Effects processor/pedal suggestions

[Jack FFR1846]

I'm looking into something to do processing after I had a practice last night and plugged directly into my amp and hearing the other guitarist with a full pedal processor setup. Sort of made the 2 of us sound like Zakk Wylde vs Larry Howard (3 stooges).

I don't need to change during a performance quickly. So something that I plug into and can call up a sound between songs is fine. I've worked with a pedal (XT Live) and pretty much set it up and then ignored it. I don't want to spend a ton of money (maybe $200 max) but if something is really common and easily picked up used, that's something I'd consider.

I also remember a comment to my "first gig in 30 years" thread to get something other than the XT Live. I'd be running the Axis SS MM90 mainly with the Sub 1 during practices.

jack

 

[beej]

This is really a long topic; getting your sound is a moving target.

Like everybody here, I've had my share of gadgets over the years- multi FX processors, rack stuff, pedals, etc.

I've never been happier with my sound than I am right now. And it's 90% guitar -> amp, with a few FX in there to colour. I'd say you're much better off to get a GREAT sounding amp and not rely as much on outboard gear. There's no pedal that's going to replace a great amp. (Though if you go that way, the AXE-FX seems to be the best amp modeler on the market now. It's more than $200 though.)

Once you're really happy with your basic sound, you'll have a much wider range of gear (be it pedals, multi FX, etc.) you can use to colour things and still sound great.

 

[Astrofreq]

Actually, Larry was not one of the Howard brothers. His last name was Fine and while he was one of the original three, Curly was not. Shemp, who in my opinion was highly misunderstood, preceded Curly but left to pursue a different career in Hollywood. Thus Curly, who forever reigns as one of the great Stooges, stepped in to stooge for many years. It was because of a stroke in 1946 that Shemp returned to the scene. He was later replaced by Joe Besser in 1957, who in his contract stipulated that he could not be hit "too hard", thus changing the dynamic of the Stooges altogether. In 1975, Besser was replaced by Curley Joe Dorita. Larry's unfortunate death in 1975 led to the last replacement by Emil Sitka.

 

[colinboy]

This is really a long topic; getting your sound is a moving target.

Like everybody here, I've had my share of gadgets over the years- multi FX processors, rack stuff, pedals, etc.

I've never been happier with my sound than I am right now. And it's 90% guitar -> amp, with a few FX in there to colour. I'd say you're much better off to get a GREAT sounding amp and not rely as much on outboard gear. There's no pedal that's going to replace a great amp. (Though if you go that way, the AXE-FX seems to be the best amp modeler on the market now. It's more than $200 though.)

Once you're really happy with your basic sound, you'll have a much wider range of gear (be it pedals, multi FX, etc.) you can use to colour things and still sound great.

Hey Beej,

i agree with what your saying about a good amp&guitar.what amp do you use?

Ive been looking at the mesa boogie range recently and like the versatililty that the roadking series II has to offer.

any advice?

 

[brasco68]

I agree with Beej. I have an X3 Live, and although I find it to be a great unit with some very good modeling....it can be a tedious process to get a great sound out of it.

I would go the streamline route and stick with finding a killer amp, with a few pedals for accents.

I would use the effects processor for direct recording.

 

[beej]

what amp do you use?

Not to hijack ... but I use a Guytron 100W head. Very verstile 2 channel amp, covers Fender to Vox to Marshall. Also have a small little Suhr Badger head. Both sound great.

Any setup can work- with the single channel amp I use a booster for solos. Sometime between (or during songs) I'll just tweak the gain on the amp as I'm playing.

Play what you can get your hands on, figure out what features you need (power, basic tone characteristics- Fender, Vox, Marshall, Mesa, etc., # channels, FX loop- serial or parallel, good master volume, and so on) and go for it. There are a world of great amps out there, there's no "best" amp.

 

[Ripper]

Hey beej, talkin about choosing a good amp, some question about shaping the tone of the amp here:

You mentioned about the parallel/serial fx loop. I got a mesa dc-2 with no geq (its an early studio caliber). Will throwing in a pedal eq in the loop help shape the preamp distortion tone? or should I get a serial fx loop mod for better eq'ing in the loop?

I think your answer to this qns may further help one to better choose an amp! Thanks!

 

[MusicManJP6]

I like my BOSS GT-8 really well. I run it using the 4 cable method with my boogie and I get great results. Any effect I want is in there. The wah is the worst of the bunch so i'm on the hunt for a Morley Bad Horsie to cure that problem. It changes my amp channels and everything though! And since i'm waiting on my new Stiletto Ace to arrive i've been using the amp models on the 8 and have been pretty happy with most of them. It's nice to have a way to practice with good tone even without an amp. You can record direct too! Much better than the POD stuff I've tried.

 

[Spudmurphy]

I love the Pod XT and FBV floorboard. I use it in bypass mode mainly and just use it for the wah wah, compressor, boost and sometimes a rotary effect.

