Guitar Effect Pedalphile Thread

[tbone_ 14455]

Tube amp, dirt pedal, delay (optional), volume knob.

[Chad Fuck 18158]

14 minutes ago, Buzzrock said:

I think I’m about to be on the less is more train. I thought I would love the Katana because it has every Boss pedal ever made trapped inside, but I just find it too hard to use. I don’t want to have to hook up a laptop to my amp to find sounds that I like. I might be more inclined to do something via an app on my phone, but it seems like only the practice amps do that (Katana Air, Spark).

I think a simple pedalboard with tuner, OD, wah and some sort of phaser/flanger should suffice. Maybe a delay. Oh and a looper. Should probably add a fuzz and compressor.

Godammit

Subscribed.

[hullabelew 3730]

My "small" board right now has Compressor, Shaggy Screamer, Distortion, Delay, Tremolo, Reverb with volume pedal and tuner.

I'm thinking about getting one of these to replace the regular size volume pedal. Combo volume/wah in a small footprint.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/VowPress--hotone-vow-press-volume-wah-pedal

 

 

Edited June 15, 2021 by hullabelew

[dcbc 14644]

I went less is more several years ago with no regrets.  Still have lots of pedals, but I mix and match on a small board to suit my needs depending on the situation.  Usually, this ends up being two drives, some sort of phase shifty thing, and possibly, an envelope filter (or delay or reverb if I'm packing a tweed).  Pedaltrain Nano with a Nano+ as a backup, but I've never needed to take the N+ anywhere to date. 

Before that, I had a Pedaltrain 3 I kept everything on for playing at home.  But I got invited to jam with some guys and decided that while I'm not a bad player, I'm not good enough to show up to play with others while toting some mongo pedal board. 

[Chad Fuck 18158]

1 hour ago, dcbc said:

I went less is more several years ago with no regrets.  Still have lots of pedals, but I mix and match on a small board to suit my needs depending on the situation.  Usually, this ends up being two drives, some sort of phase shifty thing, and possibly, an envelope filter (or delay or reverb if I'm packing a tweed).  Pedaltrain Nano with a Nano+ as a backup, but I've never needed to take the N+ anywhere to date. 

Before that, I had a Pedaltrain 3 I kept everything on for playing at home.  But I got invited to jam with some guys and decided that while I'm not a bad player, I'm not good enough to show up to play with others while toting some mongo pedal board. 

Pics of board?

[dcbc 14644]

1 hour ago, Chad Fuck said:

Pics of board?

Here's one incarnation where I needed varying levels of grit but under control.  I ended up swapping the Ross at the last minute for a Black Cat Mini Trem, which I used as a boost.  I've since learned that with my rig, layers of drive almost always sound better than cleanly boosted drive.  But I think the compressor would have done better than the boost.  Of course, I'd have had to played with it for 20 minutes to figure out if it was on.

 

Edited June 15, 2021 by dcbc

[dcbc 14644]

Here's another iteration.  Should have stuck with the SFT (above) through the tweed twin.  I've never really gotten comfortable with the Honey Bee through larger amps.  When I used this combo, it was definitely a time when stacking the two drives was necessary to really push things.  I've since that time, picked up a Barber Gain Changer SR that is exceptional as a primary drive on big tweeds.  But that SFT is a 70s live Stones machine.

 

Edited June 15, 2021 by dcbc

[Paul Wesley 3313]

love those, dcbc

[Paul Wesley 3313]

12 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

I think a simple pedalboard with tuner, OD, wah and some sort of phaser/flanger should suffice. Maybe a delay. Oh and a looper. Should probably add a fuzz and compressor.

Godammit

I'm not one of those guys with tons of guitars or guitar gear.  But I devoted a fair amount of budget towards a pedalboard (easily more than my most expensive guitar).  And I love it.  I am never fishing around for a 9-volt, or the correct power supply, or another cable, or fumbling with all of the above.  I have everything right where I want it... a boost, compressor, a couple of overdrives, a Mobius that I think does a great job on all kinds of modulation, and a delay.

It definitely fuels creativity. 

No regrets.

