Best Effect Pedals

Ross Mc

Okay I wanna get a decent collection of pedals now maybe overdrive, chorus, octaver, flanger, delay, tremolo etc

Can anyone here suggest any good pedals, the obvious one that pops into my head is boss but is their are any better pedals, even just for specific effects

Keyzer

How long is a piece of string mate?

There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of different pedal manufacturers out there from the main contenders like Boss all the way down to the boutique and DIY pedals.

I have two pedals which were made by a friend who was in the business for a while, a bunch of Boss pedals, Line 6, Electro Harmonix, Dunlop etc etc.

A great resource for this is youtube - you can find official reviews and walkthroughs on most pedals, if theres nothing official then you'll most likely find some bloke in his bedroom testing a pedal out.

It all depends on what sound you are either trying to recreate or achieve, do some research and pick something that sounds the best.

Happy hunting...

landsleaving

If you want a lot of effects but aren't sure what sound you want exactly yet you could try a multi-effects, the boss me-50 is a good place to start. Later you can start picking up individual effects you like.

I started off on an me-50 and sold it after deciding which sounds I liked and now I want it back The only thing it doesn't do well is overdrive/distortion, everything else I found close enough to as good as the pedals I have. It does do an ok impression of a fair few overdrives, but I guess I'm just picky!

Behringer are a nice cheap alternative to boss, you could try their pedals, I have their compressor and it does the job nicely. I'm sure there's a hugely expensive better one, but I don't use it too much so the behringer does fine. Same goes for Danelectro.

Of course it's all down to individual preference, just try as many things as you can out and buy whatever sounds best or closeest to 'your' sound

rcaz

Do some thinking for yourself, don't rely on a message board for everything! Find out what your favourite guys use, and decide what you want/need from there - one bad purchase isn't the end of the world, pedals hold their resale value well enough, and if you go second hand and don't like what you get, you might be able to flip it over and even break even...

I would argue against the multi-effect pedal, though. The effects won't sound as good as individual boxes, they'll be boring lowest-common-denominator-type sounds, and you'll probably be overloaded with options and never really learn all the nooks and crannies of your sounds. If you have a simple pedal you'll learn tons more about how it works, how to work with pedals, you'll come out a more flexible guitarist... I used a multi-effect box for a while, and had pretty standard guitar sounds and I was paralysed when my specific presets weren't there in front of me. I switched over to proper pedals and became a much more intelligent musician.

demanufactured

El Pr0n wrote: »

Do some thinking for yourself,

I would argue against the multi-effect pedal, though. The effects won't sound as good as individual boxes, they'll be boring lowest-common-denominator-type sounds, and you'll probably be overloaded with options and never really learn all the nooks and crannies of your sounds. If you have a simple pedal you'll learn tons more about how it works, how to work with pedals, you'll come out a more flexible guitarist... I used a multi-effect box for a while, and had pretty standard guitar sounds and I was paralysed when my specific presets weren't there in front of me. I switched over to proper pedals and became a much more intelligent musician.

Have to say i disagree with you somewhat, Yes cheaper multi FX boxes do sound a bit rough , but if you spend a few quid on one it will pay for itself.
I was using a few individual pedals for the last few years , and wanted to get a few more to fill up the arsenal.

I tried out both the line6 podX3 and the Boss GT-10
I went for the boss as i do a little bit of recording too , All i have to say is it is a serious piece of equipment, it sounds as professional as anything I have heard , in the studio and live through a combo or power amp.

The effects are very good quality with lots of perameters to mess with and get anything from subtle to unusual to bonkers.

Just my 2 cents worth.

rcaz

demanufactured wrote: »

Have to say i disagree with you somewhat, Yes cheaper multi FX boxes do sound a bit rough , but if you spend a few quid on one it will pay for itself.
I was using a few individual pedals for the last few years , and wanted to get a few more to fill up the arsenal.

I tried out both the line6 podX3 and the Boss GT-10
I went for the boss as i do a little bit of recording too , All i have to say is it is a serious piece of equipment, it sounds as professional as anything I have heard , in the studio and live through a combo or power amp.

