I just read your comment 😂 I totally agree and think the time and money I’ve spent on pedals and building my own pedals would have been better spent on more guitars, can never have too many of those.
This is so true, even with modelers. The limited effects slots on the pod go don't feel so limited when you realize you can push the amp when you set the eq pedal as a clean boost (since the eq can't be changed into a different pedal)
@@Jacob-ir6zi That's a very good point. For me I use the eq on the Pod Go because that takes up one effects slot and can't be changed to another effect, so it's good to utilize it for more than "just" tone sculpting eq. Putting that as a boost in front of the amp gives nice extra gain for an edge-of-breakup tone. I put a mxr custom badass overdrive in the external effects loop after the eq/clean boost, so I can get closer to having clean, rhythm and lead on the same preset. It also helps me avoid the dirt effects on the Pod Go which can be a little meh and which I honestly don't like, AND it frees up 4 effects slots which are plenty for me (comp, verb, delay and chorus). Otherwise I'd have to get rid of comp & chorus
“Anything but practice” is a trap we all can get into lol. The quick dopamine hit of getting or lusting after pedals is a far easier trap to fall into than the slow dopamine release of actually playing the guitar
Yes I have bought a ton of pedals (particularly Overdrives). Budget, boutique, very high end, ect. No matter what OD’s I buy I always go back to the Boss Blues Driver.
I spent less than $1,000 on Effect Pedals before I realized that the inability to save their settings made the essentially useless for my purposes. I then switched to Modelers, currently an Hx Stomp, and never looked back. In my opinion, Modelers are much more complicated than Analog Amps and Pedals. Consequently, they require much more time to learn how to dial in good tones. The only "Pedal" I'd advise buying is a good Looper (one with "Auto-sensing" so it can be set to start recording when you start playing, instead of having to press a button), as it will help you advance faster than just about anything else, and is loads of fun to use. 😎
I salute you in the fact that you’re satisfied mate. I don’t mind the modellers. But stick a Tube Screamer, Timmy, Klone into a good quality amp ala Friedman, Mesa, Two Rock and it’s night and day
@@intenzityd3181 I’ve done my own A/B’ing mate. With real amps and pedals. I agree the amps get very close. Albeit you’ll never get that sizzle of a Friedman and or clean harmonics of a Two Rock from a modeller. The issue for me is the ODs in the modeller’s are mostly way off real thing, and when I put a Timmy into the modeller instead it doesn’t sound a Timmy into a real amp.
I’m with John on the drive pedals bit. I’ve had loads of pedals, boutique & otherwise. But I’m really back to basics & sold most of them off. 2 amps, Fender Princeton, Fender Blues Junior Tweed. Maxon OD808 Tubescreamer, Boss BD-2 Bluesdriver, a chorus & delay pedal. That’s it, suits all the type of music I play. All of it affordable. Avoid GAS!
In my opinion, getting a modeler like an HX Effects or HX Stomp is the best first step to getting in and exploring all the different effects to see which ones you gravitate towards. Once you have an idea of what you think you like, then go buy a couple of real pedals. This can save you thousands of dollars and lots of time. You may even find that the modeler can take care of all your time-based and modulation needs and allows you to focus on getting the overdrive/distortion pedals that will probably sound better in their analog pedal form. This tactic is also a great way to explore lots of different amps to find what you like before taking the leap into investing in an amp.
Yep, but then one is up against the old 'guitarists tend to listen with their eyes!' problem. Be it believing ads, big brand names or the next great big thing.
An even better first step is to make friends with someone very generous who already has lots of pedals they can lend you . Bring beer, weed and/or food and they'll probably give you some pointers about how to get a good sound with your rig, too. (hey, you didn't say anything about how _likely_ 'the best first step' is)
Exactly what I did, hx effects handles delays reverb and modulation analog drive pedals and wah, I was using the LT into actual amps forever but missed actual overdrive pedals, although some in the helix are actually pretty good.
I love pedals, and guitars, and amps... oh, and music. For me. it has been a life-long journey supporting the wonderful builders and listeners of the things I love. If you can afford it, buy it.
I haven't spent 20K on pedals, but I have over 300 (mostly drives). I found the things I liked best with my Vox AC15C1 are: upgrading the greenback to an Alnico Blue. An Orange Amp Detonator ABY pedal (because I like having the top boost tone as an option, but find that the normal channel generally takes pedals better). Semi-parametric EQ, like the JHS Colourbox v2 is amazing. Flavours! The One Control Sonic Blue Twanger makes the Vox sound like a clean mid to late 60s Fender amp. A pedal like a Lovepedal Les Lius or a Way Huge Red Llama smalls MK3 makes it sound like a late 50s or early 60s Fender Tweed amp. The Tech21 Leeds makes it sound like a cranked Hiwatt. The Mesa Boogie V-Twin Preamp is very transparent, and so running it into a clean Vox allows me to consistently achieve 3 additional gain levels with the stomp of my foot. I also found the Crowther Hotcake, Pettyjohn Electronics ROUS Inconceivable! mod (the best RAT in the world) or even the Gold v1 (JTM45 era Marshall tones) running on 12V in, high headroom and Audient Auricap settings, though some may prefer the vintage warmth of the orange drop cap for the highs, are a short list of some of my favourite pedals with my Vox AC15C1X. Cheers!
The reason I went down the pedal route is that my knowledge was really lacking and it is then very daunting to start with a modeller doing your whole signal path in one go. Pedals with knobs that you can turn really help to improve your knowledge much quicker than changing parameters in menus. I can recommend the Keeley workstations of a few years ago. You can pick them up for relatively little secondhand, get two or three traditional pedals in one box, and they really help to learn your way around. Once bitten by the bug you can sell them on for little loss and hone in on the pedals you really want.
Another versatile pedal like that is a Fuzz Face. Something like the blue Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face, or even better the Pedal Pawn Fuzz. Cranked up, but then roll the volume back. Sounds killer on Strat neck pickup. Into a JTM, it might be my favourite tone.
uuuha yea. only came to the rat 15y after encountering the first. always hated muffs. got a jam rattler set at low gain, as a transparent od bit trebly... i hit jams eureka fuzz (can do the muff thing but more controlable and morphable) with it wich can be very bassy set at low gain (cleans up with vol down into a weirdly beautiful cleanish lofimush) ,tone back, out comes smthg i always wanted my dual recto to do...
Spent years chasing the right distorted tone thru various pedals... Finally decided to keep it simple and plug straight into my Marshall and wouldnt you know it... There was the tone i wanted all along! I now have just a tuner, compressor, and fuzz up front , and a delay and reverb in the FX loop... Happy to end my quest and just play again.
Blues Driver and Tubescreamer is a perfect combination. Blues Driver for rhythm and then put the TS in front for a slight level boost, more compression and more mids. Such a great set up!
My take is analog distortion, fuzz, drive etc always! Because digital drives just suck. But digital does reverb, delay and modulation really well so use those.
I used to agree, right up until Strymon did the Riverside and Sunset. Then UA started doing their amps in a box and I seriously questioned running amps. Things have changed a lot in the digital drive space in the last ten years. If companies can model transformer overdrive and cone-cry then transistor/opamp/diode distribution is a piece of cake. Try the Riverside if you get a chance, it's like turning up your amp (although the tone stack isn't the same obviously)
@@lukasthielmann I have used some decent high end digital kit and it certainly can make some good sounds. The problem is the time it takes to get it right and it’s not always guaranteed. The other thing is when you get it wrong where you’ve got a good drive sound and you roll on the volume on the guitar to go into feedback and instead you start getting weird digital sounds. That being said I’m an old fart with not much time who just wants to play rather then mess around with settings and IR’s. Though when I was younger I probably would go down the rabbit hole and see what’s what. Have fun now.
@@sid35gb I hear you. There's an interaction that happens when you have a loud amp and guitar in the same room. You lose that when you go digital or put your amp in another room (for recording for example). A lot of A/B demos don't take this into account. There are ways to get more of that interaction at lower volumes too, though. The best way I've found is hollow bodies without centre blocks and little 5W amps. Those bodies are so resonant that it doesn't take much energy to get them going. Leo would be rolling in his grave at me saying this though. Skipping the solid bodies and big amps and embracing hollows and small amps, lets us have the rock'n'roll squish/sustain/bloom while saving our (aging) ears. If it's not classic rock'n'roll we're aiming for the digital stuff works great
The Crowther Hot Cake is famously designed to match with a Vox amp. Another classic combination is the Rangemaster with a Vox, you can generally find clones - both silicon and germanium - for anything from buttons to boutique. Everyone seems to be recommending pedals that pair better with Fenders and Marshalls. I wouldn’t go with a tubescreamer for a Vox amp as the amp is already mid-forward, the ts design is for goosing scoopy-sounding amps. If it was me, I’d go for a Rangemaster, a Hot Cake, and an Electro Harmonix memory toy for an echo/delay with modulation built in. With the memory toy, if the modulation is a bit seasickness-inducing, you can take the bottom off and there’s a control inside that you can back off to make it more subtle, it sounds great when dialled in.
