MBV's Kevin Shields on His First Signature Pedal: Fender Shields Blender

Buy The Fender Shields Blender at Reverb: shorturl.at/dyMUZ
For the first time, Fender has captured the pioneering sounds of Kevin Shields and My Bloody Valentine in a singular enclosure. The new Fender Shields Blender is a wildly versatile multi-fuzz octave effect, designed in collaboration with the MBV frontman himself.

[@zeke5989]

They gotta give this man a signature Jazzmaster at some point. That's what the people really want. But the pedal is cool too.

[@growskull]

he doesnt really modify his guitars much outside of the bridge and whammy tape so idk how itd work

[@lilacrain3283]

@@growskullThere are interviews where he offhandedly mentions having internal mods in his guitars. Don’t have a link to any offhand but he’s definitely had modded electronics, at least in the past. I don’t think he’s ever specified what the mods were though

[@AlexanderWS92]

I Thought they did a few years ago.

[@Onidragon55]

The J Mascis Squier is reportedly based on a Jazzmaster that Shields gave to J, so you could argue he already has one by proxy.

[@SwirlyWhirlyXYZ]

Signature whammy tape

[@DaneMarshall56377]

It’s just nice to see footage of Kevin alive and well. It’s been a while.

[@UFO_computers]

I hope he’s stopped smoking

[@DazzzTube]

@@UFO_computersHe’ll never stop smoking weed

[@Despacheetos]

I swear this man is willing to do anything but drop a new album 💀

[@jakedibiase7404]

When he was talking about recording, I was thinking what’s the point? You’ll never release it anyways.

[@Despacheetos]

@@jakedibiase7404 tbf if we are gonna get a 4th mbv album I do think it’ll happen soon. Between re-releasing their old catalog, signing to a new label and Shields being in the public eye much more recently, I think we’re close to an announcement

[@folb7247]

Boom roasted! 😂

[@benjaminfowler4513]

Pretty sure he's said he wants to release new stuff soon and not wait so many years in between like in the past. He's trying to change anyways lol

[@Despacheetos]

@@Endlesssummer1 honestly I just hope we get to hear something from this “experimental” album he talked about in the 2021 double J interview that he described as being like “nothing he’s ever heard before” KEVIN GIVE IT TO US PLEASE

[@killedbykato]

this video needs more motion blur and waves to communicate the gaziness of the shoes

[@Eternity909]

Cool to see Kevin outside of his Irish cave

[@klausbendix5054]

it IS his Irish Cave ;)

[@averylangs]

Kevin was the guy who introduced Corgan to this pedal, which he would use for "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" during the bridge.

[@GideonKSays]

And on Bodies too, among other tracks.

[@bluechalk6275]

Btw, that motion blur is not a visual effect. He just radiates a vague hazy aura wherever he goes.

[@z144p]

The fact the auto caption in youtube recognized kevins tone as "applause" is telling of the lengths guitar experimentation has gone to.

[@JobyP]

Love Kevin, Love MBV, Love Fuzz... Thanks for giving him a signature SOMETHING! But $500 for a Fender Blender... Neh... Granted they'll be $1000+ on Reverb in about 30 seconds.

[@tungtobak]

Same.

[@willflint5014]

I mean they were already pretty expensive.

[@ashforbes6152]

yeah already is do it diy you’ll get soemthing slightly different witch makes it more fun

[@bfrancis9898]

I’m listing every seller that’s trying to gouge on this. I will share it widely so no one buys anything from them. GTFO!!

[@JobyP]

@@Dr.Garlic. really??? jesus theyre trying to out josh scott josh scott lol....

[@numberfourthree]

I love that Fender is leaning into their weirder, loveitorhateit legacy products. I love the reissue Blender and hope we get a decent chance to buy one of these.

[@derekholland3328]

mbv has influenced my life so much. ..nothing compares to their sound.

[@algonzales7258]

Next time raise the volume of the guitar, I can still hear a bit of Kevins voice.

[@johndinsdale4454]

As a friend of mine said earlier 'He probably started working on it in 1992. And he'll release the 'definitive version' in another ten years time...' 😅

[@RichardCharter]

Kevin has always struck me as someone who lets the pedal do a lot of the work, almost eclipsing the player. And this is a strength. Music becomes so exciting when we open up to improv and concede control in favour of the spontaneous. This pedal certainly has a lot of 'what if' to it.

