Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: donovan.x on February 15, 2006, 10:43:21 AM

Title: Pedals? What's it all about?
Post by: donovan.x on February 15, 2006, 10:43:21 AM
I don't use pedals. The closest I have come is my V-Twin but I use that more as another channel. When I did use pedals I had a shitety Valvestate and everything just made it sound worse but yet I see these guys with really cool stand alone amps but yet tons of pedals aswell? I am not slating this at all ,it's just that I feel that I am missing out on something. Is there anyone here who can take me by the hand and make me understand? :(
Title: Pedals? What's it all about?
Post by: willo on February 15, 2006, 11:04:52 AM
more tonal options, more varieties, etc.

Some people like that, some people don't - I mean, a great picture is a great picture regardless of whether it's in black or white, or colour. And that's all these pedals are really, different colours.

Of course, some people use wah-wah excessively (for instance) to cover up bad playing, but that's another story. Not all players who have lots of pedals are bad players.

For what it's worth, I prefer my fuzz-tone for soloing than I do the distortion from my amp. :)
Title: Pedals? What's it all about?
Post by: Miskatonic on February 15, 2006, 11:27:15 AM
+1 For the avatar donovanx.  8)
Title: Pedals? What's it all about?
Post by: donovan.x on February 15, 2006, 11:36:26 AM
Quote from: Miskatonic
+1 For the avatar donovanx.  8)


Cheers dude. For me it's a constant battle between Lost Boys and Halloween 1 for all time best horror. :P  :twisted:
Title: Pedals? What's it all about?
Post by: Kilby on February 15, 2006, 11:44:27 AM
+1 for Lost Boys (+2 for Nosferatu though)

As for pedals, a lot of it is musical styles, if you are playing a lot of cover versions you can have a lot of ground to cover tonally, wether it's chorus, fuzz, differint overdrive / distortion tones.

If you are playing your own stuff you may not need anything other than reverb or a little delay (if even that).

Even on my pandora (I have no amp in London) it's a AC 30TB model, with a little compression and reverb and thats it.

If I'm arsing about sometimes a marshal model with a very long delay (two seconds plus) and just accompany myself.

Rob...
Title: Pedals? What's it all about?
Post by: Miskatonic on February 15, 2006, 12:20:36 PM
Quote
Cheers dude. For me it's a constant battle between Lost Boys and Halloween 1 for all time best horror.


I'm partial to Fright Night.  :twisted:
Title: Pedals? What's it all about?
Post by: tewboss on February 15, 2006, 12:57:48 PM
Distortion/Overdrive pedals can sound terrible with solid state amps. I must admit that I hated the sound I got with pedals with my valvestate until I got my JCM800. Pedals won't make a bad amp sound better (nothing against the Valvestate but a proper valve amp will sound much better). Also the cheaper pedals do not generally sound very good.

My personal favourites are my chorus and my phaser.
Title: Pedals? What's it all about?
Post by: carlaz on February 15, 2006, 02:16:18 PM
Quote from: willo
Of course, some people use wah-wah excessively (for instance) to cover up bad playing

Then again, I would use wah-wah excessively even if I wasn't a bad player! :)
Title: Pedals? What's it all about?
Post by: willo on February 15, 2006, 02:31:23 PM
Quote from: carlaz
Quote from: willo
Of course, some people use wah-wah excessively (for instance) to cover up bad playing

Then again, I would use wah-wah excessively even if I wasn't a bad player! :)


Interestingly, I used to use wah wah all the time (what does that say about me, ha!), I was stuck in a John Frusciante/Dave Navarro type thing. Anway, the battery recently went (and I'm on a strict battery-diet), so I've had to sacrifice it and really, even though I can run it again now, I'm choosing not to. I've even considered the unthinkable - dropping wah from the board!

