LimeWire Music Blog

To coincide with UK industrial creators Throbbing Gristle’s recent reactivation, the band has just authorized an extremely limited edition version of The Gristleizer.  No, that’s not meant to sound as filthy as it does, but the coveted effects processor, originally created and used by the band to wreak havoc on their audience in the late ’70s, will indeed make any musician’s instrument sound as nasty as theirs.

Originally an analog effects unit, the Gristleizer has been recreated in stompbox form and issued by Smashing Guitar, with the blessing of TG member Chris Carter.  Carter originally made the first unit (pictured above) in 1977, basing his blueprints off a Practical Electronics magazine design.  Each member of Throbbing Gristle used one during their original inception, utilizing the processor for bass, violin, drum machine, guitar, tape loops, and even Genesis P. Orridge’s vocals.   Though crucial to the band’s sound, there were only ten in existence by the band’s original demise, whittled down to two working units to date.

The new stompbox reissue of the Gristleizer is almost as limited as its original version.  Only thirty of the commercially hand-crafted pedals are available for preorder, retailing at an impressive $375 via Smashing Guitars’ website.  The pedal will feature all of the pedal’s possibilities in true analog style, complete with ring modulation, ultra-wide sweep, distortion, tremelo, and more. Though the stompbox feature is ideal for guitar and bass, the Gristleizer will work with any audio signal, opening up a range of possibilities for musicians thinking outside of the box.

The unit will most likely sell out in a matter of moments, so any experimental musicians would be wise to act fast!  The Gristleizer will ship at the beginning of August.