The effects are very good quality with lots of perameters to mess with and get anything from subtle to unusual to bonkers.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Of course the more expensive ones will be good, but can the GT-10 do analogue delay and analogue ring modulation? Those are two of the effects that really pushed me towards individual pedals, but I'm sure there are more. Germanium fuzz? All the mojo-enhancing wahs that people go for?

landsleaving

No, don't think for yourself, you'll end up surrounded by pedals and have an empty bank account!

El Pron, I see your point about the multi effects having less options and they can be a bit bland, but when you have a list of effects you want like the OP, it would be a cheaper option to figure out how much you like and would use those effects before looking for the perfect pedal for each sound. If I hadn't bought a multi fx first I'd more than likely have a stack of pedals I don't use or like, instead I ploughed most of my budget into overdrive, fuzz and reverb, after figuring out they were the effects I liked most.

rcaz

landsleaving wrote: »

El Pron, I see your point about the multi effects having less options and they can be a bit bland, but when you have a list of effects you want like the OP, it would be a cheaper option to figure out how much you like and would use those effects before looking for the perfect pedal for each sound. If I hadn't bought a multi fx first I'd more than likely have a stack of pedals I don't use or like, instead I ploughed most of my budget into overdrive, fuzz and reverb, after figuring out they were the effects I liked most.

Good point, but I don't think there's ever a 'perfect' pedal. I like to trade and sell as much as I can, a certain amount of my gear is almost constantly in rotation. The first bits anyone gets are never the ones they're gonna keep.

yevveh

Do try out the Blackstar pedals (HT Dual I think?), guitarist in my band picked up one and was very impressed with the tone.

Ross Mc

thanks everyone, gonna try out loads of different pedals and see what i like and also as i do anyway, i'll check out youtube reviews. one pedal for certain i want is a boss chorus ensemble. i sold it to get a wah but i always i said i'd buy another one sometime. also thinking about a zoom tuner pedal.

yevveh

Ross Mc wrote: »

also thinking about a zoom tuner pedal.

try a Korg Pitchblack, they're supposed to be the best ones. I've one coming in from Thomann this week. failing that, give a Boss TU-2 a shot.

Ross Mc

actually i meant to say korg, got them mixed up

Quattroste

Check out the TC Electronics Nova System either on their site or on YouTube. It's a multi effects pedal with mostly digital effects and an excellent analog Drive/Distortion circut. It rubbishes the multi effects aren't great theory.

yevveh

Ross Mc wrote: »

actually i meant to say korg, got them mixed up

Ah right. Mine was waiting for me when I got home, it's seriously awesome. Way better than the TU-2 (which I also own). If you can wait til the end of this month you could check out the TC Electronics Polytune as well, youtube it if you haven't heard of it already.

landsleaving

yevveh wrote: »

Do try out the Blackstar pedals (HT Dual I think?), guitarist in my band picked up one and was very impressed with the tone.

I have one (HT Dual) and it's easily the best overdrive I've heard. Never thought I'd be willing to spend that much on a pedal but worth every penny. Great tone and fantastic range of sound to be got from it.

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

landsleaving wrote: »

I have one (HT Dual) and it's easily the best overdrive I've heard. Never thought I'd be willing to spend that much on a pedal but worth every penny. Great tone and fantastic range of sound to be got from it.

+1 they are expensive, but they are amazing!

Ross Mc

I am actually focusing on an overdrive pedal at the moment, i just want something that will give me a boast over my amp's overdrive for solos. I'm thinking the boss super overdrive or even blues drivers (but that could be too gainy) what do yous think?

Seziertisch

Ross Mc wrote: »

I am actually focusing on an overdrive pedal at the moment, i just want something that will give me a boast over my amp's overdrive for solos. I'm thinking the boss super overdrive or even blues drivers (but that could be too gainy) what do yous think?

Provided its a tube amp you are playing either should work ok. If you could stretch your budget to get a modded version of either that would be even better.

That said for the money (unless you are going second hand) there is better stuff out there. Check out proguitarshop.com . They have lots of videos of various (overdrive) pedals in action.

Ross Mc

Seziertisch wrote: »

Provided its a tube amp you are playing either should work ok. If you could stretch your budget to get a modded version of either that would be even better.