[Chad Fuck 18158]

I'm not one of those guys with tons of guitars or guitar gear.  But I devoted a fair amount of budget towards a pedalboard (easily more than my most expensive guitar).  And I love it.  I am never fishing around for a 9-volt, or the correct power supply, or another cable, or fumbling with all of the above.  I have everything right where I want it... a boost, compressor, a couple of overdrives, a Mobius that I think does a great job on all kinds of modulation, and a delay.
It definitely fuels creativity. 
No regrets.

More pics dude.

These smaller boards are definitely inspirational. I’m digging them.

[dcbc 14644]

Here's the Pedaltrain 3 before I downsized.  I have bought and sold a lot of different pedals since then, including some on the board. 

I also realized that I don't like having a multi-tiered board.  In a most-pedal case scenario, I would rather take the nano and nano+ than have a more compact board with two or three tiers.

Edited June 16, 2021 by dcbc

[Paul Wesley 3313]

I think y'all saw it upstream, but here it is again:

 

I think this photo is a couple years old.  Y'all have seen it before.  There have been some additions and subtractions since then.  80% of these pedals are permanent. 

The board itself is from custompedalboards.co.uk   They make boards that are exactly sized to use with some of the common pedal switchers like gigrig and Boss. 

I cut and soldered all my own cables.

In order of signal path:

COMPRESSION/BOOST

That Cali76 is an 1176-style compressor.  I'm working on a funk project, and using a Strat with bridge pickup into that gets you to Nile Rogers territory.

Outside of trying to be Nile, the Sex Drive has all the compression I would otherwise want.  So the Cali76 sometimes gets pulled in favor of an Empress parametric EQ (if the EQ on the amp isn't getting me there) or a little EP boost.

OVERDRIVE

Love the King of Tone.  It's perfect for what I want to do... Very natural low and medium gains that can be combined with the amp's overdrive to add just a bit more hair.

Thorpy FX Fallout Cloud - My favorite fuzz.  It replaced an analogman sun face (for half as much money), and I think it gives you that sound in a slightly more controlled way (less hiss, squealing, chaos).  As much as I love it, it doesn't get stepped on all that often, and I might get a little more use out of another dual overdrive like Duellist or Protein.

MODULATION

That white pedal on the top right is a Walrus Audio octave pedal -- like a POG with a much smaller footprint -- and I think it tracks better and sounds better than a POG.

Thorpy FX Deep Oggin - has already been sold.  It's cool, but too expensive and rarely got used.  It got replaced by a Boss Dimension C.  Because the 80's.

Empress phaser - Again, I've been working on a funk record, and this one has some settings with envelope filters so it can quack like a meatball.  This is the only pedal where I think, "Too many modes, too many knobs, takes too long to dial something in."

Mobius - Damn, I'm impressed with this thing.  I'll admit that it can't mimic *every* phaser/flanger/chorus pedal ever made, but I think it gets reeeeeeaaal close to almost all of them... without spending hours deep in the menus.  It will never come off the board.

DELAY/REVERB

Strymon Timeline -  Seems like it's become ubiquitous.  

Hall of Fame Reverb -  Kind of "meh" on it, but I have a couple amps that don't have reverb, so I need something there at the end of the chain.

Sometimes I take off a modulation pedal and add a second delay, and set that one to a short slap.  

I also have an old TC Electronic Novadelay, that I think sounds fantastic and has a very simple interface and layout, but it's A) a big footprint, and  B) it has a weird voltage requirement (requires its own power supply under the board, which is a pain in the ass).   Those two factors make it inconvenient.  I should probably sell it.  

POWER SUPPLY 

Hidden under that middle row of pedals is a Walrus Audio Phoenix.  I wish it had a couple more outputs that provide high amps for all the modern digital stuff, because that is often a limiting factor on what can live on the board at the same time.  But I ain't starting over again.

----- 

My skill as a guitarist falls well short of being worthy of this board.  I think I'm a decent songwriter and singer, but I am definitely not any sort of guitar wizard.  For me, it's a writing tool, and a source of inspiration... certain pedal combinations and sounds lead to riffs and melodies that I would otherwise never come upon.  

