Christmas ideas: - Effects pedal ideas ?

JohnW63

Enlightened Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2012
Messages
6,293
Reaction score
2,217
Location
Southern California
Guild Total
4
I've been thinking of getting a pedal for a gift for my self. I only have a BOSS SD-1 right now. ( I have a BOSS looper that I need to learn how to use. ) What do the rest of you like ?

I have learned that some of the pedals can get rather PRICEY, so my budget should top out at $200.
 

walrus

Reverential Member
Gold Supporting
Joined
Dec 23, 2006
Messages
23,956
Reaction score
8,019
Location
Massachusetts
Besides distortion, my favorite effects are a phaser and/or chorus. BOSS, of course, makes excellent pedals of both of these.

Whatever you do, Merry Christmas!

walrus
 

JohnW63

Enlightened Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2012
Messages
6,293
Reaction score
2,217
Location
Southern California
Guild Total
4
Anyone else check out " The Pedal Show " on youtube ? That's what got me thinking about it. They often have some pricey items hooked up, but not always.
 

Smitch

Member
Silver Supporting
Joined
Jul 8, 2012
Messages
385
Reaction score
70
Location
Missouri
If you're looking for more than just something to color your tone, I'd highly recommend the DigiTech Trio Band Creator.
Basically you lay down a riff or a lick and the pedal creates a baseline and drum line to match what you're playing and you can change genres as well. It's super fun and addictive and is really a cool song writing tool. They sell two versions of it but the one in the link attached seems to fit your budget. Beats the heck out of a run-of-the-mill dirt pedal! http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TrioPedal/
 

txbumper57

Enlightened Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2014
Messages
7,577
Reaction score
58
Location
Texas
You might want to look into a nice delay pedal. It really gives some depth to your tone. MXR makes a nice Carbon Copy pedal that fits into your price range. If you want a lot more functions and options and are willing to spend a little more the Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler Box is Awesome. It gives you three channels that you can preset for different delays and allows you to choose from 16 preset delay tones and one loop sampler with speed and depth adjustments for each. It also has a stomp switch to adjust the speed of the delay. This is awesome for doing all different types of music with the same rig from a more modern Digital Delay to a vintage analog "tape" style delay to a slap style delay for Rockabilly on the fly. There is also a Sweep Echo setting that lets you do some wicked funk and 70's space sounding effects. The DL4 is also Stereo capable with dual in and outs if needed. It can run on "C" size batteries or you can purchase the power supply separate. I would recommend the power supply. Looks like Sweetwater has them on sale for $199 right now as opposed to the normal $250. I have had mine for 11 years and it has never had a problem.

Here is the sweetwater link.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...e=&network=g&gclid=CJ_d656Tv9ACFdgagQod8SwJxA

No matter what pedal board setup I have run over the past 11 years it has always had my Line 6 DL4 at the end of the chain. Such a great and versatile tool that really adds a ton of color and tone to your signal.

Best of luck!

TX

DL4Modeler-large.jpg
 
Last edited:

markus

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2007
Messages
1,501
Reaction score
146
Location
Vienna/Austria
Guild Total
8
MXR makes a nice Carbon Copy pedal ...
now they also have a "bright" version of that pedal

Chorus (boss ce5) and delay (cheap thing) are what I use with my acoustics playing through a PA. Similar effects to those in my fishman artist amp.

I have thought about trying the MXR chorus and delays for a while, but I haven't done that yet ...

Markus :smile:
 

crank

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2009
Messages
1,227
Reaction score
859
My 3 go to effects often used altogether, in different combinations or solo are: distortion, chorus and delay. However, I get my reverb from my amp and if you don't have reverb in your chain then maybe you should try some.

I have an old Boss ME50 multi Effects unit that I love so much I bought a backup off of Reverb for $100. It allows you to use distortion, chorus and delay as individual stomp boxes rather then go into complex parameter editing modes. It also has an onboard tuner and volume pedal amongst other things. The only outboard pedal I use beyond that is a wah wah.
 

jp

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2006
Messages
4,849
Reaction score
1,762
Location
Pacific Northwest US
Guild Total
4
If you want a simple-to-use, inexpensive pedal that gives a lot of options, check out the Line 6 M5. It models delay, chorus, fuzz, distortion, reverb, compression, and more, and it's got a minimal footprint for a multi-effects pedal. You can also hook up an expression pedal to control parameters on all of the effects and create presets. Additionally, it's got stereo in and outs, a built-in tuner, and tap tempo. Lastly, it's just loads of fun to mess around with.