But as Beej says a killer amp set up is the main thing to have.
I use my Mesa on the clean channel and use a really cheap $15 blues driver for my boost.

So if ya want a cheap set up get a second hand pod XT and use a floorboard out front.

I wasn't sure from your post whether you meant that you had tried an XT and had given up with it.

For a real cheap set up get a Black Heart Amp and a blues driver and stick 2 fingers up to boutique amp owners. Google Blues Saraceno and see what he uses !!

 

[beej]

I got a mesa dc-2 with no geq (its an early studio caliber). Will throwing in a pedal eq in the loop help shape the preamp distortion tone? or should I get a serial fx loop mod for better eq'ing in the loop?

Parallel loop, right? Set it to 100% wet and it is a serial loop.

EQ in the loop will shape everything from the preamp. I keep a Boss GE7 lying around for when I have to play through amps I'm not crazy about. I stick it in the loop, great for fixing things in a pinch.

 

[Warg Master]

I agree with the get a good amp and then color it with minimal effects... but that's me... evryone has their own ideas!

If you can fine one, I would recommend a Peavey Ultra Combo amp... they are EXCELLENT sounding amps while still being cheap and FULL TUBE... They go for 200-300 in decent shape.

 

[Slingy]

Hey these things can really expensive. Depending on which amp you have, I don't think there is anything better than a PodXT or XTL used for $200 to $300. You wouldn't have to use the amp modelling, just the effects, and it becomes a great practice tool with silent usb recording should you want to play at home.

What does the other guy have that you like so much?

 

[MusicManJP6]

Parallel loop, right? Set it to 100% wet and it is a serial loop.

EQ in the loop will shape everything from the preamp. I keep a Boss GE7 lying around for when I have to play through amps I'm not crazy about. I stick it in the loop, great for fixing things in a pinch.

A parallel loop only goes to 90% actually. If you crank the level of the FX mix and have an odd low bass phaser effect that creeps in when the EQ is set too high then you need to mod that fx loop to series. The parallel FX loop on my F-30 combo was great and I could stuff any number of pedals in it at any settings and it didn't give me trouble. The Rectoverb combo's loop was VERY sensitive though for some reason. I ended up modding the loop to series and was very happy with it then. The Stiletto Ace combo I picked up on eBay the other day (and i'm waiting for it to be delivered) has a series loop so I don't have to worry about it not behaving with my GT-8...

 

[TheStiffness]

toneczar pedals

Look no further.

Ed is a genius. Seriously.

Expensive.... but worth every penny.

 

[Jack FFR1846]

Thanks for all the great replies. I should probably have described what I have and what I can use and why I'm thinking about this.

For performance, I literally plug in to the house system. They do the sound board stuff but no effects. For live performance, they have a Live XT that is dedicated for me.

During practice, we run 2 separate rehersals and the group nearest to going live gets the house for practice (and the Live XT pedals). I get whatever I bring. Last night, that was my Fender frontman 65 which has nothing. My other amp is a 15W Line 6 Spider which has effects but no power.

The other guitarist plugged his pedal (don't know what it was.....was too busy figuring out chords for songs) and went directly into the music room system....a Bose tower. But his sound was obviously well thought out and programmed into his pedal processor. I don't think he touched it at all. Just put it in line and ran with one setting all night.

I do also have the use of another amp left in the music room which is another line 6 that I'd guess is probably somewhere in the 100W area. I don't want to depend on being able to use it. One guitarist didn't show up.......and I always figure I could be without an amp if someone else also doesn't bring one. I'm just sort of a self-sufficient New Englander. If I owned a generator, it would probably be in the car in case the power went out.

I'll take some of the suggestions and make some of the rounds to the music stores (I'm close enough to about 6 of them) and see if I can try some out a bit more. I did try a Live XT at GC and I guess I'd need to read the manual as I didn't really figure it out.

jack

 

[floyd99]

i'm running a collection of stomp boxes at the moment but seriously thinking about replacing the majority of them with the new Line 6 M13. Being brand new, it's a bit more expensive (i think the US street price is around $500).

I'll continue to use a Wah and put overdrive/distortions in the effects loop, and use the M13 for everything else (chorus,delay,reverb,tremolo etc etc).

i've heard pretty awesome things about the M13.. and its design/concept is exactly what i've been looking for, as I can't stand and can't work with multi-fx units for various reasons. The M13 is just a digital collection of stomp boxes. No patches, no programming, hit a button to turn one individual effect on or off, just like a stomp box.

 

[beej]

A parallel loop only goes to 90% actually.

At 100%, my Guytron goes fully serial.

For performance, I literally plug in to the house system. They do the sound board stuff but no effects. For live performance, they have a Live XT that is dedicated for me.

Ah, well there you go. You're at the mercy of somebody else's rig.

I'd imagine you'd probably be happy with the XT if you were used to it and could dial it in to your liking. But still, it's worth while to have a rig you love and that's light enough to bring out to play. I'd still say find an amp you love and stick with it.

 

[Jimmyb]

Personally, I like effects: