Here's a question for you about pedals!

[dastill93]

I'm a big pedal fan, I know some guys hate effects but all those shiny LED's drive me crazy and I know there's plenty of guys that'd argue less is more and there are obvious advantages and disadvantages to using lots or going minimal, so here's the idea, I'm obviously quite new round here and I wanna get to understand both sides of this argument (and I'm sure it'll cause some form of argument) I wanna know what you guys think:
A) the maximum amount of pedals on a board
B) the types of pedals needed to play your style
C) modified or unmodified? Which is better (I understand this one only really can apply to certain pedals but I thought it's be an interesting ask)
And finally D) the best pedal you have ever owned, this is pretty wide varied question I know, but I feel it's give people with a similar style an idea for of what they can look into

Maybe this too much of strange question or no one will take any interest in it, but I'd like to get into the heads of all parties and get the pros and cons of everything
Thanks for looking guys!

Dastill

 

[jeremy]

Re: Here's a question for you about pedals!

a- no such thing. want more pedals? get a bigger board. more does not equal better.
b- i can play blues and rock with no pedals at all. a dirt pedal is nice but i can do just fine without
c- if it sounds good, leave it alone. if not then mod it or sell it and get another one that works better for you.
d- ill say timmy

 

[Surgeon]

Re: Here's a question for you about pedals!

I'm not against pedals. We're in a golden age of sorts for pedals: tons of manufacturers, quality pedals by the truckload and lots of ground covered.

However, I'm pretty much a guitar-cable-amp kinda guy. I've tried working with pedals a lot in a live context and while most folks make them sound the way they want, I've never really been as happy as I am with an amp that does what I want from the get-go.

I build and play lots of pedals and I do enjoy them but when it's time to really play with others, less (or none) is definitely better for me.

Favorite pedal:
Zvex SHO (I'll always have one of these),

Boosts: SHO, EP Booster, micro Amp
Overdrive: Timmy, followed closely by a good ol' tubescreamer, EQD Speaker Cranker (or pretty much any Electra derivative).
For high-gain Distortion in a clean amp: Tight Metal
For Marshall types: Plexitone, Marshall Govnor close second
Compressor: Keeley 4-knob, followed closely by the old Ross compressor
Fuzz: Triangle Big Muff, Fuzz Factory, Supercollider, Pharaoh, Scarab Deluxe, Wooly Mammoth, MountainKing Audio Megalith...there's a ton of those really.

 

[Vajazzled]

Re: Here's a question for you about pedals!

A)Unlimited
B)I like lots of psychedelic and dream-like music, so: wah, flanger, fuzz, distortion, overdrive, delay/looper, tremolo, reverb, eq
C)Some pedals really benefit from mods making a "cheapo" pedal shine
D)Hardwire RV-7 reverb pedal, really sets any mood

Pedals CAN make you dependent on the effects doing the work for you.
Some of the best playing and song writing I have done was with only 1 guitar, 1 combo amp, no effects, and too much time on my hands to practice nuances and techniques.

 

[dastill93]

Re: Here's a question for you about pedals!

A)Unlimited
B)I like lots of psychedelic and dream-like music, so: wah, flanger, fuzz, distortion, overdrive, delay/looper, tremolo, reverb, eq
C)Some pedals really benefit from mods making a "cheapo" pedal shine
D)Hardwire RV-7 reverb pedal, really sets any mood

Pedals CAN make you dependent on the effects doing the work for you.
Some of the best playing and song writing I have done was with only 1 guitar, 1 combo amp, no effects, and too much time on my hands to practice nuances and techniques.

I'm with you all the way, I agree a lot of my writing is done just sitting practicing without any pedals (except the occasional wah usage!) but I also get a lot of fun then trying different effects with the pieces I've written, for example a nice clean intro riff can be completely changed by adding a slight bit of CE1 style chorus from my CE20 and slow delay, I do also agree people do become alittle too dependant on them, through the years of gigging I did before my band split I saw countless average guitarists with a gigantic sound and pretty much only be saved by a cranked amp and a ton of distorion.. But then there's a lot of guitarist that can make that work, such as Tom Morello and Matt Bellamy for example, they're never going to counted as two of the most technical guitarists but their usage of effects and the way they work them has created such a unique sound. In the effects world, Tom Morello will always be a god! haha

 

[DeadandBuried]

Re: Here's a question for you about pedals!

A) depends on the style of music you're playing and what you're doing. E.g if you're a chord guy or lead line guy.
B) For me its about having 3 sounds, a good clean, a good dirty and a boost for leads.
C) depends on the sound.
D) Haven't used enough to really know but the Wampler Triple Wreck is pretty good.

