How many foot pedals do you own?

sarosh · 01-05-2012, 02:25 PM

Just curious, if you're an electric guitar player:

How many foot pedals do you own, and on average, how much have you spent on pedals?

Howard the Duck · 01-08-2012, 07:01 AM

i only have two effects pedals

having too many effects just hides what a lousy player you are

i have a Dunlop Wah-Wah and a Metal Master distortion

GuitarBizarre · 01-08-2012, 09:13 AM

BOSS GT-10.

I also have a BOSS OD-2, just in case I need MORE DISTORTION

Alfred · 01-08-2012, 06:55 PM

I have 3 - a Boss compressor, a Danelectro FAB distortion pedal, and a Vox wah.

~~Odyshape~~ · 01-08-2012, 09:27 PM

A a turbo rat and a spring king reverb pedal

rnrloser_IX · 01-10-2012, 12:49 AM

Well, I'll be that guy with the enormous pedal board. I run through a Vox wah, then a Boss GE-7, an MXR dyna comp, a Boss BD-2 Blues Driver, then an MXR distortion +, then an MXR 78 Badass Custom Distortion, then a real classic, the DS-1, then a Digitech Hot Rod Distortion, to a Boss PH-3 phaser, an EHX Electric Mistress Chorus-Flanger and finally (drum roll), an MXR carbon copy delay. I think thats 11 total, almost have are distortion.

I don't use much at once though. Each distortion is set differently so they all sound different. Eg. the 78 is more vintage rock with a mid boost while the DS-1 sounds more contemporary. Sometimes I use the MXR Dist. + for rythm playing because its output is a bit lower which is actually convenient with a second guitarist who plays a few leads here and there. The compressor is good for letting cleans ring out and sounds great with dead notes and a wah, it brings the funk in with a neck pickup. The GE-7 is seldom used except to cut the highs back on a solo and boost the signal a bit, but usually it sits there, its probably the most unnecessary pedal. The last three are great for cool effects on clean channels, although the delay sounds good with distortion too. As an example, I can create effects and textures like the Police's Walking on the Moon with the Electric Mistress and the delay pedal. Phaser is used in all sorts of thing like The Rooster from Alice and Chains and all over Floyd's The Wall. Delay is used in a bunch of places: Happiest Day's of our Lives (Floyd), Welcome to the Jungle, Come Together, etc. Wah is just common. Really, those are just fun to play with, jam with, and run drone riffs.

Oh, and running through pedals doesn't hide mistakes or what a lousy player you are except for distortion; if you miss picking a note, it will still sound fine as a hammer. You can easily play whole stings without picking a damn thing and it still sounds great. In most cases, using effects incorrectly or to "hide mistakes" makes it even worse. Delay makes the mistake ring out several times, compression makes mistakes like a missed note very prominent, and phasers, chorus, and flange just sound horrible if they're not used right. All they do is make things sound cool which can be a good way to add a different textures. Bad Brains uses Phasers on a lot of their reggae, especially on CBGB '82 and it brings it to a different level. If your really caught up with not hiding mistakes and playing cleanly, practice and learn songs on a dry clean channel. Anything you play should come out cleanly on a clean signal, if it only sounds good with distortion, then your hiding mistakes.

~~Farfisa~~ · 01-10-2012, 09:55 AM

I have 11 pedals, and two of them are taken apart at the moment because they aren't working the way I want them to. The more pedals I acquire, the less I want to list them (crippling laziness). Alright, here's my list.

Devi Ever Punch Love
Devi Ever Disaster Fuzz
ProCo Rat 2 (currently disassembled)
Big Muff Pi (NYC)
MXR 10 Band EQ
Hardwire RV-7
Ibanez DE-7
Catalinbread Montavillian
EHX Pulsar
Dunlop 535Q Wah
Piece of **** Rocktron compressor I hate which has been taken apart and is boxed somewhere.

Guybrush · 01-10-2012, 10:40 AM

I don't normally plug in my guitars and only have one electric guitar and so I only own one pedal which is a digital delay. It's quite fun to play around with actually, but I don't do it often.

As for the pedals masking bad playing argument, it will make wrong notes stand out real bad so it's not much help in that respect.

Howard the Duck · 01-10-2012, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tore

I don't normally plug in my guitars and only have one electric guitar and so I only own one pedal which is a digital delay. It's quite fun to play around with actually, but I don't do it often.

As for the pedals masking bad playing argument, it will make wrong notes stand out real bad so it's not much help in that respect.

i'm not talking about bum notes, i'm talking about limited guitar technique

unless you're really good at manipulating pedals (i.e. Kevin Shields), i'd say brush up on the basic playing first without adding any seasoning

~~Farfisa~~ · 01-10-2012, 01:32 PM

One of the things that bugs me about fuzz, delay, and reverse reverb + droning chords with open strings is that everything tends to mesh together, and I can barely just make out the changes between open chords. It's weird though, when my droney, strangey, open chordy stuff on my acoustic it stands out a lot more. Some effects can really drown out subtle changes in chords I guess.