I think there is a very necessary opening for personal gear shoppers. If I could, after about 40 years, help a beginner to choose the right setup for them at that point, I’d help them for free. What do players really need? Versatility to allow exploration and fun. What do most end up with? Seven almost identical drive pedals, a boost, tuner and maybe modulation too. This is the effect of doing whatever their chosen youtube gear guru says is the latest and best choice. Knowing what I now know, with rare exceptions, I would use only Boss pedals.
I’ve got so many boss pedals that I’m to the point where I’m about 4 boss pedals away from a full boss pedal board with 20 pedals. They keep shoving the boutique pedals off my board. I’ve used them since the early 80s. And the vintage boss pedals have gotten cheaper lately. The internal components in the old boss pedals are incredible.
Yep, been around full circle with pedals and now using mostly hx stomp with a few boss pedals 😅 I wish I had someone help on the effects side of things when I was starting out, but part of the fun is trying stuff and seeing what works and what doesn’t
You can easily spend $200-500 on a boutique drive pedal. I spent probably $10k over the years trying out pedals, then replacing them. On the other hand, a Fractal FM3 is $1200 and an HX Stomp is $500, both of which come with hundreds of accurate models of boutique pedals. I might suggest playing around with the HX Stomp to find out what you like, then add a few “real” pedals that are modeled in the Helix that you probably like. I ended up getting and liking the Xotic RC Booster, OCD Drive, and the Tumnus. Digital modulation effects like delays, reverbs, tremolo, chorus, and flanger sound just as good as the dedicated analog versions. I bought a Big Sky reverb, but the reverbs in the HX stomp are nearly as good. My only other advice is that there are really only a few different drive pedal circuits. Get just one of each type, then stop looking for a better one. If you already have a clean boost pedal, you don’t need a second one. An RC Booster sounds practically identical to a King of Tone. I wish I hadn’t spent $400 to find that out.
If you ever want to start your pedal adventure, as John said in this video, start with some second hand, cheap but good proven options, like Boss. Forget boutique pedals, you're paying for the name. Contrary to most people, I think starting with pedals, and just a few nobs to fiddle, is a good option. And don't forget to practice, pedals might inspire or help you in some way, but no pedal can make you play better. Sound better maybe yes, play better, no! Take care!
I'm in a weird cycle where I'm trying to become a better musician and I use the pedals for inspiration But I also believe innovation comes from practice and simplicity. I want to justify my purchases by being a great musician. If I was as good as you, maybe I could speak the thoughts in my head out of my guitar? I'll just keep woodshedding and find out.
Most honest, helpful and fair review ive ever listened to … turns out its all accessible , reasonable, tried and true affordable pedals ! Thank you! I too have spent a lot of money and spent loads of time finding out the same as yourself.. for me its a fender Stratocaster, fender tube amp and the blues breaker.. i love pure classic tone.. the tube screamer and the blues driver are also classics … the rest is a money, tone abyss …
There's a great JHS video called something like "Understanding the different types of drive pedals available on the market" that does a great job of breaking down into groups/types. A Klon Centaur derived pedal would probably be the most obvious one to add, but certainly you should try something with hard clipping (RAT, Fulltone OCD would be others).
I’ve bought a lot of pedals as well and honestly think if you are “new to it all” something like an hx effects is the way to go. I’m actually surprised JNC didn’t emphasize that. Save your money. Most of the options he mentioned (if not all) will be in an all in one rig like the hx effects, and they honestly sound pretty great. It gives you a chance to play with a lot of sounds for less money. Over time you’ll find what specific niche pedals you might want to invest in. I’ve found digital emulations on my hx stomp that I prefer over single pedals that I own. Specifically talking drives…the timmy and klon are pretty great! When it all comes down to it you can make music with any of these options. It is fun to buy gear but it can easily become a barrier to creativity if you let it.
To answer Martin, your Patron's question - I've been using an AC15 CX with Alnico Blue over the last couple of years. Tremolo of the amp is good but I find the reverb too much, so for me a decent reverb might be better. The Universal Audio Golden is perfect if you like spring/ plates, but is expensive.The amp drives really well but it is far too loud for home use in this respect. Drive pedals that go well - Kingsley Page TS (but v. expensive), Blackstar Dept 10 Boost is a cheaper alternative to the Page and nearly gets you there, Crowther Hotcake £185 is a good match for Vox and can do both low and higher gain, and Thorpy Warthog is super versatile - boost, low gain-high gain and is £199. If you like wobbly sounds I find a flanger such as Dreadbox Komo Reebi can get good chorus/vibrato and leslie sounds as well as the jet plane stuff. Delay - can't go wrong with an analogue Memory Man type, but my choice would be the Benson Delay but it's £289. That lot should have you covered! If you do get to play loud you might want to try an extension speaker as well as the amps own speaker. I use a 2x12 with Celestion Vontage 30's which go well with the Alnico Blue, but should also mix well with the Greenback in your AC15C1. However, it really depends on what type of sounds/ music you're trying to achieve.
I think the advice of starting out at the boss end of the market is a great shout. They’re often the designs/ circuits that most variations on certain effects are based on. I would choose whichever effects you want to use based on example. What bands and musicians inspire you with interesting sounds utilising effect pedals? The first big effect pedal for me was delay, because it could give a sense of space to a quiet part, or adding a cascading dotted 8th delay behind my melodies made everything more exciting. Think about how you would use these things to enhance what you’re already doing, or what new territory you could possibly explore with them. I myself have gone from using large boards to stripping everything back to, what i find to be, my essentials- but i can’t say for certain i’d be wholly content, had i not the experience the big board. Part of the reason i stripped back is that you’re absolutely right, turning the amp up and rolling back your volume pretty much negates the NEED for most drive pedals. Compressors aren’t as necessary when you can actually turn up and get natural compression from the amp. Tremelo and reverb are my favourite effects, but they’re already in a lot of amplifiers. Fuzz is something glorious though…
Kelley muse and keely noble screamer stacked together with a halo, will get you a whole heap of sounds, 4 different top pedal tone close enough and you can swap the input stages around and the order of pedals. Just stunning.
I'm a Vox obsessive and have been for about 20 years now. I have tried countless drives, and for me, the Wampler Paisley Drive is my absolute favorite for single-coils. There are many drives that are extremely similar in tone and response, the Timmy and Prince of Tone come to mind. Another favorite is old MIJ SD-1. In my experience the current version doesn't sound the same. Any of these paired with a good compressor will give you the range from clippy clean to sustaining drive and without buzzy excess gain that tends to go hand in hand with distortion pedals.
I'd say get an hxstomp or hxfx and then set up a pedal budget of max 1000$ and live within that. Beyond this little playground which is the value of a decent guitar you would do well to simply sell gear off and buy with the proceeds. That which is undeniably good about pedals is the ability to tweak, but if you cannot save presets and recall then you'll be forever tweaking. Having quick access to knobs and switches is usually the big deal. I started my pedal obsession mostly thanks to John Cordy, it is a diabolically addictive thing for many reasons but mostly cosmetic and not so much audible . Of the pedals I've bought the line6 versions work just as well, and most only have 3 knobs for drives and those same 3 are instantly accessible in an hxstomp. Klon, tube screamer, blues breaker - king of tone. Those he just suggested, you have em. Give it a go Yes, but set limits or you too will have 30-40 in no time. A d'addario xpand pedalboard is very useful. Flexible, finite space . Once you fill it, stop or sell something to make room and enjoy the exploration but mind how you go.
I definitely endorse your pedal choice John in this instance. I currently use a Bluebreaker as my first drive into a Tonex with AC30 captures. I then currently have a Prince of Tone (or a Timmy) with a Tuescreamer for lead. A Stomp handles mods, delay and verb.
It's all optional. There's no right or wrong. For Vox AC15 I love the Origin Effects Magma57 for low gain to mid gain drive. It matches the sound of the amp well, adds a bit of mid push and tonal flexibility, and has amazing vibrato and Univibe sounds. Expensive, but covers a lot of ground and is easily my favorite drive. Add a treble booster for leads, a Boss DC-2 or CE-2 Chorus, and a delay that suits your taste and that's a really versatile kit. For country, low gain drives like the Nobels ODR-1 and Timmy are nice for stacking. For rock, I'd go with fuzz pedals instead of overdrives for additional gain because they complement amps nicely with unique textural qualities to the gain. The Tonebender and Colorsound Overdriver are good choices for a Vox. I use the BAE Hot Fuzz, which has a Colorsound Overdriver and Rangemaster Treble Booster in one box. Phase, flange, and all of the other stuff are just additional ways to add movement and color the sound, but you can also just stick to the Tremolo and Vibrato.
Great topic - enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts here. I'm old school and have pretty much stayed with the same basic FX line-up over the years. Back in '70s for live work it was Paul Crowther's Hot Cake, MXR Phase 90, De Armond Wah, Shobud Vol Pedal and either WEM Copycat or Roland Space Echo into a Fender Twin. My current studio rig when I'm going DI is Effectrode Blackbird & Strymon Flint (that's my Fender Twin pedal stand-ins!) with Paul Crowther's Double Hot Cake, MXR Analog Chorus and TCE Alter Ego (for slapback and wobbly 'degrading' tape echo) & Flashback Triple Delay for fancier dotted eigths stuff etc. My 'luxury pedal' is the Neo Ventilator II which is the closest I have found to recreating a real Leslie - love that sound! I tend to switch guitars from Les Paul to Strat to Gretsch etc depending on what we're recording and this simple rig adapts as required.
