Effects Pedals, What are the ESSENTIAL pedals to have? Options

[Becca]

Hello lovely GMC people. Judging by the responses to my last posting about the Riddle pedal being an overlooked piece of kit,I would say that my opinion on it was 100% correct. Completely overlooked. Mark my words guys, in the future this is going to be the classic stompbox everyone wished they had!
So there
Okay, Becca sulk over. What will happen if I put the ball in your court, I wonder?
I have only been interested in pedals for the last two years or so, really. My first time around I occasionally used a BOSS Chorus. I forget the model but it was the standard BOSS blue chorus that was so ubiquitous in the 80's. Everyone had one. It is only since I have rediscovered my interest in playing that the idea of having a pedal board has really got under my skin. Apart from occasional open mic nights at the local i tend to play at home so my board is actually a pedal bag that the lid zips off to reveal the goodies beneath. perfectly adequate for the light use it gets from me.
The problem is once you start getting into pedals its difficult to know when to stop. you know what I mean?
I am really interested in what adorns the boards of my fellow GMCer's.
What effects pedals are contributing to your awesome sound?
Is there really a correct order to have your pedals on the board?
What are the ESSENTIAL pedals to have?
Is there ONE pedal that you absolutely cannot live without, not including digital multi fx ?
What is the dream pedal that you really, really covet and want for your very own?
And most importantly, I am including a pic of my very crowded pedal bag. What, in your opinion is the pedal I should have, but don't?

Please fellow muso's. If you can take a pic of the board arrangement that works for you then post it in the replies. I would love to see how others ROCK THE WORLD!
Laters .

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[Todd Simpson]

Goodness that's a bit of a mess but with a good pedal board you can clean it right up Also, adding a pedal power supply that will mount to the board is a good idea if possible.

You've got plenty of fx there The problem you may run in to (quite common among pedal folks) is that you have to hit three pedals before going in to a solo. Sort of a pain and and needless these days since something like this will fix that for ya.

For about $130
THE JOYO PEDAL SWITCHER


Add that and you can program your pedals in groups so that foot switch #1 is all the pedals in your rythm tone for example and pedal #2 is all the pedals in your lead sound

and get something to put all this on so it's easy to deal with

Pedal Train 2 (about $120)


I picked units that I'd buy myself given the price point and build quality. Of course any unit will do

Once you have that it's really down to you as to what you'll need. From the sounds of it, you have every pedal you might need for starters, just need the bits above to turn it in to a workable 'Rig" As far as individual pedals, I really LOVED the Pro Tone Bulb Deluxe overdrive which they are going to be making again soon for about $225 ( I paid $300 at the time)

I"m also really digging a new "boutique" overdrive pedal from a Brazilian vendor called FURHMANN who I found out about by watching a crazy good player named MARCO DEROSS who I"m subscribed to.

Hello lovely GMC people. Judging by the responses to my last posting about the Riddle pedal being an overlooked piece of kit,I would say that my opinion on it was 100% correct. Completely overlooked. Mark my words guys, in the future this is going to be the classic stompbox everyone wished they had!
So there
Okay, Becca sulk over. What will happen if I put the ball in your court, I wonder?
I have only been interested in pedals for the last two years or so, really. My first time around I occasionally used a BOSS Chorus. I forget the model but it was the standard BOSS blue chorus that was so ubiquitous in the 80's. Everyone had one. It is only since I have rediscovered my interest in playing that the idea of having a pedal board has really got under my skin. Apart from occasional open mic nights at the local i tend to play at home so my board is actually a pedal bag that the lid zips off to reveal the goodies beneath. perfectly adequate for the light use it gets from me.
The problem is once you start getting into pedals its difficult to know when to stop. you know what I mean?
I am really interested in what adorns the boards of my fellow GMCer's.
What effects pedals are contributing to your awesome sound?
Is there really a correct order to have your pedals on the board?
What are the ESSENTIAL pedals to have?
Is there ONE pedal that you absolutely cannot live without, not including digital multi fx ?
What is the dream pedal that you really, really covet and want for your very own?
And most importantly, I am including a pic of my very crowded pedal bag. What, in your opinion is the pedal I should have, but don't?

Please fellow muso's. If you can take a pic of the board arrangement that works for you then post it in the replies. I would love to see how others ROCK THE WORLD!
Laters .

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

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This post has been edited by Todd Simpson: Apr 10 2014, 09:25 PM

[klasaine]

For me the 'essential' can't live without its are delay, some type of OD, usually a volume pedal and a tuner.
A lot of the time I will also use a compressor, especially if I know I'm using a backlined amp of unknown origin.
I hang out with a lot of guitar players and we all have different opinions on what's essential.

As far as fx order ... I like drives before any modulation or delay/reverb.
Fuzzes and wahs generally like to see a straight signal from a guitar pkup.
Quality power supply and decent patch cables.
That's about it really. I switch things up all the time.

