# Glenn Snoddy > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Glenn_Snoddy > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Glenn_Snoddy.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Snoddy > Source revision: 1342378879 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) American audio engineer Glenn Snoddy Born May 4, 1922 Shelbyville, Tenn. Died May 21, 2018[1] Murfreesboro, Tenn. Occupation Recording engineer Known for Inadvertently producing the first fuzz tone **Glenn Snoddy** (May 4, 1922 – May 21, 2018) was an [engineer](/source/Audio_engineer) and recording studio owner in [Nashville, Tennessee](/source/Nashville%2C_Tennessee). He recorded major [Country](/source/Country_music) and [Folk](/source/Folk_music) artists such as [Johnny Cash](/source/Johnny_Cash) and [Hank Williams](/source/Hank_Williams). He is credited with inadvertently producing the first [Fuzz](/source/Fuzz_guitar) tone in 1961. ## Career Glenn Snoddy, a [World War II](/source/World_War_II) veteran, learned about radio and recording while serving in the [U.S. Army](/source/United_States_Army).[2] After the war, he began his career as a [radio engineer](/source/Radio_engineer) and worked his way up to the famed Nashville [clear-channel AM radio station](/source/Clear-channel_station) [WSM](/source/WSM_(AM)). Snoddy also worked as a recording engineer at [Castle Studios](/source/Castle_Recording_Laboratory), and after [Owen Bradley](/source/Owen_Bradley) established [Bradley Studios](/source/Bradley_Studios), he persuaded Snoddy to work there full-time in 1955.[3][4] In 1961, While engineering [Marty Robbins](/source/Marty_Robbins)' song, [*Don't Worry*](/source/Don't_Worry_(Marty_Robbins_song)) at [Bradley Studios](/source/Bradley_Studios), a technical malfunction unexpectedly transformed [session musician](/source/Session_musician) [Grady Martin](/source/Grady_Martin)'s [Danelectro](/source/Danelectro) six-string [baritone](/source/Baritone_guitar) [guitar](/source/Electric_guitar) tone into an unusual [distorted](/source/Distortion_(music)) sound.[5] Some accounts report that the [transformer](/source/Transformer) of Martin's [amplifier](/source/Guitar_amplifier) was damaged. However, it appears that a defect in the [mixing console](/source/Mixing_console) had produced this unique sound. "I'm pretty sure what happened was the primary transformer opened up, causing session player Grady Martin's guitar sound to go from clean to bludgeoning", Snoddy told The Tennessean in 2013.[6] As *Don't Worry* topped the country charts and crossed over to the pop charts, the unique sound of the mixing console's faulty channel rapidly became sought after in Nashville studios. But Snoddy was unable to replicate the sound, as the mixing board's transformer had unfortunately stopped working shortly after. "[Nancy Sinatra](/source/Nancy_Sinatra) came to town and wanted to use that sound, and I had to tell her people that we didn't have it anymore because the amplifier completely quit. So I had to get busy and conjure some other way to make it happen," Snoddy recalled in a 2013 Vintage Guitar magazine interview.[7] Snoddy decided to team-up with fellow WSM radio engineer Revis Virgil Hobbs to build a stand-alone device entirely based around three 1n270 [germanium transistors](/source/Transistor#Semiconductor_material) that would intentionally recreate the novel fuzzy effect. The Fuzz-Tone was born. The two engineers sold their circuit to [Gibson](/source/Gibson_(guitar_company)), who commercialized the device in 1962 under the name *[Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz-Tone](/source/Maestro_FZ-1_Fuzz-Tone)*. While the initial run of 5000 units was a commercial failure, sales soared after [The Rolling Stones](/source/The_Rolling_Stones)' [Keith Richards](/source/Keith_Richards) used an FZ-1 to record the main [riff](/source/Riff) of the band's hit 1965 song [(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction](/source/(I_Can't_Get_No)_Satisfaction). Snoddy continued working at Bradley Studios (which became Columbia Studios in 1962) until 1967.[4] ### Woodland Sound Studios That year he opened [Woodland Sound Studios](/source/Woodland_Sound_Studios), a recording studio that recorded artists such as [Neil Young](/source/Neil_Young), [Tammy Wynette](/source/Tammy_Wynette), [Nitty Gritty Dirt Band](/source/Nitty_Gritty_Dirt_Band) among many others. [Kansas](/source/Kansas_(band))' [Dust in the Wind](/source/Dust_in_the_Wind) was recorded at Woodland in 1977. Snoddy sold the studios to AVI in 1980 but continued to work at Woodland for the next 10 years.[1] ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Oermann_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Oermann_1-1) Oermann, Robert K. (23 May 2018). ["Nashville Recording Pioneer Glenn Snoddy Passes"](https://musicrow.com/2018/05/nashville-recording-pioneer-glenn-snoddy-passes/). *Music Row*. Retrieved 25 September 2024. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** DeGennaro, Juli Thanki and Nancy. ["Glenn Snoddy, credited with inventing 'fuzz-tone' sound, dies at Murfreesboro home"](https://www.dnj.com/story/news/2018/05/23/glenn-snoddy-nashville-sound-murfreesboro-distortion-pedal-fuzz-tone-marty-robbins-rolling-stones/636175002/). *The Daily News Journal*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210306185201/https://www.dnj.com/story/news/2018/05/23/glenn-snoddy-nashville-sound-murfreesboro-distortion-pedal-fuzz-tone-marty-robbins-rolling-stones/636175002/) from the original on 2021-03-06. Retrieved 2021-03-14. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Glenn Snoddy, Nashville Engineer & Inventor of the Fuzz Pedal, Dies at 96"](https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/obituary/8457662/glenn-snoddy-nashville-engineer-inventor-fuzz-pedal-dies-96/). *Billboard*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210410124137/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/obituary/8457662/glenn-snoddy-nashville-engineer-inventor-fuzz-pedal-dies-96/) from the original on 2021-04-10. Retrieved 2021-03-14. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Mix1988Flans_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Mix1988Flans_4-1) Flans, Robyn (March 1988). ["The History Of Nashville Recording"](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Mix-Magazine/80s/Mix-1988-03.pdf) (PDF). *Mix*. Retrieved 5 September 2024. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Kim, Michelle (24 May 2018). ["Glenn Snoddy, Fuzz Pedal Inventor, Dead at 96"](https://pitchfork.com/news/glenn-snoddy-fuzz-pedal-inventor-dead-at-96/). *Pitchfork*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210625063008/https://pitchfork.com/news/glenn-snoddy-fuzz-pedal-inventor-dead-at-96/) from the original on 2021-06-25. Retrieved 2021-03-14. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [Historic Music Industry Resources, Nashville, Davidson County, TN](https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/pdfs/64501268.pdf) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20190512195153/https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/pdfs/64501268.pdf) 2019-05-12 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine). Retrieved 2021-03-14. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Glenn Snoddy: Nashville engineer who invented the fuzz tone made famous by the Rolling Stones"](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/glenn-snoddy-dead-nashville-engineer-invented-fuzz-tone-rolling-stones-a8384306.html). *The Independent*. 2018-06-20. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220708041953/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/glenn-snoddy-dead-nashville-engineer-invented-fuzz-tone-rolling-stones-a8384306.html) from the original on 2022-07-08. Retrieved 2021-03-14. ## External links - [Glenn Snoddy interview](https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/glenn-snoddy) at [NAMM Oral History Collection](/source/NAMM_Oral_History_Program) Authority control databases International VIAF WorldCat National United States --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Glenn Snoddy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Snoddy) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Snoddy?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.