the Guitar Pedal Thread

[Catacombs]

So I'm looking into buying a few different pedals, and I realized i don't know ANYTHING about them.  I sort of have an idea, but i figured i'd bring it here before i go shopping.  The only pedal i have is the Boss DS-1, and my guitar is a Fender Strat.  I want something chorus-y (Boss CE-1?)  and some with good fuzz/crunch/maybe a tube screamer.  Ideas?

[Jackie Blue]

A Boss CE-1?  I guess if you really want to throw that much money at a chorus pedal, go for it, but man... it's just chorus.

Or did you mean a Boss CH-1?  That would be a much better idea.

[ImRonBurgundy?]

and some with good fuzz/crunch/maybe a tube screamer.  Ideas?

I personally am a fan of the Blackstone Mosfet Overdrive.  It emulates tube amp distortion pretty well.

[Catacombs]

A Boss CE-1?  I guess if you really want to throw that much money at a chorus pedal, go for it, but man... it's just chorus.

Or did you mean a Boss CH-1?  That would be a much better idea.

I most likely meant CH-1

[Patrick]

My first-ever encounter with distortion pedals involved the use of a Boss DS-1. If I had any money right now (yes I am that broke) I'd invest in one. Right now I've got a DigiTech Hot Head and it's about as versatile as a shit in a bag.

One thing I like using is my Boss DD-20 GigaDelay. That thing is a -staple- for all of my stuff. It really fills in all the empty spaces, and it takes a bit of practice, but it can be done very tastefully. It's got 11 different delay options and you can control absolutely everything if you just take the time to read the manual.

[Jackie Blue]

What kind of an amp are you using?  If you're planning on recording or playing out it's generally a good idea to have a good amp before you spend all your money on pedals.

I recommend:

[FireAarro]

Is that a Fender Blues Deluxe?

[Jackie Blue]

Yep.  That thing gets crazy loud and sounds amazing.

Though if you're not going for "loud", I guess it's not that necessary.

I prefer audience-deafening performances personally.

[valley_parade]

Most of my distortion comes from a Marshall GV-2. For everything else, I have a Digitech RP-50.


I need moar pedals.

[Christophe]

I currently have a behringer VT999, a tube overdrive with a noise gate and treble, mid and bass controls. It sounds alright, but the few reviews I've read for it mention swapping out the stock tube. Since the tube is inside the pedal enclosure, would I have to discharge the capacitor first before even touching the tube?

Before that, I used a Boss OS-2 Overdrive/Distortion. It worked well.

Also, I should probably get a new amp.

[jeph]

You should just be able to pull the tube out and put in another (of the same kind, mind you, or the thing will most likely blow up due to biasing issues).

I too recommend buying a good amp before you even think about buying pedals.

If I ever play in a "real" band again I'ma get me one of those Line 6 delay modelers. Those things are really fun.

[imapiratearg]

ZVex.  These are some of the craziest pedals I have ever seen.  I wish someone sold them around here, 'cause I want a Fuzz Factory.

[DynamiteKid]

Not much of a fan of pedals, myself, I gotta say. Too many guitarists hide behind an assload of distortion or effects to hide that they've mediocre guitarists (I'm looking at you, Brad Delson).

I'm much more a fan of making the weirdest possible sounds I can with just distortion and alternate tunings and drumsticks and bottlenecks and the like.

[bbqrocks]

What do you guys think of behringer pedals?

[Jackie Blue]

If I ever play in a "real" band again I'ma get me one of those Line 6 delay modelers. Those things are really fun.

That's the primary pedal I use when I do solo shows.  They are great and wondrous things in that they allow one person with a guitar to sound like an entire post-rock album (sans drums).

[Lummer]

What do you guys think of behringer pedals?

Two words:

A... VOID!!!!

[bbqrocks]

What exactly is so bad about them, then?

[sean]

ZVex.  These are some of the craziest pedals I have ever seen.  I wish someone sold them around here, 'cause I want a Fuzz Factory.

Dude those are some sexy looking pedals. I would get one just so I could look at it.

THREAD HIJACK: I am currently saving up for a good bass overdrive pedal so I can get even more GRRRRRRRRRRRRSLDKJFSDLKJF out of my bass. Anybody have any good suggestions for a pedal?

[Lummer]

What exactly is so bad about them, then?

Well, you get what you pay for, so for the price I guess they're okay.

That said, if you want good tone, avoid them. Even BOSS pedals sound better.