An EQ pedal has to be the most undervalued of all effects pedals. While kind of "unsexy", it'll do the work of a boost pedal while giving an infinite amount of different tonal options when run into a drive pedal. I'd start with a Boss GE-7 and a BD-2 as a basis if I was to start the journey over. From there, venture into the world of modulation, mainly with delays of differing lenght and feedback, and a chorus.
I would suggest picking up a cheap Boss ME-series 2nd hand and finding out what fx you are really going to use IRL. And after that diving into the specific pedals. You will always have the ME as a backup for the stuff you want once in a while and can spend your money more wisely.
I have two pedals (excluding wah pedals) that I consider the MVP's of my pedal collection. The MXR 10 band EQ is one of them (blindingly bright blue leds notwithstanding lol). The other has nothing to do with tone, but rather, has been invaluable for my learning, making progress as a musician, and for experimentiing with ideas. And that is my Boss RC-3 Loop Station. So maybe this shouldn't count, since it's not really a part of my tone journey, but it has definitely been a part of my learning journey, and has been immensely useful. Highly recommended (any good looper, not necessarily this one specifically), with the caveat that it's going to be most useful with an amp that has sn effects loop. I also use it with amp modelers and my DAW despite many modeling suites and DAWs having their own looper functions built right in. It's just so convenient. Edit: Not a lot to say about an EQ pedal since @The_Rodge already kind of said it. Awesome tone shaping tool. And in my case, I use it to further shape my wah sound and wouldn't want to do without it.
I was satisfied with just a boss sd1 for a long time (in front of a blues junior). I came to realise that I don’t like amp reverbs very much and added a delay that I generally use for short ish delay sounds instead of a reverb. I can be satisfied with just that but occasionally love a little bit of modulation.
I'd suggest that pedals lend themselves to certain genres and styles of playing , but maybe for most that I commonly see in SM content, modelers would serve just as well. Pedals,- especially more advanced or specialized designs, - are vital if you're trying to do something different or outside of your standard wedding, church, or cover band. Personally, my thing is all about tube amps and pedal effects; they are key components in the creative process. I would also concur, having tried most of them, that the Boss BD 2 and SD 1 are two of the best going.I avoid all the standard drive circuits, favoring the Hudson Broadcast and various simple boosts,- and it took a lot of trial and error ( and many, many pedals) to figure that out. The basic amp and speakers you choose is a pretty big deal; not even the best effects are going to help if you choose wrong in either of those areas.The amp and cab should be able to get close to what you're looking for by themselves ( though part of what is great about the HB is that it can re voice and re stage almost anything).
I don't know about AC15's as it's a long time since I used one, but Yes - the Blues Driver is a great choice, versatile and easy to get a nice sound with. Another cheapish excellent drive pedal is the Electro Harmonix Glove, which is meant to be an OCD clone. Works very well for me into 68 Deluxe Reverb, or into my Carl Martin Ampster.
I'd go blues driver, tube screamer, and if you want to dabble with modulation any boss chorus will do quite a lot. For delays there are basically two options, a boss dd series and the mxr carbon copy. The only other things you might want to look at are a compressor and an eq pedal. I feel like that covers 95% of what most people would ever need. Anything beyond that is just extra flavor.
Depends on what you’re playing. If your in a cover band/top 40 band where you need multiple “sounds” then multiple pedals. If your a blues man then maybe 1 or 2 ODs
The pedal journey for me got out of hand. Bought way too many. Was always Jonesing for the latest thing. In 2016, sold almost all my pedals and bought a Helix. I haven't looked back since. It's a solution that works for me and has cured my pedal envy. But I still love That Pedal Show!
It’s kinda ironic , i have literally hundred pedals including the “Klon” , Rats , Kot , Binsons , Ep3 etc etc, lately i use a Unit 67 pedal into Royal blue overdrive into a Benson gernanium boost into a Eventide H90 with Morningstar controller into a vintage 65’ deluxe reverb and its sounds fantastic , easy to use , small board , easy to carry, happy days
It’s an AC15VR, still a totally fine place to get started but not an AC15, you are on the right track there. I have to say a Line 6 m9 for all but drive is wonderful for the price and still totally relevant.
My first amp was Vox AC15, and my board was pretty simple: SD1, Tc flashback and ditto looper - best board possible. Now I got board around HX Stomp and I got option paralysis. The best board is simple board
I still have the 3 pedals I bought for an extra $40 from the guy I bought my 1st guitar (used) from back in 86-87ish. The one distortion unit is the Ross and it's served me well for almost 40 years now. I just got a Donner Blues Breaker kind of thing and honestly, it's pretty damn good for a $40 pedal. Maybe someday I'll get the $300 Halcyon Blues-breaker but until then I'm pretty damn happy with my budget buys. I hope you do more of this type of video as a series of sorts - What are your favorite modulation pedals, and delays, etc.
BD2 has a lot of sheer volume on tap. The green screamers fix tone problems as much as provide drive. If you know what to use them for, they are useful. Tube tremolo on the amp can't be beat for modulation. Digital emulations of that can be good. If I can give you a suggestion John, look into the original Analogman Sunface NKT 274 fuzz. The way it works with your guitar's volume and cleans up is unlike anything else.
I spent years and thousands on pedals before I switched to digital. It took until about 2014-15 before I thought the overdrives were actually there. But modulation was there in the late 90’s early 00’s. The only real (but tiny) difference I see now is with delays. The old green line 6 delay (and a lot of other analogue delays) have some real niche sounds that you just can’t get from digital. That said, if you aren’t trying experimental sounds, you’d never even know what you were missing. The actual effect itself is essentially identical. Just some of the control responses change. I have been line 6 all the way for almost a decade. Not out of brand loyalty, just familiarity with their UI’s. All the brands sound fantastic now. I should probably sell most of my old pedals at this point.
I think the OCD is my favourite drive that I own. It’s very versatile with the different modes, and it sounds great with an AC15. I pair it with a tube screamer
Good advice and my two pence worth would be dont spend 100s of quid on boutique pedals, buy cheap Chinese clone pedals by companies like Joyo, Behringer Nu-x etc that way you can find out what works for you for only a small layout especially if bought second hand from online markets like reverb and ebay, then and only then if you feel that you really like a certain type of overdrive, delay, chorus etc save a little more and buy the more expensive brands if thats what you really want, although Ive found that many of the inexpensive pedals sound great. After spending thousands of quid on pedals overthe years I now have one USA boutique overdrive and an MXR Carbon Copy delay on my board and all the other pedals are from the well known Chinese companies and I love 'em, so dont think you have to join the gear snobs out there ;)
I’ve discovered I prefer two overdrive styles. I use those with two channels of amp. For everything else, I’ve moved to multi FX. Huge pedalboards are just a hassle for me.
If you want something with a good flat response I would recommend a Nobles ODR-1 type pedal. I have the wampler belle which adds some extra functions and controls that help me get a great sound. Sounds fantastic through a tube amp.
Modellers/multifx are great if you are always in a situation in which you have control over your sound - eg your own gigs. If you go to jams/ sessions/ use other backline, knowing how to get your sound with a few basic pedals is much more useful
I have used Paul's Hot Cake since the late '70s back when we were starting out in Wellington and Paul was still drumming for Split Enz - my live and studio rig was a 50x Fender Top & Cab, then a Twin. A few years back I got his Double Hot Cake and highly recommend it. It's actually possible to set up 3 sounds on it that you can access with a tip of the toe on stage. I use one for OD 'broken picking' chordal stuff, the other one for soloing and then you can mix both for a nice fat block chord thing . . . it's a 3 in 1 job! Have fun!
I also ran the gamut on the boutique pedals. The goal was to get pedals that not only sounded killer and matched my amp/guitar, but also stacked well together. In the end I built three boards, large/medium/small. I haven’t bought or traded any pedals in almost two years. The GAS has ended.
The best way for those getting into pedals is actually to buy an affordable multi effects/modeler first. The majority of people getting into guitar are only playing at home, by themselves or jamming and having fun with friends. There is no need to invest large amounts of money whilst learning just to sell stuff you don’t need. Experimenting and learning how to dial in tones, understanding things like where effects are best in the chain is crucial and the fun part of adding any color to your signal. There are lots of affordable units that give you way more options and effects and most have great easy to use interface software. As you learn what you like you can introduced specific pedals as needed without buying and selling too often. If and when you make it to a regular performance level you would have establish a not only an understanding of effects but assembled some form of pedal board that suits you and the music you play. Good luck to all on the music journey.
I think a lot of people don't even realize how much we spend on pedals unless we pay attention to it. I've had well over $20 USD in pedals, probably closer to $30-$40k over the last 10-12 years. That doesn't include amps and guitars. I'm down to a couple of nice guitars, an amp, an FM9, and some powered cabinets (and a few rare pedals I wouldn't be able to replace that i kept) It's been fantastic to slim down. The FM9 made it so buying other gear doesn't really even make sense.
I totally agree that overdrives are much better in actual physical form than in digital modelling, if you're playing into a real amp that is. Digital drives are not going to push those valves in the same way that's why.
