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New to pedals...just confirming what I don't know

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  • #31
    Re: New to pedals...just confirming what I don't know

    Originally posted by Taz Rules View Post
    I was looking on ebay, and they have some DIY stomp boxes from TTone for $30 each. Anyone try these? I was thinking of an Overdrive or a blues compressor from there, as I love to build, but it's a waste if the are going to suck.
    I love those kit things. Generally higher quality than cheap Asian-made things, unique sound in some way or another.

    Whether you build youself or buy an assembled kit from somebody, I recommend it.

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    • #32
      Re: New to pedals...just confirming what I don't know

      another piece of advice... Start slow.

      If you go buy a phase shifter, chorus, flanger, delay, reverb and three dirt boxes you'll be overwhelmed and confused getting them all in the "correct" order (there is none) and getting all the settings "right". There's a reason all those multi effects units come with presets, it's overwhelming to set them up with all the options. That and to make cool noises when you demo in the store.

      Get your tube amp and maybe a couple of overdrive pedals to see which sounds better with your rig. A used Boss SD-1 and a used Soul Food would be two options that can sound good with a lot of guitars and amps. After you take some time to explore what those can do at all their settings, add in your bigger gain sound. It could be it a Big Muff, Rat, DS-1, Distortion+, etc. and see how it interacts with the overdrive, guitar and amp. Finally, using online demos and song references like what Ace posted above, choose your coloring effects based on what tones you like. Maybe a chorus and delay, maybe a phase shifter and reverb, maybe a wah and flanger... Take each pedal, one at a time, and explore what it can do by itself and in the context of your rig (guitar, amp, gain pedals)

      If you take it slow and methodical rather than buy a bunch of stuff all at once, you'll be a lot happier and completely in command of your rig rather than at the mercy of it.

      I'd be hesitant to do cheap Chinese kits as fist pedals, since you don't know how they are supposed to sound. Compared to used prices on Boss, MXR and Electro Harmonix pedals, you don't save that much and it's really up to you to make them sound good.
      Last edited by PFDarkside; 05-09-2016, 09:10 AM.
      Oh no.....


      Oh Yeah!

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      • #33
        Re: New to pedals...just confirming what I don't know

        I used to have the same approach some time ago and I was so frustrated about pedals, there was always a nicer sounding pedal but then never as nice as I really wanted until I really had the chance to try tube based toned, I think tubes really make sense mild overdrive up to some distortion level or high gain marshall like tone, then I think SS makes sense for clean and loud sound and more modern high gain metal tones, finally I ended up with a tube based preamp AMT SS-20 that can do nice fender like cleans, real tube overdrive and even thick high gain, all these with a real tube vibe, I no longer use any of my OD pedals any more, I used to have these in my pedalboard: Boss SD-1, ST-2, ML-2, Fulltone PlimSoul. Now I rarely use any of these pedals, even the pilmsoul which is a fine pedal with a thick amp like sound is not as nice imho, so I am going to sell all these . So instead of buying a bunch of OD/Dist pedals I recommend you really evaluate how much those cost and compare with the cost of a real tube based amp or at least a tube base pedal into clean channel of your existing SS amp. I personally prefer the idea of using tube based preamp into SS power amp (like FX return of an SS amp) to avoid the hassle of power tube biasing, it should also reduce weigth.

        And about FX pedals, I recommend you first get your overdrive/distortion tone and enjoy it, you may realize you don't really need FX when you have a nice od/dist tone to use.
        Last edited by IMENATOR; 05-09-2016, 12:20 PM.
        Who took my guitar?

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        • #34
          Re: New to pedals...just confirming what I don't know

          First off, Aceman's posts in this thread have been pretty spot on. And the one's I'm about to pick apart are just clarifications for the actual recorded tracks for reference. As far as jamming along to these yourself, he's right.