 

 

 

[Paul Wesley 3313]

41 minutes ago, dcbc said:

Here's the Pedaltrain 3 before I downsized.  I have bought and sold a lot of different pedals since then, including some on the board. 

I also realized that I don't like having a multi-tiered board.  In a most-pedal case scenario, I would rather take the nano and nano+ than have a more compact board with two or three tiers.

Love that mini vent.  If I had a pedalboard the size of a ping pong table, that would definitely be on it.  

[dcbc 14644]

2 hours ago, Paul Wesley said:

Love that mini vent.  If I had a pedalboard the size of a ping pong table, that would definitely be on it.  

If it makes you feel better, I sold it.  It was fun to play around with and got a pretty good Leslie sound for sure, but I could hear sort of a "digital sheen" in the signal when I'd turn it on.  I didn't use it as much as I should and just ended up noodling on Let it Loose and Cold Shot when I did.  I've got a couple of pedals (Mr. Black Tunnelworm and Bearfoot Mint Green Mini Vibe), each of which can fake a Leslie sound well enough in a pinch.

[BoomMF 1402]

Team Overcompensatingly Large Pedalboard

I think y'all saw it upstream, but here it is again:

 
I think this photo is a couple years old.  Y'all have seen it before.  There have been some additions and subtractions since then.  80% of these pedals are permanent. 
The board itself is from custompedalboards.co.uk   They make boards that are exactly sized to use with some of the common pedal switchers like gigrig and Boss. 
I cut and soldered all my own cables.
In order of signal path:
COMPRESSION/BOOST
That Cali76 is an 1176-style compressor.  I'm working on a funk project, and using a Strat with bridge pickup into that gets you to Nile Rogers territory.
Outside of trying to be Nile, the Sex Drive has all the compression I would otherwise want.  So the Cali76 sometimes gets pulled in favor of an Empress parametric EQ (if the EQ on the amp isn't getting me there) or a little EP boost.
OVERDRIVE
Love the King of Tone.  It's perfect for what I want to do... Very natural low and medium gains that can be combined with the amp's overdrive to add just a bit more hair.
Thorpy FX Fallout Cloud - My favorite fuzz.  It replaced an analogman sun face (for half as much money), and I think it gives you that sound in a slightly more controlled way (less hiss, squealing, chaos).  As much as I love it, it doesn't get stepped on all that often, and I might get a little more use out of another dual overdrive like Duellist or Protein.
MODULATION
That white pedal on the top right is a Walrus Audio octave pedal -- like a POG with a much smaller footprint -- and I think it tracks better and sounds better than a POG.
Thorpy FX Deep Oggin - has already been sold.  It's cool, but too expensive and rarely got used.  It got replaced by a Boss Dimension C.  Because the 80's.
Empress phaser - Again, I've been working on a funk record, and this one has some settings with envelope filters so it can quack like a meatball.  This is the only pedal where I think, "Too many modes, too many knobs, takes too long to dial something in."
Mobius - Damn, I'm impressed with this thing.  I'll admit that it can't mimic *every* phaser/flanger/chorus pedal ever made, but I think it gets reeeeeeaaal close to almost all of them... without spending hours deep in the menus.  It will never come off the board.
DELAY/REVERB
Strymon Timeline -  Seems like it's become ubiquitous.  
Hall of Fame Reverb -  Kind of "meh" on it, but I have a couple amps that don't have reverb, so I need something there at the end of the chain.
Sometimes I take off a modulation pedal and add a second delay, and set that one to a short slap.  
I also have an old TC Electronic Novadelay, that I think sounds fantastic and has a very simple interface and layout, but it's A) a big footprint, and  B) it has a weird voltage requirement (requires its own power supply under the board, which is a pain in the ass).   Those two factors make it inconvenient.  I should probably sell it.  
POWER SUPPLY 
Hidden under that middle row of pedals is a Walrus Audio Phoenix.  I wish it had a couple more outputs that provide high amps for all the modern digital stuff, because that is often a limiting factor on what can live on the board at the same time.  But I ain't starting over again.
----- 
My skill as a guitarist falls well short of being worthy of this board.  I think I'm a decent songwriter and singer, but I am definitely not any sort of guitar wizard.  For me, it's a writing tool, and a source of inspiration... certain pedal combinations and sounds lead to riffs and melodies that I would otherwise never come upon.  
 
