Question:
What types of pedals are good for a starting setup? I'm already buying a distortion pedal. What other pedal types should I shoot for? And is there an alternative to buying tons and tons of cable to hook them all up?
Answer:
Hey man, it all depends on the sound you want. Do you normally play rhythm, lead, or both? Mostly clean or distorted?
Most lead players usually use:
-Distortion
-Delay
-Reverb (usually amp reverb)
Clean rhythm:
-Chorus
-Tremolo
-Flanger, Phaser (sometimes)
There are so many possibilities. Your best bet is to hear the sounds that they make and how they could be useful to you.
Answer:
Delay, wah, and distortion is what I always suggest for starters. You can get about 80% of the sounds you hear on the radio with these. plus the delay can give a psuedo reverb sound. If I had to have only 3 pedals it'd be my Wah, Big Muff Pi, and DanEcho.
Once you've got those three, you can start branching out towards more whacky effects.
Answer:
If you're aiming for a good sound, the first thing you have to do is make sure you have a decent amp. If your amp can't cut it, a $300 botique pedal isn't going to sound very good through it.
-Nick
Answer:
Originally Posted by Only Alive If you're aiming for a good sound, the first thing you have to do is make sure you have a decent amp. If your amp can't cut it, a $300 botique pedal isn't going to sound very good through it.
-Nick
I agree
Answer:
i agree completely with griffon. of all the effects i have owned, put in my board, and used, the top three are od, wah, and delay. the compliment each other perfectly.
what is you main concern for buying all the patch cables and hooking them up? cost? sound? cleanliness?
if you don't want cables, don't get individual boxes. there are great patch cables out there - my favorite being George L's, so i wouldn't worry too much about tone sucking from higher quality cables. if you want to minimize your cable useage, you can get those "2in1" stompboxes like the visual sound h2O (chorus and delay) or diamond J-drive (overdrive and boost). just some suggestions.
good luck
Answer:
I've said it 1000 times before, and I'll say 1000 more times before I shut up: NEVER buy a pedal until you know what each effect does (even the ones you don't intend to buy). This is probably the best place to start: http://www.harmony-central.com/Effec...explained.html
Another thing I'll say 1000 times: NEVER buy a distortion/overdrive pedal unless you have a good amp. If you're using a practice amp or other cheap amp, a distortion pedal is not going to help your sound. You'd do much better to put the money aside for a new amp. Your amp affects your tone infinitely more than a pedal. Distortion pedals (good ones anyway) exist to make good amps sound better (or just different). They don't, and can't, make cheap amps sound good.
Answer:
I agree that he should at least have a basic understanding of what effects do, but I don't think his money would necessarily be better off buying a new amp first. I did it in quite the opposite manner, and it worked for me. Basically, he'll learn eventually, and if he buys used he can generally turn around and sell for the same price (or more), so no really wasting money there. Plus, he'll have a chance to experiment with new sounds on his current, comfortable guitar/amp setup. Good tone always comes second to having fun I think.
I say jump in head first, and call for help if you're drowning.....but that's just me, it's how I have fun.
As for cables, some boxes you can just buy double plugs and and plug them side by side (like if you were to only buy BOSS), but this won't work for most. I think your best bet would be to buy some George L cable and plugs and make your own cables (4"-6" would be best i think). It's what I wish I had done. The other option would be to buy a bunch of 6" cables at guitar center. Go this route if you're only going to have a few stomp boxes in your chain.
Ok...it's 2:45 and I'm starting to think I sound like an idiot....
Answer:
I've said it 1000 times before, and I'll say 1000 more times before I shut up: NEVER buy a pedal until you know what each effect does (even the ones you don't intend to buy). This is probably the best place to start: http://www.harmony-central.com/Effe...-explained.html
This is the best advice I've read so far.
I can't even tell you how many hundreds of dollars I've wasted because I didn't follow that advice. For example, I spent $80 on an MXR DynaComp without first know what it does. I'd been playing for about a year, and was expecting some WACKY sounding effect of some kind... boy was I wrong! The perk is that it's now one of my favorite pedals, but for many years it just sat in the closet gathering dust.
If you buy pedals without know what they do, and how you're going to use it, you'll end up getting crappy pedals that you're just going to upgrade once you figure out what you DO want.