[@ggthewhale]

While this is partially true, he's composed a film and if you see the chords and tunings he uses for his songs I'd give him music theory props

[@RichardCharter]

@@ggthewhale So true. I should have prefaced that I don't mean at all to diminish Kevin's technical or theoretical skill. Definitely agree that different guitar tunings and harmonic progressions make Kevin's playing so unique.

[@ultimadum7785]

​@@ggthewhale Yeah, even disregarding the tonal fuckery of the songs, the chords he chooses are fucking insane from a theory perspective, and practically bordering on jazz. HE ALSO BENDS THEM, ADDING MICROTONES COMPLETELY OUT OF WESTERN TONALITY. It's like he chooses a chord, and adds in EVERY EXTENSION POSSIBLE. And if that's not enough, the vocal melodies are super complex on their own, also picking extended notes far outside of the normal pentatonic melodies you hear in pop music.

[@CK2008able]

That riff around 6:20 in is to die for

[@youarethecreator1]

Finally, now all the cover bands can add MBV to their set list.

[@audibletapehiss3764]

Think of the possibilities! Don't Stop MBV-ing. Sweet Home Ala Bloody. Uptown Fuzz. The suits will want it in all the casinos.

[@jamesvandamme7786]

I had an amp that sounded like that. It was a war surplus PA amp with one gassy output tube.

[@aliceharpy7048]

something uncanny about seeing my guy in a studio and knowing with my whole heart he must not be making fucking anything we will hear probably in our lifetime lmao

[@anon2971]

I think we hear a snippet in the background at 6:00... Sounds more like a studio recording than a demo mess around

[@aliceharpy7048]

@@anon2971 ive given up hope tbh lol even if it is an actual studio recording

[@ultimadum7785]

Honestly I'd be fine if he never released anything else. He gave us three absolutely transcendent albums, some excellent ep's and an interesting, albeit hard to listen to back catolauge. He has also said in multiple interviews that he never wanted to be in one of those bands with albums that decrease in quality after their peak, and I have a huge respect for him after he said that

[@aliceharpy7048]

@@ultimadum7785 i agree with that, although i think we do deserve atleast one more EP after all the hype... i would be okay with the three albums we got though, they are flawless

[@ultimadum7785]

@@aliceharpy7048 true, but hype is artificial, it might be better if he just shadow dropped something rather than telling every publication under the sun "something's definitely coming guys!" Also people prefer singles and albums to ep's nowadays. 🙄

[@sexdrugsnwifi]

Sounds like a confirmation that we’re getting a new album this summer

[@luancervantes6124]

yeah, like the confirmation we got for that 2017 album, and the 2018 album, and the album that was supposed to start rollout when the catalog was re-uploaded to streaming, and the two albums currently "being recorded" 👍

[@tungtobak]

I heard he was doing the soundtrack to Half Life 3.

[@trailingupwards]

Nope.

[@Esignam32713]

This whole video made me think I was on shrooms

[@CVPhotography758]

Lmao

[@sirrealistic5625]

Mission accomplished!😅

[@HenritheHorse]

More like acid.

[@ER_aka_RAM]

I haven’t driven away … still in the parking lot! 😂

[@bleeknoir]

Yes!

[@guitargoalie27]

Hopefully this means a Kevin Shields signature Jazzmaster...

[@saam6768]

how do you settle on a signature design for a man that requires 16 jazzmasters to keep himself happy? lol

[@drids.]

@@saam6768just do a tremolo mod and something wild with the tone knob circuitry and market it as built for shoegaze. It will sell like hot cakes.

[@-k-b-]

Guitar comes tuned DADAAD from the factory

[@SwirlyWhirlyXYZ]

Make it from blurry wood

[@nicknickson3650]

How to get MBV sound: Reverb -> Fuzz -> Octave Fuzz -> another reverb. The key is using a reverb pedal before your fuzz, then sending that fuzz into an octave fuzz so it "confuses" the tracking. Reverb before fuzz is the quintessential shoegaze sound, but running a fuzz into an octave fuzz gives you that confused tracker effect. You can do this with octave up or down reverb. Running a fuzz into an MXR blue box sounds amazing and creates strange whale sounds.

