Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: moominking13 on October 04, 2007, 09:39:48 PM
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ive never really considered using pedals until now, sincei am starting to gig more and need them for convenience at gigs and obviously for the sounds.
i am just wondering as to which pedal is more important to begin with, distortion or delay? its either a jekyll and hyde overdrive or a boss dd-20.
which pedal will be more benefitial to begin with?
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well there's quite a difference between distortion and delay... it depends on what you want i guess.
If you want both though your amp already has pretty decent distortion that you like then it's probably wise to go for a delay...?
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i guess what i mean is if im going to eventually build up a pedalboard what is a good pedal to have first, im guessin that once you have a decent distortion then you should think about getting modulation effects etc. sound about right?
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Whatever you have the most fun with is the pedal you should get first. 8) There aren't any rules or guidelines that you're required to follow when purchasing them. Only when you set them up. :wink:
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First, you need a basic tone that you like. If you haven't got that yet, then spend money on a new dirt box or a new amp to try and get it.
If you're reasonably happy with your base tone, then I'd say a delay is the next thing to get - and a DD-20 is a superb delay, which will do all you want from it.
To be honest, only you can decide what pedal is needed the most, as only you know what sounds you need for your own particular use.
Personally, I need at least a clean (or almost clean), a low gain crunch, a higher gain crunch and a boosted lead tone. You may not need all those shades of dirt. Whatever you buy, make sure you have all the basic shades of distortion you need before getting anything else. Remember you can get a lot of different shades of tone by using your volume knob !
After that, I would advise getting a delay, then getting a modulation pedal of some sort (whaever tickles your fancy).
ALan
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What kind of amp do you have?
What kind of tone are you aiming for?
I personally have zero use for a delay pedal - owned a few and they always sit there doing nowt.
A Wah is much more useful imo, so is a Compressor - you can set it up to compress nice and clean or whack up the levels and use it to boost the hell out of your amp. I've got a Line6 Compressor that gives a fairly hefty gain boost to my Marshall Superbass.
:twisted:
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Wah.
Delay.
Some sort of modulation or chorus.
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I was thinking about this too recently.
Really want to get my hands on a Morley Bad Horsie and a Electro Harmonix Small Stone just for adding some texture to my playing when I want it.
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I second the boost/wah idea, if you play two channels on your amp you could do with only a volume pedal like the ernie ball i had with me when gigging.
For a booster i have used Boss stompboxes like the OD-1, SD-1 and CS3. Just set it to soloing setting and yr rdy. Use The wah/volume for personal expression or (which does happen) when the pa man is sound asleep an you need to wake him up! :lol:
Then there is the reverb/delay/chorus/flanger type of effect you can add. If you go with a delay make sure you can tap the tempo into it (or however you say that), unless your band uses a metronome but probably while playing gigs youll use a different tempo then you use at home. A bit of reverb and a very subtle chorus once in a while is all i ever thought necessary though.
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All this has gone to show that the effects and tones that you'll need are really dependant on what style of music you want to play.
Moominking13, give us a clue as to what sort of stlye or what bands you will be wanting to emulate. We also need to know your current guitar/amp/pedal situation.
Alan
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Another "effect" to take into account is the "venue effect" in other words, the place in which you are gigging. This is why it is important to get the core tone right before thinking about pedals and even then, your rig can sound different from one venue to the next and you may be part way into the gig before you tweak things to the way you like them. But Hamfist made a very important point about getting the basic sound right. I might be stating the obvious but in case I am not, I say it anyway.
