Guitar guys, what effects pedal to get?

[Nathans_Dad]

Guys,

I got a gift certificate to amazon from my dad for Christmas. It is for $75.

Originally I was thinking of putting it towards another guitar, but I went to guitar center today and played some and really didn't see anything that I liked. I have a Fender Strat HSS that I really am beginning to love and a Fender American Standard Telecaster that is really growing on my as well. At this point I feel like I would be better served continuing to play those two guitars and getting better rather than buying another guitar. Plus, I was looking at semi-hollow body guitars and the only thing in my price range is Epiphone and I wasn't impressed with those.

So, now I am faced with what to do with my $75. I am thinking of getting some sort of effects pedal or maybe a better amp. I currently use a VOX Valvetronix AD30VT amp. This is a nice little amp that does amp modeling (about 8-10 different amps I think) and has some preset effects on the amp as well. You can do chorus, delay, reverb, wah wah and a few combinations of the above.

I like the amp and am not really looking to replace it right now, I think it is more than enough for what I can do at this point.

So, if you were going to buy your first effects pedal to combine with the above amp, which would you choose and why? Is there any other gear that would be near my price range that would be good? Thanks.

[Hebrewhomeboy]

I used to have the same amp, I enjoyed it. I recently upgraded to a Randall all tube amp, their newer ones where you can use different preamp 'modules' to get different sounds. Incredible sounding amp.

As for effects, the only one I really use often is an ibanez tube king, an all tube preamp/distortion pedal, that I run through my little blackheart mini stack. It's also a nice sounding pedal.

A first effects pedal? Hmm, a wah pedal is lots of fun, although for me their novelty wore off kinda quickly. Most of my use of pedals in the past has been to tweak the sound of my amp, in ways that really don't apply or aren't needed with your vox, so I'm afraid I can't recommend a good pedal... Have you considered maybe using that $75 for something for your guitar? Maybe replace your bridge pickup with a Seymour Duncan JB or something along those lines.

[nostatic]

If you like wah, then buy a wah. The amp modeled ones suck, and to really play wah you need to use your foot. But you have to like the sound and be into players who use it well (Hendrix, Clapton, etc).

[Gogar]

+1 I "guess" if you really want to buy a pedal (which is great!) buy something timeless, like a Dunlop CryBaby, as already mentioned. Don't get distracted when buying pedals. If you want to buy a distortion pedal, maybe an Ibanez TS-9 tube screamer, or a Boss Blues Driver (the blue one). Its easy to want to get all crazy when you get a pedal but don't fall for it- get something classic.

[island_dude]

The other extreme is to get something like a boss gt-8 or a line-6 pod X3. There are a couple of other mega pedal systems. I can't vouch that the models behave and sound like their classic counterparts, but you can do some really awesome stuff. To me unless you want something very specific, these systems give all the flexibility you could ever want. I love my pod XT live.

[Nathans_Dad]

Hrm, well the pickup idea is an interesting one, I had been kicking around the idea of replacing the humbucker on the strat...

Any thoughts on a good humbucker to look at? I've heard good things about Dimarzio pickups but I don't have any experience in pickups.

[rouxroux]

Originally Posted by Gogar

+1 I "guess" if you really want to buy a pedal (which is great!) buy something timeless, like a Dunlop CryBaby, Its easy to want to get all crazy when you get a pedal but don't fall for it- get something classic.

Hehe....youngster....yes, the Dunlop is a timeless design, but let's give Vox their proper due...If you can find an ORIGINAL....now THAT's classic!

[ramonesfreak]

i like the vox wah better than the dunlop... thinking back, i think the dunlop was my first pedal. still keep one on my board

for 2x $75, you can get the MXR carbon copy analog delay.. i keep 3 delays on my board a boss DD3, Boss DD6 and the carbon copy. delays keep playing solo fun, so, ide get a delay

http://www.amazon.com/M169-Carbon-Analog-Delay-Pedal/dp/B0016ZZKJO

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by Nathans_Dad

Hrm, well the pickup idea is an interesting one, I had been kicking around the idea of replacing the humbucker on the strat...

Any thoughts on a good humbucker to look at? I've heard good things about Dimarzio pickups but I don't have any experience in pickups.

If you opt for pickups keep it in the family and speak to Wolf Mcleod.

I've heard his stuff is pretty good.

[deathpunk dan]

Gogar nailed it. A Tube Screamer is a must, especially if you decide to get something like a small (5 or 15w) class A tube amp down the road. Avoid the cheesy new versions, you want the true 808 tube screamer or at least their re-issue of it. There's some awful TS7 or something with a switch in it that is really half-assed.

The Boss Blues Driver is also fantastic. I used to use that with an epiphone sheraton (cross between an epi casino and an es 335) and a beat up 81 twin reverb in my 1st band and it was a pretty potent combination.

And of course, the Dunlop crybaby wah is pretty essential/de rigeur.

In fact, the 3 pedals above are the only pedals I own outside of a Boss EQ I use for solos and a Boss stage tuner.

Consider Lindy Fralin pickups. They are the bees knees, as the kids say. A more econo but highly effective approach for humbuckers would seymour duncan stuff. I have SDs in a rare 1980 Burny Super Grade (japanese market '59 les paul clone) and it sounds better than many, many 'genuine' les pauls.