The two limitations are that it is digital, not analog, which is really a matter of taste, and you can only use one sound at a time. It really is a great Swiss army knife pedal. I bought mine used for $100, and they're only $129 new.

Check out some youtube demos.
 
Last edited:

Quantum Strummer

Senior Member
Joined
May 26, 2015
Messages
2,382
Reaction score
118
Location
Michigan
I love That Pedal Show and had previously been watching Mick & Dan's other (separate) YouTube stuff. Mick used to be part of Guitarist magazine.

I have a tc electronic Ditto X2 looper that I use for making up stuff on the fly. Goes for under US $200. I put it near the end of my signal chain, after tremolo but before reverb. This lets me record different tracks with different effects. Typically I'll lay down a two-chord rhythm part—D minor/G minor is a fav—and then build on top of that.

If you're looking for a cool fuzz my current fav is the Magnetic Effects Solar Bender. It's based on the classic Tone Bender MkII but is more stable and tweakable. It can go from thick to thin to sputtery and from dark to bright. The Attack (fuzz) control starts at fuzzy and just gets more saturated as you turn it up. But you can back it off pretty well with your guitar's vol. Sounds especially good with P-90s, DeArmond 2000s and my Jazzmaster. I got mine via Reverb, shipped directly from England.

-Dave-
 

guildman63

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2010
Messages
2,996
Reaction score
20
Location
Massachusetts
Empress Para EQ with Boost would be my wish. Also, a Supro compressor or overdrive pedal would go well with my Supro Tremo-verb amp... awesome amp, btw!
 

GAD

Reverential Morlock
Über-Morlock
Joined
Feb 11, 2009
Messages
22,582
Reaction score
17,799
Location
NJ (The nice part)
Guild Total
112
So many things to consider.

The Sonic Research tuner is a must-have for me.

The El Capistan by Strymon is the best tape-delay in a pedal I've ever heard.

The Nocturne Dyno Brain is Brian Setzer's RE-301 pre-amp in a box. Another must-have for me.

Want to sound like an organ? Get an EH B9.

Or just do what I did which is "lose your mind and buy them all!"

PedalBoardTop-Done-800.jpg
 

JohnW63

Enlightened Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2012
Messages
6,293
Reaction score
2,217
Location
Southern California
Guild Total
4
GAD,

I have watched the review of the el Capitan delay. Sounded pretty good. It's also about $400.

Your Keeley Compressor pedal would fit my budget. How do you like that pedal ?

I see you opted for the ever popular Tube Screamer. That would fit my self imposed budget. I'm not sure how much different it would sound vs my SD-1 or a Blues Driver. I've watched the " That Pedal Show " where they talk about the Blues driver have a bit more bottom end and not as much midrange hump as the Tube Screamer. I don't know how it would sound with any of my amps, because I don't know if they have any humps or dips in their tone.
 

gilded

Senior Member
Joined
May 2, 2007
Messages
3,479
Reaction score
197
Location
texas
GAD,

I have watched the review of the el Capitan delay. Sounded pretty good. It's also about $400.

Your Keeley Compressor pedal would fit my budget. How do you like that pedal ?

I see you opted for the ever popular Tube Screamer. That would fit my self imposed budget. I'm not sure how much different it would sound vs my SD-1 or a Blues Driver. I've watched the " That Pedal Show " where they talk about the Blues driver have a bit more bottom end and not as much midrange hump as the Tube Screamer. I don't know how it would sound with any of my amps, because I don't know if they have any humps or dips in their tone.

Why don't you list your amps?
 

GAD

Reverential Morlock
Über-Morlock
Joined
Feb 11, 2009
Messages
22,582
Reaction score
17,799
Location
NJ (The nice part)
Guild Total
112
GAD,

I have watched the review of the el Capitan delay. Sounded pretty good. It's also about $400.

Your Keeley Compressor pedal would fit my budget. How do you like that pedal ?

I see you opted for the ever popular Tube Screamer. That would fit my self imposed budget. I'm not sure how much different it would sound vs my SD-1 or a Blues Driver. I've watched the " That Pedal Show " where they talk about the Blues driver have a bit more bottom end and not as much midrange hump as the Tube Screamer. I don't know how it would sound with any of my amps, because I don't know if they have any humps or dips in their tone.

To be fair, I don't have most of those pedals any more having moved on to the Axe-FX. I kept a small core of pedals that you can see here for when I do use a good old-fashioned tube amp (I've built a couple). Two of those were built by me (Fuzz and Marshall Bluesbreaker). I've also added a small TC Looper to that small board.

