Yasmin Kuhn’s with Ruben Arana’s Guitar Pedals

Yasmin Kuhn

“My favorite collectibles are my guitar pedals. As a young musician, I didn’t have much money; my little money was spent buying things to enhance my bass guitar sound. I was infatuated with how a pedal could alter the sounds coming from my instrument; I didn’t just have to rely solely on my amplifier for a different sound. Changing the sound inspires new sonic qualities, which add variety; this is exciting for a player and songwriter. Today, I own at least two-hundred pedals.

Emotionally, the pedals bring me back to the 1970s, when I first started playing electric bass. Popular musicians used pedals to create unique sounds. The trippy guitar sound on Led Zepplin’s ‘Houses of the Holy’ was a ‘wah, wah’ pedal that sounded like a chorus pedal. Stevie Wonder’s ‘Higher Ground’ used a Mutron to create that ‘warbly’ guitar sound. The Phaser pedal is my favorite because it alters the sound of my guitar in a trippy, psychedelic way. The gentile rushing sound it creates is relaxing and a very satisfying sound to hear. As soon as the Phaser pedal got to market, music producers started to use this new sound in disco songs. It is

operated with your foot by rocking it back and forth until you get the sound you want.”

Memories & Inspiration: The Kerry and C. Betty Davis Collection of African American Art is organized and toured by International Arts & Artists.