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Obviously you need to soundcheck your gear prior to playing, however if this isnt possible an overconvident best guess setting combined with the appropriate adrenaline rush can work wonders :lol: 8)
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i share almost the same view as everyone else. so maybe just to add a touch of extra weight.
you dont necessarily need any pedals at all, except maybe a tuner, depends how you want to sound. pedals are really something which depends strongly on personal taste. some people like things raw and minimal.
having said that, if you want to experiment a bit and get some inspiration, or just treat yourself, it might be a good idea indeed to get something.
if your not happy with your basic tone, then booster/overdrive/distortion would be an obvious choice.
if you are happy with the basic tone, then you can hardly go wrong with adding a wah-wah to your collection. so many classic tracks use it, and its fun to play around with one. having said that - i hardly use mine for anything serious and should probably get rid of it.
my own personal set up is this:
if i use my amp i take a tuner pedal and a modified Boss EQ (incredibly happy with this rig, the only thing i might do is get a more boutique EQ if one becomes available) occasionally i'll use a tube screamer or an sd-1 or my MI crunch box for fun.
if i need to go DI into a desk I use a tuner, modified boss compressor, and a sans amp gt2 (this sounds decent enough, but i'm always thinking of changing stuff with it - just not as gutsy and primeval than the marshall)
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well i play most rock/alternative kinda stuff so im after a good distortion and i will get around to getting a delay, just not sure whter to get it before anything else.
im soon gonna be getting a laney gh50l head with a 2x12 cab not sure what yet though. does that help at all?
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well i play most rock/alternative kinda stuff so im after a good distortion and i will get around to getting a delay, just not sure whter to get it before anything else.
im soon gonna be getting a laney gh50l head with a 2x12 cab not sure what yet though. does that help at all?
Do you have any pedals at all, at the moment ? I'm assuming not.
Well, the GH50 is basically a single channel amp, with 2 levels of gain available (switchable between with a footswitch). If you want a clean tone at all, without using your volume knob (I know a lot of folks (including me) hate doing it with the vol knob) then your base tone of the GH50 will have to be the clean tone. Then you would only have one flavour and level of distortion available (with the footswitchable gain boost), using the amp alone.
Personally, I would then want more levels and flavours of distortion before I got any other effects. So, therefore, I would suggest getting an OD/distortion box (or two), to go with the amp, before thinking about delay and modulation.
Both of the VIsual Sound dirt boxes have two channels, and are both good pedals. You could do a lot worse than getting one of them.
However, please check out the Blackstar HTdist and HTdual, before you buy anything. These two Blackstar pedals are in a class of their own, in their pricerange, IMHO.
I have loads of soundclips if anyone's interested.
Alan
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im interested in sound clips for the HT dist, ive heard nothing but good things about those blackstar pedals.
also how much are they?
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Think they are £90 - £100
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you dont necessarily need any pedals at all, except maybe a tuner
What's wrong with a tuning fork???
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If you're getting a GH50L soon then you won't need an overdrive pedal - the amp has more than enough gain for anything upto BLS type tones.
If you want to run it clean and get your overdriven tone with a pedal I'd simply advise you to get a different amp - this amp is designed as a simple, no-frills rock machine.
:twisted:
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i was kinda questioning the idea of a dist. pedal with a high gain amp!
any other reccommendations for the same prcie range? im stumped :?
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i was kinda questioning the idea of a dist. pedal with a high gain amp!
any other reccommendations for the same prcie range? im stumped :?
Many, many folks run dist/OD pedals with all sorts of amps, whether high or low gain. You can get a lot more flexibility that way.
Also, are you aware of the volume level you need to play something like a GH50 at, before it will start to sound really good ?
One benefit of keeping your base amp tone pretty clean and getting dist from pedals is that it generally sounds pretty good at any volume.
You really need to think about what levels of drive you are going to need. If all you play is fairly full on distortion, then using the drive from a single channel highish gain amp (like the GH50L) will do you fine. If you enjoy different flavours and levels of distortions then a clean amp tone with pedals will suit you very well.
But remember - there are several ways to get great tone. Anyone who tells you otherwise is, unfortunately, wrong.
The problem for the relatively inexperienced is that there are so many choices out there, it is difficult to know where to start sometimes.
