For another (this time extremely subjective) shootout, we’re looking at guitar effects pedals. The things you have on the floor where one signal goes in and one goes out, and if you step on a footswitch, something happenes. And which are mainly targeted for guitars (although using them on drum machines or monosynths can be a lot of fun, too).
Motivation
I recently won a guitar amp in a raffle that is, from any perspective, far too great for what I’m doing: an Engl E658 Steve Morse Signature 20.
So I decided to dig out all the pedals I already had, maybe add a few carefully picked new ones, and together with a cabinet, see how I enjoyed the thing. And which pedal added the highest amount of enjoyment.
Setting
This has to do a lot with the amp. This ones offers two channels, a built-in switchable boost, delay, reverb, noise gate for the lead channel, and an IR loader. So guitar and amp alone already gets you a long way.
For the pedals, let’s look at the available choices (assembled from an old photo and a few new ones):
There’s almost 30 pedals there. From big amp/effects modelers to standard-form-factor ones, from OGs to cheap clones, from 80s vintage devices over current makes of old designs, and from things I had for over 30 years to fairly new (like: yesterday) acquisitions.
Ah, a propos guitars: while I have been playing some sort of guitars for more than 25 years in some way, today we’ll only be considering the Ibanez RG370DX (early model, i.e. C serial). Most of the others are acoustic guitars or electric bass guitars, anyway.
The Personal Perspective: what I look for?
A scenario where I plug in the Ibanez RG and play a little. I might want some reverb and delay, and some modulation. Most of that is already provided by the amp. But although I have a 40-years listening background in metal that starts with „heavy“ and extends into the really evil things, I don’t like the Engl’s lead channel that much (although they are really famous for those). Hell, I’d rather plug the MetalZone clone into the amp’s effect return for that, because the MetalZone actually works well as a really nice clean channel. So what I need for general amp tone would be something ike a second slightly driven clean channel.
And of course, a Dimension D-style chorus, or lots of delay, is always nice. But let’s not get it too complicated. Leave the deep parameter editing to the Eventide rack scenario, here it is twisting a few knobs.
The choice, in two parts:
The „almost cheating“ no-brainer
Ever looked at pedal boards of leading session musicians recently? Notice anything? The geometrically biggest recurring pedal is a digital multieffects box from 2009 (i.e. more than 15 years old by now): the Line6 M9.
Why is that? Mostly user experience: it allows you to get the intended sounds in a few seconds, because everything is laid out nicely.
I can easily understand why: if I assemble an electronic music performance setup to just try something, I regularly reach for the M9. It’s form factor (which also works on a table) integrates well with drum machines and small synths, it’s easy to get the intended sound (if you spent some time learning it), and there’s really a lot of functionality packed in there. Like gate, and tuner, and a pretty nice looper (that has two completely underrepresented features: adjustable feedback and undo/redo). And everything easy to reach and remember. This one can also go both in front of the amp or in the effects loop.
That being said: I already have delay and reverb (albeit in a very basic way) and boost covered by the amp, and the thing I mostly look for is „another slightly driven sound“.
The obvious „slightly driven“ choice from my collection.
It’s once again a Chinese clone of an old Japanese design: the Behringer TO800 (essentially a Maxon (branded as Ibanez internationally) Tubescreamer TS-808).
It mostly has one sound, but that’s a very versatile one.
You might argue that by using the „industry pros“ argument as before, it would be wiser to have a Nobels ODR-1 – but I don’t have that (yet).
And finally, if you have both the TO800 and the M9 – TO800 in front, M9 in the effects loop – you’re pretty much covered.
What I actually use right now for noodling
LPB-1 into MC-404 (the pedal) into effects looper having EQ700 (GE7 knockoff) and TO800 into amp. M9 in effects loop.