If all I had was an AC15 my first pedal would be overdrive, something like a Blues Driver, OCD or Nobels ODR type pedal (I like the Belle) are all great and not expensive. Second pedal would be a delay. The JHS 3 series delay can be picked up used very inexpensive and has both digital and analog delay settings. Third pedal would be another complimentary overdrive different from the first like a TS, Klon, or other boosty type pedal
The Boss/JHS Angry Driver is a very nice pedal. You have the Blues Driver in it, but then also JHS's Angry Charlie, which was a very nice surprise for me. One of my favourite drive sounds for sure, very JCM800 sounding. And then you have a variety of different ways to combine the 2.
@johnnathancordy the Keeley will give you the hard or soft clipping that different drive pedals have, the EQ2 has gain for days, and the ability to sculpt your tone better than any drive. 2 ins and outs mean you can boost post pre-amp. The Gate is OK. I prefer the ISP G-String Noisegate.
AC15 normal channel. Plus a drive pedal and a compressor is epic. I’ve tried tube screamers and klon types and they can be a bit middle focused into what is already quid a mid focused amp, so the blues driver or my fav the Lightspeed is a good option. The compressor as a boost is just next level. Get a four knob keeley second hand.
My suggestion for Martin or anyone looking to explore pedals is to first watch Josh Scott's (JHS) video entitled "What's the Deal With Behringer?". One can buy a new or used Behringer pedal for $30 or less. It's an economical way to try out various types of pedals. If one decides that a certain pedal is a necessity, then drop some $$ on the more rugged original versions. Cheers and good luck.
I would recommend buying a Nano Cortex and then going around to John Nathan Cordy's house and copying/capturing (or whatever its called) his entire setup.
Pedals are definitely addictive. Just like the mistaken belief that the next guitar will magically make you play better, it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking the next pedal holds the ultimate answer to finding your desired sound. But then, as soon as you've got it, something else is released or you see someone on TH-cam recommending a different pedal, and you dive down a new rabbit hole. I've probably got around £1,000 on my pedalboard, and I love it - it sounds great through a tube amp. The irony is that when I played my biggest gig at a festival this summer, I'd busted my leg, so I had to ditch both the amp and the pedalboard and play through a NUX MG-30 into the PA - and I have to admit I got the best sound with the least hassle that I've ever had live...
I've found that the MXR Distortion III is really great drive/distortion to stack with the Vox sound. The Distortion III doesn't get a lot of attention because it sounds terrible with most amps, but it works in a very special way with a Vox. It must have been designed around Vox. It really sounds great, and they're really cheap.
The type of amp makes a big difference, so a screamer into a Fender Deluxe works a treat. I’m pretty sure TPS Dan tried a screamer into a Vox and thought it was too much mids, thought the Blues Driver was perfect, but worth trying out.
Agree with a BD2. I’d be happy if that was my only pedal. But I do prefer the waza flavor with the custom mode. The custom mode ups the low mids to my ear making it sound just a bit more like a mid hump drive, like an SD1 or TS. It think it makes it a good do anything drive pedal.
Prince… Boss… as we all know the purple one couldn’t play guitar, didn’t have a successful career, had awful, unimaginative and seriously limited guitar sounds because he only ever used Boss pedals… Just a thought
😂 the thing i noticed with Boss was how they changed my clean tone. This was back when I was a teen with a 15w SS practice amp and no real money to upgrade. I was grateful to finally have an amp with an FX loop in my 20s 🙏
Interesting info. I've been using the visual sound garage tone Drivetrain as my main overdrive since the 90's and find it hard to beat! Although they're discontinued they can be found on ebay/reverb. Well worth checking out! Cheers, Stephen from Scotland
Unfortunately the dopamine rush of buying anything shiny and new can become addictive from mild to severe, guitars, pedals, amps etc it’s quite a slippery slope
I gigged straight into my VOXAC 15 the other day and just used my volume knob to clean up. I just set the reverb a little higher than usual and have er a little bit of tremolo. My strat has a natural chorus to it so it really just kinda sang I thought. I do have a pedal board with 4 pedals on it for like washy reverb type stuff
I think, for me, the advantage of pedals over multifx units is just that instant accessibility to the knobs. I'm sure an argument could equally be made that any well designed multifx can be set up to store all sorts of tones for instant access but I just fall out with all that pressing-this-whilst-holding-that-then-double-tapping-the-other. I end up so frustrated. And without regular practice with accessing those menus I soon feel as though I am at square one again. For me it's "see pedal, see knobs, twist 'em." I have been on the edge of getting a TC Electronic Plethora X3 for some time but the thought of it easily replacing my standalone Flashback and HoF whilst giving me so much more besides still doesn't quite swing it. And that mfx unit is a pretty simple one too! I'm such a luddite... 😆
My fair share of boutique pedals include the MI Audio Crunchbox, JHS Double-Barrel Shotgun, MXR Duke of Tone and Timmy. Recently discovered Mosky frm the JHS Pedal show. Now I use only the Moskys at perhaps 1/5 of the price of boutique. The Dirty Rat, Silver Drive and the OCD. Accomplishes all tonal territory w my Vox AC15. And btw, am I the only one to find it sacrilegious to be buying “boutique” distortion pedals? Distortion are supposed to be rough and brash in a peasant way. Not meant to be a high-class boutique-y thing 😅😁😁 for that the Rat and Boss DS1 are still the undisputed distortion pedals imo. Timeless, unassuming. But still lethally effective at a great price
It really depends on what your goal to sound like. That person or sound which is inspiring you. We all have that “sound” that we are reaching for, whether we know it or not. It’s one of the reasons we pick guitar in the first place. That being said, the pedals I stomp on the most are reverb, delay and drives. Those will carry you for years. Practice.
A Funny Thing About Hardware. Right befor covid I bought my First All-New Guitar wwhen my son decided he wants to play Bossa Nova. SO I gave hime mine and was in the market for a new Guitar, DAC, and Wah-Wah. Well I bought an open-box Pod Go ($250) which was more than $50 less than I would have spent on 3 pedals. But I can dial in thousands of combos and sequences and even tweak these units out of spec if I am feeling it The THING that makes it wortwhile is that I play throu a set of Sennheiser sutdio cups. So I can dial in different combinations from simpe to magnificent ant then actually hear the difference The same thing happens with my Fender Champion 20. In the room its sound is nice, but in headphones it is Lovely.
At open mics I take an Acoustasonic with a tuner and a clean boost. When gigging on electric I take the clean boost, an overdrive pedal, a tremolo and the tuner. I'm 70 now and yes I have lots of pedals gathering dust.
@@jptovee Yes, Ive owned most all Strymon pedals at some pt. You can dial in Riverside tones on the sunset, but not Sunset tones on the Riverside if that makes sense?
![30 ชั่วโมงคนเดียว บนรถไฟชั้น 3 โซเวียต [Around The World Ep. 2]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/MlE9boAVqDA/mqdefault.jpg)
I’ve spent way more than that on pedals-mostly dirt pedals-just to realize an EQ pedal into a dirt pedal will do whatever you want. Such is life.
I just read your comment 😂 I totally agree and think the time and money I’ve spent on pedals and building my own pedals would have been better spent on more guitars, can never have too many of those.
This is so true, even with modelers. The limited effects slots on the pod go don't feel so limited when you realize you can push the amp when you set the eq pedal as a clean boost (since the eq can't be changed into a different pedal)
True but good eq pedals tend to cost more than dirt pedals. FYI I regularly use an eq as a mid boost
@@Jacob-ir6zi same is true for pickups and EQ pedals
@@Jacob-ir6zi That's a very good point. For me I use the eq on the Pod Go because that takes up one effects slot and can't be changed to another effect, so it's good to utilize it for more than "just" tone sculpting eq.
Putting that as a boost in front of the amp gives nice extra gain for an edge-of-breakup tone. I put a mxr custom badass overdrive in the external effects loop after the eq/clean boost, so I can get closer to having clean, rhythm and lead on the same preset.
It also helps me avoid the dirt effects on the Pod Go which can be a little meh and which I honestly don't like, AND it frees up 4 effects slots which are plenty for me (comp, verb, delay and chorus). Otherwise I'd have to get rid of comp & chorus
“Anything but practice” is a trap we all can get into lol.
The quick dopamine hit of getting or lusting after pedals is a far easier trap to fall into than the slow dopamine release of actually playing the guitar
Yes I have bought a ton of pedals (particularly Overdrives). Budget, boutique, very high end, ect. No matter what OD’s I buy I always go back to the Boss Blues Driver.
I spent less than $1,000 on Effect Pedals before I realized that the inability to save their settings made the essentially useless for my purposes. I then switched to Modelers, currently an Hx Stomp, and never looked back.
In my opinion, Modelers are much more complicated than Analog Amps and Pedals. Consequently, they require much more time to learn how to dial in good tones. The only "Pedal" I'd advise buying is a good Looper (one with "Auto-sensing" so it can be set to start recording when you start playing, instead of having to press a button), as it will help you advance faster than just about anything else, and is loads of fun to use. 😎
I salute you in the fact that you’re satisfied mate.
