17 replies to this topic

[amc3480]

Hi All,

I've been playing Acoustic guitar few a few years and just recently got my first electric and amp (strat and 65 watt crate amp). So I don't know very much about pedals and effects. I have been doing a little research. Will the Boss DS-1 provide enough distortion for the music i want to learn? I'm into bands such as Green Day, Cake, Weezer, Hendrix, 311.

And after I do purchase a distortion pedal, what pedal's should I look into getting after that?

Thanks,
AMC

[dadfad]

I'd advise you to first get a multi-effects box. That way you'll get a good selection of lots of effects. Generally speaking a multi-box isn't quite as good as individual pedals, but they're pretty good and you'll get a lot more "bang for your buck." They include all the common effects (distort, overdrive, reverb, harmonizer, phlanger, octaver, delay, trem, etc) and more. As you get into it more you'll probably find different preferences you like and then maybe invest in separate boxes (if you even feel you need to), but a multi-box is probably the best way to start.

I'm almost an exclusively acoustic player now. (Pure. Guitar-to-mic) But I've been playing over forty-five years and much of that was electric. In the pre-digital days I bought a number of separate effects, but as more and more things became digital (and I began to play less electric that wasn't "clean") I finally bought one box. It was a Zoom-1000. Now that was quite a few years ago already (mid-90s), but it pretty much covered everything I needed.

Of course that Zoom-1000 is probably waaaay out-dated compared to what's out now, but it covered everything I needed in a pretty reasonable way, and so I'd think something comparable (but more current) would do the same for you. For example the ME-25 has a sound library with dozens of effects as well as the ability to tweek them as you wish.

I'm sure some of the guys here who are more into electric can give you some good tips on what to look for, etc too.

Anyway, I hope that helped a little. And welcome to GuitarZone.

[Dave C]

That's what i did. I've had an me-50 gt-5 and a gt-6. A Zoom g2 is excellent for the money.

[Nealio]

I'll second the ME50. I don't use mine for gigging anymore, but I do use it for mucking about and experimenting with sounds. You can pick these up for little or nothing these days.

The thing I like about the ME50 is that it's very easy to get accustomed to. There's no fiddly menu systems to worry about. It all knobs and dials. Any eejit can work one.

[Nealio]

I'd advise you to first get a multi-effects box. That way you'll get a good selection of lots of effects. Generally speaking a multi-box isn't quite as good as individual pedals, but they're pretty good and you'll get a lot more "bang for your buck." They include all the common effects (distort, overdrive, reverb, harmonizer, phlanger, octaver, delay, trem, etc) and more. As you get into it more you'll probably find different preferences you like and then maybe invest in separate boxes (if you even feel you need to), but a multi-box is probably the best way to start.

I'm almost an exclusively acoustic player now. (Pure. Guitar-to-mic) But I've been playing over forty-five years and much of that was electric. In the pre-digital days I bought a number of separate effects, but as more and more things became digital (and I began to play less electric that wasn't "clean") I finally bought one box. It was a Zoom-1000. Now that was quite a few years ago already (mid-90s), but it pretty much covered everything I needed.

Of course that Zoom-1000 is probably waaaay out-dated compared to what's out now, but it covered everything I needed in a pretty reasonable way, and so I'd think something comparable (but more current) would do the same for you. For example the ME-25 has a sound library with dozens of effects as well as the ability to tweek them as you wish.

I'm sure some of the guys here who are more into electric can give you some good tips on what to look for, etc too.

Anyway, I hope that helped a little. And welcome to GuitarZone.

Haha. I remember having a Zoom 1010. Took a bit of getting used to but as a beginner it really was up to the job.

[Grandpa FrankyZ]

I myself, after having had a few multi effects pedal, prefer the flexibility of a pedal board. I believe the most essential pedals to start you off with would be, Distortion/Overdrive, Chorus, Delay/Reverb, and Wah. You have a lot of flexibility with just those pedals, and far more controllability.

[Dave C]

Mine's pretty much what Granpa said, but for the latest gig i added a Flanger.

[Grandpa FrankyZ]

Mine's pretty much what Granpa said, but for the latest gig i added a Flanger.

I use a phaser with mine.....................and a pitch shifter, auto wah, flanger, and a variety of distortion, and overdrive pedals.

