What are the "essential pedals"?

S

strat_master

New member
Hey guys i was doing some thinking a few days ago and i realized lately ive been practicing on ym playing and less fiddling with pedals and such. I realized i dont even really need a delay, and would probbaly have been better off saving myself the 300 bucks it cost me. I only really needed a good distortion pedal and a tuner pedals thats all! In anycase the delay is for fun and maybe do give my solos that extra smack and all that but its not really neccessary at all.

So my point is what do you guys deem as essential epdals that every guitar player should have on his pedal baord? For me i think a tuner pedal is quite improtant, for the obvious reason..... and a good overdrive or distortion if your amp is single channel, other than that i can see myself and many players getting away with just that. How about you guys? Your thoughts?

DISCUSS!!!

-Jason
 
Re: What are the "essential pedals"?

Personally I have 2 pedals that are 'must have's.' The first is Paul Cochrane's Timmy and the second is an Xotic RC Boost.
 
Re: What are the "essential pedals"?

Amps and guitars are essential.
Pedals are additions.
1trptimmy2.jpg

Great drive..the name must be from Monthy Phyton;)
 
Re: What are the "essential pedals"?

My stage tuner is essential, but I'm not sure the tuner counts as a pedal. As a lead guitar player, the only "Essential" one for me is my MXR Micro Amp, which I use for every solo. My FDII and wah are definitely not essential and I could easily gig without them.
 
Re: What are the "essential pedals"?

some kind of looper/delay is essential for me.
 
Re: What are the "essential pedals"?

Hmmm... I'd need at least one type of modulation effect... be it a chorus, phase, or vibe. It's killing me that I had to sell all my pedals.

I think the essential pedals are probably:
at least one modulation
distortion or overdrive
tuner
a GOOD modded wah pedal
and most importantly... a NOISE SUPPRESSOR!!! I never leave home without mine
 
Re: What are the "essential pedals"?

I'd say if the amp by itself can't do it to your liking add a good:

OD, Reverb Unit, compressor and a tuner. Simpler is alway better for great tone and remember the more that you add inline the more loss of good signal.

I've got my Valvetronics with all of this plus extra built in. I still only use the Amp, Amp's gain, eq and delay plus an actual OD pedal inline...occasionally some compressison. I barely tap the amps resources, but I think that I get a better tone that way.
 
Re: What are the "essential pedals"?

I thinkt he only pedal that is an absolute essential would be my tuner pedal. I like to make sure I'm in tune so I'll check it often, and I can do so quick and easily.
 
Re: What are the "essential pedals"?

I'll ditto the none

there are plenty of threads on the web about endless, expensive pedal searches

get a good guitar, a good tube amp, and just work your a$$ off

that said, if I had to pick one, it would be an overdrive if you're playing single coils
 
Re: What are the "essential pedals"?

Here's another vote for a Tuner pedal. Never really cared for it until I started gigging. My Phase 90 would be next. One knob, tons of sound....
 
Re: What are the "essential pedals"?

Curly said:
I'll ditto the none

there are plenty of threads on the web about endless, expensive pedal searches

get a good guitar, a good tube amp, and just work your a$$ off

that said, if I had to pick one, it would be an overdrive if you're playing single coils
Click to expand...
That about covers it.
 
Re: What are the "essential pedals"?

Nothing's essential....I can play direct in if I want.

That said, I've become pretty dependant on a volume pedal. I tend to play all amps like they have only one channel and I don't like to stop playing to ride the knobs on an LP....so I stick to using a volume pedal.


Non-essential pedals that I like to have anyway is wah, delay, and chorus.

I use a wah as a filter so I can vary my lead tone so it's not always the same, and delay helps to open up a lead, so it doesn't sound so dry. I like mild chorus to either sludge up a riff, or to occasionally add some 80s cheese to a lead line.
 
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Re: What are the "essential pedals"?

For me, an overdrive is essential because my amp doesn't have very much gain, and I need to push it a little. Aside from that, I don't need anything. Right now, that overdrive is a Digitech Bad Monkey and I have a Barber Direct Drive on the way.
 
Re: What are the "essential pedals"?

Like already stated, none are essential. At home I play straight in to the practice amp, nothing else. If I want more overdrive or a different sound, I'll use an overdrive but I don't "have to".

One that is essential for my halfstack is the buffer, but it's not even a pedal. It's in a small Hammond 1590A enclosure with an LED indicator so I know it's on and it sits in the effects loop, always on. Believe it or not, a simple little buffer does wonders to your tone when you have almost 30 feet of cable between you and the amp. (10' between the amp and booster pedal, 18' between the guitar and the pedal).

Anything else is just gravy.
 
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