I don’t mind the modellers. But stick a Tube Screamer, Timmy, Klone into a good quality amp ala Friedman, Mesa, Two Rock and it’s night and day
It's not, there are plenty of A/B comparisons on TH-cam showing how it's not,
@@intenzityd3181 I’ve done my own A/B’ing mate. With real amps and pedals. I agree the amps get very close. Albeit you’ll never get that sizzle of a Friedman and or clean harmonics of a Two Rock from a modeller.
The issue for me is the ODs in the modeller’s are mostly way off real thing, and when I put a Timmy into the modeller instead it doesn’t sound a Timmy into a real amp.
@@danharding9136 I'm going to guess that you are about 55, and that inten is about 20.
@@ShimiHalperin26 year old here, the dude is right. if you are fine with using modelers that’s cool but to say they are 1:1 is absurd lol
Id be an amazing player if I practised as much as farting around with gear
But farting around with gear is a big fun part of the hobby.
I’m with John on the drive pedals bit. I’ve had loads of pedals, boutique & otherwise. But I’m really back to basics & sold most of them off. 2 amps, Fender Princeton, Fender Blues Junior Tweed. Maxon OD808 Tubescreamer, Boss BD-2 Bluesdriver, a chorus & delay pedal. That’s it, suits all the type of music I play. All of it affordable. Avoid GAS!
Just realised all the pedals i bought 20-25 years ago might now be considered vintage 🤦♂️
The word “Vintage” adds good tone to whatever pedal
In my opinion, getting a modeler like an HX Effects or HX Stomp is the best first step to getting in and exploring all the different effects to see which ones you gravitate towards. Once you have an idea of what you think you like, then go buy a couple of real pedals. This can save you thousands of dollars and lots of time. You may even find that the modeler can take care of all your time-based and modulation needs and allows you to focus on getting the overdrive/distortion pedals that will probably sound better in their analog pedal form. This tactic is also a great way to explore lots of different amps to find what you like before taking the leap into investing in an amp.
Yep, but then one is up against the old 'guitarists tend to listen with their eyes!' problem. Be it believing ads, big brand names or the next great big thing.
An even better first step is to make friends with someone very generous who already has lots of pedals they can lend you . Bring beer, weed and/or food and they'll probably give you some pointers about how to get a good sound with your rig, too.
(hey, you didn't say anything about how _likely_ 'the best first step' is)
@@shaft9000 Trouble is they will try to convice you to do what they did.
Exactly what I did, hx effects handles delays reverb and modulation analog drive pedals and wah, I was using the LT into actual amps forever but missed actual overdrive pedals, although some in the helix are actually pretty good.
Or even a pod express for even less $
I love pedals, and guitars, and amps... oh, and music. For me. it has been a life-long journey supporting the wonderful builders and listeners of the things I love. If you can afford it, buy it.
I haven't spent 20K on pedals, but I have over 300 (mostly drives). I found the things I liked best with my Vox AC15C1 are: upgrading the greenback to an Alnico Blue. An Orange Amp Detonator ABY pedal (because I like having the top boost tone as an option, but find that the normal channel generally takes pedals better). Semi-parametric EQ, like the JHS Colourbox v2 is amazing. Flavours! The One Control Sonic Blue Twanger makes the Vox sound like a clean mid to late 60s Fender amp. A pedal like a Lovepedal Les Lius or a Way Huge Red Llama smalls MK3 makes it sound like a late 50s or early 60s Fender Tweed amp. The Tech21 Leeds makes it sound like a cranked Hiwatt. The Mesa Boogie V-Twin Preamp is very transparent, and so running it into a clean Vox allows me to consistently achieve 3 additional gain levels with the stomp of my foot. I also found the Crowther Hotcake, Pettyjohn Electronics ROUS Inconceivable! mod (the best RAT in the world) or even the Gold v1 (JTM45 era Marshall tones) running on 12V in, high headroom and Audient Auricap settings, though some may prefer the vintage warmth of the orange drop cap for the highs, are a short list of some of my favourite pedals with my Vox AC15C1X. Cheers!
If you spent £50/$50 on each of those 300 drives, that 15k already....
The reason I went down the pedal route is that my knowledge was really lacking and it is then very daunting to start with a modeller doing your whole signal path in one go. Pedals with knobs that you can turn really help to improve your knowledge much quicker than changing parameters in menus. I can recommend the Keeley workstations of a few years ago. You can pick them up for relatively little secondhand, get two or three traditional pedals in one box, and they really help to learn your way around. Once bitten by the bug you can sell them on for little loss and hone in on the pedals you really want.
The Rat is a really versatile pedal. It's my personal favorite. Low gain rat sounds are a real sleeper. Big muffs are always fun too.
Plus 1
A rat into my Vox AC15 on low gain settings sounds unbelievable.
Another versatile pedal like that is a Fuzz Face. Something like the blue Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face, or even better the Pedal Pawn Fuzz. Cranked up, but then roll the volume back. Sounds killer on Strat neck pickup. Into a JTM, it might be my favourite tone.
uuuha yea. only came to the rat 15y after encountering the first. always hated muffs. got a jam rattler set at low gain, as a transparent od bit trebly... i hit jams eureka fuzz (can do the muff thing but more controlable and morphable) with it wich can be very bassy set at low gain (cleans up with vol down into a weirdly beautiful cleanish lofimush) ,tone back, out comes smthg i always wanted my dual recto to do...
RAT 👍
Spent years chasing the right distorted tone thru various pedals... Finally decided to keep it simple and plug straight into my Marshall and wouldnt you know it... There was the tone i wanted all along! I now have just a tuner, compressor, and fuzz up front , and a delay and reverb in the FX loop... Happy to end my quest and just play again.
Blues Driver and Tubescreamer is a perfect combination. Blues Driver for rhythm and then put the TS in front for a slight level boost, more compression and more mids. Such a great set up!
What this guy said.
Noted the change format and edit on your postings. Great, much more captivating. Well done bud!
My take is analog distortion, fuzz, drive etc always! Because digital drives just suck. But digital does reverb, delay and modulation really well so use those.
I used to agree, right up until Strymon did the Riverside and Sunset. Then UA started doing their amps in a box and I seriously questioned running amps. Things have changed a lot in the digital drive space in the last ten years. If companies can model transformer overdrive and cone-cry then transistor/opamp/diode distribution is a piece of cake. Try the Riverside if you get a chance, it's like turning up your amp (although the tone stack isn't the same obviously)
@@lukasthielmann I have used some decent high end digital kit and it certainly can make some good sounds. The problem is the time it takes to get it right and it’s not always guaranteed. The other thing is when you get it wrong where you’ve got a good drive sound and you roll on the volume on the guitar to go into feedback and instead you start getting weird digital sounds. That being said I’m an old fart with not much time who just wants to play rather then mess around with settings and IR’s. Though when I was younger I probably would go down the rabbit hole and see what’s what. Have fun now.
@@sid35gb I hear you. There's an interaction that happens when you have a loud amp and guitar in the same room. You lose that when you go digital or put your amp in another room (for recording for example). A lot of A/B demos don't take this into account.
There are ways to get more of that interaction at lower volumes too, though. The best way I've found is hollow bodies without centre blocks and little 5W amps. Those bodies are so resonant that it doesn't take much energy to get them going. Leo would be rolling in his grave at me saying this though. Skipping the solid bodies and big amps and embracing hollows and small amps, lets us have the rock'n'roll squish/sustain/bloom while saving our (aging) ears.
If it's not classic rock'n'roll we're aiming for the digital stuff works great
The Crowther Hot Cake is famously designed to match with a Vox amp. Another classic combination is the Rangemaster with a Vox, you can generally find clones - both silicon and germanium - for anything from buttons to boutique. Everyone seems to be recommending pedals that pair better with Fenders and Marshalls. I wouldn’t go with a tubescreamer for a Vox amp as the amp is already mid-forward, the ts design is for goosing scoopy-sounding amps. If it was me, I’d go for a Rangemaster, a Hot Cake, and an Electro Harmonix memory toy for an echo/delay with modulation built in. With the memory toy, if the modulation is a bit seasickness-inducing, you can take the bottom off and there’s a control inside that you can back off to make it more subtle, it sounds great when dialled in.
I think there is a very necessary opening for personal gear shoppers. If I could, after about 40 years, help a beginner to choose the right setup for them at that point, I’d help them for free.
What do players really need? Versatility to allow exploration and fun. What do most end up with? Seven almost identical drive pedals, a boost, tuner and maybe modulation too. This is the effect of doing whatever their chosen youtube gear guru says is the latest and best choice.
Knowing what I now know, with rare exceptions, I would use only Boss pedals.
I’ve got so many boss pedals that I’m to the point where I’m about 4 boss pedals away from a full boss pedal board with 20 pedals. They keep shoving the boutique pedals off my board. I’ve used them since the early 80s. And the vintage boss pedals have gotten cheaper lately. The internal components in the old boss pedals are incredible.
