Re: Name 10 MUST have pedals
It obviously depends of the type of material you're doing, but a lot depends on the amp, too. So, here's my ten for my Mesa Mark IV and Mark V amps, and my Furman SPB-1 Pedal Board.
First pedal in my chain is an old DOD FX10 PREAMP that is almost always on to provide a slight boost. Since those aren't around any more, I'll go with a BBE Boosta Grande. The clean boost of the DOD has been the big secret of my tone for more than 30 years. Got to have a boost pedal, and there are several good ones out there.
Next pedal is a COMPRESSOR. Mine is a Boss CS-3. Since it's already bought and paid for and does the job, I'll use it, but others like Wampler and the Keeley have great reps--these along with several others might be a worthwhile upgrade.
My TUNER is a Boss TU-3. It's fine for a live pedal board, but the Sonic Research Turbo or the Peterson Strobo-Stomp might be better for setting intonation on my guitars.
I bought my old Thomas Organ Crybaby WAH used in 1972. It's a beat-up, dinged up, filthy dirty, noisy, raspy, nasty, tone-killing brick and still sounds wonderful. If I needed something new, I'd probably use the backup Crybaby Classic I have in a drawer; but the Hendrix, Wylde and Bonamassa Crybabys would get a SERIOUS look.
I'm not a huge DELAY guy, but I want something organic; I think it would be hard to go wrong with an MXR Carbon copy for my analog unit. I love my Rocktron Short-Timer, but I'm discovering it is too big. A DD-3 is another favorite; but I could have essentially four more delays on my board with with a Boss DD-20 and it's presets. I don't have mine on my board yet, but I've been playing with it for a few years now, and I'm impressed with the power it has. The long delays available in the DD-20 aren't a big necessity for me, but it is a great pedal. Because of its size though, perhaps a DD-3, -5, -6, -7 would actually be more practical to use with the Carbon Copy. So two delays, a Carbon Copy and a Digital Delay (TBD) it is.
I used a DOD FX Series CHORUS for years and replaced it with a Boss CE-3 about four years ago. They sound very different; both are very good, but I keep thinking I should go back to the DOD. Maybe not. I recently bought a new Digitech Hardwire Stereo Chorus for cheap on a closeout deal, and I have to check it out. If the Hardwire could evoke both the DOD AND the Boss, I'd have a winner. Got to have a Chorus.
I don't have one on my amp or on my board, but a TREMOLO pedal would be nice. I recently acquired a BBE Tremor in a contest; haven't tried it yet, but it should do what I need without getting too crazy.
I used to have an old Musitronics PHASOR. It went bad on me, but that one had a really nice tone and did a good job emulating a Leslie speaker. I replaced it with a Boss PH-1r, and I think that the PH-1r is the best of the Boss phasors, though it doesn't spin fast enough to do the Leslie thing. The MXR EVH Phase 90 is a really tempting classic Phasor, though. If I could only have one, I'll stick with what I know, the PH-1r, but I might add a EVH 90 if I had room. Perhaps there's something else out there that will do both the MXR and Boss flavors?
That's eight, leaves me two slots. Now you'd think that with a Mark IV or V, I wouldn't need another OVERDRIVE/DISTORTION, but what I really need is a Marshall-In-A-Box. Not sure what to do here; I'm still investigating. Some candidates would be the one of the two Carl Martin Plexitones (big or little); Radial Hot British or Plexi-tube; Wampler Plextortion or Plexi-drive; Rothwell Hellbender; Zvex Box Of Rock; MI Audio Crunchbox; Tech 21 British, Leeds or Oxford; etc., etc., etc. I don't need high gain--I've got all the gain I need in the Mesa amps. What I want is that slightly over-driven crunch, ala Malcom Young, or Paul Kosoff's rhythm line in "All Right Now". It's a tonal re-shaping--almost more "feel" than tone. It's elusive, but it is something I've been wanting for a while to compliment my Mesa amps. Pick ONE.
With one slot left, I'm going to have to make some tough choices.
A favorite tone on my Mark V is the CLEAN Channel's Tweed mode. Definitely talking Billy Gibbons' "Tush" tone here, and I love it. Perhaps a Wampler Tweed '57 pedal? That could be interesting....perhaps its moderate OD settings can get me closer to the MIB tone I want than the pedals listed above. Got to check that one out.
Another possibility would be a FUZZ. Now, the Mesa's have great singing lead tones as they are, but I sometimes think that I'd like to have some old school buzz and grind. Think "Satisfaction", "In-A Gadda-Da-Vida" or The Doors "Hello, I Love You": I'm talking nasty, nasty, nasty....and it's so right on some songs. Not about the gain so much as the tone--I have gain, but not buzz. And I have no idea which brand of FUZZ I should get. ????
I'm a big Robin Trower fan, so perhaps a UNI-VIBE belongs on my board. I have a BBE Soul-Vibe. It's good, but slightly large, so perhaps the new MXR Uni-Vibe would be a better choice. Or, perhaps the Boss Rotary emulator would be even more versatile. Choices, choices...
The Mark V's REVERB is very good; the Mark IV's is adequate. But, if I were playing one of my Mark III's, I might want an additional reverb pedal because the reverb on these is iffy. There are lots of reverb pedals out there from Boss, Line 6 Verbzilla, Hardwire and the Supernatural, EHX Holy Grails, et.al. Requires investigation. I do have an old Peavey SRP-16 in a drawer around here if I need it. It's a good digital reverb--virtually unknown and built like a tank.
In a different situation, I might want a GRAPHIC EQ. I have a couple of the old blue MXR 10-Band EQs that saved my bacon hundreds of times back in the day. I also have a newer MXR 10-band pedal that I use for my acoustic guitar pedalboard. Certainly the Boss GE-7s have proven useful, and the new Mesa 5-band pedals appear to be winners.
I have a Boss PS-6 PITCH SHIFTER/HARMONIST on my board that I use for harmony leads on just two songs. Invaluable for that, but I probably could get by without it if I had to. Perhaps if I dumped the Boss DD-20....?
I've never owned a FLANGER, but I love the way Steve Miller used them on some of his songs. If I need one, I'll hunt down an older Boss unit. Nor have I ever needed an OCTAVER for octave down effects. I think my Pitch Shifter can do that, if I need it; I'd probably get a Boss if it doesn't...if I needed one.
Since I also play acoustic, I have one pedal that I consider essential, and this one shouldn't count against my electric pedal board. It is the Fishman Aura DI. I haven't played around much with mine, but it is amazing. Make that AMAZING!!!! It's a "don't leave home without it" pedal for any open mic situation. I looked at the BBE Acousti-Max and the Radial PZ-Pre, but I'm glad I got the AURA with its large array of images, built-in tuner, compression and feedback killer.
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The one glaring omission is a Tube Screamer. I've never owned one; I don't like the way they mess up the sequence of attack, distortion, compression, release and decay, compared to a real tube amp. For some folks, a Tube Screamer or clone is an essential pedal, but I have no use for one in my rig.
I also have a brand new BBE Sonic Stomp that I have never taken out of the box. I know people who think these are the best thing since sliced bread, but I just don't think I need it with my Mesa amps.
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So unlike some of the other posters, I could see having 15-16 pedals on my board. There are some pedals in the market that combine some functions, so perhaps with investigation, I could winnow down a few. My overall philosophy with pedals is to have a lot of different ones, but to use them very sparingly. Most of my pedals, I only use 4-5 times a night--in my current band I play with clean rhythms and a lot of clean solos too, so a different band situation might require some different pedal choices.
Great question, because this has got me to thinking that I need to get out some of these pedals I have in a drawer and start experimenting!!!
Bill