Edited by Grandpa FrankyZ, 09 August 2012 - 02:14 AM.

[Nealio]

While a multi effects unit may not have the same quality as separate stompers, the big advantage they do have, is the way you can store presets. You mix up your effects, find a sound you like, and then save it. You can call it up at the touch of a button. Once I moved on to using seperate boxes, this was the thing I missed most.

[amc3480]

Thank you all for taking the time to post. I will look into pedals mentioned...my next goal is figuring out how to use the low, mid and high knobs to find the best sounds. Do you guys have any tips for this?!

[CrazyCal]

Rock guys always tend to cut back on the mid. I'm more post punk/indie, so i keep it higher to get a piercing sound.

[CrazyCal]

This is my current setup.

[halfmoonbay]

Rock guys always tend to cut back on the mid.

A lot of bands I've seen live would've benefited from boosting their mid range. Scooped mids sound better in the bedroom/studio than they do on a stage when the guitar has to compete with the rest of the band.

[lowden]

effects are quite intense here, but will give you an idea. The written explinations are quite good. The Wah might sound tempting, but involves getting your leg to add 'more feeling' to your playing, another talent to be learned. Also one that's not covered is a volume pedal, where you can fade in your guitar to produce keyboard-like sounds. , but probably the king of simple guitar playing, using effects to the ultimate degree is Edge, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMWdLtruKIQ&feature=related, of course he uses AMS delayes/reverbs, TC and Eventide delays, way beyond most budgets.

[lowden]

sorry for messy last post, but a few beers were consumed. but my simple advice with any effect is to be gentle with their use when recording, (it'll always bug you if you've used too much reverb on the 'hit single'), but ramp it up slightly when playing live, subtlety is not an asset when playing live.

[Nealio]

I like to keep the mids low when recording, but as Andy said, in a live situation, scooped mids just doesn't cut through the mix.

I also boost my mids for soloing, for an extra bit of "punch".

[halfmoonbay]

At the moment I'd be more likely to use a single overdrive pedal (probably a Boss Bluesdriver) than I would be to bring out the pedalboard.
The pedal board (at the moment) has an Ibanez phaser - Ibanez TS9 Tubescreamer - ProCo Vintage Rat - Euthymia Crucible Fuzz - Boss TR-2 tremolo - EH Deluxe Memory Man - plus a homemade switch unit to bring pedals in/out of the loop rather than have them all in the signal chain. These effects units cover all the sounds I'm realistically going to need (and then some). I'll admit it was a setup that I arrived at after much experimentation - there was a period of time where I went out and played with a lot of boxes (maybe I should have practiced more instead - I still haven't found the stompbox that makes me a better guitar player ). The beauty of stompboxes is that I can add or take away individual units as I need and I like having that flexibility. The downside is my pedalboard is probably a bit heavier than I'd like it to be.
Building up a pedalboard can be an expensive business particularly if you're wanting/needing to use a wide variety of effects, as people above have already said a multi-fx unit is a great way of covering everything you need reasonably well. Whilst I remain a fan of stompboxes, I do think that there are some very decent multi-fx units out there (more so than maybe there was ten years ago). I've tended to get on reasonably well with the offerings from Boss myself, fairly user-friendly.
To the original poster, I'd recommend going out into guitar shops and playing with as many different types of effects units as you can get your hands on. Will help you get a feel for what effects you like and narrow down what you need for the sound you're going after. Experimenting with new and interesting gear can be a useful learning experience, get a feel for how different effects can change your sound and, importantly, how they work in the context of the rest of your setup. It may be that all you needed was a single overdrive pedal, or it may be that you end up going for a whole range of effects, either way is fine. It may be that you decide that all you really need is a guitar and amp, and that's fine too.

[dadfad]

Lowden said "...Also one that's not covered is a volume pedal..."

Well worth mentioning. I almost always used one when playing electric and almost continually "worked it." It can add emphasis as needed (or sustain), bring down certain passages for effect, turn a guitar "whisper" into a roar; help you cut through at specific points when necessary and gives you better control over your true-volume when you tend to favor a very high volume setting on your amp used to bring out more natural tube overdrive and distortion.

I generally had two on stage, one for my guitar and one for my harmonica (which I didn't use nearly as often during a set).