[@EchoMachineOne]

Now I want an MXR blue 😅

[@Jdmzrx]

​@@Endlesssummer1Supposedly there are two full length LPs coming soon....

[@lilacrain3283]

Most of Loveless is just guitar straight into a cranked amp. It’s all about the tunings and the actual playing technique

[@anthonydiquattro6408]

@@Jdmzrx they were coming soon in 2018

[@OlegUstimenko]

Great news, kevin didnt do the reverb before fuzz thing! He mightve done reverb in front of cranked amp thing but its not quite the same!

[@theuniverseinstereo3453]

The most expensive fuzz I ever bought, worth Every Penny, I love you Kevin, you've been making my life better for over 30 years.

[@jakeallison9444]

Kevin and J Mascis need to do an album together

[@JimiLaMort]

I'll even take Kevin producing a Dino Jr album

[@effystrip2480]

@@JimiLaMort He partially co-produced the Dino album Hand It Over, hung out during the making of that album and influenced a lot of J's engineering which you can hear in some tracks. Also the J Mascis + The Fog album More Light he was there for that co-producing. But I know what you mean something that sounded like them both in equal measures, would be epic. :)

[@BelligerentHeritage]

When he talks about showing the pedal to J, all I could think about is the two of them doing music together.

[@tbaier101]

They did tour together. My ears are still ringing 30 years on.

[@thefeelcompany]

@@tbaier101Rollercoastour? Same here. Fucking amazing night for a 15 year old. Such a core life experience.

[@AB.BABY.]

Modders/DIY pedal builders have known about the error in the reissues. I’m surprised Fender didn’t 😂

[@AnimalSoundsMusic]

I was really excited about this until I found out it was $500 and limited to 700. Like why Fender?

[@vincentnossa7874]

Frank the anvil fx......fuzzed is a clone of a fender bender with mods🙂

[@WaitingtoHit]

They're in regular production now and going for $300.

[@watkinscopicat]

that sounds utterly incredible, such a groundbreaking unique player

[@mikelundquist4596]

Are you serious, Clark?

[@watkinscopicat]

@@mikelundquist4596 yes.

[@custum18]

Sounds cool but you still need a lot of other things besides that pedal to sound like Kevin Shields

[@ChrisOBrien1980]

nope, pedals make the player, ask any lawyer with a sick collection

[@stilllifewithguitar184]

@@ChrisOBrien1980 I'd ask but my dentist cleaning my teeth with a '56 les paul.

[@throwwwawayyy656]

If you make him release music i promise yo buy it

[@realgoodmind]

Yes some good stuff finally from fender.

[@shoegazer93]

Can we get new music from MBV too? Or do we have to wait another ice age for it?

[@russelsheartinacage]

Hoping this pedal bangs, so Fender makes a signature Jazzmaster!

[@willgonyea]

Honestly, a signature pedal is more reasonable than a signature guitar from Shields. At the core of it all, the Jazzmaster and Jaguar have such unique and quirky sounds that's all they're own, and Shields isn't really known for modding his guitars, just weird tunings and the effects he uses. Signature pedals should be standard for shoegaze artists. Yes, this pedal isn't for everyone, but those who love shoegaze or just wanna make a bunch of piercing noises will love this. Plus, it looks aesthetically pleasing.

[@santibanks]

or even if you are looking for the sound of the original, this is apparently it in comparison to the earlier re-issues

[@ImARocker75]

should've named it "shields bilinda" ...missed opportunity GREAT stuff tho fender!!

[@mcalnd]

Congratulations on spending a lot of time on producing the pedal, and then make it a limited edition which has already sold out. Stupid modern times

[@TrueManCrowyote]

Seems like they would have made bank if they had released this in the 90's around the Siamese Dream era.

[@noahherbert8347]

At least he is in some studio

[@danielvanbarneveld2776]

That riff he plays at 3.28 seems to be a part of what begins to play at 5.50: a new MBV song, maybe?

[@gabrielcruz4071]

What do I care about a pedal that's unobtainable?