For a relatively low-budget clean amp/pedals rig, the Fender HOt rod series of amps are quite popular. ALthough any amp that can give a nice clean tone, up to a good volume without breaking up too much would probably be fine. Even the GH50L may be able to do it. I've not played one, but I have heard that it has a nice clean tone.
OK moominking, what is your budget for amp (+pedals). I'm sure a load of us would love to give you some suggestions.
You said earlier about geting a GH50L and a 2x12 cab. New, thats going to run to £600. For that money, I'd seriously look at a Fender Hot rod deluxe or Blues Deluxe (IMO, the blues deluxe is better), plus some pedals. The Blackstars are great. Also consider an MI Audio crunch box (high gain pedal) and a Marshall guvnor pedal for low-mid gain more vintagy sounding OD. You would then have a killer clean tone, some great drive tones and it would be way more flexible than the Laney rig.
it seems for the moment that you need to keep your options open, as you are a reasonably inexperienced guitarist and still searching for your tone.
If you are not keen on a clean amp plus pedals rig, then also consider the Peavey Classic 30 or 50 amps. These are great budget tube amps, and pretty well made. The 30 has a good tone and plenty of drive itself, and could also take pedals well. It may not be loud enough, however, if you play really loud with a very loud drummer.
The Marshall DSL50 is also a good lower budget amp. Two channels and pretty flexible in terms of being able to do modern and old-school type sounds. they have been out of production for a few months while Marshall sort out regulation compliance issues but are due out again in Nov.
Have you played a Vox AC30. They have a certain vibe you may love, although need to be played LOUD, to get the best out of their drive. They also take pedals awesomely. Can get LOUD as hell.
There you go, just a few ideas for the weekend !
Alan
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well its my birthday in a month or so so my budget would probaly be like 400 quid. thanks for all those ideas!
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well its my birthday in a month or so so my budget would probaly be like 400 quid. thanks for all those ideas!
Right, that put's it all in perspective.
The Laney VC & LC30's are pretty good amps in that price range. You would be able to afford a pedal as well.
The Peavey Valve King is also very useable.
It embarrasses me to suggest it (being the tone snob that I am) but you could have a look at the Line6 Flextone III combos. I've heard they are pretty good, for what they are.
Or there's the "used" route. You can get bargains, but you can also buy "dogs". It's up to you, if you want to take the risk. I guess a lot depends on if you have any friends who are able to troubleshoot problems and mend amps, if need be.
Basically, when buying amps, I would suggest trying everything you can get your hands on. Most, you will dislike. Some, you will bond with. Just remember that most tube amps need to be played at a good volume to get the best out of them. If you do buy an amp, if at all possible try and get it on approval. Amp's always seem to sound different in a shop compared to when I get them home, or use them in a band rehearsal.
THere are loads of retailers you can buy amps from online, who offer a "no questions asked" 7 days return policy. I recommend that you use them if you aim to buy new.
Unfortunately, many folks end up spend a lot of money going through a lot of gear until they find their "sound". If you don't want to go that route, I strongly suggest you stop reading internet guitar forums !!!!!
Good luck bud.
Alan
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Basically, when buying amps, I would suggest trying everything you can get your hands on.
Good advice there dude - I spent a whole afternoon in Denmark St. playing lots of varities of amps in various shops, went home, and got and got the amp I liked about £500 cheaper second hand on ebay. (amp head is around £1000 new - sod that!)
On the pedal side of things, I found there is no need to buy pedals just for the sake of buying pedals, but I guess it's subjective to the user - some guitarists have LOADS of pedals, some have none. Personally I prefer the later, or maybe a wah/boost thrown in depending on which rig i'm using/venue.
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you dont necessarily need any pedals at all, except maybe a tuner
What's wrong with a tuning fork???
cool at home i guess... but imagine you're in a noisy club, about to play your set. your guitar has gone slightly out of tune due to the heat/moisture. you dont want to be finding a quiet place to use a tuning fork ;)