Here's one board:


I play only baritone guitar on one of the gigs I do:


The Celtic rock band I'm in I use this:


And here's 'mini' board I fly with:

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[Todd Simpson]

So on the first pedal board, are you doing the "stomp three boxes" before the solo technique? Or do you just leave them all on except for the overdrive?

For me the 'essential' can't live without its are delay, some type of OD, usually a volume pedal and a tuner.
A lot of the time I will also use a compressor, especially if I know I'm using a backlined amp of unknown origin.
I hang out with a lot of guitar players and we all have different opinions on what's essential.

As far as fx order ... I like drives before any modulation or delay/reverb.
Fuzzes and wahs generally like to see a straight signal from a guitar pkup.
Quality power supply and decent patch cables.
That's about it really. I switch things up all the time.

Here's one board:


I play only baritone guitar on one of the gigs I do:


The Celtic rock band I'm in I use this:


And here's 'mini' board I fly with:

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

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[klasaine]

So on the first pedal board, are you doing the "stomp three boxes" before the solo technique? Or do you just leave them all on except for the overdrive?

Delay and comp are usually always on and I kick in the drive for lead. Or, depending on the tune, I'll also have the OD on but have the volume on my guitar down and turn it up for a solo.
The phaser on that board probably gets used once or twice a night.

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[Darius Wave]

Well Becca In deed Your pedalboard looks a bit twisted

I'm not a stomp type of guy but still some pedals seems to be essential for me.

For example:

Tuner

Wah Wah

and a type od boost (like MXR micro amp). It's more about to get crunch on the amp (which works perfect for me while riffing) and add a bit of sustain or controlled feedback on stage.

Rest of stuff like delay, vol control and modulation effect goes from rack - TC G-Major. Main reasons? I always use distortion from the amp and need to have things connected to fx loop. Second is I like to have short chords to keep minim signal loss.

Third reason does not refer to all amps but it happens. some models react badly to the long length of chords. If You put 2 x 6m chord (send + return) You loose tone quality.

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[dcz702]

My can't live without pedal is my boss loopsation. It has simple drum patterns that I use in place of a metronome and I can loop and layer ideas to try to come up with new ideas, and a tuner is a must have on my board. After that my mxr wah is my favorite pedal. But I'm not to much of a pedal guy. I'm about to add a mesa boogie tone burst.

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[Saoirse O'Shea]

A good compressor like a Keeley is probably the one floor stomp box that many people should have but don't.

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[PosterBoy]

I'll add my 2p in even though I use the Axe Fx

My main clean patches have

2 ODs one adding gain, one pushing the front of the amp harder, Chorus, Before the amp

After the amp

Rotary, Trem and Flanger, Reverb (in parallel) then 2 Delays in Parallel (1 short delay around 350ms or a 1/8th / Dotted 1/8th delay) and a long (550ms delay used for solos) then a 3db boost.

Crunch patches are similar but just the OD pushing the front end of the amp

Lead patches I don't have Tremelo put do have a phaser before the amp

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[Todd Simpson]

Well said The compressor is probably the most under rated bit of kit. I use a mult fx so my comp is part of the chain and sometimes l'll use two depending on the patch.

For lead work a compressor is really handy. It can make the guitar a bit more expressive in general imho. It can allow a light touch that still drives the gain enough and permits dynamic play.

A good compressor like a Keeley is probably the one floor stomp box that many people should have but don't.

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[Cosmin Lupu]

For me, it's fairly simple

Reverb and Delay in the FX loop and Noise Suppressor, Booster/OD, Phaser (sometimes) and tuner up front. That's pretty much all I need. I am an 'organic-stick to little' kind of guy, but it all depends on what you want from your rig, you know..

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[Becca]

Wicked stuff Guys. All good solid commonsense there. Compression is useful pedal to have though I don't use it much. Back when I had my strat a DOD comp did the job. The one I have on the board is actually a Behringer DC9, which is a DynaComp clone I believe? Any way it works fine. doesn't seem to add anymore hiss than any of the others but I only use it when there is a lot of chord picking arpeggio style. Rush stuff usually. Anyway the MXR noise clamp takes care of pretty much all unwanted signal. You cant see in my picture but I have the Memory man Left channel fed back into the right channel to double the effect. Makes Chorus sound fantastically swirly and phased and longer delay gets that Gilmour sound bang on.
Agreed the bag looks crowded but its design is such that all the patch leads have to lie along side the boxes rather than underneath, a la PedalTrain boards. Which are LUDICROUSLY overpriced for what is essentially a few strips of wood screwed together. My fella is looking to make a board for me from salvage stuff at the local fleamarket. I will let you know how it progresses.The other FX featured are a Rothwell Tornado OD pedal. One of the very best available guys. you should check them out! A EHX Pulsar for the Dazed and Confused moments in my life and of course my faithful Morley.
A little side note about Morley. I stupidly put the wrong mains adaptor into it a couple of years ago and cooked it completely. I emailed Morley and twenty quid through PayPal and a few days waiting a new circuit board arrived in the post. Hows that for quality service?
A Korg digital tuner sits on top of my multi power adapter and finally the amps channel switch.

