Random Pedal Thoughts That Don’t Deserve Their Own Thread

[youngthrasher9]

I completely understand that, but I'm on the opposite side. I've owned 2 overdrive pedals, a Boss SD-1, and some like Dimazio or something pedal I bought drunk of Reverb because it looked 90s as shit. But I've been using setting that's probably came out of the Boss manual for longer than I care to admit. If it ain't broke, don't change it. With certain more generic effects, like an SD-1 or a Tubescreamer, just put a volume knob on them. Same with amps, I don't want all the tweakablility that comes with a modeler, I just want gain, and a volume that works like a modeler not a tube amp.

And simplifying stuff would work better for guitar players as a whole who don't really know or care to know how to tweak stuff.

I see this side too, but in the case of overdrives, why not both? Like sell a simple version with 1 knob that is secretly the other more expensive highly tweakable version in a different enclosure. The market saturation is already there.

 

[wheresthefbomb]

I see this side too, but in the case of overdrives, why not both? Like sell a simple version with 1 knob that is secretly the other more expensive highly tweakable version in a different enclosure. The market saturation is already there.

In practice they've never quite hit the spot for me, but in concept I love a one knob pedal. EQD Arrows has been the best I've tried, I just don't need yet another flavor of dirt on my board

They're both discontinued but BAT had a one-knob fuzz and no-knob fuzz for a while.

 

[runbirdman]

I see this side too, but in the case of overdrives, why not both? Like sell a simple version with 1 knob that is secretly the other more expensive highly tweakable version in a different enclosure. The market saturation is already there.

Catalinbread tried this with the CB series. Single knob versions of a few of their pedals. It must not have done so well because they look to have been discontinued.

 

[ThePhilosopher]

My Collision Devices Nocturnal doesn't power on with the rest of my board (I have a switch to turn on the power separately from being plugged in) - I either need to remember to unplug it when I'm finished or unplug and plug it back in after turning on the switch. Is there any way to solve for the minor inconvenience or no?

 

[USMarine75]

If anyone wants an uncompressed, open, throaty sounding dirt I highly recommend the Dr Z Z-Drive. It does that Trainwreck / Z-Wreck hot rodded Marshall thing. It has two channels - Ge or MOSFET clipping.

The Ge channel is more open, vintage amp sounding… like a Bluesbreaker or cranked Bassman/JTM45. The MOSFET channel has that cranked ‘68-72 Plexi thing going on.

With either channel, there’s very little compression. You can’t hide mistakes - I was shocked how many dead notes I had and legato requires good technique. It definitely makes you want to turn your amp up and strum a deafeningly loud A chord. Even though it’s definitely not a modern sounding distortion, I often add the lower 5th 6th-string note to 5th string 5ths (eg C5/G) and they sound awesome with this pedal. You can really hear all the notes in complex chords too. (It does 80s metal perfect but I’ll bet with a boost you could get early death metal tones lol.)

Both channels have a “cut switch”. In one position you get full range and the other functions like a treble booster (I prefer boost for most stuff although leads sound great on full range).

Lastly, this features the Dumble trick of placing the EQ before the distortion. So changes to the 3 band (shared) EQ really changes the character of the distortion.

Bottom line, it sounds GREAT, it looks awesome (I love the knob choice), and it has top mount jacks. You can find them sub $200 used.

(phrasing - did I say open throaty?)

 

[ctgblue]

hell, I've got 3 or 4 pedals I've had for 6 months and haven't even hooked up yet. Too much crap in the way.

 

[STRHelvete]

How many fucking tube screamers does the world need? Every month there's some new overdrive pedal released that's supposed to be tube screamier and overdrivier than that last.

Listen..if by now you can't find a single overdrive that makes your amp sound good....it's you. You're the problem. Feel bad.

 

[wheresthefbomb]

How many fucking tube screamers does the world need? Every month there's some new overdrive pedal released that's supposed to be tube screamier and overdrivier than that last.

Listen..if by now you can't find a single overdrive that makes your amp sound good....it's you. You're the problem. Feel bad.

Same goes for RATs, muffs, etc. My roommate is always telling me about so-and-so's RAT clone like bro I already have a Life Pedal and I was happy with the plain ol' big box reissue with zero bells and whistles before that. I don't give a fuck if it's got 14 different clipping options. That's noob bait.

While I'm ranting, pedals with a "bunch" of options that you can only use one of at a time and don't have a way to save presets, don't actually have a bunch of options. It's just a dumb way to make something look more useful/valuable. Looking at you JHS RAT, Pharaoh Supreme, etc.....

 

[Jotun@]

Same goes for RATs, muffs, etc. My roommate is always telling me about so-and-so's RAT clone like bro I already have a Life Pedal and I was happy with the plain ol' big box reissue with zero bells and whistles before that. I don't give a fuck if it's got 14 different clipping options. That's noob bait.

While I'm ranting, pedals with a "bunch" of options that you can only use one of at a time and don't have a way to save presets, don't actually have a bunch of options. It's just a dumb way to make something look more useful/valuable. Looking at you JHS RAT, Pharaoh Supreme, etc.....

