Pedal "culture"

[Securb]

They were the same guys who would run a wireless unit and stand 4 feet from their amp on a 10x15 stage.

Angus uses his wireless unit to push/overdrive his amp so there is more to a wireless unit than just transmitting the signal.

https://solodallas.com/the-schaffer-replica

 

[Dave Locher]

Good times!

You didn't know me!

Yes, in a cover band. What else does one wear with Leather pants?

To be fair, a wireless reduces stage clutter and the risk of tripping on stages that have not gotten bigger...

I prefer to be thought of as a painter with a large palette.

Goth? Delay, maybe chorus, maybe dirt pedal. Maybe no pedals at all. Goth was a thing in the 80's? Bauhaus! Sisters of Mercy! And dozens others I can't remember anymore. The whole Bat Cave era was like '82-86 or so?
New wave? Chorus, maybe delay, maybe dirt or compressor. Maybe none. Pffft - Comp, Delay, Chorus or die! Plenty were straight to amp live. No lie.
Punk? Plug straight in, or always-on dirt pedal. That's about right
Rockabilly? Delay pedal. Maybe. Maybe? Where did the slap come from, your momma? The best rockabilly band in the area (fronted by Lux Interior's brother) had two great guitarists and no slap-back. Fender amps with lots of reverb. Period. Speaking of the Cramps, just a fuzz back then live. And the second guitarist plugged straight into his amp. I can't remember his name but we talked guitar at a party for an hour or two once. The guy from the Pagans(?)
Rock? Maybe a boost or overdrive for solos. Or not. And a delay, or a Flange, or a Phase. But yeah...usually not all. Flanger, yeah, but phase was really passe.

My other guitar player had like three pedals. An OD, a chorus, and switch for a rack delay.

A lot of players used things on recordings but not live. The only time I ever saw an original band with more than two pedals was a psychedelic band. He had like 5 and put them to very good use, but we all talked about it ("how does he play with that many boxes?")

Oh yeah, and we didn't call them pedals unless they had a treadle like a wah pedal or volume pedal! The rest we called boxes ("i got a new distortion box") or just the name ("I bought a chorus yesterday").

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Mine is more the size of Maryland; a Zoom Multistomp and a Rocktron distortion. I focus on making music and expand my chops.

 

[Aceman]

I think we called them effects.

"Put your effect on" or "Step on that effect"

 

[jeremy]

Angus uses his wireless unit to push/overdrive his amp so there is more to a wireless unit than just transmitting the signal.

https://solodallas.com/the-schaffer-replica

he was also bouncing all over the stage bringin the rawk

 

[PFDarkside]

Before the Bradshaw racks, the big pedal users (Gilmour, Page, May, Townsend, Iommi, Knopfler, Lou Reed) had custom Cornish pedalboards. I think mere mortals were obviously slapping them on the floor a la Jimi.

 

[Dave Locher]

I think we called them effects.

"Put your effect on" or "Step on that effect"

Yeah, I don't know if that was a regional thing or what? All the guys I knew in NE Ohio just called them a box or "a delay," "a chorus," etc. Or even by whatever name was on the top: "I got a Rat" or "he kicked on a Muff."
I read through some early '80s Guitar Player magazines a couple years ago but didn't think to look and see what they called them in product reviews and promos. I have a 1982 MXR ad on my office wall, next time i am in there I will try to remember to look and see what they called them. "Effect" sounds right. 99% sure they do not call them pedals.

EDIT: I just spent two minutes googling vintage ads. Ibanez called them "effect pedals" by the early '80s. DOD called them by name until mid '80s, then starts using "pedals" in their ads around mid 1980s. MXR always refers to them by type ("a phaser," "a chorus," etc). EHX calls them "accessories." So...the term pedal started earlier than I realized and it seems like Ibanez might have been a leader or early adopter for the term and MXR and EHX (and my friends) were late adopters.

 

[JamesPaul]

Stompboxes?

 

[Dave Locher]

Stompboxes?

Yes! There was even a band called Stompbox!!

 

[Securb]

Yes! There was even a band called Stompbox!!

Yep, I was good friends with the founder of the band Mike at Berklee.

 

[Dave Locher]

Yep, I was good friends with the founder of the band Mike at Berklee.

I Haven't heard them in years and don't know if I'd still like them, but I sure did like them in the early '90s. Them and Godflesh. Never saw either band live, though.

 

[Securb]

I Haven't heard them in years and don't know if I'd still like them, but I sure did like them in the early '90s. Them and Godflesh. Never saw either band live, though.

My buddy Mike ODed in the 90s. They eventually changed their name to Slower, then back to Stompbox. One of the guys went on to form Milligram which is a great listen much punkier than Stompbox.