The Fixx "Saved by Zero" which effect?

warlockII

Fractal Fanatic
I've been driving myself crazy trying to cop the tone and feel of the what I'm guessing is the keyboard part??? in "Saved by Zero" by the Fixx. It occurs at about 54 seconds and 1:03. I'm not sure during the solo if it's that same sound or a new one that totally rocks at 2:12. I'd love for someone to let me know which effect(s) and/or how to mod them to get the vibe...of course a block or preset wouldn't hurt my feelings ;) . The closest I've come has been using a wah and formant but it's not really getting it done.
Thanks as always!!!
 
To me it sounds like a type of detune. A Pitch block with a detune range attached to an LFO or expression pedal would be my guess.
 
Chuk, Both recordings sound the same to me, but yes that and the slightly different part during the solo are the ones I'm referring to.

Joker III, I'll give that a shot and see how it sounds...thanks for the idea.
 
Maybe try using a pitch shifter to raise the pitch an octave or so to get that synthetic sound. Then a stereo delay for the echoes. Play a chord far up the neck to get a thin sound.

 

Attachments

  • Saved By Zero Effect.syx
    48.2 KB · Views: 16
Last edited:
I think it can be done using a ducking delay and eq the repeats pulling all bass out and boosting the highs. I dont think a low cut would give you the highs you need unless there is an eq block in the delay. I cant remember off the top of my head. The first harmonic chord wont repeat with the ducking delay on but when you hit that second "squealing" 6 repeating note let the delay ring out. other way is to assign the mix or/ and delay repeats to an expression pedal. and as said above a detuner is definitely on that sound. Almost positive that a keyboard but could be done here.
 
I think it can be done using a ducking delay and eq the repeats pulling all bass out and boosting the highs. I dont think a low cut would give you the highs you need unless there is an eq block in the delay. I cant remember off the top of my head. The first harmonic chord wont repeat with the ducking delay on but when you hit that second "squealing" 6 repeating note let the delay ring out. other way is to assign the mix or/ and delay repeats to an expression pedal. and as said above a detuner is definitely on that sound. Almost positive that a keyboard but could be done here.
an easier way to do it than play it as a chord would be to use the crystals and let that ring the chord out
 
I want to hear your band now I love watching players that pay this close to attention to detail. All the players here think im nuts because i try to recreate everything in every song exactly as its heard.
 
Sometimes there's something in a song that really grabs me and I'd love to reproduce it live...some songs I modify to make them more fun to play than the original.
 
I love the Fixx's clean guitar tones. I was anti-new wave when I was a teen. But I have about 3 or 4 of their songs in my playlists these days and they are blast to play along to.
 
Love the Fixx! Love their guitar tones!

A lot of that stuff is very layered with keys. In the chorus of "Zero" Jamie is playing some volume-swelled harmonics while there are some other keyboard parts going on. Rupert is a master of arranging cool sound-effecty but musical keyboard parts. He also used a vocoder quite a bit to lend that spoken/vocal sound to the keys. Most of the guitar stuff will sound like guitar, but with the delay and reverb ambience on it. The other stuff is keys.

You need a lot of compression on the guitar too - I think Jamie used a lot and they probably heaped a lot on during the mix process as well. The Axe-Fx models always have a factory preset that's inspired by The Fixx so you can look that up for a start. I think you can get even closer nowadays with the new compressor types to add some of that studio sound.

You can also take it further to the limits of your creativity if you want to try to cover some of the key sounds as well like @GlennO did above!
 
I agree with Code Poet. It isn't so much of an effect -- it's a playing technique and some layers.
 
I agree with Code Poet. It isn't so much of an effect -- it's a playing technique and some layers.
With your spot on cars preset, I thought you'd easily come up with something that would simulate that sound at 2:12 in the video. I've spend countless hours unsuccesfully trying to emulate it.
 
That's keyboards, but could I'm sure you could come up with something to mimic it. I might take a look if I get a chance - always up for a challenge.

@warlockII - which Cars preset do you mean? Wanna check that out.
 
Axe what I needed... keyboard is SPOT ON. Also the one he tweaked for Fro "Let's Go"...that flanger brings a huge smile to my face every time I use it. As we all know Admin A is a STUD!!!
 
Here's a quick take - threw a bunch of stuff in there to mess up the sound, detune it, etc. The formant filter wasn't as strong as I hoped on the synth tones - seems to work better on guitar. Stumbled upon the vocoder again (I thought it was gone, but it's still in the III) - didn't use it here but will have to play with that some. Not going for 100% accuracy of course, just a different kinda sound. Will keep playing with it.

 
@CodePoet that's closer than I've gotten so far. I was also dissappointed with my attempt with the formant. I was happier with the wah, but yours sounds better than mine.
 
Back
Top Bottom