Sweetwater wants you
Yep, been around full circle with pedals and now using mostly hx stomp with a few boss pedals 😅 I wish I had someone help on the effects side of things when I was starting out, but part of the fun is trying stuff and seeing what works and what doesn’t
Aside from my Jan Ray and Tumnus I agree
You can easily spend $200-500 on a boutique drive pedal. I spent probably $10k over the years trying out pedals, then replacing them. On the other hand, a Fractal FM3 is $1200 and an HX Stomp is $500, both of which come with hundreds of accurate models of boutique pedals. I might suggest playing around with the HX Stomp to find out what you like, then add a few “real” pedals that are modeled in the Helix that you probably like. I ended up getting and liking the Xotic RC Booster, OCD Drive, and the Tumnus. Digital modulation effects like delays, reverbs, tremolo, chorus, and flanger sound just as good as the dedicated analog versions. I bought a Big Sky reverb, but the reverbs in the HX stomp are nearly as good.
My only other advice is that there are really only a few different drive pedal circuits. Get just one of each type, then stop looking for a better one. If you already have a clean boost pedal, you don’t need a second one. An RC Booster sounds practically identical to a King of Tone. I wish I hadn’t spent $400 to find that out.
Never mind the B-ll-cks, the Soul Food & the Rat together, rock
If you ever want to start your pedal adventure, as John said in this video, start with some second hand, cheap but good proven options, like Boss.
Forget boutique pedals, you're paying for the name. Contrary to most people, I think starting with pedals, and just a few nobs to fiddle, is a good option. And don't forget to practice, pedals might inspire or help you in some way, but no pedal can make you play better. Sound better maybe yes, play better, no! Take care!
I'm in a weird cycle where I'm trying to become a better musician and I use the pedals for inspiration
But I also believe innovation comes from practice and simplicity. I want to justify my purchases by being a great musician.
If I was as good as you, maybe I could speak the thoughts in my head out of my guitar? I'll just keep woodshedding and find out.
I agree I think that dialling up new sounds gives you new inspiration
Most honest, helpful and fair review ive ever listened to … turns out its all accessible , reasonable, tried and true affordable pedals ! Thank you! I too have spent a lot of money and spent loads of time finding out the same as yourself.. for me its a fender Stratocaster, fender tube amp and the blues breaker.. i love pure classic tone.. the tube screamer and the blues driver are also classics … the rest is a money, tone abyss …
There's a great JHS video called something like "Understanding the different types of drive pedals available on the market" that does a great job of breaking down into groups/types.
A Klon Centaur derived pedal would probably be the most obvious one to add, but certainly you should try something with hard clipping (RAT, Fulltone OCD would be others).
I’ve bought a lot of pedals as well and honestly think if you are “new to it all” something like an hx effects is the way to go. I’m actually surprised JNC didn’t emphasize that. Save your money. Most of the options he mentioned (if not all) will be in an all in one rig like the hx effects, and they honestly sound pretty great. It gives you a chance to play with a lot of sounds for less money. Over time you’ll find what specific niche pedals you might want to invest in. I’ve found digital emulations on my hx stomp that I prefer over single pedals that I own. Specifically talking drives…the timmy and klon are pretty great! When it all comes down to it you can make music with any of these options. It is fun to buy gear but it can easily become a barrier to creativity if you let it.
To answer Martin, your Patron's question - I've been using an AC15 CX with Alnico Blue over the last couple of years. Tremolo of the amp is good but I find the reverb too much, so for me a decent reverb might be better. The Universal Audio Golden is perfect if you like spring/ plates, but is expensive.The amp drives really well but it is far too loud for home use in this respect. Drive pedals that go well - Kingsley Page TS (but v. expensive), Blackstar Dept 10 Boost is a cheaper alternative to the Page and nearly gets you there, Crowther Hotcake £185 is a good match for Vox and can do both low and higher gain, and Thorpy Warthog is super versatile - boost, low gain-high gain and is £199. If you like wobbly sounds I find a flanger such as Dreadbox Komo Reebi can get good chorus/vibrato and leslie sounds as well as the jet plane stuff. Delay - can't go wrong with an analogue Memory Man type, but my choice would be the Benson Delay but it's £289. That lot should have you covered! If you do get to play loud you might want to try an extension speaker as well as the amps own speaker. I use a 2x12 with Celestion Vontage 30's which go well with the Alnico Blue, but should also mix well with the Greenback in your AC15C1. However, it really depends on what type of sounds/ music you're trying to achieve.
Drive pedal: Wampler Delux dual drive. Toolbox pedal: Eventide H90
Amp moddeler: Boss GX100. If it sounds good, it is good.
1. Boost. 2. Compressor 3. Overdrive 4 Distortion 5 Chorus modulation 6 Wah wah 7 Tape delay 8 spring delay 9 Fuzz lots of fuzz….that’s it. Extra 10 auto wah envelope filter ……
I think the advice of starting out at the boss end of the market is a great shout. They’re often the designs/ circuits that most variations on certain effects are based on. I would choose whichever effects you want to use based on example. What bands and musicians inspire you with interesting sounds utilising effect pedals? The first big effect pedal for me was delay, because it could give a sense of space to a quiet part, or adding a cascading dotted 8th delay behind my melodies made everything more exciting. Think about how you would use these things to enhance what you’re already doing, or what new territory you could possibly explore with them.
I myself have gone from using large boards to stripping everything back to, what i find to be, my essentials- but i can’t say for certain i’d be wholly content, had i not the experience the big board. Part of the reason i stripped back is that you’re absolutely right, turning the amp up and rolling back your volume pretty much negates the NEED for most drive pedals. Compressors aren’t as necessary when you can actually turn up and get natural compression from the amp. Tremelo and reverb are my favourite effects, but they’re already in a lot of amplifiers.
Fuzz is something glorious though…
Xotic Effects EP Booster is my favourite pedal. Makes everything sound better.
I feel that way about my cali 76 deluxe comp..
I bought a ToneX one pedal only to find my favourite thing to get it to do is pretend to be an ep boost 😆
@@waynedoherty7758🤣
@@waynedoherty7758lol that kind of result is very relatable for me
Kelley muse and keely noble screamer stacked together with a halo, will get you a whole heap of sounds, 4 different top pedal tone close enough and you can swap the input stages around and the order of pedals. Just stunning.
Modulation - a TC Flashback set at mod delay going into another TC Flashback set at tape delay. Or same but reversed order. Makes the notes float
I'm a Vox obsessive and have been for about 20 years now. I have tried countless drives, and for me, the Wampler Paisley Drive is my absolute favorite for single-coils. There are many drives that are extremely similar in tone and response, the Timmy and Prince of Tone come to mind. Another favorite is old MIJ SD-1. In my experience the current version doesn't sound the same.
Any of these paired with a good compressor will give you the range from clippy clean to sustaining drive and without buzzy excess gain that tends to go hand in hand with distortion pedals.
I have a modeling rig and then a separate analog rig… best of both worlds.
That's the only way as far as I'm concerned.
If you haven’t played an open E chord on a cranked amp and feel your ball warble you haven’t lived.
Did someone say Nobels ODR-1 yet?
I'd say get an hxstomp or hxfx and then set up a pedal budget of max 1000$ and live within that. Beyond this little playground which is the value of a decent guitar you would do well to simply sell gear off and buy with the proceeds.
That which is undeniably good about pedals is the ability to tweak, but if you cannot save presets and recall then you'll be forever tweaking.
Having quick access to knobs and switches is usually the big deal.
I started my pedal obsession mostly thanks to John Cordy, it is a diabolically addictive thing for many reasons but mostly cosmetic and not so much audible . Of the pedals I've bought the line6 versions work just as well, and most only have 3 knobs for drives and those same 3 are instantly accessible in an hxstomp. Klon, tube screamer, blues breaker - king of tone. Those he just suggested, you have em.
Give it a go Yes, but set limits or you too will have 30-40 in no time.
A d'addario xpand pedalboard is very useful. Flexible, finite space . Once you fill it, stop or sell something to make room and enjoy the exploration but mind how you go.
I definitely endorse your pedal choice John in this instance. I currently use a Bluebreaker as my first drive into a Tonex with AC30 captures. I then currently have a Prince of Tone (or a Timmy) with a Tuescreamer for lead. A Stomp handles mods, delay and verb.
It's all optional. There's no right or wrong. For Vox AC15 I love the Origin Effects Magma57 for low gain to mid gain drive. It matches the sound of the amp well, adds a bit of mid push and tonal flexibility, and has amazing vibrato and Univibe sounds. Expensive, but covers a lot of ground and is easily my favorite drive. Add a treble booster for leads, a Boss DC-2 or CE-2 Chorus, and a delay that suits your taste and that's a really versatile kit. For country, low gain drives like the Nobels ODR-1 and Timmy are nice for stacking. For rock, I'd go with fuzz pedals instead of overdrives for additional gain because they complement amps nicely with unique textural qualities to the gain. The Tonebender and Colorsound Overdriver are good choices for a Vox. I use the BAE Hot Fuzz, which has a Colorsound Overdriver and Rangemaster Treble Booster in one box. Phase, flange, and all of the other stuff are just additional ways to add movement and color the sound, but you can also just stick to the Tremolo and Vibrato.
