Effect Pedal Decision

[Tricalibur]

I recently came into a little bit o money for my Birthday and while its not quite enough for some BKP's it is enough for a couple choice stompboxes. I am currently lookin at the MSD PD-1 Paranoid Distortion and A BBE Sonic Stomp. The only problem Is that I havnt played either one. The only real reason that either intrest me as much as they do is because of reviews ive read, and I know from experience not to trust reviews. (least not all reviews).But just the fact that the PD-1 is designed to sound like Tony Iommi makes me wanna buy it no questions asked. And from what ive heard and read the sonic max is almost a neccesity for any rig to sound good. And then theres the fact that i could pretty much take my distorted sound w/ me any where I go (like if I were to go and jam at friends house or sumthin). But anyways I wanted to know what yall thought of my 'perdicament'. Any other pedals worth chekin out before I make a purchase?

[gingataff]

What is it about your tone that you don't like or feel is lacking? Stomp boxes are only good value if you use them! You could always put the money aside and save for the BKPs :)

[downrodeo]

Believe me. Invest in a very good amp, whether it be a 1x12 or 2x12 combo or head unit, you want your distortion from a tube amp with hair.  :twisted: Seriously though...distortion/overdrive pedals have their uses, but I am of the opinion (as well as many others) that they should not be supplying your 100% of your distorted tone. They should be used to push the amp. A sonic stomp on the other hand is excellent for SHAPING your distorted sound. It's not going to either make or break your clean tone, though. Great little pedal for the price, very sturdily built, and of course, SIMPLE TO USE!!! So, there's my two cents.

[Tricalibur]

Well theres a bunch of things I don realy like about my tone (pickups, amp, speakers in cab). But Id say thu main thing is just thu fact that my amp doesnt have tubes. And I agree, a tube amp would be a much better use of my money except I dont have a job, I cant drive yet and theres realy no good tube amplifier that you can get for under $800. Which is ENOURMOUSLY out of my price range right now. However, my overall plan is to buy this PD-1 dist and use it through the clean channel (Driven hard and loud of course) on my Trannie MG100 for when im practicing n stuff and then when I can get a job and be able to afford an old JCM800 Ill already have the distortion box I wanna drive it with. And the only problem with saving my money is that ive been saving for like  6 months now and all ive been able to muster up is like 300 bucks and to be honest im just sick an tired of waiting for my tone to get any better. I mean its gotten to thu point where its almost depressing to try and sit down an play for more than 30 mins a day cause I just always feel like my tone Is affecting my playing somehow. anyways, long reply i kno :], I guess im just tryin to start makin some progress on a musical perspective and tonewise. That and IM absoulutely OBSESSED with Tony Iommis 70's tone so im tryin to get as close to that as I can with the budget i have.

[Petre]

Im not too sure what to add to this convo, except that the sonic stomp sounds like a real nice addition to improve your tone, but may not warrent the gold pieces you put into it. Amp will ultimately improve your tone i think, and second place comes pickups/guitar. Of course these are pretty expensive and if your not keen on saving up the whole hog and getting one of these, a sonic stomp might be good for now, and will also make a nice improvement when you do upgrade ur amp and such. I always thought the sonic stomp was more of a tweaking pedal to make slight improvements but ive never tried one myself either so i could be brutally wrong  :oops: .

As for a distortion pedal im gonna urge you to go for it. In the short term, a distortion pedal will boost your distorted tone a mile if yor amp isn't giving the candy. I have a marshall 15 watt. I stuck a £60 Uber metal pedal infront of it and now i can get some real nice tones out of it. Loads of versatility too. Its great for tone on a budget in my opinion. a valve amp will always be the real dogs bollocks, but to fork out for a 50watt valve amp or something just for an improved distortion is a little of an overkill in my opinion.