That said for the money (unless you are going second hand) there is better stuff out there. Check out proguitarshop.com . They have lots of videos of various (overdrive) pedals in action.

thanks i'll have a look and it's not a tube amp but i might be getting one 6 month or so down the line

Seziertisch

Ross Mc wrote: »

thanks i'll have a look and it's not a tube amp but i might be getting one 6 month or so down the line

To be honest, Ross, I think you should save your money for a good/better amp. You should check out Blackstar Amps. There are a number of places in Dublin doing them, they were designed by former Marshall guys, and offer great bang for the buck. The Series 1 or the HT range cover a lot of ground depending on your tastes, and would mean that you wouldn't need a distortion/overdrive pedal.

Ross Mc

Seziertisch wrote: »

To be honest, Ross, I think you should save your money for a good/better amp. You should check out Blackstar Amps. There are a number of places in Dublin doing them, they were designed by former Marshall guys, and offer great bang for the buck. The Series 1 or the HT range cover a lot of ground depending on your tastes, and would mean that you wouldn't need a distortion/overdrive pedal.

hmm suppose your right but again i'd still need to get effects pedals, i did try out the od pedal out of a crate, not my personal taste sound wise but i did like how the od added a little extra to the overdrive on the amp but yeah i am getting closer to getting a good tube amp head and cab.

darrenw5094

Ross Mc wrote: »

hmm suppose your right but again i'd still need to get effects pedals, i did try out the od pedal out of a crate, not my personal taste sound wise but i did like how the od added a little extra to the overdrive on the amp but yeah i am getting closer to getting a good tube amp head and cab.

Decent tube amps are available for €400 or so on adverts.ie. It's a buyers market at the moment, so you should get some bargains.

OD pedal into a Crate would not come anywhere close to a valve setup. More like a wasp in a jar tone.:rolleyes:

Ross Mc

darrenw5094 wrote: »

Decent tube amps are available for €400 or so on adverts.ie. It's a buyers market at the moment, so you should get some bargains.

OD pedal into a Crate would not come anywhere close to a valve setup. More like a wasp in a jar tone.:rolleyes:

Yeah true, I've kinda got fed up with doing the secondhand buying, just too much hassle, especially when i'll be able to get enough to get the stuff brand new. I will have a look though and see whats on their

darrenw5094

Ross Mc wrote: »

Yeah true, I've kinda got fed up with doing the secondhand buying, just too much hassle, especially when i'll be able to get enough to get the stuff brand new. I will have a look though and see whats on their

Valve amps are expensive new, so second hand is the way to go. Like i said, it's a buyers market these days.....but only on used gear. New gear, still the same price really.

Ross Mc

darrenw5094 wrote: »

Valve amps are expensive new, so second hand is the way to go. Like i said, it's a buyers market these days.....but only on used gear. New gear, still the same price really.

i didn't say anything about valve, i'll probably go for a tube halfstack

rcaz

Ross Mc wrote: »

i didn't say anything about valve, i'll probably go for a tube halfstack

Valves and tubes are the same thing

darrenw5094

El Pr0n wrote: »

Valves and tubes are the same thing

Personally i prefer valve amps over tube amps anyday.....;)
Valve amps go to 11. Tube amps only go to 10. Nuff said.

Thornography

Boss TU-3
Boss DS-1
Boss OS-2
Boss MT-2
Boss NS-2
Boss AC-3
Dunlop Cry baby.

I couldn't ask for a better selection (Other then upgrading my amp to valve)

eoin5

A boss md2 is what you need, turn it up to the last and hear your amp scream, literally.

Naw, but what might be good is an OS-2. You can fade between overdrive and distortion on it. Not too expensive either.

Ross Mc

Thornography wrote: »

Boss TU-3
Boss DS-1
Boss OS-2
Boss MT-2
Boss NS-2
Boss AC-3
Dunlop Cry baby.