[Les Paul]

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/document?doc_id=88877#EFFECTS

If I recall many of those have reviews. I'd go for a small tube amp if I were you. And make sure where ever you practice you can crank the amp up. They were made to be driven and the ride is kind of like the sound of you 911. Sounds good at 3 better at 4 etc. Only with a tube amp you can turn it to 10 and use the volume control to see what some sweet distortion is all about.

[ramonesfreak]

i think its a bit silly to be swapping out pickups at this point. until you have several amps to hear your stock pickups at various volumes, in various settings, through various pedals...its like shooting in the dark and a waste of your money. first use what you have for a while until you are very convinced that the stock pickup is sub-par - then experiment with pickups

[ramonesfreak]

for sub-$100 price range, look at BBE pedals
the green screamer is great -sounds like the Tube Screamer (hence, the name). i got one when they first came out and i use it alot. on my board is also an MXR+, a RAT and a Big Muff and I use the green screamer the most for distorted tones...wonderful for rhythm too. Does blues overdriven sounds great and very nice for an authentic 60's sound - i.e. Yardbirds & the Kinks. Does punkrock great too


http://www.bbesound.com/products/stomp_boxes/GreenScreamer/index.asp

http://www.bbesound.com/products/stomp_boxes/index.asp

[ramonesfreak]

lastly, go to youtube and search pedal demos. there are a million of them, some great

[nostatic]

I've never been into the big pedal board thing, but that's a personal bias. When I was playing electric (guitar) a lot, my pedal setup was pretty stable - Vox crybaby (I still have it), Boss CE-2 Chorus, and depending on the amp, some sort of stomp box. I had an old cursive handwriting MXR Distortion+, Rat, and some other things. I always had tube amps so I didn't feel the need for a Tube Screamer. I also had an original Electro Harmonix Memory Man and Small Stone (this was back int he 70's). And if you go way back, I had an Echoplex.

I still have a couple of pedals - the Vox, a Fulltone Bass Driver (which I can use for guitar), Voodoo Labs Chorus, and Keely Compressor (for bass). I like Fulltone and VooDoo stuff, but I'm more of a proponent of a good guitar and good amp and letting your fingers do the talking. An amp with good "bounce" is the place to start. That means modeling is out imho. Same thing for modeling pedals...yes, you can sound sorta like something, but you'll never be able to work the amp as an instrument. It will be 2D. It is quicker gratification though.

It depends on the sound you're going for, but any variety of either old tube amps or newer boutique ones ($$$) can be amazing, but frustrating because they are in fact another instrument that you have to learn to plan.

[Gogar]

Originally Posted by Les Paul

If I recall many of those have reviews. I'd go for a small tube amp if I were you. And make sure where ever you practice you can crank the amp up. They were made to be driven and the ride is kind of like the sound of you 911. Sounds good at 3 better at 4 etc. Only with a tube amp you can turn it to 10 and use the volume control to see what some sweet distortion is all about.

Nathan's Dad, if you would consider getting a tube amp of some kind, Les Paul is right on the money here, too. Really great amps usually follow the "Less is more" philosophy, and if you could throw down maybe $3-400 lose that ValveTronix and get maybe a Fender Pro Junior or a Blues Junior 15w all tube amp. Your guitars will INSTANTLY sound much much better.

That VOX valvetronix is ok stuff, but doing things like changing pickups while running through an amp like that is like talking about the difference between 964 and 20/21 cam profiles while you're running a Sebring muffler.

Have fun!

[Nathans_Dad]

Aw, see now you guys are getting me into trouble! I'm not sure I can talk the wife into a new amp, although that would be SWEET...

Hrm, my 6 year old just got a Squier mini Strat for Christmas...that guitar needs an amp...

*wheels turning*

[Nathans_Dad]

Ok, so the amp is out, out of my price range for now.

So, I am going to go with a stomp box.

I like the BBE Green Screamer and the BBE Free Fuzz.

I'm leaning towards the Green Screamer which is a milder overdrive pedal, what is the basic difference between the two? Does the Free Fuzz just give you more distortion??

[ramonesfreak]

not sure about the free fuzz. the green screamer will give you some very nice distortion if you want it to, but mostly shines when doing stuff like Cream or 70's era John Lee Hooker. im VERY satisfied with it, as i am with all their very fairly priced pedals.

i played for many years with no pedals. always tube amps though.

nowdays personally, i love having a large tonal pallet. its like painting to me. rarely do you approach making a painting with just 1 or 2 colors unless your Rothko. its all about using them wisely. someone that uses a crapload of pedals very smart is Edge from U2. Eddie VH, though im not much of a fan of, always used his pedals wisely. Nels Cline is another brilliant pedal user, and the best -David Gilmour for sure

i think the essentials for even a small board would include a good looping pedal, delay, fuzz, phaser (small stone), whah, octave, envelope filter. with those, i can do whatever i want. having a leslie simulator is also nice

here is my current board setup which always gets split into stereo through a Twin Reverb and a Vox AC-15 or 30

[Nathans_Dad]

So here's a stupid question. The amp I have has a gain knob on it, what's the difference between turning up the gain on the amp and using a green screamer? Isn't it all the same distortion???