[@Tyrannosaurine]

Absolutely agree. We’ve reached a point where working musicians, for the most part, can’t afford the cutting edge tools of their trade because the gear companies are making product for blues lawyers, who are only buying a trophy and putting it in a case. Companies like hologram and Chase Bliss make incredible pedals, but they are just so prohibitively expensive that I have yet to see one on a board at any of the gigs I’ve played. Not a single time.

[@konstantinosernestoeconomo3265]

This is beyond hype

[@noisessential]

Makes me think about death by audio

[@jonjones655]

A great collection of off-sets. I'm working on mine. Jaguar is next!

[@kalebmarshall1442]

Thanks Jason

[@thebrofessoroak545]

LOL did you have to film/edit it like this

[@henryspencer9849]

Ok so, despite the 500 £ price tag, in less than 5 hours after the release, the pedal was sold out. And in less than 2 days, you can find the pedal for 1,500 £ on Reverb... I really wish that Fender will release a basic version of the pedal cause I'm sick of all those speculators who don't a give a shit about the sound, MBV, music in general or anything anyway. They're here to 1) grab the pedal as fast as they can (and by doing so, prevent true enthusiasts from getting it.) 2) make money with and that's it. Both models for sale I've seen were still sealed so, no possibility of "I've tried it and it's not my thing"... I Hope I'll meet some of those despickable soulless swindlers one day...

[@StratsRUs]

Maybe if it was around 250.Not 500.A Tone Bender range.

[@josephguillermo3007]

I kick myself in the ass every other time I see a modded Fender Bender while I was stationed in Japan. I found it for about 100 bucks and I waited on it. I went back for it and it was gone. 💔

[@Kreln1221]

*_How can you tell if it's broken?_* 🤔

[@tremoo5987]

I'll buy this once I learn 2 more chords. Got E-A-D down pretty good now.

[@recklesstoboggan]

There are 2 more chords?!?

[@bunnyhopd7315]

Might as well learn C, Am and G then you can play most songs haha

[@boldstandard]

Kevin Shields uses a lot of unique open tunings, so many chords are different from the shapes on a guitar in standard tuning.

[@bunnyhopd7315]

@@boldstandard true but getting some basic open chords down is enough to hold most tunes

[@jamesvandamme7786]

Fmaj7 and you can play 1000 songs with just one finger

[@tonesleuth69]

Kevin Shields signature Reverb-Boss HM-2 Blend?

[@baechangshi]

Thanks Kevin! 💜

[@ethermod307]

Dear Reverb, this being a "limited" edition is like making sure they won't even reach real musicians but only resalers who will resale it for double price. It's terrible and already discussed in online forums by many fans. Expect many complaints, both you, Fender and poor Shields who I guess didn't have anything to do with that. Terrible business.

[@DarrenDoo]

I saw this list and knew I’d kick myself if I didn’t. Mine is going nowhere lol

[@papa_pt]

WTF are you on about? Fender is the producer, and THEY set the price at $500 which btw if you a "real" musician spending $500+ on a HUGE (space wise) niche fuzz pedal well... you deserve to be gouged bc there are dozens of other ways to get this basic sound

[@vacac1ones]

long life kevin shields

[@bjhbjhbjhweeee]

You still don't have enough money for the album?

[@5150show]

I want one

[@mysticsushi]

A classic Shields' Turnaround... To try and imitate that wound be nearly imp-...kinda really hard

[@boldstandard]

Yeah he probably invented a new way to achieve it on the spot in his head mid sentence lol.

[@maximiliangreiner1653]

So, he basically just made some weird noises with it?

[@ondrejbartak5538]

If you are looking for similar sound, try KHDK Unicorn Blood.

[@thomasraven]

I love the sounds from this but it's not $500 worth of love. Hmmm. Guess you can put a price on love.

[@fadlyhans82]

Should I get this pedal or the BOSS FZ-1W? Just wanna play a bit of Hendrix and replacing some distorted tones in songs that’s with it. TIA!😊

[@euro51116]

that burgundy jaguar is making me act up 🥴

[@patricelongchamps9880]

It as a horrible sound. Not a big fan of those type of pedal but I do admire his creativity.

[@theuniverseinstereo3453]

Greatest guitar player ever!

[@surg3ry844]

im not paying 800USD for a fuzz dude

[@pabloperalta9]

que grande el shields !!