 
 

We have a bit of overlap:



I rock a pre-cease-and-desist Muffroom Cloud, though. No big deal.

You probably need to try out a Riverside. Just a hunch.

[Paul Wesley 3313]

7 hours ago, BoomMF said:

 

Fantastic.  Looks like fun.  

I need a Volante.  You need a Mobius.  

 

 

[BoomMF 1402]

...and a Gigrig TBH.

[Paul Wesley 3313]

Yeah, it would simplify your signal path by a lot.  

[Mileslong 4811]

This has to be one of the coolest looking pedals ever. A Danelectro Dan-Echo delay

[Mileslong 4811]

[Napoleon 8839]

On 8/3/2021 at 8:48 AM, Mileslong said:

This has to be one of the coolest looking pedals ever. A Danelectro Dan-Echo delay

...Unzipping her pants visual.

 

 

12 hours ago, Mileslong said:

Is Woody Allen an "advanced species"?

 

[dcbc 14644]

On 8/3/2021 at 8:48 AM, Mileslong said:

This has to be one of the coolest looking pedals ever. A Danelectro Dan-Echo delay

I've always been partial to this one, especially when the lights on the "balls" and "speed" wheels work.  Best sounding phaser I ever owned.  Too big to be used on a board though.  Recently picked up a modern interpretation of it (Mojo Hand FX Mister-O), which gets about 90% of the way there.

Edited September 15, 2021 by dcbc

[Chad Fuck 18158]

6 hours ago, dcbc said:

I've always been partial to this one, especially when the lights on the "balls" and "speed" wheels work.  Best sounding phaser I ever owned.  Too big to be used on a board though.  Recently picked up a modern interpretation of it (Mojo Hand FX Mister-O), which gets about 90% of the way there.

I have a friend who used to have one.  Nevermind the sound (which is great), just the industrial design is awesome.

 

[dcbc 14644]

2 hours ago, Chad Fuck said:

I have a friend who used to have one.  Nevermind the sound (which is great), just the industrial design is awesome.

 

The sound is great.  The design is tough as nails.  Of course, the noise and tone suck were evident and it did try to kill/shock me a few times.

[Chad Fuck 18158]

1 hour ago, dcbc said:

The sound is great.  The design is tough as nails.  Of course, the noise and tone suck were evident and it did try to kill/shock me a few times.

Meh.  Details.

[DougO 5266]

4 hours ago, Chad Fuck said:

I have a friend who used to have one.  Nevermind the sound (which is great), just the industrial design is awesome.

 

 

Weird, it looks a lot more like a tricorder than a phaser.

[Mileslong 4811]

 
Weird, it looks a lot more like a tricorder than a phaser.

I know, the sound is really out of this world…

[dcbc 14644]

9 hours ago, DougO said:

 

Weird, it looks a lot more like a tricorder than a phaser.

Avatar checks out

[BrickHorn 18447]

Anyone have a good rec for a reverb pedal? A couple of my amps have great tone but no reverb tank. 

[tbone_ 14455]

Never really use them because I’ve usually had it built in, but I always hear good things about the holy grail.

[dcbc 14644]

25 minutes ago, BrickHorn said:

Anyone have a good rec for a reverb pedal? A couple of my amps have great tone but no reverb tank. 

The Topanga pictured above has been a good one.  I got it after I sold me RealTube RT921 rack mount spring reverb.  Haven't missed it.

[Paul Wesley 3313]

My favorite thread to see bumped to the top.

Google search lead me to this guitarworld page, but you'll have to click through some pop up ads:

https://www.guitarworld.com/gear/the-best-reverb-pedals-for-guitar

I have the first iteration of Hall of Fame.  It's fine.  I probably don't want to spend the time and money to replace it... but if I had it to do over again, I would pick something that 1) keeps small footprint, 2) has reasonably simple interface, and 3) doesn't require high-amperage power (my power supply limits the number of thirsty digital pedals that can live together at once, and the "reverb" spot isn't gonna be one of those).

