Got a favorite pedal in your rig?

pikingrin

pikingrin

what is this?
I just got an MXR La Machine fuzz pedal the other day. It's a one-trick pony and really only does nasty fuzz tones but it's already one of my favorites. It's, IMO, better than the classic Big Muff and the Hendrix signature Fuzz Face. It's just dirty and it's already found a solid place in my rig.

If you use effect pedals, what are some of your favorites and why? Settings (just in case we also have the same pedal and want to try one out)?
 
Out of all of the pedals that I've had, only 2 or 3 have enjoyed a lasting spot on my pedal board.

Boss CS3 - I've had this one a long time. I've tried other compressors, and while there are better ones, none satisfy my occasional need for ridiculous sustain like the CS3. I don't use it for spanky rhythms or tight cleans. I use it for massive sustain and sensitivity without really increasing the gain. Level and sustain all the way up, slow attack, tone somewhere below 12:00.

Keeley 4-knob compressor - yeah, I actually have 2 compressors on my board. This one is a nice versatile compressor for the things that the CS3 doesn't do well: those spanky rhythms and rich cleans. This pedal sat unused for a few years until I put it between a Telecaster and a '68 Reverb. And oh, my!

Ibanez TS9 - I haven't played with many OD pedals, but that's mainly because this one satisfies me. I pretty much run it with all 3 dials at 11:00. It adds a little gain, a little boost, and rolls off the highs just enough to keep it from being searing. Sounds good to dirty up my Fender amp, and sounds great adding that last bit of gain that I can't get from the preamp on the clean channel of my Marshall.

Other than that, I have a rotating cast of pedals that I like but don't use a lot. I went out on a limb last year and bought an Electro Harmonix Superego. It's pretty damn cool, but only has limited applications. I like my Crybaby a lot, but again I don't use it much. Have and MXR 10-band EQ that is too noisy to put back in the chain, and it needs its own power supply. And a few old Boss pedals that never impressed me (flanger and dual octave).

I think that the only thing I'm missing that I'd use a lot is a good and simple delay pedal. I'm just not sure how I'd incorporate it into an effects loop when I constantly switch between 4 different amps. That would get really complicated in a hurry.
 
Favourite is definitely the Marshall Jackhammer. I normally set it up for a low grungy distortion like the Boss DS1 but I fond it has a little bit more warmth in the tone than the DS1. Still love the DS1 though.
 
I've got a whopping 4 pedals in my arsenal....lol...3 - od's, & a vibe....I like the vibe, but of course, I can't use it on everything, although it does sound good to me for a $40 pedal (Danelectro)...

The Bogner Red I have is great, lots of different adjuments available to the sounds, but my favorite od pedal is the Boss Super Overdrive, it's just great for a clean boost into one of my Marshalls...

I have a JOYO Hot Plexi (another $40 pedal) that's meh...I just can't get it to sound smooth (probably user error), so I don't use it very much, if any at all...

Until I play with it some more, & figure out what works & what doesn't with the Bogner, the SD-1 is tops here...
 
Tadpui said:
I think that the only thing I'm missing that I'd use a lot is a good and simple delay pedal. I'm just not sure how I'd incorporate it into an effects loop when I constantly switch between 4 different amps. That would get really complicated in a hurry.
Click to expand...

I have never had an issue running any delay into the front end of an amp. I don't think I've ever used an effects loop now that I think about it. How much delay time do you need? You could go with something super simple like the MXR carbon copy or check out the TC Electronics Flashback - a bit more complicated but a lot more versatile. The tone print function on the TC unit is pretty cool though, worth it IMO.
 
minerman said:
I've got a whopping 4 pedals in my arsenal....lol...3 - od's, & a vibe....I like the vibe, but of course, I can't use it on everything, although it does sound good to me for a $40 pedal (Danelectro)...

The Bogner Red I have is great, lots of different adjuments available to the sounds, but my favorite od pedal is the Boss Super Overdrive, it's just great for a clean boost into one of my Marshalls...

I have a JOYO Hot Plexi (another $40 pedal) that's meh...I just can't get it to sound smooth (probably user error), so I don't use it very much, if any at all...

Until I play with it some more, & figure out what works & what doesn't with the Bogner, the SD-1 is tops here...
Click to expand...
I was looking at that Bogner red but still haven't talked myself in to pulling the trigger on it...it's on my list of things to try out next time I see one in a shop though.

Outside of my fuzz pedals, love that kind of thick nasty distortion, my go-to OD pedal is a Fulltone OCD (mkIII). Sometimes I'll switch it out for an old school DOD FX50 from the early 80s; that little thing in front of a cranked combo gives the perfect amount of boost. Keep both of those OD pedals all knobs at 12 o'clock.
 
Greg_L said:
Tuner.
Click to expand...

Actually yeah, I do keep a Boss TU-3 on my board too. But I'm finding that I use the Snark a lot more often any more. And since I don't gig, I don't have to worry about looking like a dork when I forget to take it off of the headstock :)

BroKen_H said:
MXR Noise Gate/Line Driver. Only pedal I use.
Click to expand...

I used a Boss NS-2 for a long long time. The inputs/outputs on it finally got all crackly, but I did really like that thing. And it doubled as a power supply for other 9V pedals.

pikingrin said:
I have never had an issue running any delay into the front end of an amp. I don't think I've ever used an effects loop now that I think about it. How much delay time do you need? You could go with something super simple like the MXR carbon copy or check out the TC Electronics Flashback - a bit more complicated but a lot more versatile. The tone print function on the TC unit is pretty cool though, worth it IMO.
Click to expand...