With a Nordvang Gravity v2.5 + a Brown Protein you get the 4 iconic overdrive tones: TS-10, Kaon Centaur, ODR-1 and Blues Breaker
Great topic - enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts here. I'm old school and have pretty much stayed with the same basic FX line-up over the years. Back in '70s for live work it was Paul Crowther's Hot Cake, MXR Phase 90, De Armond Wah, Shobud Vol Pedal and either WEM Copycat or Roland Space Echo into a Fender Twin. My current studio rig when I'm going DI is Effectrode Blackbird & Strymon Flint (that's my Fender Twin pedal stand-ins!) with Paul Crowther's Double Hot Cake, MXR Analog Chorus and TCE Alter Ego (for slapback and wobbly 'degrading' tape echo) & Flashback Triple Delay for fancier dotted eigths stuff etc. My 'luxury pedal' is the Neo Ventilator II which is the closest I have found to recreating a real Leslie - love that sound! I tend to switch guitars from Les Paul to Strat to Gretsch etc depending on what we're recording and this simple rig adapts as required.
An EQ pedal has to be the most undervalued of all effects pedals. While kind of "unsexy", it'll do the work of a boost pedal while giving an infinite amount of different tonal options when run into a drive pedal. I'd start with a Boss GE-7 and a BD-2 as a basis if I was to start the journey over. From there, venture into the world of modulation, mainly with delays of differing lenght and feedback, and a chorus.
I didn’t think I would like the Blues Driver but I bought the Boss Waza Craft one and now I can’t do without it. A beautiful pedal for the money
I would suggest picking up a cheap Boss ME-series 2nd hand and finding out what fx you are really going to use IRL. And after that diving into the specific pedals. You will always have the ME as a backup for the stuff you want once in a while and can spend your money more wisely.
Really enjoyed your playing here, lovely phrasing and tasty tone!
I have two pedals (excluding wah pedals) that I consider the MVP's of my pedal collection. The MXR 10 band EQ is one of them (blindingly bright blue leds notwithstanding lol).
The other has nothing to do with tone, but rather, has been invaluable for my learning, making progress as a musician, and for experimentiing with ideas. And that is my Boss RC-3 Loop Station. So maybe this shouldn't count, since it's not really a part of my tone journey, but it has definitely been a part of my learning journey, and has been immensely useful.
Highly recommended (any good looper, not necessarily this one specifically), with the caveat that it's going to be most useful with an amp that has sn effects loop. I also use it with amp modelers and my DAW despite many modeling suites and DAWs having their own looper functions built right in. It's just so convenient.
Edit: Not a lot to say about an EQ pedal since @The_Rodge already kind of said it. Awesome tone shaping tool. And in my case, I use it to further shape my wah sound and wouldn't want to do without it.
Nice video!’ And the one the other day stacking the tube screamers was great as well :)
Do you still have The Dude drive pedal ?
I was satisfied with just a boss sd1 for a long time (in front of a blues junior). I came to realise that I don’t like amp reverbs very much and added a delay that I generally use for short ish delay sounds instead of a reverb. I can be satisfied with just that but occasionally love a little bit of modulation.
I'd suggest that pedals lend themselves to certain genres and styles of playing , but maybe for most that I commonly see in SM content, modelers would serve just as well.
Pedals,- especially more advanced or specialized designs, - are vital if you're trying to do something different or outside of your standard wedding, church, or cover band.
Personally, my thing is all about tube amps and pedal effects; they are key components in the creative process.
I would also concur, having tried most of them, that the Boss BD 2 and SD 1 are two of the best going.I avoid all the standard drive circuits, favoring the Hudson Broadcast and various simple boosts,- and it took a lot of trial and error ( and many, many pedals) to figure that out.
The basic amp and speakers you choose is a pretty big deal; not even the best effects are going to help if you choose wrong in either of those areas.The amp and cab should be able to get close to what you're looking for by themselves ( though part of what is great about the HB is that it can re voice and re stage almost anything).
The Blue Breaker into Blues Driver sounds terrific to me. Very light on each one.
I don't know about AC15's as it's a long time since I used one, but Yes - the Blues Driver is a great choice, versatile and easy to get a nice sound with. Another cheapish excellent drive pedal is the Electro Harmonix Glove, which is meant to be an OCD clone. Works very well for me into 68 Deluxe Reverb, or into my Carl Martin Ampster.
I'd go blues driver, tube screamer, and if you want to dabble with modulation any boss chorus will do quite a lot. For delays there are basically two options, a boss dd series and the mxr carbon copy. The only other things you might want to look at are a compressor and an eq pedal. I feel like that covers 95% of what most people would ever need. Anything beyond that is just extra flavor.
Buy used, keep it if you like it, sell it if you don't, and you can go through as many pedals you want at practically no cost ;)
Depends on what you’re playing. If your in a cover band/top 40 band where you need multiple “sounds” then multiple pedals. If your a blues man then maybe 1 or 2 ODs
The pedal journey for me got out of hand. Bought way too many. Was always Jonesing for the latest thing. In 2016, sold almost all my pedals and bought a Helix. I haven't looked back since. It's a solution that works for me and has cured my pedal envy. But I still love That Pedal Show!
It’s kinda ironic , i have literally hundred pedals including the “Klon” , Rats , Kot , Binsons , Ep3 etc etc, lately i use a Unit 67 pedal into Royal blue overdrive into a Benson gernanium boost into a Eventide H90 with Morningstar controller into a vintage 65’ deluxe reverb and its sounds fantastic , easy to use , small board , easy to carry, happy days
It’s an AC15VR, still a totally fine place to get started but not an AC15, you are on the right track there. I have to say a Line 6 m9 for all but drive is wonderful for the price and still totally relevant.
My first amp was Vox AC15, and my board was pretty simple: SD1, Tc flashback and ditto looper - best board possible. Now I got board around HX Stomp and I got option paralysis.
The best board is simple board
I like the LA Lady distortion pedal. It's a DSP pedal. It has two channels and you can set up three distortion models on each of them.
I still have the 3 pedals I bought for an extra $40 from the guy I bought my 1st guitar (used) from back in 86-87ish. The one distortion unit is the Ross and it's served me well for almost 40 years now. I just got a Donner Blues Breaker kind of thing and honestly, it's pretty damn good for a $40 pedal. Maybe someday I'll get the $300 Halcyon Blues-breaker but until then I'm pretty damn happy with my budget buys.
I hope you do more of this type of video as a series of sorts - What are your favorite modulation pedals, and delays, etc.
BD2 has a lot of sheer volume on tap. The green screamers fix tone problems as much as provide drive. If you know what to use them for, they are useful. Tube tremolo on the amp can't be beat for modulation. Digital emulations of that can be good. If I can give you a suggestion John, look into the original Analogman Sunface NKT 274 fuzz. The way it works with your guitar's volume and cleans up is unlike anything else.
The Keeley tone workstation is a great solution and has two of the drive options you listed, plus a compressor, and a boost.
I spent years and thousands on pedals before I switched to digital. It took until about 2014-15 before I thought the overdrives were actually there. But modulation was there in the late 90’s early 00’s. The only real (but tiny) difference I see now is with delays. The old green line 6 delay (and a lot of other analogue delays) have some real niche sounds that you just can’t get from digital. That said, if you aren’t trying experimental sounds, you’d never even know what you were missing. The actual effect itself is essentially identical. Just some of the control responses change. I have been line 6 all the way for almost a decade. Not out of brand loyalty, just familiarity with their UI’s. All the brands sound fantastic now. I should probably sell most of my old pedals at this point.
I think the OCD is my favourite drive that I own. It’s very versatile with the different modes, and it sounds great with an AC15. I pair it with a tube screamer
Good advice and my two pence worth would be dont spend 100s of quid on boutique pedals, buy cheap Chinese clone pedals by companies like Joyo, Behringer Nu-x etc that way you can find out what works for you for only a small layout especially if bought second hand from online markets like reverb and ebay, then and only then if you feel that you really like a certain type of overdrive, delay, chorus etc save a little more and buy the more expensive brands if thats what you really want, although Ive found that many of the inexpensive pedals sound great.
After spending thousands of quid on pedals overthe years I now have one USA boutique overdrive and an MXR Carbon Copy delay on my board and all the other pedals are from the well known Chinese companies and I love 'em, so dont think you have to join the gear snobs out there ;)
I HAVE A FEW DRIVE PEDALS AND A HELIX. SWAPPED THEM AROUND SOME ARE SPOT ON, SOME ARE A TINY BIT DIFFERENT. BOTH WORK WELL AND BOTH ARE FINE
I’ve discovered I prefer two overdrive styles. I use those with two channels of amp. For everything else, I’ve moved to multi FX. Huge pedalboards are just a hassle for me.
If you want something with a good flat response I would recommend a Nobles ODR-1 type pedal. I have the wampler belle which adds some extra functions and controls that help me get a great sound. Sounds fantastic through a tube amp.
Modellers/multifx are great if you are always in a situation in which you have control over your sound - eg your own gigs. If you go to jams/ sessions/ use other backline, knowing how to get your sound with a few basic pedals is much more useful
I understand the Crowther Hot Cake is popular with Vox amp users.
The Hot Cake and a Dallas Rangemaster clone are THE pedals for pairing with Vox amps.
I have used Paul's Hot Cake since the late '70s back when we were starting out in Wellington and Paul was still drumming for Split Enz - my live and studio rig was a 50x Fender Top & Cab, then a Twin. A few years back I got his Double Hot Cake and highly recommend it. It's actually possible to set up 3 sounds on it that you can access with a tip of the toe on stage. I use one for OD 'broken picking' chordal stuff, the other one for soloing and then you can mix both for a nice fat block chord thing . . . it's a 3 in 1 job! Have fun!