But anyway, I'm not buying any more pedals.  I'm not.

...although that Neunabar Immerse looks super cool.

 

[Deej 77853]

Someone talk me into, or out of, a Topanga reverb pedal. 

[Goredho 17662]

 

2 minutes ago, Deej said:

Someone talk me into, or out of, a Topanga reverb pedal. 

Buy one for a used price, sell it for a used price if you don’t like it.  At most you’ll be out 5-10 bucks for the opportunity at a badass tone upgrade.

[Grandioso 2592]

If you are feeling saucy, get a Surfy Bear. In my experience NOTHING beats a real spring tank. 

 

[Deej 77853]

I’ve got a Sole-Mate, but I want something with a smaller footprint to put on my board. 

The Sole-Mate is it’s own board.

 

[dcbc 14644]

11 hours ago, Deej said:

Someone talk me into, or out of, a Topanga reverb pedal. 

It's small.  It only has four knobs.  It's relatively cheap.  And it pretty well nails the 60s Fender tank reverb sound (but you can dial it back for a less springy/drippy sound if you like).  You'll get a lot of surf in the demos, and it definitely does that well.  But I don't really play surf, and I replaced the greatest outboard spring reverb unit ever built (Realtube RT-921) with it and have no regrets.  I have version 1 and don't think I'd have much interest in the extra features in V2.

But don't take my word for it.  Andy . . .

 

And a little more twiddling with the settings on this one.

 

Edited September 29, 2021 by dcbc

[Chips O'Toole 1442]

Catalinbread makes a plate pedal, Talisman that I liked a lot when I tried it.  Spring reverb is one of those effects that seems very hard to emulate in a pedal or plugin. 

[BrickHorn 18447]

I haven’t watched all the vids yet, but so far I’m leaning toward a Holy Grail Max. The Hall setting sounds like what I’m looking for. 

[Deej 77853]

Bought the Topanga. I've been very happy with all my Catalinbread pedals and that Fender tank reverb sound is what I'm looking for. 

[Deej 77853]

And every video of Andy doing a pedal demo, needs to have a normal human playing the same thing through the same gear after him, so you know what it will really sound like. 

[Grandioso 2592]

Bought the Topanga. I've been very happy with all my Catalinbread pedals and that Fender tank reverb sound is what I'm looking for. 

I listened to the pedal show shootout on verb pedals and it was the best. Or maybe it was 60 cycle hum. Although that discontinued boss fender ‘63 sounded amazing. Assuming it was abandoned because fender was going into the pedal business on its own.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Deej 77853]

4 minutes ago, Grandioso said:

I listened to the pedal show shootout on verb pedals and it was the best. Or maybe it was 60 cycle hum. Although that discontinued boss fender ‘63 sounded amazing. Assuming it was abandoned because fender was going into the pedal business on its own.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The prices on that Boss pedal, used, are nuts. I should've bought one before they discontinued them.

[dcbc 14644]

1 hour ago, Deej said:

The prices on that Boss pedal, used, are nuts. I should've bought one before they discontinued them.

Might be your lucky day.  You're welcome, unless it's a scam, in which case, I'm sorry.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/609436920468128/?ref=search&referral_code=marketplace_search&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3Ad5c2de20-1907-4a9e-be37-9ff98b8443b6

[CoachTex 2658]

So I have a question for Surly.  My son has just started playing guitar and has expressed interest in adding a pedal. I have no clue about pedals and would love some advice.  What would be the first pedal you would add for a reasonable price?  He is playing an epiphone sg with a fender frontman 15g amp.

[Goredho 17662]

I would get a multi-effects pedal that will give him a lot of different effects and then he could add better dedicated pedals over time.  Something like this Zoom MS-70CDR multi-stomp.  Chorus + delay + reverb for $150 or so.

[tbone_ 14455]

Boss Metal Zone

[Deej 77853]

I'd pay for lessons before I bought a pedal. 

[CoachTex 2658]

4 minutes ago, Deej said:

I'd pay for lessons before I bought a pedal. 

He is starting those next week.  Really just in the research phase.

[tbone_ 14455]

Honestly I was being a smart ass with the metal zone.

What kind of music does he play? Or like?