Top 10 Favorite and/or Least Favorite Pedals

[treyhaislip]

Participated in a Top 10 Favorite Pickups thread and really enjoyed reading through the responses. So I thought I'd do the same for pedals.

[Maggot]

Re: Top 10 Favorite and/or Least Favorite Pedals

Favorites:

#1) Devi Ever Bit: Legend of Fuzz. It's kind of a 1000 lb Kazoo sort of fuzz, but it can read your mind while you solo and it has a nice crackly decay. Here's a demo clip I made on my iPhone a few years ago. My daughter, who was 9 at the time took the cactus-shaving video of a movie in a German art museum.

#2) ZVex Fuzzolo: I've generally steered clear of ZVex pedals because I'm afraid of knobs. This one can go from Zep and Yardbirds to totally insane gated psychosis with just two knobs. Not as fluid in its interpretive dancing as #1, but cuts through better live. It's insanely responsive to your guitar's volume pedal.

#3) Ibanez FL9: The best-sounding jet engine I've ever experienced.

#4) Akai Intelliphase: So much fun. You can set it to an almost auto-wah or almost flanger or anything in between. Very clear and natural-sounding as well.

#5) Green Russian Muff: I wish I'd held on to this puppy, so I could have sold it for big bucks. All the components were absolute crap, and it wasn't super reliable, but it sounded like a Big Muff, only not annoying. And that's an excellent sound.

#6) Guyatone OD-2 Mini OD: My favorite screamer. It had two knobs and sounded like a Tube Screamer, only not annoying. So natural in the lows and mids! Plus it was small and orange.

#7) 70s Morely Power Wah: Morely gets a bad rap for some reason, but if you want to make a mess, a Power Wah can come in really handy.

#8) Lysergic Sound Booster (LSB): Made by my friend/bass player Ed. It's based on an Electro-Harmonix Linear Power Booster but it has two big dials to choose input and output caps. You can go from the tinniest, most trebly boost, to the darkest boomiest boost. You can dial in your sound on nearly any high gain tube amp. He could make a million bucks selling these, because the way I get my sound (Iommi-ish boost) is I play with the dials and when I get to Van Halen, I back off one notch to darken it up.

#9) Rat 2: If all your other dirt pedals won't give you what you need, a Rat probably will.

#10) 80s Nady Distortion: Definitely based on an Ibanez SD-9, but it had a "crunch" control to dial in presence. Sounded great for 80s rock, but it could really do anything.

[formula73]

Re: Top 10 Favorite and/or Least Favorite Pedals

I couldn't name 10.

[Maggot]

Re: Top 10 Favorite and/or Least Favorite Pedals

I couldn't name 10.

Yeah, effects are usually inherently disappointing. But that makes it so much more amazing when you get a good one. Right now I use a Boss ME-70 for everything that isn't dirt or fuzz, because it's too expensive to try to refine that sh*t any further.

[treyhaislip]

Re: Top 10 Favorite and/or Least Favorite Pedals

I couldn't name 10.

Yeah, effects are usually inherently disappointing. But that makes it so much more amazing when you get a good one. Right now I use a Boss ME-70 for everything that isn't dirt or fuzz, because it's too expensive to try to refine that sh*t any further.

Well, I don't have 10 favorites either and I really love my Boss GT-3 (even though its an old processor I love it!) So feel free to list processors too.

1. Mad Professor "1" - Get on and see why it is awesome
2. EHX Metal Muff - I love how this has the Top Boost, great for switching between rhythm and lead
3. Visual Sounds Route 66 - Ran through a Fender Deville, super loud and got an awesome rock sound
4. Visual Sounds H20 - Love this pedal, very versatile Chorus pedal
5. Maxon OD-9 - Great Tubescreamer

On the fence - Mad Professor Golden Cello...It didn't do what I thought it would but I am learning how to make it work.

[LLL]

Re: Top 10 Favorite and/or Least Favorite Pedals

Faves:

- EQ (MXR, Maxon)
- Compressor (Wampler)
- TIS-58 equipped preamp (Badgerplex)

Least:

- most distortions
- most overdrives

[Kac]

Re: Top 10 Favorite and/or Least Favorite Pedals

The SD Pickup Booster really helps me rock out with my single coils.
Bad Horsey Wah Pedal was very fun before it broke.
I've owned a few BOSS DS-1's and enjoy them.
SD Tweak Fuzz was a fun pedal that I am looking to re-add to my pedal board.
I also like delay, tremolo, phaser... Don't particularly have an absolute favorite there.