DIY is an accessible option for boost, fuzz and overdrive circuits which tend to be quite simple
I also ran the gamut on the boutique pedals. The goal was to get pedals that not only sounded killer and matched my amp/guitar, but also stacked well together. In the end I built three boards, large/medium/small. I haven’t bought or traded any pedals in almost two years. The GAS has ended.
The best way for those getting into pedals is actually to buy an affordable multi effects/modeler first.
The majority of people getting into guitar are only playing at home, by themselves or jamming and having fun with friends.
There is no need to invest large amounts of money whilst learning just to sell stuff you don’t need. Experimenting and learning how to dial in tones, understanding things like where effects are best in the chain is crucial and the fun part of adding any color to your signal.
There are lots of affordable units that give you way more options and effects and most have great easy to use interface software.
As you learn what you like you can introduced specific pedals as needed without buying and selling too often.
If and when you make it to a regular performance level you would have establish a not only an understanding of effects but assembled some form of pedal board that suits you and the music you play. Good luck to all on the music journey.
I think a lot of people don't even realize how much we spend on pedals unless we pay attention to it. I've had well over $20 USD in pedals, probably closer to $30-$40k over the last 10-12 years.
That doesn't include amps and guitars. I'm down to a couple of nice guitars, an amp, an FM9, and some powered cabinets (and a few rare pedals I wouldn't be able to replace that i kept)
It's been fantastic to slim down. The FM9 made it so buying other gear doesn't really even make sense.
I totally agree that overdrives are much better in actual physical form than in digital modelling, if you're playing into a real amp that is. Digital drives are not going to push those valves in the same way that's why.
If all I had was an AC15 my first pedal would be overdrive, something like a Blues Driver, OCD or Nobels ODR type pedal (I like the Belle) are all great and not expensive. Second pedal would be a delay. The JHS 3 series delay can be picked up used very inexpensive and has both digital and analog delay settings. Third pedal would be another complimentary overdrive different from the first like a TS, Klon, or other boosty type pedal
The Boss/JHS Angry Driver is a very nice pedal. You have the Blues Driver in it, but then also JHS's Angry Charlie, which was a very nice surprise for me. One of my favourite drive sounds for sure, very JCM800 sounding. And then you have a variety of different ways to combine the 2.
Skip the drive pedals and get a Keeley Compressor Pro & Source Audio EQ2; anything a drive can do, these will do it better.
I was just looking at the Soure Audio EQ2 last night weirdly!
@johnnathancordy the Keeley will give you the hard or soft clipping that different drive pedals have, the EQ2 has gain for days, and the ability to sculpt your tone better than any drive. 2 ins and outs mean you can boost post pre-amp. The Gate is OK. I prefer the ISP G-String Noisegate.
AC15 normal channel. Plus a drive pedal and a compressor is epic. I’ve tried tube screamers and klon types and they can be a bit middle focused into what is already quid a mid focused amp, so the blues driver or my fav the Lightspeed is a good option. The compressor as a boost is just next level. Get a four knob keeley second hand.
My suggestion for Martin or anyone looking to explore pedals is to first watch Josh Scott's (JHS) video entitled "What's the Deal With Behringer?". One can buy a new or used Behringer pedal for $30 or less. It's an economical way to try out various types of pedals. If one decides that a certain pedal is a necessity, then drop some $$ on the more rugged original versions. Cheers and good luck.
I would recommend buying a Nano Cortex and then going around to John Nathan Cordy's house and copying/capturing (or whatever its called) his entire setup.
Pedals are definitely addictive. Just like the mistaken belief that the next guitar will magically make you play better, it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking the next pedal holds the ultimate answer to finding your desired sound. But then, as soon as you've got it, something else is released or you see someone on TH-cam recommending a different pedal, and you dive down a new rabbit hole. I've probably got around £1,000 on my pedalboard, and I love it - it sounds great through a tube amp. The irony is that when I played my biggest gig at a festival this summer, I'd busted my leg, so I had to ditch both the amp and the pedalboard and play through a NUX MG-30 into the PA - and I have to admit I got the best sound with the least hassle that I've ever had live...
I've found that the MXR Distortion III is really great drive/distortion to stack with the Vox sound. The Distortion III doesn't get a lot of attention because it sounds terrible with most amps, but it works in a very special way with a Vox. It must have been designed around Vox. It really sounds great, and they're really cheap.
The type of amp makes a big difference, so a screamer into a Fender Deluxe works a treat. I’m pretty sure TPS Dan tried a screamer into a Vox and thought it was too much mids, thought the Blues Driver was perfect, but worth trying out.
Agree with a BD2. I’d be happy if that was my only pedal. But I do prefer the waza flavor with the custom mode. The custom mode ups the low mids to my ear making it sound just a bit more like a mid hump drive, like an SD1 or TS. It think it makes it a good do anything drive pedal.
Prince… Boss… as we all know the purple one couldn’t play guitar, didn’t have a successful career, had awful, unimaginative and seriously limited guitar sounds because he only ever used Boss pedals…
Just a thought
😂 the thing i noticed with Boss was how they changed my clean tone. This was back when I was a teen with a 15w SS practice amp and no real money to upgrade. I was grateful to finally have an amp with an FX loop in my 20s 🙏
starting with an amp that does the basic sound you drive for is always a great start. after that you don't need every new drive pedal!
Interesting info. I've been using the visual sound garage tone Drivetrain as my main overdrive since the 90's and find it hard to beat! Although they're discontinued they can be found on ebay/reverb. Well worth checking out! Cheers, Stephen from Scotland
Unfortunately the dopamine rush of buying anything shiny and new can become addictive from mild to severe, guitars, pedals, amps etc it’s quite a slippery slope
$20k on just pedals??
Share the wealth!
I gigged straight into my VOXAC 15 the other day and just used my volume knob to clean up. I just set the reverb a little higher than usual and have er a little bit of tremolo. My strat has a natural chorus to it so it really just kinda sang I thought. I do have a pedal board with 4 pedals on it for like washy reverb type stuff
im not a huge pedal guy although i can see the attraction. great vid😎
I think the OCD sounds gorgeous with the AC15 specifically!
I think, for me, the advantage of pedals over multifx units is just that instant accessibility to the knobs.
I'm sure an argument could equally be made that any well designed multifx can be set up to store all sorts of tones for instant access but I just fall out with all that pressing-this-whilst-holding-that-then-double-tapping-the-other. I end up so frustrated. And without regular practice with accessing those menus I soon feel as though I am at square one again. For me it's "see pedal, see knobs, twist 'em."
I have been on the edge of getting a TC Electronic Plethora X3 for some time but the thought of it easily replacing my standalone Flashback and HoF whilst giving me so much more besides still doesn't quite swing it. And that mfx unit is a pretty simple one too! I'm such a luddite... 😆
I discovered the Fender XD Super champ is the most remarkable little amp, especially with the RAGIN CAJUN speaker….. no pedals required 👌🏻👌🏻🎸
My fair share of boutique pedals include the MI Audio Crunchbox, JHS Double-Barrel Shotgun, MXR Duke of Tone and Timmy. Recently discovered Mosky frm the JHS Pedal show. Now I use only the Moskys at perhaps 1/5 of the price of boutique. The Dirty Rat, Silver Drive and the OCD. Accomplishes all tonal territory w my Vox AC15.
And btw, am I the only one to find it sacrilegious to be buying “boutique” distortion pedals? Distortion are supposed to be rough and brash in a peasant way. Not meant to be a high-class boutique-y thing 😅😁😁 for that the Rat and Boss DS1 are still the undisputed distortion pedals imo. Timeless, unassuming. But still lethally effective at a great price
It really depends on what your goal to sound like. That person or sound which is inspiring you.
We all have that “sound” that we are reaching for, whether we know it or not. It’s one of the reasons we pick guitar in the first place.
That being said, the pedals I stomp on the most are reverb, delay and drives. Those will carry you for years. Practice.
A Funny Thing About Hardware. Right befor covid I bought my First All-New Guitar wwhen my son decided he wants to play Bossa Nova. SO I gave hime mine and was in the market for a new Guitar, DAC, and Wah-Wah. Well I bought an open-box Pod Go ($250) which was more than $50 less than I would have spent on 3 pedals. But I can dial in thousands of combos and sequences and even tweak these units out of spec if I am feeling it
The THING that makes it wortwhile is that I play throu a set of Sennheiser sutdio cups. So I can dial in different combinations from simpe to magnificent ant then actually hear the difference
The same thing happens with my Fender Champion 20. In the room its sound is nice, but in headphones it is Lovely.
At open mics I take an Acoustasonic with a tuner and a clean boost. When gigging on electric I take the clean boost, an overdrive pedal, a tremolo and the tuner. I'm 70 now and yes I have lots of pedals gathering dust.
Love Strymon sunset dual drive....it's like 6 pedals in one
Did you ever try the Riverside? I could never decide between these two
@@jptovee Yes, Ive owned most all Strymon pedals at some pt. You can dial in Riverside tones on the sunset, but not Sunset tones on the Riverside if that makes sense?