I'm one of those who believes less is more, but that's cos I'm a rhythm chordy guy and just use one "effect" which is a Tubescreamer in front of the amp. Can do lead stuff but not needed for this band, I'd have choruses and delays for the texture.

 

[Lazarus1140]

Re: Here's a question for you about pedals!

I'm a big pedal fan.

I am not that big ... maybe 5'-11" and 170 lbs. I have no weight or height in the metric world.

I wanna know what you guys think:

A) the maximum amount of pedals on a board

As many as will fit.

B) the types of pedals needed to play your style

My style is atmospheric garage band psycho pop so I need an overdrive, a fuzz, a tremolo, and at least one delay. A great amp may eliminate the need for tremolo or overdrive.

C) modified or unmodified? Which is better (I understand this one only really can apply to certain pedals but I thought it's be an interesting ask)

I went through a phase of buying hot-rodded pedals and still have a few botique(ish) pedals. Now I just look until I find one I like. There are so many flavors in standard production there is no real need for modifications unless it is cheaper to mod than to buy and sell. More accurately, I no longer feel the need to seek out modded pedals. That said, I have to admit I still tend to gravitate toward products from smaller builders.

And finally D) the best pedal you have ever owned,

There is no "best" pedal. To answer the question, though, the only pedal I own that I will likely never sell (even though it's not on the board I use) is the hard wired EHX Deluxe Memory Man I bought eleven years ago.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Here's a question for you about pedals!

A)There are no rules in art.

B) an overdrive or a fuzz, but i do most gigs with no pedals. Using a pedal is a kind of "luxury splurge" depending on my mood. The right guitar and amp for the job is pretty much the start and finish for me.

C)Modding is only better if it gives you the sound you are after. Rolling your own is fun too.

D)Analogman NKT275 sunface

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: Here's a question for you about pedals!

A) I like a finite, non-zero number of pedals. I spend most of my time with one or two plugged in; a practical limit (for me) is 8-10 pedals at a time. More, and I just get more redundancy and overlap between pedals. But that's just me.

B) Overdrive, distortion, wah, chorus, phaser, flanger, delay, tuner, maybe something weird for fun (like a Q-tron). Some of those, I'll go years without owning or thinking about.

C) I've never played any modified pedals, that I'm aware.

D) Tossup between a Mesa V-Twin and a Fulltone OCD.

 

[jimijames]

Re: Here's a question for you about pedals!

A) shooting for 5 (including a combo preamp/volume pedal with footswitch solo boost, so kind of 2-in-1)
B) delay, wah maybe
C) depends... Boost/OD prefer modified but modulation/delay sound better stock
D.) probably my madbean Fatpants (when it's working) - absolutely killer buffer and great clear-yet-fat solo boost. Seriously makes my whole signal chain feel and sound better


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[AlexR]

Re: Here's a question for you about pedals!

I play pedals into clean amp, so I have enough to cope with the wide variety of styles I play. I've got 1 dirt box on most of the time, with a reverb to give me stereo and occasionally delay if I want to play things with delay.

But there are many dirt pedals on the board, plus a few modulations+ wah. The box most often used is a modded MIJ SD1

 

[MrTondo]

Re: Here's a question for you about pedals!

A) the maximum amount of pedals on a board: I guess more than 15 would be too much to handle for me. Over something like 8-10 it starts feeling redundant.
B) the types of pedals needed to play your style: What I have: Reverb, delay, chorus, flanger, distortion, overdrive, fuzz, wah. I am building another overdrive, another fuzz, an auto-wah and a booster. What I need at the bare least is: a fender clean tone, 1 od and some delay
C) modified or unmodified? I DIY so i can do what I like to the pedals I build.
D) the best pedal you have ever owned: For pedal into fender clean amp I like the Catalinbread DLS mark III, in general I would go with the Tc electronic Flashback delay (x4)

 

[allbutromeo]

Re: Here's a question for you about pedals!

A) As many as I can fit.
B) The only one I use every song is a Boss noose suppressor.
C) I go stock, but I do like boutique pedals.
D) MXR Carbon Copy, Black Cat Tremolo close behind.

 

[superpete]

Re: Here's a question for you about pedals!

A) the maximum amount of pedals on a board
B) the types of pedals needed to play your style
C) modified or unmodified? Which is better (I understand this one only really can apply to certain pedals but I thought it's be an interesting ask)
D) the best pedal you have ever owned, this is pretty wide varied question I know, but I feel it's give people with a similar style an idea for of what they can look into

a - no limit, as long as you use all of them
b - toured for 9 years with nothing but a tuner pedal and a eq used as a boost for solos.
c - modding a pedal gets cost prohibitive for me. id rather spend the mopney on a pedal that does what i want stock. theres so many options out there i don't see the need to mod anything
d - the pedal i've used the most is a fulltone ocd. i like it because no matter amp is there when i show up, i can get a usable tone with the ocd. i think the stomp under foot violet rams head is the best sounding pedal i own.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Here's a question for you about pedals!