If you want pedals that don't swallow bundles of signal, avoid them.

If you want pedals that can actually withstand normal use without breaking like the plastic turds they are, avoid also.

And to add insult to injury, they buzz and hiss like crazy when you're not playing.

Moral is: DO NOT buy behringer pedals, ever.

[bbqrocks]

Damn, I was all for it until the plastic turd bit. Oh well.

[Catacombs]

Thanks guys.  That Fender amp is currently the one i use for shows at school, and i have a small 15 watt Crate amp i use to practice on at home.  I won't be doing any recording/traveling with it as i'm just getting back with my electric ( i went on an acoustic kick for the past year and a half ).  Those Zvex are seriously sexy, there's a store that sells them according to the website a few towns over from me.  Anyone know anything about what they run for?  Handmade/hand designed and all that they probably aren't too cheap.

[PECOAE]

The ProCo Rat gets amazing distortion/feedback, it's quite loud though, and the feedback can overpower the sound.

Good for a slightly fuzzed out indie/noise rock sound though.

[Bearer]

Too many guitarists hide behind an assload of distortion or effects to hide that they've mediocre guitarists (I'm looking at you, Brad Delson).

Well, that may be true, but you have to admit that the sounds David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) can pull out of a strat are pretty fucking incredible, and his pedal rack is monsterous:

[DynamiteKid]

This is true - Gilmour, who is a massive influence on me, does have a huge pedal rack. However, his influence on me has always been more about his playing (melodic, like the guitar is singing, like it's more than a guitar solo) than his sound. What I was referring to earlier (drumsticks, etc.) was more influenced by Syd's playing on live versions of something like 'Astronomy Domine.' He wasn't one to use effects because they didn't have pedal racks like that in the sixties!

[Patrick]

Tom fucking Morello.

Thread over.

[FireAarro]

What do you guys think of behringer pedals?

Good for circuit bending!
(Check out the more recent pedals he's built)

Those Zvex are seriously sexy, there's a store that sells them according to the website a few towns over from me.  Anyone know anything about what they run for?  Handmade/hand designed and all that they probably aren't too cheap.

A lot of money!

A good Fuzz Factory style pedal for real cheap is the discontinued Zoom Ultra Fuzz UF-01. Goes for about $50-80 on eBay.
Reviews

[bbqrocks]

Good for circuit bending!
(Check out the more recent pedals he's built)

Well, great. I was actually going to experiment with some circuit bending sometime soon, so it looks like I will purchase these. I am not actually using them for guitars, btw...

[imapiratearg]

I'm looking for fuzz pedals on Ebay and I haven't found a single Zoom pedal, but I found a few vintage Gibson Maestro pedals and several Zvex Fuzz Factories.  The latter all range from $100-$280.

[ViolentDove]

Anyone used a Boss RC-20XL Loop Station before? I'm contemplating buying one while our mighty Australian dollar is still within spitting distance of the US$.

Also, if anyone has any other suggestions for similar pedals to check out, let me know. It's not for guitar, but for looping vocals, harmonium, trumpet and various other instruments on the fly, so it'd be running from a mic most of the time.

[Christophe]

No, but this dude has.

I would like to get one despite the DeMarco endorsement, so I can pretend to be Ian Williams.

[greenMonkey]

According to Wikipedia, Ian Williams uses TWO Akai Headrush delay pedals.

[Bearer]

According to Wikipedia, Ian Williams uses TWO Akai Headrush delay pedals.

David Gilmour uses THREE Compression Sustainers 

But yeah, his guitar solos are amazing.  They transcend excellence in a most excellent way!

[Christophe]

But apparently, he didn't record American Don with those pedals, instead opting to overdub those parts.

There was nothing "one take" about that record. It was meticulously worked over with hundreds of overdubs, edits, and punches. They labored every end of it.
By the time they had finished touring on it, the 3 of them could play every note live.
They worked out a lot of the details in the studio.

I saw a band called Silian Rail at a house show in my hometown, San Jose. The guitarist had a RC-20, but instead of actually using it in time with her guitar playing, she had pre-loaded loops for the drummer to play to while she re-tuned their guitar. By the way, they were awesome. From what I remember, they sounded like a cross between Don Cab and Polvo.

[Spluff]

I'm looking for fuzz pedals on Ebay and I haven't found a single Zoom pedal, but I found a few vintage Gibson Maestro pedals and several Zvex Fuzz Factories.  The latter all range from $100-$280.

