Rat at 6:00 is immortal.

[@kennethcohagen3539]

First and formost, my deepest sympathies on your loss. Second, no I want one!

[@Jafiveon]

Can we just address what Albini is wearing on his legs at 3:22

[@Geeztown]

Something like this I think kzbin.info/www/bejne/bWGsoYlmeJucmbssi=Be2wMvlUqPwHurYC

[@confuseatronica]

i'm in a spooky cave with bats

[@Bloor005]

Out of all the clones, which do you think your Grandfather would hear and have his ears prick up?

[@Geeztown]

Probably the software version I have on my website linked in the description. ;). I'll get some demos of it up soon, but it does pretty good on a null test with the original HP-1.

[@imjustherefortheks]

It reminded me the tone of "Calling Elvis" from Dire Straits...

[@TheTylrBllmn]

Did Kobain perhaps use this???

[@Geeztown]

Not that I know of. I think I read that Albini got it in '86. So he did have it when he worked with Nirvana, but I think he is a very "hands off " producer and probably just recorded whatever Kurt was already using unless Kurt asked for something different. I think Kurt used a Rat distortion pedal, not totally sure though I'd have to look it up.

[@geraldfriend256]

Not impossible that he used one on In Utero. He used whatever in the studio. Boss DS1, Rat, Big Muffs, Sansamp.

[@APMTenants]

Tried the barge concepts one and another clone I can’t remember. They both sounded aweful. Has anyone ever 100% confirmed the parts list? Is it actually just a crap pedal?

[@CouchEconomyTX]

RIP Albini😔

[@stephenkane2464]

whaaat is steve doing on stilts lolol 3:19

[@vegettoblue8705]

Rip🙏

[@middle_pickup]

Perq-you-later, guys. :)

[@mrrootytooty5797]

I have built a lot of these hp type topologies, including some with components as close to the original as i could get...they all sound very different to one another! My favourite circuits all seem to share this property, the zonk machine and the fuzz face...however these can sound awful with even minor component variations. The HP always produces a decent sound and seems to tolerate a very broad range of transistor types and values!

[@TheloniousBosch]

There is no U in percolator.

[@Watcher4111]

There is a fish in percolator

[@-jank-willson]

sounds like any other distortion...

[@redline2115]

It’s hilarious that 95% of the Harmonic Percolator copies sound nothing like an HP-1 Harmonic Percolator. Keep trying, guys!

[@OrganicGreens]

Too heavy for me. I wonder if it could be more subtle.

[@redline2115]

If you turn it way down, it can be subtle. But that isn’t why it exists.

[@lancethrustworthy]

Nobody presents a pedal the way they should, letting us hear the full sweep of the knob in question. These little slow turns are worthless in videos. Show the FULL EXTENT of the box, always! Sheesh.

[@Geeztown]

Thanks for the feedback. This wasn't really meant to be a "gear demo" video. I'll be doing one of those in the future though, and I'll do some full sweeps.

[@cygnusrocinante2687]

Everybody know that Lone Wold Audio Joe Anastasio created every circuit in use by pedal creators. He is a god amongst boys trying to steal his original circuits like the Left Hand Path.

[@Geeztown]

Lol.

[@-jank-willson]

dicksie dong

[@margaretedwards1366]

Four minutes in........can we hear what this fucking pedal sounds like already ?

[@Geeztown]

I'll do a demonstration video at some point. That wasn't the main purpose of this video though. Thanks for putting up with me.

[@lex3729]

Hey maroons, INFAMOUS means "Famous for being bad". The Interfax HP1 is FAMOUS.

[@eyeprod3101]

It's funny that half of these dudes can't pronounce it right. There's on U, dudes.

[@bradhignite8384]

i guess you have to be a die hard fuzz freak to really call this legendary or the elusive fuzz sound, witch is probably why i wasnt that impressed with it, the guy useing in the band sequence with the feedback i didnt see anything impressive about that. guess im not a conosur of the fuzz sound, but ive got a couple i really do love.

[@Geeztown]

Albini, the guy with the feedback, got people interested initially. But since the pedal is so rare, and the original components were covered up, it became sort of a challenge for people in the pedal building world to try to figure it out. There are forums where people shared pics and info and tried to figure out the design and get it just right. In that process, people discovered it's actually more useful than just what Albini was doing with it. A lot of pedals out there are just variations of the same type of circuit. The Harmonic Percolator is actually a totally different type of circuit. That said, it's not for everyone.

[@delphinazizumbo8674]

yeah. okay. whatever. you people and you "gear" fixation THINK OF SOMETHING INTERESTING TO PLAY internet guitar hacks are The Worst Thing on YT

[@christopherknowles]

Dudes will try to buy every shitty gimmick nonsense pedal in the world so they don’t have to practice.

[@chrisknight3734]

I can understand the devotion to pure playing but pedals are their own artform

[@christopherknowles]

@@chrisknight3734 not this.

[@djdurkadurka]

A lot of fuss for a pedal that has been on one board.

[@Dirge4july]

Ok, a fuzz..

[@jimbucket2996]

Such a sad statement to know absolutely nothing in the world of fuzz.

[@heggy_69]

You say that like it's a bad thing

[@timothyjames4195]

Wasn't that bald dude William S Boroughs boy friend? Not judging just askin

[@Geeztown]

I think you might be talking about Eric Merrow. Not sure about the rest. Here's his video though. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pHSnfKWahJZ-otEsi=kJPp4Dmy-PNrOguX

[@Neil-Aspinall]

Much ado about nothing special.

[@Geeztown]

Well, it's special to me... not for everyone though, that's fair.

[@EricMerrow]

“Much ado about nothing special *in my opinion*” The HP1 is such a rad pedal in the history of pedals and fuzz 🤘

[@Neil-Aspinall]

@@EricMerrow Nah it's crap, no one should be excited but of course persons like you will be.

[@roberthenry6910]

Thank god that user Neil-Aspinall is the all saying all knowing being of what is good and what isnt. All hail his awful opinions and terrible attitudes

[@Neil-Aspinall]

@@roberthenry6910 Sir my pronouns are King and Your Majesty.!

[@dohenyaudio]

R.I.P Steve Albini