Your "essential" set up

xtremehardy388

I've paired down my pedal board from 25+pedals to just a few. The ones I REALLY need to achieve my sound are:

AMP(Fender Roc-Pro 700)->Digitech X-Series Digital Delay->Ernie Ball VPjr->Ibanez TS-5->Crybaby Wah->Dunlop Rotovibe (mod)->BBE Soulvibe->BOSS TU2->Guitar

For Acoustic Shows:
AMP(Fender Acoustasonic->Digitech X-Series Digital Delay->Ernie Ball VPjr->DOD Ice Box Chorus FX64->BOSS TU2->Guitar (Fender Squier Stratacoustic)


What are yours?

gimmesometruth27

boss tuner is my only essential pedal. that is the most important pedal i own.

if i could use an A-B-C switcher i would just use 3 amps, '94 matchless clubman, '74 marshall jmp, and my '94(?) marshall jcm 900 for higher gain stuff. all of those heads are very versatile with a lot of headroom that i have learned to control using guitar volume, pickup selector, and right hand attack.

elective pedals that i can take or leave are my holy grail reverb, fulltone ocd, and zvex box of rock, mainly because it has a clean boost on it for solos. other non essentials are a mr fazedelic phaser and a mxr carbon copy delay.

xtremehardy388

I remember you saying that the Tuner was the most important pedal, years ago. That's always stuck with me and I agree. Your reasoning won me over (before then it was overdrive or something).

mccreadyisgod

The only things I really need for guitar are a tuner with a mute and a good overdrive. I have everything on my board for a reason, but I could definitely make it through life with only those two pedals. I'm using a Korg Pitchblack on both my boards, and I would probably take my Keeley Baked TS-9 for my overdrive. I would probably take my delay pedal (Boss DD-6) next.

mattsl1983

Guitar -> HK rotospher -> Keeley BD2 -> Keeley TS9 -> DL4 delay -> ABY -> Maz 18, AC30.
Those seem to always stay on my board no matter what changes I make.

gimmesometruth27

i have a rotosphere that i loved. it would be an essential for me, but it is not working now. i took it to a repair guy who serviced it and said he could not get it to work but also he could not find anything wrong with it circuitrywise. he thinks the power supply is bad, he did not have one he could try, and i refuse to pay fucking H&K $60 for a new plug.

xtremehardy388

gimmesometruth27 said:

i have a rotosphere that i loved. it would be an essential for me, but it is not working now. i took it to a repair guy who serviced it and said he could not get it to work but also he could not find anything wrong with it circuitrywise. he thinks the power supply is bad, he did not have one he could try, and i refuse to pay fucking H&K $60 for a new plug.

Maybe ebay a plug?

gimmesometruth27

xtremehardy388 said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

i have a rotosphere that i loved. it would be an essential for me, but it is not working now. i took it to a repair guy who serviced it and said he could not get it to work but also he could not find anything wrong with it circuitrywise. he thinks the power supply is bad, he did not have one he could try, and i refuse to pay fucking H&K $60 for a new plug.

Maybe ebay a plug?

lol i seriously never thought of that. i should probably do that. i am actually pretty anal about having the plugs from the manufacturer of the product. i guess going back to when i was a kid the warning labels used to scare me... "please use only hughes and kettner produced power sources for your hughes and kettner products." apparently it might void any warranty. sounds pretty threatening. but i got mine at a garage sale for $100 like 9 years ago. i guess i can afford the h&K one since those things retail for about $400 new and i only have $175 in it. maybe there is a used one on the bay.

mccreadyisgod

Heck, you could probably get a power supply down at the Radio Shack. Unless they've already gone bankrupt.

gimmesometruth27

mccreadyisgod said:

Heck, you could probably get a power supply down at the Radio Shack. Unless they've already gone bankrupt.

LOL the radio shack near my house has the worst selection of any store i have ever seen... might be worth giving it a try though.

BinFrog

DewieCox

Clyde Deluxe, OCD, 60s Vibe, Analogman Delay

If I can only take one guitar, it's my LP Special Jr, but my LP Custom is far and away my #1.

BHealy

Which Wah do you guys prefer? I'm thinking about picking one up, and was just going to get the Original Cry Baby (Dunlop). Thanks!

mattsl1983

I use a Vox V846-HW, I love the sound. You are probably better off going up to a store and playing with a few, you would be surprised how many wah flavors wahs come in.

DewieCox

If you're going with a Dunlop style. I'd say go with the 535q version. Great, solid wah with some adjustability. The CAE wah, like Mike uses, gets some pretty good sounds and is voiced more Crybaby-ish.

