Feedback and Distortion: Either, Both or Neither?
 

Poll coming.

Both. And when I say distorsion, I mean harsh distorsion.

What?

All I know is that on my hollowbody my guitar feeds back like mad when I turn on fuzz, and then I can use my vibrola to sort of control the pitch.

It has its uses. It isn't super high squeely feedback, just really smooth creamy harmonically rich feedback, sort of the way a 7th or 12th fret harmonic on your lower pitch strings sounds.

Neither.

I love bands who use clean guitars only.

I like ceratin types of distortion, especially when the amplitude is right to my ear. My heart belongs to feedback, though.

Amplifier feedback is the voice of God.

It is one of the true innovations of modern music.

I like strong melodies which are distorted (not distortion on its own).

I like feedback as an intro or outro to a good songs (I couldn't listen to it on its own for very long unless its modulated into a melody, i.e., Sunn 0))), Neil Young's Arc, some Sonic Youth SYR stuff)

To me, feedback and distortion and dissonance make all music sound better, grimier, and more dangerous. Literally, I think even lush, beautiful, accoustic Folk music sounds better with feedback, ala Six Organs of Admittance. Hell, even Fahey's music benefitted from Distortion in the 90's. Of course, not all the music I listen to incorprates feedback, after all, Van Morrison and Game Theory are two of my top 15 all time favorite artists, it's just it seems for the past four years that I have been more attracted to atonality. This may just be a by-product of the fact that all conventional Pop and Rock music these days is garbage. Even the more conventional Pop-based bands in the semi-underground like Animal Collective and Abe Vigoda are incorporating some sort of wierd sounds and noise into thier eclectic sounds. I'm just saying, up untill four years ago I was all about Rock n Roll, music that was in song form, lots of riffs, etc. Classic Rock, Punk, Hardcore, Thrash, Extreme Metal, Indie (when there was such a thing), Surf, Folk and such is what I would listen to. Jazz is as far out as I went. But then, there just stopped being good Rock music. So, then I started hanging around Providence when I was 16-17, and WALA, I discovered art, wierd music, Noise ROCK, Lightning Bolt, Arab On Radar, etc.. I was intrigued by this amazing fucking sound right beneath my door step. Atonality in music also offered me a way to rebel. My parents are ultra liberal artsy-types, hell my dad's a musician and had me listen to Miles Davis for the first time when I was 7. So they would never get freaked out about how I dressed and who I hung out with and what I listened to, etc.. But when my brother and I started going to all these insane concerts and come home totally loaded with out one hundred new records from the merchandise stand thatd wed put on at full volume at 2 in the morning light a bong plug out instruments in and make a huge racket, well then my parents started to worry haha. Well, as you can see I am rambling about nothing (Weed), I will end by just saying at this point, FEEDBACK AND DISTORTION rule my life.

Whichever is the thing that makes it humm

the super fuzz or the big muff? or both?

Both. It's like chocolate and peanut butter.

both, but no overuse with either.

its like.. quality not quantity.

"For me quantity is quality." - Ross the Boss of the Dictators, and later Man 'o War.

Depends on the song...

not to be a bitch but distortion/feedback does not equal atonality. id say that lightning bolt, at least most of their riffs are pretty tonal, and they dont incorporate too many dissonants, they are loud as fuck, but i'd say pretty tonal...

shut the shit up, nothing i said was intended for controversey. and lightning bolt ain't always "tonal", structured always yeah, but have you heard a song like "mistake" on the s/t re-isse bonus tracks? there is nothing tonal about that track, just pure filth.

Both. Feedback is a force of nature. It's a blissful thing. Distortion just makes things a little more interesting at times.

Also: Clean guitar, a little delay, lots of reverb=love.

Either can be good when used well.

I've no objection to either, but given the choice I prefer neither. I like to hear what's being played with clarity and control. A little sustain will do me just fine.

Distortion and feedback? On a Sonic Youth forum? No way!

I like it when people know more than a smidge about what they're takling about. Everything I've heard of Lightning Bolt (which is, in fairness, by no means comprehensive) is pretty tonal. The reason they're called effects pedals is because they affect the sound - if the sound underneath is tonal, it doesn't matter which pedal you're using, the music is still tonal. Which is where feedback can produce some non-consonant sounds, but it's rare that these sounds don't have a harmonic relationship to the core tone. I find most noise-y pedals tend to still produce consonant overtones, even with feedback.

Anyway. Personally, I prefer tonal feedback, but the last few years I don't really like anything other than clean on an electric guitar. Distorted violin I'm a fan of (Kosugi), and percussion sounds amazing feedbacking. The thing with SY, and Hendrix for that matter, is that they've got superlative control over their feedback, (except in their 'free' sections, obviously) it's very much part of the song

That's very true, and I was experimenting with such a thing when I've started this poll the other day. I've turned on a microphone, switched on a synth , and turned the volume up super-loud on both, while I stuck the mike into my mouth and played conventional chords on the synth. Even though you get some nicely erractic modulations making an appearence with the feedback, the synth chords were 'weirded up', but still tonal.