Basically id go for the distortion pedal for sure, but think over on the sonic  stomp a little more. Im going to get one on a bit of a gamble myself (at some point in the future)

Just some thoughts, sorry if they are ill-presented  :lol:
Petre

[downrodeo]

I think the sonic stomp improves on any amp's tone, to tell you the truth...just in varying degrees, if you get my meaning. It's an excellent buy. I know this is a forum for guitar pickups and gear, but if you're not going to be getting pro-level gear, try to tolerate the stuff you have and just spend your time obsessing over your playing style and technique and not your tone. One day, (this happened to me too!) you'll be able to get what you've always wanted and the gear will inspire you. But now is the time to get your nose to that grindstone and start hammering out some tunes, some theory, and getting together with other musicians! Good luck man, sincerely.

[Tricalibur]

thanks for all thu kind words. Im still pretty undecided as to what Im gonna buy but in the mean time Im gonna try and concentrate more on my skills and thu natural tone that comes from my fingers. At least til I can afford all thu stuff I want. Anyways, Thanks for taking the time to give me advice.

[Fourth Feline]

I genuinely would save the cash until you can get better pickups. I have wasted so much cash in the past on pedals (now largely unused) because I was not satisfied that the tone of my rig was complimentry to the effect I was aiming for with endless practice and a certain amount of gigging.

Then I got the RIGHT pickups and now I play straight into the amp because anything else might (even slightly) 'disguise' my beautiful BKPs.

I feel this is especially true as Tim manufactures some damm hot pickups to satisfy your needs/style. Also an amp overdriven by the guitar's pickups sounds a lot nicer/more organic/ professional to my ears.

Just a thought ...     :D

I wish you all the best in your playing and future joy in your performing !

Regards,

Derek.

[deg0ey]

I largely agree with you Derek, however, I will say that a small usage of effects can add a nice touch. It sometimes makes a real difference to use a subtle chorus from my small clone, or a touch of delay...

Obviously it depends on the circumstances, but I like to have the ability to offer a change every now and then

[Fourth Feline]

Very valid point there Deg0ey,

I must confess that the Fenders seem to 'tempt' out a Barber Tonepress which with a telecaster can sometimes be accompanied by a hint of slapback echo or 'Holy Grail' reverb, (if using an amp without any built in).

I guess I have just got more and more romanced by the sound of the raw guitars and as a consequence started playing as 'clean' as I practice.

I think ( as a somewhat retro - style player ) I had disconnected the overdrive pedal/amp channel for so long, I didn't know quite what to do with it when I returned to it as a novelty.  

I perhaps should have been more specific/honest and said that I tend not to use the distortion anymore, not that I don't use anything anymore !  

The notable exception is playing something like 'Comfortably Numb' which definately benefits from chorus in the verse/bridge sections but really needs some hot overdrive for the solos. On the first solo a bit of compression doesn't go amiss either !    :D

As a general rule I just thought optimise the source / guitar THEN build from there.

Thanks for helping me clarify my thoughts on that topic.

Regards,

Derek.

[deg0ey]

Very true - My amp distortion is amazing as it is, and I therefore don't use distortion/overdrive effects anymore, as the amp does it already. The majority of the time it is guitar straight into the amp, but the echo and chorus are nice to add some variety :)

[JJretroTONEGOD]

Personally I think you should look into Keeley pedals before considering any other pedals at www.robertkeeley.com his Boss DS1 Ultra mod is the best 'hard rock' tone in a pedal I've ever heard. As for the sonic maximizer, stick with it it wont be a bad buy! at the same time though. If you dont own Bare Knuckles then get them before ANY effects, as the pickups are the engine of your guitar, but as has been said, it's all about your fingers and technique that'll make you the best player. Think of fx as a 'tool' thats a small part of the main ingredient, at least that's how I treat effects. we're all different tho!

[deg0ey]

Personally I think you should look into Keeley pedals before considering any other pedals at www.robertkeeley.com his Boss DS1 Ultra mod is the best 'hard rock' tone in a pedal I've ever heard

Many people appear to hold the same opinion, but a friend of mine bought one of late, and I wasn't at all impressed by it...

I'd rather (Mr TO will be proud of me) have an HBE Power Screamer, which would appear to be much better built :drink:

My opinion on Keeley's pedals is that it's harder to improve something that's not amazing (the DS1) and make it the same quality as something that is built well to start with...