Starter pedals?

I have a boss blues driver overdrive pedal that I love. I did some kind of mod on it that I got from a guitar electronics geek website. I have to admit that it sounded much better after the mod. I like tube screamers too. The bass player in my band, in New Orleans mid 1980s, had one and I used it with a fender Super Reverb amp. Phenominal tone and sustain IMO.
 
Greg_L said:
Lol. No they aren't. One is a mess of fuzzy clipped noise (The Rat) the other is a nice overdrive (Tube Screamer).
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"Up until the point where they clip..." the frequency response is pretty similar. The Rat has a lot more gain on tap, and the tone control circuits are a bit different, so you can't exactly just turn the knobs to the same point and have them sound the same, but if you're not actually using it for overdrive... Not that I expect to convince anybody.
I'm with ya though on not using any of them very often. I let the guitar and amp just be what they are. I've gotten pretty keen on using the guitar's vol knob.
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I don't even bother with that. If I want it to clean up, I don't hit the damn thing so hard.
 
JDOD said:
There's not a great deal of point in buying a shit load of cheap overdrive/distortion pedals to run them into a shit amp. Agreed

Something like this:
https://new.andertons.co.uk/p/2261006000/guitar-amp-heads/fender-bassbreaker-007-guitar-amp-head

What's your Bugera cab like? What speakers are in it?
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I ran across a BassBreaker on C/L. They wanted near retail price. But it caught my eye.
The Bugera 212V-BK cab is a 2x12, with their version of Vintage 30s. The model number for the speaker(s) is 12G70J8.
Dale
 
ashcat_lt said:
Not that I expect to convince anybody.
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Lol. You're sure not convincing me. I have a Rat and a Tube Screamer and ears that work. My Rat has the LM308 "holy grail" chip in it. That still doesn't make it not suck. :laughings:

Not that I live and die by the Tube Screamer either.

I used to like The Rat though when I was more into being noisy and harsh....back when I was like 15.
 
The Rat is only one of the two pedals I have owned that ended up being sailed across the room.
The other was a big muff.
Don't like either.

I do have a relatively inexpensive pedal I like. It's a Tone Bakery 'creme bulee', a Klon clone.
But for a hundred bucks, having compared it with the real deal, pretty damn good.

However, all that being said, I mostly run my amps hot and keep the guitar volume around halfway. When I want the grit, it's at my fingertips. No stepping on anything. I've yet to have found a OD/ distortion pedal that does it better than a good amp can.

But, pedals do have their uses.
 
I think the question really needs two options; Live use or recording. At one point I had all kinds of pedals in my live rig but I started using Vox Valvetronix (1st series) amps and just used the onboard effects and amp modelling. I kept a Crybaby and talkbox in the rig and ditched everything else. In a cover band you need that sort of versatility.

For recording you choose yer weapon(s) based on the tone you're looking for and record with it/them "on". Off/on switching capability is not all that necessary nor is a whole bunch of 'em on a board all daisy-chained.
 
Sky Blue Lou said:
I think the question really needs two options; Live use or recording. At one point I had all kinds of pedals in my live rig but I started using Vox Valvetronix (1st series) amps and just used the onboard effects and amp modelling. I kept a Crybaby and talkbox in the rig and ditched everything else. In a cover band you need that sort of versatility.

For recording you choose yer weapon(s) based on the tone you're looking for and record with it/them "on". Off/on switching capability is not all that necessary nor is a whole bunch of 'em on a board all daisy-chained.
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Thats a good point. Not to speak for the op, I'll just give my own experiences.
Live; I've never been in a dedicated cover band. Just thrown some covers in from time to time as crowd pleasers. No pedals except for a wah. I can see for cover tunes using different guitar sounds, a versatile pedal board would be important, but for me, pedals on a stage aren't needed and are actually a pain in the ass. :D
In the studio;
Thats a different beast. I use pedals as I would outboard gear. Either as an insert or on seperate channels. I'll use outboard gear as well.
 
I have a Vox Ice 9 which I must spend more time with, a Crybaby, I'm hinting that I wouldn't be averse to getting an EH Mel9 for my birthday, which is not really a guitar pedal, is it... and I'm considering getting a Strymon DIG just because I like fucking around with delay pedals, but before I go that route I'll get the Boss GT10 that I used to use live out of mothballs and see what I can do with the delay in that.... but's it's not pink, so that's a downer.

