Effects help on budget...

[finalfury1]

Ok guys. I'm purchasing a guitar and amp that I picked out tomorrow. I need to know what I need to get an effects set up. I have never done anything like this. Do i need a pedal board. I am looking into buying a EB volume pedal (for natural tube dist. and a tube screamer for more distortion. Maybe also a reverb. Post here what to buy in order for me to set this up painlessly... I have an epihpone jr half stack amp if that helps...

 

[suprstar]

What kind of music do you want to play? You could get a couple stompboxes, if you know exactly what you're trying to sound like and can get away with just one or 2 of em. Kinda limiting tho, so you might want a unit that does everything. There's a ton of models by a ton of companies. I have a Pod XT Live that I love, best sound I've had so far.. Got it off craigslist for $200. Boss, Digitech, Korg, make similar units in all price ranges. Go to musiciansfriend.com and see what different pedals in your price range can do. Also, your money will prolly go a lot farther on ebay. Figure out what you need, then look for the best deal.

 

[Mish]

You could get a couple stompboxes, if you know exactly what you're trying to sound like and can get away with just one or 2 of em.

Yep. To be honest the less effects you use, the easier it would be for you to master your own sound. Zakk Wylde only uses 3 stomp boxes (MXR chorus, his custom overdrive and EVH phaser, plus 2 wah's when he needs them) and he's got about one of the most unique/awesome guitar tone out there. If you know what kind of sound you're after, check http://guitargeek.com/ , it has loads of rig setups there by famous bands/artists (not anything post-2000 though, but nontheless).

If you don't know what sound you're after, get a multi-processor unit like Boss ME20 (http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/page/shop/flypage/product_id/28643) , it's gonna have dozens of stomp-box effects in there (half of which you'd never even need lol). Although if it was me I'd rather get a rack-mounted effects processor for that price like V-Amp Pro (http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/page/shop/flypage/product_id/3275)


BTW tubescreamer won't give you a distortion - it's a very soft overdrive. I read alot of reviews on musiciansfriend about this Ibanez pedal like "THIS IS SHIT!! IT DOESN'T MAKE ME SOUND LIKE A THUNDERSTORM!!" well genius it's because it's not meant to. If you need a distorted sound get MD2/MT2/DS2 or ML2 from Roland range.

 

[Paj]

If you're on a really tight budget, try a Digitech RP model, preferably one with a foot controller (pedal). More effects and options than anything else. I mainly use a POD XTL but I added an RP250 in front of it to get the acoustic sim, PU sims, whammy, and pitch-shifting that the POD just doesn't have. If you don't need the USB editing/recording capabilities, you can get an RP model for $100 or under. Not the creme-de-la-creme but versatile, usable and great bang-for-the-buck.

Paj
8^)

 

[Seeker of Rock]

I would say it depends on whether you want to go a "purist" route, or an easier route on what you do. I mostly record now, no more live shows for the time being, and I'm very sensitive about my effects chain, so I use vintage effects stompboxes, except for chorus....I prefer that from a good effects unit if and when I use it ever so slightly. If I were playing live professionally, I would probably go with an all-in-one box with lots of versatility. Live sound is still important, but with live sound there are so many other factors that color your tone that it wouldn't be worth it weighing the convenience that multi-effects boards offer. But I don't play live, so my vintage stompboxes and purity of tone, no matter how many loops I have to create, is worth it to me.

Is your Epiphone a tube amp?