I don't think shoddy guitar playing can be covered up by a million effects, but it can really fill in your style/sound if you don't have as much technical knowledge as Vai... or something.

01-05-2012, 02:25 PM	#1 (permalink)
sarosh Groupie Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 3	How many foot pedals do you own? Just curious, if you're an electric guitar player: How many foot pedals do you own, and on average, how much have you spent on pedals?

01-08-2012, 06:55 PM	#4 (permalink)
Alfred one big soul Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 5,096	I have 3 - a Boss compressor, a Danelectro FAB distortion pedal, and a Vox wah. __________________ LAST.FM / VINYL COLLECTION / RYM

01-10-2012, 12:49 AM	#6 (permalink)
rnrloser_IX Music Addict Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: North bum-feck, NH Posts: 98	Well, I'll be that guy with the enormous pedal board. I run through a Vox wah, then a Boss GE-7, an MXR dyna comp, a Boss BD-2 Blues Driver, then an MXR distortion +, then an MXR 78 Badass Custom Distortion, then a real classic, the DS-1, then a Digitech Hot Rod Distortion, to a Boss PH-3 phaser, an EHX Electric Mistress Chorus-Flanger and finally (drum roll), an MXR carbon copy delay. I think thats 11 total, almost have are distortion. I don't use much at once though. Each distortion is set differently so they all sound different. Eg. the 78 is more vintage rock with a mid boost while the DS-1 sounds more contemporary. Sometimes I use the MXR Dist. + for rythm playing because its output is a bit lower which is actually convenient with a second guitarist who plays a few leads here and there. The compressor is good for letting cleans ring out and sounds great with dead notes and a wah, it brings the funk in with a neck pickup. The GE-7 is seldom used except to cut the highs back on a solo and boost the signal a bit, but usually it sits there, its probably the most unnecessary pedal. The last three are great for cool effects on clean channels, although the delay sounds good with distortion too. As an example, I can create effects and textures like the Police's Walking on the Moon with the Electric Mistress and the delay pedal. Phaser is used in all sorts of thing like The Rooster from Alice and Chains and all over Floyd's The Wall. Delay is used in a bunch of places: Happiest Day's of our Lives (Floyd), Welcome to the Jungle, Come Together, etc. Wah is just common. Really, those are just fun to play with, jam with, and run drone riffs. Oh, and running through pedals doesn't hide mistakes or what a lousy player you are except for distortion; if you miss picking a note, it will still sound fine as a hammer. You can easily play whole stings without picking a damn thing and it still sounds great. In most cases, using effects incorrectly or to "hide mistakes" makes it even worse. Delay makes the mistake ring out several times, compression makes mistakes like a missed note very prominent, and phasers, chorus, and flange just sound horrible if they're not used right. All they do is make things sound cool which can be a good way to add a different textures. Bad Brains uses Phasers on a lot of their reggae, especially on CBGB '82 and it brings it to a different level. If your really caught up with not hiding mistakes and playing cleanly, practice and learn songs on a dry clean channel. Anything you play should come out cleanly on a clean signal, if it only sounds good with distortion, then your hiding mistakes. __________________ -IX

01-10-2012, 10:40 AM	#8 (permalink)
Guybrush Juicious Maximus III Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Scabb Island Posts: 6,525	I don't normally plug in my guitars and only have one electric guitar and so I only own one pedal which is a digital delay. It's quite fun to play around with actually, but I don't do it often. As for the pedals masking bad playing argument, it will make wrong notes stand out real bad so it's not much help in that respect. __________________ Something Completely Different

01-08-2012, 09:27 PM	#5 (permalink)
~~Odyshape~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 526	A a turbo rat and a spring king reverb pedal

01-10-2012, 09:55 AM	#7 (permalink)
~~Farfisa~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 2,773	I have 11 pedals, and two of them are taken apart at the moment because they aren't working the way I want them to. The more pedals I acquire, the less I want to list them (crippling laziness). Alright, here's my list. Devi Ever Punch Love Devi Ever Disaster Fuzz ProCo Rat 2 (currently disassembled) Big Muff Pi (NYC) MXR 10 Band EQ Hardwire RV-7 Ibanez DE-7 Catalinbread Montavillian EHX Pulsar Dunlop 535Q Wah Piece of **** Rocktron compressor I hate which has been taken apart and is boxed somewhere.

01-10-2012, 01:32 PM	#10 (permalink)
~~Farfisa~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 2,773	One of the things that bugs me about fuzz, delay, and reverse reverb + droning chords with open strings is that everything tends to mesh together, and I can barely just make out the changes between open chords. It's weird though, when my droney, strangey, open chordy stuff on my acoustic it stands out a lot more. Some effects can really drown out subtle changes in chords I guess. I don't think shoddy guitar playing can be covered up by a million effects, but it can really fill in your style/sound if you don't have as much technical knowledge as Vai... or something.