Scott Kiraly
Direct from Hermosa Beach, California, BMF Effects’ main man, Scott Kiraly, kicks off our new monthly ‘Pedalboard’ interview…
1What was the first pedal you built and how did the design come about? “The Fat Bastard boost. The design came about from a boost I have that was cobbled together by a guitar tech at a shop I used to frequent. It broke and then he dropped off the radar, so I set out to fix it myself and ended up duplicating it. I took it to a local shop and they agreed to consign it. Two days later they called to say it had sold and that they wanted another one! When the second one sold, they asked for two more and it just snowballed from there.”
2What’s your best-selling pedal and why do you think that is? “It depends on how you look at it. The Fat Bastard has been around the longest and has sold the most units, so by default it wins. When I came out with The Great Wide Open distortion, I couldn’t build them fast enough. Same with the El Jefe overdrive. I have very good feelings about the new Godfather overdrive series, too.”
3What makes BMF Effects unique? “If you call or email BMF Effects, you get me. We can talk tone, what you want to hear, the pedals you’ve tried that didn’t do it for you, etc. I also believe I offer solid, well-made, great-sounding pedals for a reasonable price. Ultimately, I want my clients to be happy and I’ll go to great lengths to make that happen.”
4Which notable players/bands use BMF pedals? “Marc Ford and Elijah Ford. Stew Jackson. Luke Cawthra. Jeff Massey, Eric Saylors and Tod Bowers of The Steepwater Band. Andrew Donaldson of Maker. Nico Bereciartua (Rich Robinson). Ryan Tomlinson and Jeremy Hunsaker of Driving Wheel. Ultimately, I like working with bands whose music I enjoy.”
5What’s new on the horizon with BMF Effects? “There’s always something. I recently purchased a decent-sized stash of NOS Mullard OC75 germanium transistors, so I’m bringing back the Ge Spot MKI, but with a twist. I’ve designed the circuit board to accommodate all the MKI Tone Bender variants, so the client will be able to order Hurst, Sola Sound, Marshall – the early one with the Filter control – and also what’s become known as the ‘House Blend’ [voiced to BMF specs] Tone Benders, as well as JHS Zonk Machine specs. Then I’ll tackle the MKII Tone Bender with the same options; the client will have their choice of MKII variants.”
6What’s your best tone tip? “Focus on finding your tone and don’t be afraid to look into the less obvious pedals. Constantly experiment with pedals, settings, stacking and pedal order.”
7Name some common mistakes that guitarists make with effects… “Sometimes we, myself included, overlook smaller or lesser known brands or even lower-priced pedals in favour of drinking the Kool-Aid. ‘Hey! This pedal will cost me a kidney, so it must be awesome!’ Also, there’s an old computer programming expression: ‘garbage in, garbage out’. A thousand dollars’ worth of pedals isn’t going to make your 10-watt solid-state yard-sale practice amp sound like a Marshall, so start with a good foundation!”
8Tell us a secret about effects you’ve discovered… “There is no ‘right combination’. Keep experimenting! In the immortal words of the Grateful Dead: ‘Once in a while, you get shown the light in the strangest of places, if you look at it right.’”
9What are your favourite effects pedal moments on record and why? “Any time Marc Ford plugs into my Ge Spot MKI – nobody makes it sound like he does! Jimi Hendrix Up From The Skies and Stevie Ray Vaughan Say What! are both very solid examples of wah pedal. The Steepwater Band World Keeps Moving On – Jeff Massey stacked a Fat Bastard, Purple Nurple and Aries Fuzz for the solo and it’s chaos and order at the same time! Any recorded tones by the Buffalo Killers and Orango.”
10Are there any long-lost gems you think would be worth reissuing? “I’m cloning a Jen KPS 900 phase shifter for a client – that’s a pretty cool-sounding phaser. The Compact A Phaser, aka Krautrock Phaser, by Gerd Schulte Audio Elektronik would be cool. I know there are multiple DIY projects for it out there, but I don’t think anyone is offering a production model at the moment. It would be nice if someone brought back the GS Wyllie Moonrock so I wouldn’t have to cough up $400 for one! The Multivox Big Jam Space Driver SE-13 has potential to be something very cool as well.” [RB]