My can't live without pedal is my boss loopsation. It has simple drum patterns that I use in place of a metronome and I can loop and layer ideas to try to come up with new ideas, and a tuner is a must have on my board. After that my mxr wah is my favorite pedal. But I'm not to much of a pedal guy. I'm about to add a mesa boogie tone burst.

Wowsers! now thats neatly laid out. Whats the wah pedal on the right, is it a colourTone?

Goodness that's a bit of a mess but with a good pedal board you can clean it right up Also, adding a pedal power supply that will mount to the board is a good idea if possible.

You've got plenty of fx there The problem you may run in to (quite common among pedal folks) is that you have to hit three pedals before going in to a solo. Sort of a pain and and needless these days since something like this will fix that for ya.

For about $130
THE JOYO PEDAL SWITCHER


Add that and you can program your pedals in groups so that foot switch #1 is all the pedals in your rythm tone for example and pedal #2 is all the pedals in your lead sound

and get something to put all this on so it's easy to deal with

Pedal Train 2 (about $120)


I picked units that I'd buy myself given the price point and build quality. Of course any unit will do

Once you have that it's really down to you as to what you'll need. From the sounds of it, you have every pedal you might need for starters, just need the bits above to turn it in to a workable 'Rig" As far as individual pedals, I really LOVED the Pro Tone Bulb Deluxe overdrive which they are going to be making again soon for about $225 ( I paid $300 at the time)

I"m also really digging a new "boutique" overdrive pedal from a Brazilian vendor called FURHMANN who I found out about by watching a crazy good player named MARCO DEROSS who I"m subscribed to.

Hey Todd, yes I am sometimes tap dancing away for a couple of songs, and that there footswitch looks like the answer. I assume they plug into each group of peds I want use. Mainly switching from crunch tones to a searing lead is biggest headache if I have a fx pedal that needs to be disengaged too. ! I will certainly have a look at this. Thank you.

For me the 'essential' can't live without its are delay, some type of OD, usually a volume pedal and a tuner.
A lot of the time I will also use a compressor, especially if I know I'm using a backlined amp of unknown origin.
I hang out with a lot of guitar players and we all have different opinions on what's essential.

As far as fx order ... I like drives before any modulation or delay/reverb.
Fuzzes and wahs generally like to see a straight signal from a guitar pkup.
Quality power supply and decent patch cables.
That's about it really. I switch things up all the time.

Here's one board:


I play only baritone guitar on one of the gigs I do:


The Celtic rock band I'm in I use this:


And here's 'mini' board I fly with:

Hi kenny. I love the fact u have so many boards for different scenarios. I am not jealous at all, ahem.
Thats sensible though and something I would consider if I was going back into the band circuit. I am not ruling it out but the late nights terrify me now I am ancient and with a "proper" job!

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[Gabriel Leopardi]

I'm not using too many effects nowadays. It depends on the music you play and your tastes. This is my set up for tonight's show with Cirse:

Volume Pedal
Wah Wah
Overdrive
Delay
Phaser
Tuner

and maybe my Boss Chorus.

We will be playing around 26 songs (included an acoustic set) so it's a long concert.

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[Cosmin Lupu]

Hey mate I am curious to know - how does the Noiseclamp work for you? I loved the presentation video, but I have never had the occasion to try it. I currently own the ISP Decimator pedal which does it's job just fine, but you know, if there's something better out there, why not ask?

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[Jeroen]

I like to keep things simple. I work with minimum number of pedals. Delay with built in chorus and vibrato and a overdrive pedal. The only thing that's missing is a good wah. Reverb is on my tube amp. Works for me.

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[dcz702]

Wowsers! now thats neatly laid out. Whats the wah pedal on the right, is it a colourTone?

Thanks. I like to keep things tidy. you know us guitar players with our cables spread out everywhere and gear might as we'll organize what you can.
The wah is a mxr cae wah (custom audio electronics) I replaced my crybaby with it. Sounds better I think, and has 2 voicings with a boost, 2 switches on the side of the pedal so you can tap them with the side of your foot to engage the boost or tap the other on the left and toggle the voicing.

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[Saoirse O'Shea]

Just a suggestion - try not to run power leads parallel to audio signal (and particularly unbalanced) leads.

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[Cosmin Lupu]

I like to keep things simple. I work with minimum number of pedals. Delay with built in chorus and vibrato and a overdrive pedal. The only thing that's missing is a good wah. Reverb is on my tube amp. Works for me.

My kind of setup Simple and tidy - can't be too messy when you don't use a lot of things, can it?

As I said before, a setup which is well thought of, reflects the needs of it's owner - I think it should be like this in general What do you think - to what extent can you 'read' a player by his pedalboard?

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[klasaine]

Yes and no.
If I didn't tell you, would be able to tell I only played baritone guitar with this rig?

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[Cosmin Lupu]

Yes and no.
If I didn't tell you, would be able to tell I only played baritone guitar with this rig?

I could say you could be playing surf music because of the Tremolo That could include a baritone

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