In order to encourage experimentation, I haven’t written much about Ouroboros. But that isn’t the entire story, either. I don’t actually know the limits of what it is able to do. The longer I play with it, the more new ways I find to use it. I used to mostly use it to create a cacophony of sound, but I’ve been getting into some less weird stuff with it lately. Here are a few examples.
Drone
Fuzz pedal in the send/receive network. I usually use Fire, but most fuzz pedals I’ve tried work to some extent. The more controls on the pedal, the better—with the feedback engaged, it will self-oscillate. The controls on the pedal will effect the character of the oscillation. The instrument connected will also play a big role. I like using a strat because the 5-position pickup selector allows me to easily access five different tones.
All of that on it’s own is actually what I do for a general noise setup as well, the difference is that for drone, I like very slowly change settings (for the most part) and will add lots of reverb and modulation to smooth it out and add a bit more motion. (For a more noise-oriented experience, just keep twirling knobs on the pedal/instrument and flipping through pick-ups).
Add in a loop pedal, and you got yourself a sound-stew, without (the need to) pluck a string.
Regular Ol’ Feedback
Some dirt and overdrive pedals will work similar to fuzz in that they oscillate, but usually at a much higher frequency—it sounds like feedback from a loud amp, but you can generate it at a reasonable volume. It isn’t always appropriate to crank your amp and let your guitar squeal, but with some pedals in Ouroboros, you can get that squeal at bedroom volumes.
Generally speaking, oscillation will be overpowered by notes ringing on the guitar, meaning that you can hold a note and let it morph into feedback as the note decays.
Thickening Agent
Some pedals won’t really oscillate. And yet, you can hear something is different—the sound is just a little fuller, maybe it’s got just a little more hair. Who would have thought a feedback looper could be subtle?