          Originally posted by Aceman View Post
          Ain't talking bout love = Flanger + a very short delay with 1 repeat
          The only time I hear Flanger here is on the "C-B-C" in the intro. The rest is phaser. You can definitely get this sound with either though cause of the way he has it set.
          He has an echoplex on this song but any delay set to ~100ms will sound good. If you have one with dual delay set one to ~100 and the other to ~300.
          don't forget reverb either! there's an EMT140 all over that album.

          Originally posted by Aceman View Post
          Boston More than a feeling = Chorus on arpeggios, distortion on rhythm, and Distortion + chorus on solo
          Yup, just keep in mind the intro is 12 string, which produces a natural chorus effect and is a great way to understand what chorus is and how it works!
          TOUQUE ROCK...EH???? I AM CANADIAN

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          • #35
            Re: New to pedals...just confirming what I don't know

            Well, I'm off and running!

            Got paid for an art commission (paint job), and after I eat, I got some $ left over!!!!! So it was off to EBay to fill my GAS tank!
            Used Boss DS-1 Distortion - $26
            Used Behringer VD-400 Delay - $18.27
            Used Washburn Blues overdrive - $13.67

            All from the same seller, so shipping them all together will save me some more $

            I looked at a TS7 Tube Screamer from a different seller, but something was hokey in the picture. It said "TS7 Distortion" instead of "TS7 TubeScreamer", and seemed to be missing the "Hot" switch. Anyway, it didn't look like all the other pics I've seen of that unit, so I just kept my money to myself on that one.

            I'll run these clean through my SS amp until I find a good deal on a small or used tube unit. My neighbour has a Kustom Defender 50W 1x12 combo that he lets me use whenever I want. I just have to play at his house, he won't let me move it, LOL. So I can get a feel for these pedals through his tube amp while I'm looking for my own.

            I figure these should do me for a while. I still have the V-amp for other effects. Though I would like to add a wah at some point. Baby steps.

            Thanks again for all the help!


            WYLD STALLYONS!!!!!!
            Last edited by Taz Rules; 05-09-2016, 02:16 PM.
            I strive to be the person my dog thinks I am.

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            • #36
              Re: New to pedals...just confirming what I don't know

              Originally posted by Kamanda~SD View Post
              The only time I hear Flanger here is on the "C-B-C" in the intro.
              That's the "Manual" control on the ADA Flanger set to put the center of the Flange way down in the bass freq.'s….
              Originally posted by Bad City
              He's got the crowd on his side and the blue jean lights in his eyes...

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              • #37
                Re: New to pedals...just confirming what I don't know

                Originally posted by Taz Rules View Post
                Well, I'm off and running!

                Got paid for an art commission (paint job), and after I eat, I got some $ left over!!!!! So it was off to EBay to fill my GAS tank!
                Used Boss DS-1 Distortion - $26
                Used Behringer VD-400 Delay - $18.27
                Used Washburn Blues overdrive - $13.67

                All from the same seller, so shipping them all together will save me some more $

                I looked at a TS7 Tube Screamer from a different seller, but something was hokey in the picture. It said "TS7 Distortion" instead of "TS7 TubeScreamer", and seemed to be missing the "Hot" switch. Anyway, it didn't look like all the other pics I've seen of that unit, so I just kept my money to myself on that one.

                I'll run these clean through my SS amp until I find a good deal on a small or used tube unit. My neighbour has a Kustom Defender 50W 1x12 combo that he lets me use whenever I want. I just have to play at his house, he won't let me move it, LOL. So I can get a feel for these pedals through his tube amp while I'm looking for my own.

                I figure these should do me for a while. I still have the V-amp for other effects. Though I would like to add a wah at some point. Baby steps.

                Thanks again for all the help!


                WYLD STALLYONS!!!!!!
                That looks like a great "starter set" to get going with! Later on you can worry about getting a chorus, flanger, or phaser. (Guys on this forum will tell you to get all three, plus a bunch more. Don't listen to them - they are obsessed with pedals! Go over to the amp forum and you'll see that many, many guitar players use no pedals at all and plenty of us only ever use one or two.) [I tease because I love...]