[@panfart]

OMG he has standard fender bridges on all his offsets! The internet said they were rubbish and i scrapped them all! :( :(

[@knifedawg]

flamingo bandaid stays on for the fender promo video

[@micahchobaniuk7013]

Ok @5:35 got me! That tone is crazy! Ordered!

[@philippgrunert8776]

I am imagining someone witching this pedal presentation without knowing him or bloody valentine. 😂 The sounds are my cup of tea though

[@WhispersOfRuins]

bliss

[@jakedibiase7404]

I remembering buying the first Fender Blender reissue thinking it would sound like MBV and it was just a shitty octave fuzz with hardly any gain. Would not pay $500 for this. If you want your guitar to sound like a vacuum then it’s your pedal.

[@spncrgrn]

Sounds good to me that's exactly what I'm trying to sound like

[@banyarling]

i grabbed one before hearing it in action.. happy with my purchase

[@hanjunkal]

Hell Yeaaahhhhh my Lord

[@heleneramos889]

So danke schön for your master class! 🎸

[@mikemorrisonmusic]

Damn it, I had meetings all day. I go to buy this and it’s sold out. Dick move, Fender.

[@rodgre]

Love the pedal and love MBV but I could definitely have done without the funhouse mirror video effects. I never thought KZbin would give me motion sickeness.

[@michaelgriffin5304]

I'll stick with the Fuzz God IV for now.

[@whatissurge]

Already spiked by scalpers. Great.

[@douchecraft3113]

dude's music is the definition of *louder is more good*

[@arrangearrange]

Sold out!

[@brimans3092]

Kevin, Why didn't you collaborate on a pedal with Roger Mayer seeing as he was building you bespoke stuff?

[@MichaVids]

Will they make more? It says sold out

[@richtudor8547]

Please recut this video So we can’t hear Kevin’s dry mouth tongue clicking. I love your work, Kevin, someone should have given you a glass of water.

[@PluckinA_Connor]

This was one of my main takeaways from this video tbh, the pedal sounds sick though.

[@dukeofyorkshire355]

Well it was never going to be cheap, was it? It sounds brilliant though. Price makes it really elitist. It would have been better to create a slightly less "collectable" one which could have been enjoyed/accessed by more people. However, the sounds from that pedal... whoa!

[@tomscioscia9869]

Why does this video have a trippy effect added to it? The room already has trippy lights.

[@hevvyserve]

get this man some water jeeeeesus

[@thebreakfastmenu]

Tone is in the flamingo bandaid

[@nansenscat9315]

So, basically a fuzz and an octave pedal combination. 🥱

[@gomerhanger2285]

Gimmick pedal.

[@jakobstein1435]

Who else watched this high af

[@shadowstranquil]

DROP YOUR FUCKING ALBUM ALREADY

[@frankk5588]

Hey let's be respectful

[@Djboyrimo]

Be patient MF

[@saam6768]

kevin shields is the brian wilson of alternative music. one does not rush mr shields. anyways, for those of that remember 2013... mbv didnt announce shit. one day, the album just dropped.

[@UFO_computers]

@@saam6768• Didn’t Brian release over 10 albums ?

[@jjrusy7438]

Sounds like over-gained op amps. not my sound preference

[@SeeMick1]

Anyone else having an acid flashback, or is it just me?

[@masterofreality230]

First the Asheville flanger, then this? Good pedal release day.

[@markferguson3745]

Never forget plugging a used FB in at a music store, not knowing what to expect. Fender has a history of going all in, and doing things right the first time...

[@MrDaigoRiki]

Hmm ok, I want a fuzz pedal by old blood noise endeavor Alpha haunt.

[@ShlomirBareket]

So it sold out faster than the Life pedal, and no one outside of Opencarry Oaklahoma got.their hands on it. Awesome!

[@big_chortvevo]

i am not located in this oaklahoma place

[@ShlomirBareket]

@@big_chortvevo good luck to you!

[@goguif9713]

I hate that this kind of stuff always have an elite price tag...

[@brymsd8895]

5:45 ayo ayo

[@Sorryhurtsgazing]

YOOOOO YOOOOOOO

[@towardstar]

sounds blown out. more demos please

[@popcult5662]

😂

[@towardstar]

@@popcult5662 they said it could be more subtle and then showed like 5 seconds of that. the other demo doesn't show it either