Had a Boss delay of some sort in the 80s and various Boss and Ibanez pedals - chorus, flanger, compressor, distortion at that time as well. Gave them all away.
 
I find myself using my pedals live more than in the studio. Not because I need them, nor do I really even want to, but more because I'm one of two guitar players in this band. One of my biggest pet peeves in two guitar player bands is when both guys just monkey each other and play the same damn thing. Sometimes it's fine, but when there can be a little something extra, I'll do that because the other guy is kind of basic. I'll play a different inversion of a chord or in a different position, or I'll add little bits of wah or flanger or something here and there just to set the two guitar parts apart better. I think it adds bigness. Plus, it's self-entertaining. Gives me something to do. And people respond. Even a basic retard lead player like me through good use of a wah impresses the crowd.

In the studio I'm more raw and basic. Most tracks, most songs, have no effects at all.
 
Greg_L said:
I find myself using my pedals live more than in the studio. Not because I need them, nor do I really even want to, but more because I'm one of two guitar players in this band. One of my biggest pet peeves in two guitar player bands is when both guys just monkey each other and play the same damn thing. Sometimes it's fine, but when there can be a little something extra, I'll do that because the other guy is kind of basic. I'll play a different inversion of a chord or in a different position, or I'll add little bits of wah or flanger or something here and there just to set the two guitar parts apart better. I think it adds bigness. Plus, it's self-entertaining. Gives me something to do. And people respond. Even a basic retard lead player like me through good use of a wah impresses the crowd.

In the studio I'm more raw and basic. Most tracks, most songs, have no effects at all.
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I imagine you do mean guitar face when you're treadling the wah wah... :D
 
Appreciate the thread! Started life as a keyboard player (used chorus, phase and flange from time to time, and lots of echo/delay). Went to bass/keys for a while, but never got into bass effects, just raw. Only pedal I've ever bought for my bass was the MXR noise gate/line driver (which I still own), although I love Tai Anderson's use of flange (Third Day).
BUT
I have absolutely zero guitar pedals. So this is really helpful. Thanks Dave!
BTW, if I could ask a sub-question, my brother always says I should get a Dunlop CryBaby, then modify it with a different pot so the tonal transitions are smoother. I have the part number written down here somewhere...any opinions on good wah pedals besides?
 
BroKen_H said:
any opinions on good wah pedals besides?
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Dunlop Crybaby. They're as smooth as you can operate them. Don't mod a wah just because you can't work your foot.

But...if you just have to tinker with sweep and range, get the Crybaby 535Q. It's adjustable. You won't have to mod it.
 
BroKen_H said:
:thumbs up:
Never played with one!
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You can probably pick up a GCB95 really cheap 2nd hand - just get used to using one. You probably won't want to mod it.

There's only about 1/2 dozen bits inside a wah-wah. They're very easy to work on if you just have to do some tinkering.
 
I have a Dunlop Jimi Hendrix JH-1 Wah. Have had since the late 80s. It's bog standard, simple and effective. Wahs can get squeaky and need cleaning but that's not a big issue.
They are like pianos - simple to use and I could get a decent noise from it straight away but that simplicity requires time to adjust to and, because it requires foot action, some time to get the muscles moving right. I don't use it for lead much because I've only managed to get away with two solos in about 30 songs but I do use it in rhythm tracks - not whacka whacka **** film funk though. Here's a track with the wah running along underneath.MP3 Player SoundClick
 
Dale, you might like this YouTube channel to get some ideas:

"That Pedal Show"
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnUXq8mGmoHt0e6ItuTs10w

They don't fuck about as much as Chappers and The Captain and generally take the time to do pretty comprehensive reviews and explanations of how things work.
There's an interesting TubeScreamer comparison on there that I was watching with breakfast this morning... although I really want a TubrScreamer now - like I need another drive pedal!
 
Folks,
It appears this thread has run its course. Before it is put to bed, I wanted to thank you all for the input and discussion. I sincerely appreciate all who contributed your wealth of experience! You all made me smarter.

JDOD- thanks for the link to the "Pedal Show"... However, I have to really listen intently. At first, their accents were a little difficult for this old Texan, but I am getting used to them. You would probably say the same for some of our East Texas accents and West Texas accents. Mine is not as thick as theirs can be, unless I have a few too many adult beverages. :drunk:

Thank y'all again.
Dale
 
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