New to pedals... Help me chose!

Richard

Richard

New member
OK. I have always been a fx processor man because it was cheeper and easier but now im thinking about geting some real stomp boxes and get away from all them fake sounds and distortions from the korg and zoom type processors. This is what im thinking... I would love to have a wah and a volume pedal... it would be even better if i could get 1 pedal to do both. like its a volume always unless i stomp on it to activate the wah... Do they make that????? I know i want the little green boss PH-3. My amp will have the reverb so no pedal needed there. i will need a delay. i never used much chorus so i could prolly live without one of those. I want a pedal that i can hit that will boost me over another guitarest for lead. And maby a noise supressor or a compresor/sustainer. are thease any good? I like flange but it seams that when i have one i never use it. so could some of you pedal gurus explain what i really need and dont need and where i can get the best bang for my buck? And am i missing anything that is crucial? thx Richard

:feedback:
 
Re: New to pedals... Help me chose!

Look for an Expression/Volume pedal to plug into your Boss PH-3 first. See if this gets you enough to cover all of your modulation and rocker needs.
 
Re: New to pedals... Help me chose!

What type of music do you play ?

Very important to know, as that will indicate what type of dirt you want/need !

For delay i can suggest four extremely good units all in diff price brackets/

Ibanez DE7
MXR Carbon Copy
EHX Deluxe Memory Man (DMM for short)
Carl Martin Delayla XL (...must be the XL version)

I am starting to warm up to Flange myself, and would love to have an EHX Flanger Hoax one day !
The posibilities are endless !!!

Probably stating the obvious, but i would get an Over Drive, Distortion & Fuzz box to cover the entire spectrum off dirt - but that is just me !
Knowing what type of music you play, will predict (to a certain degree) what type of dirt we can/will recommend !

PS, what amp and guitar(s) do you have ?


James
 
Re: New to pedals... Help me chose!

Just FYI but the Boss PH-3 phaser is a rather digital sounding pedal so if your trying to get away, from as you say "fake" sounding effects, that wouldn't be a very smart buy
 
Re: New to pedals... Help me chose!

SlowGroove said:
. . . mmmmmm, do you like Maxon ?


If so, you forgot the D&SI, or D&SII, both great pedals !!!


James
Click to expand...

I just got an OD820 last month. It's the best overdrive I've ever had and I used an OD9 for long long time. I would love to try a DSI & II.
 
Re: New to pedals... Help me chose!

how much do you want to spend? how much on each effect? that's generally the first thing you want to ask yourself. If money is no object, then you'll have a really easy time getting what you want.

And for all of those effects you're going to need a board too.

also, what guitar/amp are you using? What style of music do you play? Do you gig?

SO:

1. How much are you willing to spend?
2. What kind of music do you play, or what kinds of tones are you after?
3. Do you play with a band or gig?
 
Re: New to pedals... Help me chose!

With pedals, usually less equals more but not always... and a lot of it is going to be based on personal preference; style of music and the sounds you want to create.

My pedalboard usually has a booster/overdrive if not two; (sometimes a fuzz or dirt box as well); one modulation pedal like a flanger or chorus & maybe a phase 90; maybe a "noisemaker" like a ring mod or envelope filter and a delay.

So really... OD > Fuzz > modulation > noise > delay

Depending on application & environment... like a live gig, nobody but you will notice any difference between a chorus & a flanger or your four different distortion boxes.

They only hear clean or dirty... or more dirty... or freaky dirty... and swirly or not swirly.

Sometimes I use a compressor as a boost... sometimes an overdrive or the fuzz. Any of those can kick it up a notch for solos. You shouldn't need a noise gate right away... if ever. The exception would be if your playing mega-metal to keep chunky palm mutes tight, and even then...
 
Re: New to pedals... Help me chose!

Slowgroove, I play a Partscaster with JB/Surfer/Surfer and a Schecter Blackjack PT with JB8/59 and the amp is going to be a mesa dual trem-o-verb that i dont have yet but after Christmas will have the money for. I play anything from blues to metal.

Millsart, My buddy uses that same PS-3 for this weird nasaly type of sound that I love so I know that is one I want.
 
Re: New to pedals... Help me chose!

thespricket said:
1. How much are you willing to spend?
3. Do you play with a band or gig?
Click to expand...

Well im a family man so i wont have the loot to go get everything at once. Ill prolly get the most important things first and build from there and keep adding to the collection untill i have everything i need.

I have been in a few giging bands over the years but right now im just taking a break untill i get some good tones togather.
 
Re: New to pedals... Help me chose!

well, assuming you will be using your amp for most of your distortion, you'll probably want a boost. It's up to you if you want a gain boost or just a clean volume boost. A tubescreamer of some sort (i use a Bad Monkey), would be fine for a gain boost. An EQ pedal can be good for a clean boost.

I can suggest:
Delay- a Boss DD-3 if you just like one or two delay sounds. Good all around delay.

Modulation- I really don't like the Ph3, as said earlier, too digital sounding. I would recommend a simple analog phaser, like a Phase 90 or a Small Stone type. But if you like the PH3, it's all good. try a few chorus pedals, see if you may change your mind.