If you like the old school Vox-y Hendrix-y quack, then a Fulltone is hard to beat. The Standard Clyde is great and the Deluxe has that setting +a good funk setting and another setting that's good for higher gain stuff.

xtremehardy388

BHealy said:

Which Wah do you guys prefer? I'm thinking about picking one up, and was just going to get the Original Cry Baby (Dunlop). Thanks!

I like the Dunlop Crybaby Classic. You can do simple mods to change the voice, too. But, like Mattsl1983 said, you're better off going to a store and trying a few.

gimmesometruth27

BHealy said:

Which Wah do you guys prefer? I'm thinking about picking one up, and was just going to get the Original Cry Baby (Dunlop). Thanks!

i use a budda wah. it is less squawky and harsh sounding than most of the ones i have played.

BHealy

Awesome! Thanks all!

BHealy

I got the Dunlop Original Crybaby- I had to talk my wife into "letting me" get it, but its awesome. One thing I've noticed, or maybe its just in my head, is that I have an easier time getting good tone with my pedals with my Les Paul compared to my strat with single coils. Is it just in my head?

DewieCox

New pedals are a blast and they get really fun when you get a better grasp of them. Especially with something like a wah that's so interactive.

What kinda pedals are you using/having issues with?

I tend to need to dial back the tone on my Strat a notch or 2 in my jam room, but at rehearsals the brightness/harshness that I get with my rig is tamed considerably. I set things up with my Les Paul and make any needed adjustments on the other guitars.

BHealy

Thanks, I don't know if its that I'm having trouble necessarily, but I have a fuzz pedal that is "boomy" (for lack of a better term) on my strat, until I mess with the volume on my guitar to dial it in. It just seems like I plug in the LP, and she's ready to go, no matter what. Either way, its pretty addicting to mess with them! (I'm fairly new to this)

xtremehardy388

BHealy said:

Thanks, I don't know if its that I'm having trouble necessarily, but I have a fuzz pedal that is "boomy" (for lack of a better term) on my strat, until I mess with the volume on my guitar to dial it in. It just seems like I plug in the LP, and she's ready to go, no matter what. Either way, its pretty addicting to mess with them! (I'm fairly new to this)

I understand what you're saying. I find it easier to get a better tone with my SG-400 or my JBL Tele than my strat. I think PART of it (with the SG) is the humbucker compared to the strat. The strat was designed to have the volume pretty hot, in order to get the right tone. I don't know if that's true for any other guitar.

Also, with your wah, I took the rubber stoppers off the foot lever. This allowed me to turn the pedal on and off without having to stop on it quite as hard. Also, check out the DIY mods (where you only need a screwdriver and don't have to do any component switching). You might be able to dial in the "perfect voice" for your sound.

mattsl1983

I've always found that humbuckers love fuzz pedals more, and single coils love modulation effects more. My experience anyways.

xtremehardy388

mattsl1983 said:

I've always found that humbuckers love fuzz pedals more, and single coils love modulation effects more. My experience anyways.

I've noticed that, too.

BHealy

xtremehardy388 said:

BHealy said:

Thanks, I don't know if its that I'm having trouble necessarily, but I have a fuzz pedal that is "boomy" (for lack of a better term) on my strat, until I mess with the volume on my guitar to dial it in. It just seems like I plug in the LP, and she's ready to go, no matter what. Either way, its pretty addicting to mess with them! (I'm fairly new to this)

I understand what you're saying. I find it easier to get a better tone with my SG-400 or my JBL Tele than my strat. I think PART of it (with the SG) is the humbucker compared to the strat. The strat was designed to have the volume pretty hot, in order to get the right tone. I don't know if that's true for any other guitar.

Also, with your wah, I took the rubber stoppers off the foot lever. This allowed me to turn the pedal on and off without having to stop on it quite as hard. Also, check out the DIY mods (where you only need a screwdriver and don't have to do any component switching). You might be able to dial in the "perfect voice" for your sound.

Thanks for the tips! That all makes sense. I was wondering if it has something to do with the humbuckers. The guy in Guitar Center told me the same thing- about modifying it. He basically sold me this cheaper one...unusual for Guitar Center....at the checkout the girl tried to convince me to get the repair insurance because "the switch on the Dunlops break." They tried to tell me the same thing when I bought my looper pedal at a different store in a different state.

xtremehardy388

Even if the switch DOES break, it's a fairly cheap fix that you can do yourself.

BHealy

xtremehardy388 said:

Even if the switch DOES break, it's a fairly cheap fix that you can do yourself.

That's kind of what I was thinking. They act like the product they're selling is junk, so you buy the insurance! If its that bad they shouldn't sell it! LOL!

xtremehardy388

Honestly...unless you're buying a plastic Dan-o, behringer pedal, or Ibanez Soundtank pedal, you should be fine. And I have a Ibanez TS-7. The plastic switch broke and my buddy moded it with a metal switch. The pedal works fine. Pedals are supposed to be stepped on.