Essential Pedals

Re: Essential Pedals

I'm a fan of Boss Chorus's... I have a bunch... I don't own a Super Chorus yet but i have a few Chorus Essembles and a Dimension C. I think besides a Wah this is the only effect pedal i used in my bands.. I would turn it on for a lot of clean tones and i also used it a lot for solos.... I kind of picked that up from EVH as he used his Flange and Phasers on solos a lot, but the Chorus does fine for me...

Also the Boss BF-2 Flanger is still one of my Fav's that i own.... i have a bunch of other Fangers by DOD and Ibanez and they are not as nice.... those other Flangers seem to make weirder and more wild sweeps but the Boss is simple and great sounding....
 
Re: Essential Pedals

I did a brief stint in a top 40 band where I had to be able to emulate everything from The Police/Sting & Cranberry's to Green Day & the Offspring.
I used a Wah>TS-9>DS-1>CH-1 (Super Chorus)>Aria Digital delay. That's all I ever needed.
 
Re: Essential Pedals

If I had to ditch my ME-50 multieffects and buy one and only one stomp box right now, it would definitely be the Boss Blues Driver or Chorus Ensemble (preferably the BD). Just my 2 cents....
 
Re: Essential Pedals

Some kind of EQ/overdrive/boost pedal.

Beyond that it's cool to have a couple three things around but the only real constat for me is the OD/boost pedal & maybe a delay pedal...but even that's in maybe 40-50% of the time...

That & some kind of modulation pedal. Recently it's been a Uni-Vibe...before that I was on a Phase 90 kick & I've also spent time with the Electric Mistress...LOVE that one but I could do without the noise lol
 
Re: Essential Pedals

My board is set up with:

DOD FX Preamp
Boss Compressor
Boss TU-2
Real Tube 901 OD
Crybaby Wah
DOD FX OD
DOD FX Stereo Chorus
Boss Phasor

I'm in the process of adding two Delays: a Rocktron Short-Timer and a Line 6 Echo Park. Notice the two OD pedals; and now two delays. I'm finding a lot of pros often use two of the same effect on their board, selecting them for use on different songs, with different tonalities.

What's left that I don't have? Well, an EQ pedal, a Flanger, Digital Reverb, Noise Gate, Rotary Speaker (Leslie) emulator (like a Uni-vibe), FUZZ (rather than overdrive), acoustic simulator, Pitch Shifter or Harmonizer, Tremolo, and Vibrato.

I think selecting pedals is nearly as much of an art as playing through them! A lot depends on the style(s) of music you play, the type of amp(s), your role in the band, and other factors.

I think a lot of people would agree that too many pedals can mess up your tone; and I would say that most players over-use their pedals. I love East Indian food, but I don't put curry on everything. I like Mexican and Italian, too--but I don't put salsa on my ice cream or oregano on my peanut butter sandwiches. Moderation is the key to good taste--in pedals and food.

The trick is finding the right combinations that work well for your styles and your gear.

And then using them creatively, and sparingly; on the right song at the right time.

Bill
 
Re: Essential Pedals

Every player MUST have a wah - I nominate Vox
and an OD at least - I will say Fulldrive 2, since everyone else said TS9 or 808

I think at least a Chorus - TC Electronics? Small Clone?
and/or a swirly sound like a Phaser - Small Stone? I love the Univibe myself.
 
Re: Essential Pedals

I've always loved the Wah but I'm now looking to get some other toys. A tuner is a must for playing live, and I can't figure out if I want an overdrive of some kind, or maybe a sustainer or something....man, the choices...
 
Re: Essential Pedals

GUITAR-->Tuner-->Fuzz-->Wah-->OD-->Delay-->AMP

My personal choices:

Peterson Strobostomp
HBE UFO
Vox 847
SD SFX-03
H&K Replex
 
Re: Essential Pedals

IMO, there really isn't an essential pedal. There isn't one that's going to make you play better than you already do or make you sound like so and so. They're just ingredients here and there. Angus Young doesn't need any. ;)

Some like more than others do. There's players like Gilmore that have 3-4 rows of pedals in front of him and then players like Angus with none and many players that have one or two or three. It all depends on what you do and what you're trying to achieve. To have a pedal just because everyone else uses it won't help in getting you your tone.