No love for the Big Muff?

(For the love of god, as tempting as it is, we can do without jokes about loving muff)

[Patrick]

LOL YOU SAID MUFF

I have never actually used a Big Muff (LOL VIRGIN) so I don't know what it even sounds like. I would, however, like an Ibanez Tube Screamer at some point. Seriously? I would probably destroy all the circuitry in there from using it so much, but it would be worth it for another.

[FireAarro]

According to Wikipedia, Ian Williams uses TWO Akai Headrush delay pedals.

Andrew Bird uses two DL-4s live for looping, one each for pizzicato and arco. How does he sync them? Just tap accurately! Sometimes they get out of time but nobody cares.

The Big Muff's tone has a tendency to get lost in the mix. This is known as the "Muff Dive" phenomenon.

[imapiratearg]

I tried a Big Muff at a Daddy's Junkie Music, with some kind of Stratocaster, going through a really old Fender silverface amp.  It just sounded kind of boring.  It was either normal distortion, or muddy fuzz.  I wish I could get that kind of fuzz J Mascis uses in the song "Little Fury Things" or like this really fuzzy guitar bit from "You Were Right" by Built to Spill.

I have yet to find a pedal that does either.  I was really unimpressed by the Big Muff to say the least.

[Ballard]

Dude, a little piece of J Mascis's soul is shipped inside every Big Muff. It's basically THE Dinosaur Jr. sound packaged in a small metal box.

I agree that it's not an extremely versatile pedal, but if you can't get that one band's tone out of it, you're doing it wrong.

[FireAarro]

J Mascis's Big Muff collection:



They're the old ones, so they sound a bit different...

[Johnny C]

Death By Audio has released a new pedal.

It sounds fucking awesome.

[Ballard]

My boss at the guitar shop I work at used to intern for Oliver Ackermann (founder of Death By Audio and frontman for A Place To Bury Strangers) and they're pretty good friends.

We carry their entire line and it's fucking beast.

[Spluff]

That Death By Audio pedal is pretty awesome. Now if only I had more money.

Dude, a little piece of J Mascis's soul is shipped inside every Big Muff. It's basically THE Dinosaur Jr. sound packaged in a small metal box.

I agree that it's not an extremely versatile pedal, but if you can't get that one band's tone out of it, you're doing it wrong.

I prefer to think of it in terms of Mudhoney, but hey, eithers good.

[imapiratearg]

you're doing it wrong.

More than likely.

[Beastmouth]

LOL YOU SAID MUFF

I have never actually used a Big Muff (LOL VIRGIN) so I don't know what it even sounds like. I would, however, like an Ibanez Tube Screamer at some point. Seriously? I would probably destroy all the circuitry in there from using it so much, but it would be worth it for another.

The Tube Screamer does nothing, tho, unless you have a valve amp.  Feeding a TS 808 into a transistor amp sounds worse than a practice amp's distortion channel. 

[Patrick]

Bashing solid-state will get you nowhere as it has already been pretty well established that the Marshall MG series is made for pure fucking heroism.

Seriously? I've played the same guitar through my mate's dad's vintage Deluxe Reverb and his vintage AC30, and my Marshall puts up some damn stiff competition.

[/jacking off over my Marshall]

[carrotosaurus]

What about the Swollen Pickle?

[Ballard]

Tube elitists, go play a Tech 21 Trademark 60 or 120 and then get back to me.

(What I'm trying to say is, solid-state amps suck because usually they're the cheaper, lower-quality alternative and are not made as well for that reason. If you try and make a great solid-state amp, you very well can.)

Not to say that I don't love tube.

[imapiratearg]

Where can I find one of those Swollen Pickle pedals?

[carrotosaurus]

The Way Huge Swollen Pickle has been out of production for years now, but apparently it's almost like one of the old Sovtek Big Muffs with a hell of a better sound. They go for about $2,000 whenever they kick up on ebay.

Anyway, you can build your own... it's what I'm planning on doing. You gotta get the Large Beaver kit from BYOC, plus the mod pack to pickle your beaver...
http://www.buildyourownclone.com/largebeaver.html

Also, sometimes prebuilt pickle clone pedals show up on ebay or things like that... but it's really a legendary tone.

[Patrick]

Okay with names like "Swollen Pickle," "Big Muff" and "Large Beaver," I REFUSE to believe that any of those names were coincidental, therefore losing half of their amusement value.