The TubeScreamer is a Keely-modded TS with vintage parts and true-bypass old-school switch so it costs more than a plain TS.

A TS is a TS. Sometimes you just need a TS. :)

PedalBoard-1.jpg
 

Quantum Strummer

Senior Member
Joined
May 26, 2015
Messages
2,382
Reaction score
118
Location
Michigan
With my Fender Princeton (dipped mids) I like using an Archer Ikon (Klon Centaur klone) pedal to add some beef back in, especially with thinner-sounding guitars. It doesn't cut bottom end like a stock Tube Screamer, though sometimes that cut is exactly what you need. Yet another reason why I love my T-bird and Jaguar: they've got bass cut switches! With a Vox amp (rich mids) I'll often use a Boss EQ in the effects chain to back off the mids and the overall volume, then switch off the pedal when I want a vol/mid "boost."

-Dave-
 

jp

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2006
Messages
4,849
Reaction score
1,762
Location
Pacific Northwest US
Guild Total
4
In today's era of boutique pedals, I would suggest you narrow your choices down to the type of effects you're interested in. There are literally hundreds of choices nowadays. Consider what type of music you play, and as Harry suggested, looking at your amp setup may help steer you in the right direction.

Are you interested in reverb or delay? Modulation, like chorus, phasers, flangers, vibrato, etc.? Maybe boost, distortion, or fuzz? Compression? Is there a particular tone you're after or favor, like a Marshall Plexi, JTM45, or old Fender Tweed? Are you after a more analog or digital tone? There are great pedals for everything nowadays, including many that combine several effects into one. If you'e not really sure, it might good to play around with a multi-effects pedal to figure out what you like.

Strymon make amazing pedals, but they're pricey, even used. Every Wampler pedal I've tried has been super solid. I have a Dual Plexi that I love. Earthquaker Devices make some fun and wacky but excellent pedals. Their Dispatch Master is a cool reverb/delay pedal for $185 new. Anything by Robert Keeley is amazing. TC Electronics also make great pedals in your price range. Old school brands, like MXR, Digitech, and Electro-Harmonix are still cranking out creative pedals, too.
 

JohnW63

Enlightened Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2012
Messages
6,293
Reaction score
2,217
Location
Southern California
Guild Total
4
Electric Guitar Amps:

Carvin Vintage 16
Randall Commander II

Acoustic Guitar Amps

Peavey Backstage Chorus
UltraSound 15


What am I after, sound wise ? I think I am interested in things to have fun with in the Jazz/Clean side as well as some more "dirty" blues sounds, to start with. I would like to branch out from there, as I learn what I can do with the basics. I don't want to go all heavy metal, but I wouldn't mind coaxing Pink Floyd or Eagles stuff out of my rig.
 

Bill Ashton

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2006
Messages
4,387
Reaction score
989
Location
North Central Massachusetts
Guild Total
4
I am not much for pedals any more, other than perhaps some chorus or delay, but for an electric a Marshall Bluesbreaker II is a great overdrive pedal..one of the best Christmas presents I ever gave my son :emmersed:
 

Quantum Strummer

Senior Member
Joined
May 26, 2015
Messages
2,382
Reaction score
118
Location
Michigan
For early Gilmour (Pink Floyd) a Fuzz Face and a phaser will put you on the right playing field. Dunlop makes mini Fuzz Faces that are reasonably priced and IMO sound great. The red one (germanium transistors) sounds warmer & smoother while the blue one (silicon trannies) is brighter & grittier & a bit gainier. There's also a lighter blue one that splits the difference sound-wise between the other two.

For later Gilmour a Big Muff (or one of the many "boutique" variants) and a flanger will get you started. He also uses a Butler Tube Driver, mainly as a booster I think. You could use a Tube Screamer for the same thing. (I run my Foxey Lady, a Guild-branded early Big Muff, into an old TS-5 Tube Screamer to focus its otherwise bass-heavy, mid-scooped sound. The TS adds no dirt of its own.)

In both cases a clean amp with headroom will do the job right.

If I were you I'd get one of the mini Tube Screamers Ibanez makes and start with that. Mick & Dan both like it. :)

-Dave-
 

crank

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2009
Messages
1,227
Reaction score
859
If the 1 pedal the OP has is an overdrive pedal, tehn why would he want to get another distortion as his 2nd. I would go for a delay or reverb.
 
Top