I agree with most of this. The world already has tons of screamer/klon/rats/muffs, but I think the community at large keeps accommodating expansions on these circuits. If we weren’t constantly searching for the next big thing in dirt, we wouldn’t have the flavors of the week popping into our feeds.
I’ve grown out of the dirt phase; I’m not saying I won’t buy another one, just that I’ve gone away from buying the majority of pedals from this category. Reverbs, delays, and modulation appeal to me much more in this season of playing guitar.
As far as the preset deal, ideally it would be great to have presets, but the majority of pedals in existence do not have this ability. I’m not going to pass on a really great box over the lack of this feature but if there’s something similar with it, it definitely weighs into my decision prior to purchase.

 

[wheresthefbomb]

I actually prefer against presets, I just want something that does one or two things really well. I do enough tap dancing on my board without also adding presets to the mix. Either way, a dozen clipping options isn't a "feature" in my eyes.

 

[Jotun@]

Agreed. I’d say that while I appreciate flexibility , I don’t like going up and down to flip to a different option for specific parts. I’d rather have a solid option or two. I also loathe the tiny switch for changing between settings. It is a fragile component near my feet.

 

[Crungy]

Question for delay nerds (I say that because ilu):

What's out there for Boss or similar sized delays that can do an analog delay sound but maybe have a little more delay time than 800ms? It wouldn't have to be analog, just do that kind of sound.

I ask because I was looking at the DM2W. The expression control for delay time is interesting but I like using tap tempo.

 

[Jotun@]

Question for delay nerds (I say that because ilu):

What's out there for Boss or similar sized delays that can do an analog delay sound but maybe have a little more delay time than 800ms? It wouldn't have to be analog, just do that kind of sound.

I ask because I was looking at the DM2W. The expression control for delay time is interesting but I like using tap tempo.

Both a bit larger on the footprint but not by much:
Benson delay
Mxr carbon copy deluxe

Honestly if all your care about is the sound, I don’t think you can beat the benson. I have one and it is incredible. It’s pricey, but the sound quality is amazing.

 

[wheresthefbomb]

Question for delay nerds (I say that because ilu):

What's out there for Boss or similar sized delays that can do an analog delay sound but maybe have a little more delay time than 800ms? It wouldn't have to be analog, just do that kind of sound.

I ask because I was looking at the DM2W. The expression control for delay time is interesting but I like using tap tempo.

Bigger footprint, but I adore the VOX Time Machine. Modern and vintage delay modes, switchable eq, and all the standard digital delay stuff. The tap extends out to an insane 5,800 MS, you can make all kinds of wild decaying, layered "loops" with it. It also does normal delay stuff very well. I've been using mine for like 13 years at this point. They're also very affordable on the used market.

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

Question for delay nerds (I say that because ilu):

What's out there for Boss or similar sized delays that can do an analog delay sound but maybe have a little more delay time than 800ms? It wouldn't have to be analog, just do that kind of sound.

I ask because I was looking at the DM2W. The expression control for delay time is interesting but I like using tap tempo.

The Walrus Mako D1 has a range up to 2 seconds and is roughly Boss-sized. I had a V1 model for a while and it more than held its own alongside my Strymon Timeline and El Capistan

 

[Crungy]

Thank you everyone for the recommendations. I think I'm going to track down a D1

 

[USMarine75]

Just got my Way Huge Smalls Geisha reissue today. Quick initial thoughts…

This thing has way more drive available than your typical TS. It’s also way smoother and it must have less clean blended in?

I only tried it with two of my Wolfgangs. One has a basswood body and ebony fretboard, the other has a maple cap over basswood with a baked maple neck/board.

Direct into a clean amp (Supro 112) it was capable of distortion with a lot of nifty harmonics. I couldn’t get it past a little over halfway without it fuzzing up but it sounded great. A little dark even for the bright Wolfgang pickups, I had to roll the tone up to 3 o’clock. I rolled the drive down and used it in front of a Keeley Muse (BD2) as a boost. That had way more total drive than I expected from either lol. I thought it sounded best with guitar vol rolled back to 9.

Bottom line o thought this was a TS clone? It’s not. At least not to my ears. If I had to guess it’s more like the OD820 or Modified mode of the Hardwire CM2. It has more low end, less mid hump, and more compression. At least to my pedestrian ears… anyways, it’s a keeper.

 

[SalsaWood]

Idly wondering what is the best delay pedal under 500$ for transparency? I don't care about options/features within reason, I just don't want to color my tone.

 

[thraxil]

In practice they've never quite hit the spot for me, but in concept I love a one knob pedal. EQD Arrows has been the best I've tried, I just don't need yet another flavor of dirt on my board

EQD Acapulco Gold and Speaker Cranker are two of my all time faves (I hear good things about the Special Cranker, but don't see the need personally since I'm happy with the one-knob version).

 

[wheresthefbomb]

Idly wondering what is the best delay pedal under 500$ for transparency? I don't care about options/features within reason, I just don't want to color my tone.

Another mention for Vox Time Machine, with the Modern and Hi-Fi settings engaged it doesn't color my tone at all, at least for the first few repetitions. It starts to decay eventually, but the fidelity is good enough that I can make super long "loops" on a 5-6s setting and have the layers continue to sound right as long as I'm constantly feeding input.

EQD Acapulco Gold and Speaker Cranker are two of my all time faves (I hear good things about the Special Cranker, but don't see the need personally since I'm happy with the one-knob version).

I've heard great things about both of those as well. EQD seems to really have a knack for one-knob drive/boost pedals. The Life Pedal's "Magnitude" section is identical to their Black Eye, another one-knob wonder.