A. To own, whatever you can afford. On a board, whatever is necessary for that particular musical situation.

B. Nobody looks cool bringing a huge board to a blues jam, but if it's a full length set with a modern pop/rock band where FX are part of the music, then it fits.

C. I don't modify pedals. I only buy ones I like, and sell them if it's not working. I don't like harming the value of pedals, since a potential buyer doesn't necessarily want something that's been tampered with, and adding switches usually makes them ugly in my opinion.

D. Best pedal for value sake was definitely my gold Klon Centaur. Not only is it the king of boost pedals, it also skyrocketed from the $240 I paid to over $2000. I could cash out of it at any time.

From the standpoint of "favorite for musical reasons" it's gotta be my Strymon Lex rotary pedal because it was the answer to one of my all time wants - a Leslie 147 in a pedal. I feed it with a faux organ tone from my Boss Harmonist, and run it in stereo so the rotating speaker goes to one amp, and the spinning horn goes to another. It's fully adjustable, so I can set the speeds, the grindy gain, and other details in the sound.

Other pedals I love are the Pigtronix Echolution, Xotic Robotalk RI, T Rex Viper and Replica.

 

[Vajazzled]

Re: Here's a question for you about pedals!

But then there's a lot of guitarist that can make that work, such as Tom Morello and Matt Bellamy for example, they're never going to counted as two of the most technical guitarists but their usage of effects and the way they work them has created such a unique sound. In the effects world, Tom Morello will always be a god! haha

How you do something can trump what you have accomplished, with great pedals comes great responsibility

 

[dastill93]

Re: Here's a question for you about pedals!

How you do something can trump what you have accomplished, with great pedals comes great responsibility

That's one of the greatest statements I've ever heard! You sir are at legendary status now

 

[dastill93]

Re: Here's a question for you about pedals!

A. To own, whatever you can afford. On a board, whatever is necessary for that particular musical situation.

B. Nobody looks cool bringing a huge board to a blues jam, but if it's a full length set with a modern pop/rock band where FX are part of the music, then it fits.

C. I don't modify pedals. I only buy ones I like, and sell them if it's not working. I don't like harming the value of pedals, since a potential buyer doesn't necessarily want something that's been tampered with, and adding switches usually makes them ugly in my opinion.

D. Best pedal for value sake was definitely my gold Klon Centaur. Not only is it the king of boost pedals, it also skyrocketed from the $240 I paid to over $2000. I could cash out of it at any time.

From the standpoint of "favorite for musical reasons" it's gotta be my Strymon Lex rotary pedal because it was the answer to one of my all time wants - a Leslie 147 in a pedal. I feed it with a faux organ tone from my Boss Harmonist, and run it in stereo so the rotating speaker goes to one amp, and the spinning horn goes to another. It's fully adjustable, so I can set the speeds, the grindy gain, and other details in the sound.

Other pedals I love are the Pigtronix Echolution, Xotic Robotalk RI, T Rex Viper and Replica.

The Strymon into the boss sounds like a really interesting set up, brilliant idea! I bet it sounds amazing

 

[Diego]

Re: Here's a question for you about pedals!

I use no more than 6 pedals due to power supply limitations. But then I wouldn't want more, either.
I use a tuner, two dirt boxes, chorus, and delay plus EQ in the loop.
I don't think there's a right number, but as least as you can do with is a good philosophy I guess.

I've got stock, modified and DIY pedals. Like 'em all as long as they sound good.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Here's a question for you about pedals!

12 posts and already trying to stir up $h!t? I like you….


A) the maximum amount of pedals on a board
- Only limited by the size of the board. I recommend a Line driver every 25 or so pedals though….

B) the types of pedals needed to play your style
- Depending on which of my styles; None to many
* Classic rock - Reverb, if it isn't on the amp already
* 80's Metal - None, or a chorus, or a chorus and a delay, or a Rat and a chorus and a delay….this can go on and on and on
* Acoustic (yes, I have an acoustic pedal board!) - Monte Allums Compressor, Zoom Modeller, Acoustic exciter + Delay and Chorus!!!!
Tuner assumed, but not counted

C) modified or unmodified? Which is better (I understand this one only really can apply to certain pedals but I thought it's be an interesting ask)
- It really depends on which sounds best

D) the best pedal you have ever owned, this is pretty wide varied question I know, but I feel it's give people with a similar style an idea for of what they can look into
- Three way tie: MXR Micro Amp, Boss DD-3, and Stamps-Drive-O-Matic