Answer:
Originally Posted by Griffon I agree that he should at least have a basic understanding of what effects do, but I don't think his money would necessarily be better off buying a new amp first. I did it in quite the opposite manner, and it worked for me. Basically, he'll learn eventually, and if he buys used he can generally turn around and sell for the same price (or more), so no really wasting money there. Plus, he'll have a chance to experiment with new sounds on his current, comfortable guitar/amp setup. Good tone always comes second to having fun I think. If you just want to have fun and not worry about tone, you don't need to upgrade anything. Just get a Rogue guitar and a practice amp, and you'll be ok. If you want tone though, here's the order of importance according to me:
Amp >> Guitar >> Pedals
It really does no good to have good pedals and a crappy amp or good pedals and a crappy guitar or even good pedals and a good guitar but a crappy amp. Even if you have a PRS and Fulltone pedals, you'll be disappointed if you're playing through a cheap amp. At the same time, even a Rogue guitar would sound good through a good amp. If you don't believe me, go to Guitar Center and compare PRS with low-end Crate amp to Rogue with Marshall amp. The Rogue/Marshall combination will sound MUCH better. I played for quite awhile with a Squier through a Roland VGA-5, and it sounded GOOD. I also tried someone else's DS-1 and MT-2 through my Crate practice amp, and both sounded bad. Effects simply cannot help a cheap amp.
Answer:
Originally Posted by bobthecockroach I've said it 1000 times before, and I'll say 1000 more times before I shut up: NEVER buy a pedal until you know what each effect does (even the ones you don't intend to buy). This is probably the best place to start: http://www.harmony-central.com/Effec...explained.html
That's a sweet site. Now I actually know what the pedals besides distortion do! Now I get why delay is so important.
And don't worry...I didn't spend $300 on a pedal...only about $30 for a Boss DS-1 through eBay (I love eBay! )
An amp comes next...mine is fairly decent, although sometimes something wierd happens sometimes if the cable moves at all...kind of like a weakened sound, but with buzz added.
Answer:
I'd actually bet that was a cable short, not a problem with the amp.
Answer:
Originally Posted by bobthecockroach If you just want to have fun and not worry about tone, you don't need to upgrade anything. Just get a Rogue guitar and a practice amp, and you'll be ok. If you want tone though, here's the order of importance according to me:
Amp >> Guitar >> Pedals
It really does no good to have good pedals and a crappy amp or good pedals and a crappy guitar or even good pedals and a good guitar but a crappy amp. Even if you have a PRS and Fulltone pedals, you'll be disappointed if you're playing through a cheap amp. At the same time, even a Rogue guitar would sound good through a good amp. If you don't believe me, go to Guitar Center and compare PRS with low-end Crate amp to Rogue with Marshall amp. The Rogue/Marshall combination will sound MUCH better. I played for quite awhile with a Squier through a Roland VGA-5, and it sounded GOOD. I also tried someone else's DS-1 and MT-2 through my Crate practice amp, and both sounded bad. Effects simply cannot help a cheap amp.
Oh believe me, this is something I know, but I know for me, it's not something you or anyone else could have told me. It has to be learned through experience.
I guess what I was trying to say is, because there's a great seller's market for guitar pedals these days, you really can't waste money on pedals if you buy used. So it can go either way, and you natural evolution will cause you to move into the rig that's right for you.
Also, several cheap amps have been used to great effect by many successful popular guitarists throughout the ages (mostly on albums). Though I can't name them off the top of my head ('cept Johnny Greenwood).
And finally, I still use cheap amps (both of mine cost me $200 total), and enjoy them immensely. I've learned to make due with what I have, and to mod my stuff to make it make due.....works very well for me!
Answer:
I think it could be learned by the test I suggested in my previous post. I don't really see the sense in going through the hassle of buying and selling and trying to make do when you can just save up, get a good amp, and be happy. People do it with guitars, and compared to the importance of a good amp a good guitar is irrelevent. I think guitarists tend to think of amps as just something you have to have in order to hear your guitar. I think guitarists SHOULD think of amps, however, as the most important piece of gear to getting good tone. A guitar is just something you have to have to hear your amp.
(Yes, I realize I am exaggerating, but it is to make a point. Amps are VERY important. Guitars are important. Effect are, comparitively, not important.)
Answer:
Originally Posted by bobthecockroach I think it could be learned by the test I suggested in my previous post. I don't really see the sense in going through the hassle of buying and selling and trying to make do when you can just save up, get a good amp, and be happy. People do it with guitars, and compared to the importance of a good amp a good guitar is irrelevent. I think guitarists tend to think of amps as just something you have to have in order to hear your guitar. I think guitarists SHOULD think of amps, however, as the most important piece of gear to getting good tone. A guitar is just something you have to have to hear your amp.
(Yes, I realize I am exaggerating, but it is to make a point. Amps are VERY important. Guitars are important. Effect are, comparitively, not important.)
This idea only works if you want to hear the amp. What if I want to hear the effects? Or the guitar pure?
If someone knows they want a certain sound, say a strat through a marshall, they should get a strat and a marshall. However, if they don't know what sound they want, why should they get a "good" amp? There are a billion "good" amps out there that don't suit my sound.
I just say, explore and change, work against what people think are the right way of doing things. When you find something that works, go with it. As for your test.....really...to me, they would both sound like crap...not trying to be difficult, it's just what I like.