I'd be willing to try it, just for the sake of hooking it up with just a couple of pedal coupler cables. That MXR has been a definite consideration for me, even some of the Boss digital delays. TC electronic looks to have some nice gear as well.

This reminds me that I also want a good fuzz pedal. I'm intrigued by them, and I've never owned one. I've listened to a few shootouts on YouTube, and I was actually considering that Hendrix one from Dunlop. I'll put that MXR fuzz on the list to check out as well. Too bad Dallas Arbiter ones are so hard to come by!
 
I have a TC Flashback delay. I run it in the loop on my amps that have a loop. It's unusable out front...unless I have to change some setting or something. I've never actually opened it up or looked at the manual. I just hook it up and and it mostly sits there unused. Works good in the loop though. It does a lot of stuff.
 
Greg_L said:
I have a TC Flashback delay. I run it in the loop on my amps that have a loop. It's unusable out front...unless I have to change some setting or something. I've never actually opened it up or looked at the manual. I just hook it up and and it mostly sits there unused. Works good in the loop though. It does a lot of stuff.
Click to expand...

I have a TC electronic G-Sharp. The only good thing on it is the delays, and I've had lots of fun fiddling with it. But it's just a pain to hook it up and get the input/output levels set correctly between it and the amp's FX loop. There is a button on it that basically tells it whether it's being used as an insert (in front of the amp) or as a send effect (FX loop). That Flashback might have something similar on it...whether you want to use it in series or parallel mode?
 
It's a tough one. My actual favorite is my DIY true-bypass feedback loop, but it doesn't really do anything on its own.

The most important pedal on my board is the Boss GigaDelay. I only ever use one of its many modes, but it does everything I need it to do. Since my booster died, it's the first in my chain. I cannot imagine why you would put it in an amp's effect loop. That always sounds cheesy to me, like some wanker in the eighties.

But then I'm really kinda proud of my Diseased Dire Rat, too. It is a very important part of getting usable results (ie horrible noise) from the feedback loop, but also is just a bad ass distortion when I need (want) it.
 
Tadpui said:
I have a TC electronic G-Sharp. The only good thing on it is the delays, and I've had lots of fun fiddling with it. But it's just a pain to hook it up and get the input/output levels set correctly between it and the amp's FX loop. There is a button on it that basically tells it whether it's being used as an insert (in front of the amp) or as a send effect (FX loop). That Flashback might have something similar on it...whether you want to use it in series or parallel mode?
Click to expand...

The G-sharp is a rack effect, isn't it? I'm not sure the Flashback has an insert/send function. It's just a stompbox. Maybe I should read the manual, but I'm happy enough just keeping it in the loop. It works great there. It's a good delay, I just don't hardly ever use it except for surfy stuff. It doesn't get any action with my usual raw style rock and roll sound.
 
When I was younger I used a shit load of effects. Now I prefer to plug straight into my amp and work the guitar volume control. I even removed the spring reverb tank from my amp. Life is too short for watered down tone.
 
I'm a bass player - any others care to comment? While tons of stage effects have come and gone over the years, the ones that seem to stay with me are Boss pedals I originally picked up in the 1970s: Chorus CE-2, Flanger BF-2, and Overdrive OD-2.
 
KLON Centaur. I wouldn't pay current Ebay prices for one, I got mine back when they were still in production.

It's one of those things you just set and forget and leave it on all the time. The new KTR version looks pretty good too, and if I wasn't saving for a new synth I would get one so I could use them both: one for clean boost and one for OD.
 
ocnor said:
When I was younger I used a shit load of effects. Now I prefer to plug straight into my amp and work the guitar volume control. I even removed the spring reverb tank from my amp. Life is too short for watered down tone.
Click to expand...

Amen. Even a punk rock hack like me appreciates a killer amp and a little guitar vol tweaking. Fuck dirt pedals. Time based effects are fine, but "distortion" pedals blow ass. A Les Paul into a cranked Plexi and nothing else but a twist of the guitar vol is a magical thing.
 
For me, as a bass player, some of the choices are based on generation, genre, and band characteristics. I've certainly used very different setups when playing classic rock, metal, or punk. I've used different set ups depending on whether a power trio, 2G/B/D, or whether a keyboard is added. Further, when factoring in technology, things change even more for me. There is a big difference between outboard gear I would use depending on the head and cabinets I am using on stage and how things are being run (or not) through a PA system.

So, in terms of my setup, playing in a hard rock power trio in an arena with 4 tube heads and 16 2×15 cabinets in the 1980s would be much different than playing a 250 person punk rock venue as a 4-piece with a 300 watt SVT In the late 1970s. These days, playing a small club with a 5-piece doing pop music, I would run staight into a 300/500W combo amp.

Anyway, just my 2 cents.
 
Last edited:
I have never been a big pedal guy. Especially when I played live. I think if I had to choose my favorite pedal right now it would be my boss blues driver that I modded with the "Brent something or another" mod. It's basically a signal boost so insane volume levels are not necessary to achieve tube amp distortion. You still need slot of volume but not the ear splitting volume that's needed without it. Before the mod it, like tube screamers and every other amp driver type pedal, sucked the bass and definition out of the tone. You adjust the amp for the pedal and the tone sucks when the pedal is switched off....you adjust the tone without the pedal and the tone sucks when the pedal is switched on.
After the mod it is unbelievably transparent. No noticeable difference in the tone when the pedal is engaged.
I've always played rhythm guitar with the guitar volume at half way and peg the volume knob wide open for lead.
I've never cared for the effect of playing rhythm without a pedal and switching on a pedal for lead gives.
I only use a pedal for the overall amount of tube saturation I want...I still play rhythm at half way volume and lead with the volume widen open. Either leaving the pedal off for the whole tune or on for the whole tune.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top