                Seriously, though, a distortion pedal, overdrive, and delay gets you 99% of what you hear 99% of the time. I try something else every couple years or so and always end up playing with it for a while and then leaving it behind. I've been to a lot of shows in my day and I've seen a lot of pros using one, maybe two pedals and that's it. And plenty using nothing at all but a good amp.

                I've also seen some guys using dozens of pedals on a massive board and they often suck. My guess is they spend all their time chasing new sounds and not enough time playing with a few really good ones.

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                • #38
                  Re: New to pedals...just confirming what I don't know

                  That's a good bunch of pedals to get started with.

                  You can't go wrong with the BOSS DS-1. It gets dissed a lot, but there's a reason why it's one of the most popular pedals of all time.

                  Another good choice is the Behringer VD-400. It's a copy of the old BOSS DM-3 analog delay. Incredible bang for the buck there.

                  I don't know anything about the Washburn OD--decent enough price though.

                  I think I see a wah pedal and either a phaser or chorus in your near future...


                  Fuzz. Fuzz is a madness that you should try to do without for the time being...
                  Last edited by Boppy; 05-11-2016, 04:59 PM.

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                  • #39
                    Re: New to pedals...just confirming what I don't know

                    Comment: That DS-1 is MEANT to be ran into the overdrive channel of an amp take it to sonic awesome land.

                    Most haters try to use it for the pedal distortion tone into clean and don't dig it.
                    Originally posted by Bad City
                    He's got the crowd on his side and the blue jean lights in his eyes...

                    Comment


                    • #40
                      Re: New to pedals...just confirming what I don't know

                      They arrived.
                      Happy so far. Learning what the all do.
                      Thanks for the help!Click image for larger version

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                      I strive to be the person my dog thinks I am.

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                      • #41
                        Re: New to pedals...just confirming what I don't know

                        That seems to be the thing with most of the pedals that are often dissed... People just aren't using them right.

                        Most dirt boxes that are hated on are usually the ones that are best used into an already dirty amp. Except the Metal Zone. It's that crazy mid frequency knob that draws all the hate there... When dialled in right it sounds great, but it's a 1 trick pony and most people who hate on it can't dial in the mid frequency knob right.

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                        • #42
                          Re: New to pedals...just confirming what I don't know

                          Fine to learn what things do, some cat listed links to Gibson's effects description pages, very thoughtful.
                          As far as getting pedals, worry about your amp and learning how to set up your guitar, and what strings you are going to use.
                          First pedal, a TUNER, anything else is a waste before the foundation of a decent amp and functioning guitar. Pedals are great fun down the road when you are ready to expand your horizons. All pedals are different despite being the same "type". They have to fit the chemistry of your rig and the style you play or are trying to develop. Many of us have gone through a million pedals trying to find ones that fit us personally and create a magic chemistry with the entire gear rig.
                          You can learn a lot by having a POD type unit with multiple effects in so far as how things are chained and adjusted. The amp models also allow you to experiment with different amps without buying too expensive of an amp that ultimately is not the best choice. Word to the wise, nothing worse than an inexperienced player using too many effects and covering up bad playing with noise and ambient washes of nothing. Using effects is an art and an acquired skill that can expand your ability. If you do not know what something does or why then you really do not need it.
                          #1 pedal, a TUNER, 2nd some sort of overdrive, dist, or fuzz, from there you need some skills. Amp reverb can be a wonderful thing, getting into phasers, flangers, delay, etc too early can result in the pedal doing the playing.

                          I should mention I actually hated the POD for several reasons and you could not give me one but they do show how a chain can be designed. They are OK at a certain point in ones playing but if you don't get sick of it or cringe at the front end "effects" then best of luck.
                          Last edited by Gainstage; 06-15-2016, 05:12 AM.
                          "A great player can make just about anything sound decent, a poor one can make great gear sound bad.
                          You know what they say, 'if you cannot hear the problem, it does not exist, ...for you."

                          I insist you hate me because I am pretty.

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