I couldn't ask for a better selection (Other then upgrading my amp to valve)

actually already got the crybaby and metal zone and yeah was thinking about the mega distortion but is supposed to be suited to nu metal

Sandvich

IMO -

Wah - I like the vintage Voxes the best, not as big a fan of the Crybabies.
Flanger - Deluxe Electric Mistress
Chorus - DOD Mini Chorus, Boss CE-2
Phaser - Red Witch Moon Phaser
Delay - Unsure, Memory Boy maybe? Don't know about the best Digital Delay. Probably the Line 6 DL4. I'm getting an M9 for these.
Reverb - Verbzilla
Fuzz - Russian Big Muff, Fender Blender
Amp in a Box - Catalinbread SFT/DLS or Tech21's Character Series
Overdrive - Any Tubescreamer type pedal, Boss SD-1 does me great.
Metal Distortion - Barber Dirty Bomb, Boss HM-2
Multi-FX - Line 6 M9, Yamaha Magicstomp(mostly for delays and verbs).
Filter/Autowah - Unsure on this either. A lot of EHX's Q stuff is pretty good.

rcaz

Sandvich wrote: »

Don't know about the best Digital Delay. Probably the Line 6 DL4. I'm getting an M9 for these.

I've heard loads of complaints about the DL4, mostly little stuff that owners can put up with because they like the sounds so much IIRC. I'd put my vote in for the Electro Harmonix Stereo Memory Man with Hazarai.

punchdrunk

El Pr0n wrote: »

I've heard loads of complaints about the DL4, mostly little stuff that owners can put up with because they like the sounds so much IIRC. I'd put my vote in for the Electro Harmonix Stereo Memory Man with Hazarai.

i like my SMMH because it can do so much but tonally my T-rex replica is much nicer

DRASP can mod the DL-4 to be more reliable too

Sandvich

Personally I'll be getting an M9 for delays, so hopefully that will work out.

rcaz

Sandvich wrote: »

Personally I'll be getting an M9 for delays, so hopefully that will work out.

Is that not overkill?

Sandvich

El Pr0n wrote: »

Is that not overkill?

Well, I'm getting an M9 for the other effects really. Delay and Reverb are pretty important. I'd probably go for a Magicstomp if I was after a Multi-fx to focus on mostly just Delay and Verb.

Futureadvocate

Ross Mc wrote: »

Okay I wanna get a decent collection of pedals now maybe overdrive, chorus, octaver, flanger, delay, tremolo etc

Can anyone here suggest any good pedals, the obvious one that pops into my head is boss but is their are any better pedals, even just for specific effects

Boss delays are ok but avoid Boss overdrives and distortions at all costs.Complete rubbish...

For octavers there is nothing comparable to the EHX Pog range.

Ross Mc

Futureadvocate wrote: »

Boss delays are ok but avoid Boss overdrives and distortions at all costs.Complete rubbish...

For octavers there is nothing comparable to the EHX Pog range.

yeah i've got a metal zone and it is just okay, fine for thick metal tone but thats it really.

So far i'm thinking these really
(What i've got already)
Boss Metal Zone
Dunlop Crybaby
(What definetly want to get)
Boss Chorus Ensemble (as i said before had one before, sold it and now want another one)
Korg Pitchblack Tuner

Futureadvocate

Ross Mc wrote: »

yeah i've got a metal zone and it is just okay, fine for thick metal tone but thats it really.

So far i'm thinking these really
(What i've got already)
Boss Metal Zone
Dunlop Crybaby
(What definetly want to get)
Boss Chorus Ensemble (as i said before had one before, sold it and now want another one)
Korg Pitchblack Tuner

I would swap the Metal Zone for a Way Huge Fat Sandwich.
The Korg is great.True bypass,cheap and won't take up too much space.

Ross Mc

Futureadvocate wrote: »

I would swap the Metal Zone for a Way Huge Fat Sandwich.
The Korg is great.True bypass,cheap and won't take up too much space.

exactly the reason why i want the korg and with regards to the metal zone, as i say might be getting a tube stack and depending on the head i might not need any distortion pedal for the metal sound

rcaz

Futureadvocate wrote: »

Boss delays are ok but avoid Boss overdrives and distortions at all costs.Complete rubbish...

Some are awful, yes, but some are pretty good. See: Super Overdrive and Blues Driver.