It seems like a long time ago I started building what is now my pedal board. I started with a single pedal (Digitech Bad Monkey) and continued building. My first actual effect was a Digitech multi-effect processor. I was never satisfied with it. I've bough and replaced so many pedals that it is hard to remember what my actual first board looked like. I do remember that I ran a Boss DD-3 Delay, Boss Metal Zone, Fender Analog tuner (not a pedal but mounted to be board), Behringer Hellbabe Wah, and a JamMan Looper. I don't think there is a single piece of the gear in my possession any more. Even the board that I used to use has moved on.
So what am I using? Well, my board is homemade. My collection had grown and I needed a board to hold everything. At one time I was running 20+ pedals. There were a few duplicates. Most were modded/unmodded options, but basically everything I owned was on the board. I liked having everything available at once. This was a home rig I put together when I wasn't playing anywhere. In the last year or so, I've seen a lot of that gear go and a lot of new stuff come in. So my board now is: Ernie Ball Volume, Boss TU-2 Tuner, EHX Soul Food, EHX Glove, EHX East River Drive, MXR Superbadass Distortion, EHX Metal Muff, Boss GE-7, Outlaw Effects 5 O'Clock Fuzz, Boss TR-2, Boss GE-7 (again), and a DD-20 Gigadelay. Not by any means complete, but it's a work in progress.
The last time I did a post on my board was years ago. You can see it here. The board has changed a lot, but do still use the delay and tuner for that board, because they just have to work and they do. As for everything else, ether my tastes have changed or I found something that has suited me better.
Showing posts with label Ernie Ball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ernie Ball. Show all posts
Friday, July 31, 2015
Sunday, March 9, 2014
5 Pedals That I Wish Actually Worked.
5. Boss DS-1
So I know what you're thinking. "But it does work!" To that I say, "Kinda." Yes, the pedal technically functions as designed. It does cause your guitar signal to distort. However, in it's stock form, it doesn't create a musical effect. The word, "fizzy" comes to mind when playing through this box. There is a lot of support for this pedal, but, in my experience, the only thing that this pedal does is make me sad.
4. Behringer NR-300 Noise Reducer
Behringer is known for making high quality musical products. Cheap. Cheap is what I meant to put there. Behringer is everyone's favorite Chinese importers. They have made knock-offs of other people's things and undercut said people. I've owned several pieces of gear from then from time to time. I've kicked all of it out of my set-up. The NR-300 Noise Reducer not only does a poor job at its primary function, but it ADDS NOISE. It does the opposite of noise reduction.
3. Joyo JF-12 Ultimate Fuzz
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I wanted to like this pedal so bad. I thought it was a great combination of fuzz and octave. Fuzz is a very subjective effect. Its obviously an "over-the-top" type of effect. Octave is not very subtle either. I've played a few fuzzes. It seems like there are hundred of boutique type fuzz boxes. This is probably because a fuzz is a simple circuit. Just because it comes in a boutique box with cool graphics, it doesn't mean that they sound great. Just like not all obscure fuzz pedals make great sound, not all prolific. mass-produced units are sure bets either. The Joyo fails to impress on either side of the coin. The fuzz is mediocre at best, and the octave isn't controllable at all and too often covered up. It doesn't do either one particularly well and together they are just noise. Too bad really, Its a great idea.
2. Ernie Ball Volume Pedals
The original volume pedal is an amazing pedal. It has the best feel of any volume pedal that I've used. The Jr editions just aren't the same. I have a big foot, so I like a big pedal. So I picked up one of these and I really dig it, but the ugly truth about this pedal is that they are noisy. The design of these pedals are super-simple. They use string for goodness sake. The pots always go bad. This is a know problem and you can fix it by replacing the entire guts of the pedal. Oh yeah, its expensive too (about $20 a pop). That's what the parts cost. Not handy with a soldering iron? Might as well start looking for a new pedal.
1. Digitech Whammy
So I have a strong dislike for all things digitech. I've used a range of their products and I've been disappointed by all of them. They promise big and under-deliver. The Whammy is a fun effect, no doubt, but the tracking on the whammy is rough to say the least. Its not so much a pitch shifter but an effect of its own type. But as a pitch shifter with real time manipulation, its a fail. Fidelity is a grey area with any effect this type. Something that changes a part of your signal as integral as pitch is going to alter your tone. However, when the effect is off it still "sucks tone". As one of the only effect of this type, it hard to replace this pedal when its need, but for about the same money you can get a Boss pitchshifter and expression pedal. In my onion that is money well spent.
So I know what you're thinking. "But it does work!" To that I say, "Kinda." Yes, the pedal technically functions as designed. It does cause your guitar signal to distort. However, in it's stock form, it doesn't create a musical effect. The word, "fizzy" comes to mind when playing through this box. There is a lot of support for this pedal, but, in my experience, the only thing that this pedal does is make me sad.
4. Behringer NR-300 Noise Reducer
Behringer is known for making high quality musical products. Cheap. Cheap is what I meant to put there. Behringer is everyone's favorite Chinese importers. They have made knock-offs of other people's things and undercut said people. I've owned several pieces of gear from then from time to time. I've kicked all of it out of my set-up. The NR-300 Noise Reducer not only does a poor job at its primary function, but it ADDS NOISE. It does the opposite of noise reduction.
3. Joyo JF-12 Ultimate Fuzz
I wanted to like this pedal so bad. I thought it was a great combination of fuzz and octave. Fuzz is a very subjective effect. Its obviously an "over-the-top" type of effect. Octave is not very subtle either. I've played a few fuzzes. It seems like there are hundred of boutique type fuzz boxes. This is probably because a fuzz is a simple circuit. Just because it comes in a boutique box with cool graphics, it doesn't mean that they sound great. Just like not all obscure fuzz pedals make great sound, not all prolific. mass-produced units are sure bets either. The Joyo fails to impress on either side of the coin. The fuzz is mediocre at best, and the octave isn't controllable at all and too often covered up. It doesn't do either one particularly well and together they are just noise. Too bad really, Its a great idea.
2. Ernie Ball Volume Pedals
The original volume pedal is an amazing pedal. It has the best feel of any volume pedal that I've used. The Jr editions just aren't the same. I have a big foot, so I like a big pedal. So I picked up one of these and I really dig it, but the ugly truth about this pedal is that they are noisy. The design of these pedals are super-simple. They use string for goodness sake. The pots always go bad. This is a know problem and you can fix it by replacing the entire guts of the pedal. Oh yeah, its expensive too (about $20 a pop). That's what the parts cost. Not handy with a soldering iron? Might as well start looking for a new pedal.
1. Digitech Whammy
So I have a strong dislike for all things digitech. I've used a range of their products and I've been disappointed by all of them. They promise big and under-deliver. The Whammy is a fun effect, no doubt, but the tracking on the whammy is rough to say the least. Its not so much a pitch shifter but an effect of its own type. But as a pitch shifter with real time manipulation, its a fail. Fidelity is a grey area with any effect this type. Something that changes a part of your signal as integral as pitch is going to alter your tone. However, when the effect is off it still "sucks tone". As one of the only effect of this type, it hard to replace this pedal when its need, but for about the same money you can get a Boss pitchshifter and expression pedal. In my onion that is money well spent.
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