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Top 10 Favorite and/or Least Favorite Pedals

I'm just going to say that I don't really care for Tube Screamers--they sound really unnatural to me. Honestly, I haven't played on one very much, but it probably the pedal I'm least likely to run out and buy anytime soon.

Bill

[Maggot]

Re: Top 10 Favorite and/or Least Favorite Pedals

With Tube Screamers, you're always saying, "I doesn't sound THAT bad." and then you use it anyway.

[IM4Tone]

Re: Top 10 Favorite and/or Least Favorite Pedals

Favorites:
Fulltone Fat Boost FB-3
Wampler 57 Tweed
Boss Fender Bassman FBM-1
Boss 65 Deluxe Reverb FDR-1
Boss Fender Reverb RV-5
JOYO Sweet Baby
JOYO Deluxe Crunch
Mr. Black Deluxe Plus (Rvb + Trem)
SD Twin Tube Classic SFX-03
Ibanez TS9 (not spectacular but a good ol' standby)

I can't think of 10 I don't like, but in general:
I dislike multi FX pedals (such a Digitech RP355).
I wanted a Tech21 FlyRig5 so badly when they first came out and had a long waiting list...finally got it and sent it back because of Noise and mediocre tone.
The JOYO noise gate is useless.
Love the tone of the JOYO American sound, BUT it is noisey and must be used with a noise gate, so it gets used less and less.
JOYO British Sound...noisey, and meh tone

Off the top of my head, that's it....probably more in both categories, though.

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Top 10 Favorite and/or Least Favorite Pedals

Likes:
1:Maxon CS-505 anlouge chorus
2:Ibanez FL-301 analouge flanger
3:Hardwire DL-8 delay
4:Hardwire Chromatic Tuner
5:Foxrox Aquavibe
6:F.I.P Dual Echo(prototype one of a kind)
7: Digitech Timebender delaymachine
8:Ibanez TS-808
9:Guyatone Moving Box Flanger
10:Hardwire Supernatural

[allbutromeo]

Re: Top 10 Favorite and/or Least Favorite Pedals

1. MXR Carbon Copy
2. Bad Cat Tremolo
3. Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive Mod
4. MXR Phase 90
5. Crybaby Jim Hendrix Wah
6. Fulltone OCD
7. Visual Sound H2O
8. Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor
9. MXR Custom Badass 78 Distortion
10. MXR Dyna Comp

[Nacho8807]

Re: Top 10 Favorite and/or Least Favorite Pedals

Some favorites:

1. MXR Carbon Copy
2. ISP Decimator
3. MXR ZW44 Wylde Overdrive (my fave OD for rhythms)
4. Ibanez TS808 (best for leads)
5. CryBaby 535Q
6. EHX Metal Muff
7. EHX Russian Big Muff
8. MXR Micro Flanger
9. Fuzz Face (germanium)
10. BOSS CH-1 Super Chorus (not the worst chorus ever)

Least favorites:

1. BOSS MT-2 Metal Zone
2-10. That's about it.

[GuitarStv]

Re: Top 10 Favorite and/or Least Favorite Pedals

The following have been on my board for the last year or so, and I've grown quite fond of them:
- 535Q
- Germanium Fuzz Face
- Small Stone Phaser (modded to act like a univibe)
- Mad Professor Snow White Auto Wah
- SD Deja Vu Delay

There are dozens of other pedals I'll use occasionally, but those above are pretty consistent. As far as bad pedals . . . most are usable for something. They might not be your cup of tea, but usually you can appreciate them for what they are. Hell, I even enjoyed playing with a Metal Zone once I figured out exactly how to tweak the EQ on it. The only exception I've run across being:

- Boss AC-2 Acoustic Simulator . . . this is the worst pedal I've ever used. It doesn't sound remotely like an acoustic guitar, it was expensive, it sucked a surprising amount of power when on. Just terrible in every application I tried it at.

[ErikH]

Re: Top 10 Favorite and/or Least Favorite Pedals

Favs:

1. MXR Phase 90
2. MXR Flanger
3. Boss OD-1 Overdrive
4. Boss BD-2 Blues Driver
5. Boss SD-1 Overdrive
6. Boss SD-2 Dual Overdrive
7. Fulltone OCD
8. Boss Bass Flanger
9. Boss Super Chorus
10. Dallas Rangemaster

Least Favs:

There's too many to list...LOL