And I'm not anti-FX either, my next purchase is probably going to be a Moog Ring Mod. Curious... :?  :D
Title: Pedals? What's it all about?
Post by: carlaz on February 15, 2006, 02:42:09 PM
OK, actually, come to think of it, I haven't used a lot of wah recently -- perhaps mostly because I've been playing by plugging straight into the laptop and am usually too lazy (or, as I prefer to think of it, pressed for time :)) to put any pedals in the chain.

Though I do love my wah.  I gotta save up the money to get Stuart Castledine from http://www.wah-wah.co.uk/ to fix up my vintage Thomas Organ Crybaby (which will kinda take away it's vintageness, but will make it an awesome wah), and then maybe mod my stock Dunlop JH-1.  (I've occasionally been tempted to save for a Teese Wizard Wah, but I've heard Castledine 's work is comparable -- and he's here in the UK :).)
Title: Pedals? What's it all about?
Post by: Muttley on February 15, 2006, 02:42:17 PM
Quote from: willo
Of course, some people use wah-wah excessively (for instance) to cover up bad playing, but that's another story.


Bugger, I've been found out.  :lol: ;)

Muttley
Title: Pedals? What's it all about?
Post by: Dakine on February 15, 2006, 02:51:52 PM
Muttley
could always blame the cat (avatar) LOL
Title: Pedals? What's it all about?
Post by: Kilby on February 15, 2006, 04:12:53 PM
Quote from: willo
And I'm not anti-FX either, my next purchase is probably going to be a Moog Ring Mod. Curious... :?  :D


Hmmm I really would like the moog phaser.

Hmmm what else, an old Binson Echorec and a nice univibe or rotary speaker.

Possibly I should buy a wah to hide behind ;)

Rob...
Title: Pedals? What's it all about?
Post by: willo on February 15, 2006, 04:43:15 PM
I wouldn't mind a few of these:

http://www.angelfire.com/yt3/redtele/redtelectronix.html

 :lol:
Title: Pedals? What's it all about?
Post by: Neemo on February 15, 2006, 04:50:00 PM
Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde is the only od/ds pedal I've ever owned that actually makes a bad amp sound better. Nowadays I'm using rack setup and prefer all the distortion coming from the preamp (yes, I play metal), so our rhythm guitarist uses it with his Ibanez Toneblaster and the amp's own distortion is horrible but J&H makes it sound so much better.
Title: Pedals? What's it all about?
Post by: _tom_ on February 15, 2006, 05:21:46 PM
Quote from: Neemo
Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde is the only od/ds pedal I've ever owned that actually makes a bad amp sound better. Nowadays I'm using rack setup and prefer all the distortion coming from the preamp (yes, I play metal), so our rhythm guitarist uses it with his Ibanez Toneblaster and the amp's own distortion is horrible but J&H makes it sound so much better.


I as interested in a J&H ages ago, are they really that good? I know The Strokes use em through the same amp as me and seem to get some pretty good tones, but I've heard of people (including TO) hating them and say they sound cardboardy whatever that means  :P The newer red one looks pretty cool with its bass boost and some other switch.
Title: Pedals? What's it all about?
Post by: Bainzy on February 15, 2006, 05:26:44 PM
I like using modulation pedals with my plexi, but not overdrive/distortion - you can't beat the natural sound of this amp on 10  :twisted:
Title: Pedals? What's it all about?
Post by: Neemo on February 15, 2006, 05:27:13 PM
Quote from: _tom_
Quote from: Neemo
Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde is the only od/ds pedal I've ever owned that actually makes a bad amp sound better. Nowadays I'm using rack setup and prefer all the distortion coming from the preamp (yes, I play metal), so our rhythm guitarist uses it with his Ibanez Toneblaster and the amp's own distortion is horrible but J&H makes it sound so much better.