Wah- you'll have to find one that you like, not many people agree on wahs. Different brands with give you different sounds. Bassy, mid-ragney, and treble-ish.
 
Re: New to pedals... Help me chose!

Richard said:
I know i want the little green boss PH-3
Click to expand...

I don't think you do....

re: pedals, it's all so much preference, based on so very many variables, you really have to try them and see if you like them. I've found I don't like certain pedals that most people swear by, and lots of people don't care for certain pedals that I love. But about that PH-3, take a gander at some of the many phaser threads for info. Me, I wish Ibanez would re-issue their orange FL phaser. I adore the yellow Ibanez FL-9 flanger. It does a lot of what many other popular flangers do, quietly, and with great, seamless switching. FLs are analog, too. For delays, hoo boy, big topic.
 
Re: New to pedals... Help me chose!

J Moose said:
With pedals, usually less equals more but not always... and a lot of it is going to be based on personal preference; style of music and the sounds you want to create.

My pedalboard usually has a booster/overdrive if not two; (sometimes a fuzz or dirt box as well); one modulation pedal like a flanger or chorus & maybe a phase 90; maybe a "noisemaker" like a ring mod or envelope filter and a delay.

So really... OD > Fuzz > modulation > noise > delay

Depending on application & environment... like a live gig, nobody but you will notice any difference between a chorus & a flanger or your four different distortion boxes.

They only hear clean or dirty... or more dirty... or freaky dirty... and swirly or not swirly.

Sometimes I use a compressor as a boost... sometimes an overdrive or the fuzz. Any of those can kick it up a notch for solos. You shouldn't need a noise gate right away... if ever. The exception would be if your playing mega-metal to keep chunky palm mutes tight, and even then...
Click to expand...


FWIW, this is my set-up :

Wah/Whammy -->Fuzz -->Dist -->OD -->Trem -->Delay -->modulation (BBE Soul Vibe in this case) --> AMP


James
 
Re: New to pedals... Help me chose!

Richard said:
Slowgroove, I play a Partscaster with JB/Surfer/Surfer and a Schecter Blackjack PT with JB8/59 and the amp is going to be a mesa dual trem-o-verb that i dont have yet but after Christmas will have the money for. I play anything from blues to metal.

Millsart, My buddy uses that same PS-3 for this weird nasaly type of sound that I love so I know that is one I want.
Click to expand...


WOW . . . that partscaster sounds, ermmm, differant !
I LOVE the PT-series of Schecter.
Don't know a whole lot about the Mesa trem-o verbs, but i do love the Lone Star !!!


James
 
Re: New to pedals... Help me chose!

For what it's worth... I don't have a "set" pedal board or even an order to run things in. There's almost three dozen boxes in my stash that I've been collecting for decades & bought mostly used... and I swap 'em around depending on the gig.

For instance... if I know I'll be playing through a "random" amp, meaning whatever's on backline at the gig I'll put my distortion box LAST so it emulates an amp channel. Sometimes I like the modulation before the boosts because it creates a different texture, especially with something like a flanger or Uni-Vibe, so it really all depends...
 
Re: New to pedals... Help me chose!

I didnt like the PH-3 to start off with but its grown on me and i find it more useful then a script phase 100 as I can get deepers and wetter sounding with better bypass and cleaner sound is kinda digital but dont let other opinions let you down.
 
Re: New to pedals... Help me chose!

If you have been using FX processors, then my suggestion (If you really want to get better) is play an acoustic guitar for about two months.

You will be able to clear-out your head and clean-up your playing.

Then get the pedals.

I recommend Carl Martin and RMC stuff.
 
Re: New to pedals... Help me chose!

Stratman said:
If you have been using FX processors, then my suggestion (If you really want to get better) is play an acoustic guitar for about two months.

You will be able to clear-out your head and clean-up your playing.

Then get the pedals.

I recommend Carl Martin and RMC stuff.
Click to expand...

hahaha

yeah, it's a musical infection you gotta clear out.


anyways, are you sure about the boss, man? I had one and it colors your tone sooo much, I mean way more than a standard boss pedal. Try out the EH one before you pull the trigger, don't get swayed by all the knobs.

for delay if you want a digital get a dd3 or 6, depending on how long you want your times. If you want a more analog shorter sound I dig my ibanez AD9 a lot, it's kinda expensive but worth it I think, I've never wanted anything else since I got it.

for compressors a lot of people are really fond of the keely one, but in my opinion a regular dyna comp would probably do you fine. I'm sure the keeley one is nicer but for the money a dyna comp is still really good

Boosts I like the ts9, but personally I like a thicker rhythm sound and a more cutting clearer lead sound, which is what the ts9 does. If you want just a thicker louder more distorted lead tone pretty much any distortion will work


But on a side note, based on your guitars I'm guessin you at least dabble in bluesy stuff or rock & roll, but if so you need to check out a couple fuzzes. Multi-fx simulations of fuzzes are terrible, not even ballpark what they should sound like, it's amazing how none of them get it right. So check out a couple just to see if it's something you'd like. The SD one is good, all the fuzz face & octavia clones are good (even the boss FZ-5 aint bad...), and Big Muffs are a matter of taste. That's all the ones stores usually have and most of them are pretty different so yeah.
 
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