Personally, I can't stand Tube Screamers, Ibanez, Maxon or otherwise. They're just not my bag. I'm more of a Super Overdrive guy. Sure, the circuits are very similar but there are enough differences that set them apart.

Rather than use an overdrive, I prefer a boost, an actual boost pedal, not an OD set to boost. The one I use in my big rig is the AMZ Mosfet Boost. A nice clean boost that doesn't color the tone. I've also got a DD-2 Digital Delay in the loop to wetten things up a little and a modded Crybaby out front with the boost. That's it.

I used to use an effects rack and about 6-7 pedals out front. It was overkill and I was never happy with my tone. Then I went to tweaking changing overdrives/distortions every session. It was nuts. I had to ask myself, what do *I* need to make it work for me? That's when I started leaving more and more things at home, elminating pedals a few at a time to see what I could get away without. I'll keep those pedals at home for messing around with and fun but when it comes to playing with the band, I prefer the KISS theory these days.
 
Re: Essential Pedals

i dont think i would ever use a tuner. i also nominate the digitech metal whatever (just kidding) but i think everyone needs either a distortion/ overdrive pedal, or a channel switcher, too.
 
Re: Essential Pedals

ErikH said:
IMO, there really isn't an essential pedal. There isn't one that's going to make you play better than you already do or make you sound like so and so. They're just ingredients here and there. Angus Young doesn't need any. ;)

Some like more than others do. There's players like Gilmore that have 3-4 rows of pedals in front of him and then players like Angus with none and many players that have one or two or three. It all depends on what you do and what you're trying to achieve. To have a pedal just because everyone else uses it won't help in getting you your tone.

Personally, I can't stand Tube Screamers, Ibanez, Maxon or otherwise. They're just not my bag. I'm more of a Super Overdrive guy. Sure, the circuits are very similar but there are enough differences that set them apart.

Rather than use an overdrive, I prefer a boost, an actual boost pedal, not an OD set to boost. The one I use in my big rig is the AMZ Mosfet Boost. A nice clean boost that doesn't color the tone. I've also got a DD-2 Digital Delay in the loop to wetten things up a little and a modded Crybaby out front with the boost. That's it.

I used to use an effects rack and about 6-7 pedals out front. It was overkill and I was never happy with my tone. Then I went to tweaking changing overdrives/distortions every session. It was nuts. I had to ask myself, what do *I* need to make it work for me? That's when I started leaving more and more things at home, elminating pedals a few at a time to see what I could get away without. I'll keep those pedals at home for messing around with and fun but when it comes to playing with the band, I prefer the KISS theory these days.
Click to expand...


KISS is cool....I personally love God of Thunder, Firehouse, and Cold Gin...but I digress....
 
Re: Essential Pedals

You guys should check out my post on the Trading Post ... Im selling 5 classic pedals, nicely priced. :deal:
 
Re: Essential Pedals

Jay 77 said:
KISS is cool....I personally love God of Thunder, Firehouse, and Cold Gin...but I digress....
Click to expand...
LOL...yes, they are, but I meant it with a different meaning. I'm sure you knew that. ;)
 
Re: Essential Pedals

For me, all I need is a distortion, wah and a bit of delay.

Not even a tuner, I prefer to have one that clips to the head of your guitar, and tunes that way. Stick it in your back pocket between songs.
 
Re: Essential Pedals

STRATDELUXER97 said:
Yep.....A Must have pedal for most of us!
Click to expand...

I totally agree! I might have a few different OD/Dist pedals on my board, but a TS is a Definite. In fact I have 2 TS-9's on deck.

"Can't Live Without" pedals:
OD/Boost/Distortion: a TS-9 is a great choice for all three needs, but obviously there are a ton of other choices out there that might do what you want for a few dollars less. It depends on what kind of music you play.
wah: Vox or Dunlop - pick 'em (I use a STRATDELUXER97-modded Vox 847 almost exclusively, but also have a mod'd Crybaby that sounds great for clean vintage wah).
delay: your choice and there's a bunch and it depends on how much dough you wanna shell out....you could get a Line6 DL-4 module and pretty much have everything you need in one shot, but it's a $250 unit (currently using a DanEcho and a Guyatone MD-3).
modulation: at least a chorus pedal (I use a ElectroHarmonix Clone Chorus, but also like the Boss CE-5 chorus which has stereo option)

So, there's 4 pedals anyways that I wouldn't go anywhere without.

....Bob
 
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