I as interested in a J&H ages ago, are they really that good? I know The Strokes use em through the same amp as me and seem to get some pretty good tones, but I've heard of people (including TO) hating them and say they sound cardboardy whatever that means  :P


Well, considering you get an OD *and* a DS in the same box, It's very versatile. I went through numerous so-called 'boutique' pedals but they just sounded all the same, now J&H really brought some beef to my marshall with the jekyll side, drive set to 0. For really high gain stuff, hyde covers in spades. It was very refreshing to find many actually usable sounds in one box, highly recommended on my account.
Title: Pedals? What's it all about?
Post by: donovan.x on February 15, 2006, 05:35:54 PM
What does a distortion pedal actually do to the amp to make it so much better?
Title: Pedals? What's it all about?
Post by: Ratrod on February 15, 2006, 07:00:37 PM
I've tried many overdrive and distortion pedals, mostly Boss pedals. None of them can match my trusty H&K Tube Factor.
Title: Pedals? What's it all about?
Post by: _tom_ on February 15, 2006, 07:39:29 PM
Did you get to try that HBE Power Screamer yet Ratrod? If so hows it sound? I'm on the lookout for another distortion/overdrive unit AGAIN  :lol: Tubefactor seems the best bet so far though
Title: Pedals? What's it all about?
Post by: Muttley on February 15, 2006, 08:04:51 PM
Quote from: donovanx
What does a distortion pedal actually do to the amp to make it so much better?


I've only ever used distortion pedals when my main amp was so cr@p I couldn't get a decent sound out of it any other way.  So I was actually using the pedal as a preamp and the amp just to make it loud.

Muttley
Title: Pedals? What's it all about?
Post by: Ratrod on February 15, 2006, 08:10:29 PM
Quote from: _tom_
Did you get to try that HBE Power Screamer yet Ratrod? If so hows it sound? I'm on the lookout for another distortion/overdrive unit AGAIN  :lol: Tubefactor seems the best bet so far though


The damn thing is still on backorder. But I'm in no hurry.
Title: Pedals? What's it all about?
Post by: Twinfan on February 15, 2006, 08:50:43 PM
I was totally against pedals for a long time.  All I had was a CryBaby Wah for those Hendrix moments  :D

I now have:

One of many guitars => CryBaby Wah => Maxon OD-9 Tubescreamer => MXR EVH Phaser => Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man => Marshall JTM 60 4x12

I also have a Danelectro Fish N Chips EQ in the effects loop.  This is on all the time to get "my sound".

The Tubescreamer is used for solos, sometimes with the Phaser too for a thicker sound.

The Memory Man is used for clean arpeggio-type runs/chords.

The Wah is used very occasionally, but as it gives a slight treble cut when off I keep it there permanently.

With effects you either go two ways:

1)  Have a very distinctive effect based sound, using extremes.  Eg The Edge and his delay sound, some Brian May harmonised parts.

2)  Use several effects sparingly for different types of sound (like I do).
Title: Pedals? What's it all about?
Post by: carlaz on February 16, 2006, 10:52:58 AM
Back when I played a guitar out with bands and stuff regularly (um, 6 to 10 years ago!) I used a big spread of pedals -- mostly 'cause I'm enamoured of far-out spacey sounds, but I'm sure it helped hide my cr@ppy technique. :)

I make more use of straight-up overdriven amp(model) sounds now when doing my own demos (but this is also related to cr@ppy technique, since I can most successfully make myself sound competant by slamming out 2-finger power chords, and they don't sound so good with 500 FX shimmering around on top of them ;)).

Still, I gotta have access to the wah, and I like my old Boss analogue delay (not so much as a normal delay, but you can make the most fantastic/horrendous Dr. Who noises by leaping on it and wrenching the knobs around manically!  I also gotta reach for the old Boss flanger on occasion, for those "jet engine on acid" sounds (leads or sometimes chords, in the manner of Monster Magnet's "Negasonic Teenage Warhead").

I guess these days I go back and forth a bit more between the two poles of either "pretty much guitar+amp" and "insane effect-drenched madness" without a lot of time in between!