PDA

View Full Version : What's the 1 pedal you cannot live without?



tremoloman
October 5th, 2005, 01:23 PM
I'm eager to hear your responses...

Right now, mine would be the Digitech Jimi Hendrix pedal. It does so much with only 1 box!

Robert
October 5th, 2005, 02:49 PM
Never heard of that pedal. Start another thread and brag about it!

Mine would be the Bad Monkey or the Blues Driver or the Micro Amp - can't pick which!

Tone2TheBone
October 5th, 2005, 04:25 PM
I'm really not a purist. Lately I've been playing straight amps with no pedals. Except I been using my Bad Monkey a lot lately...so I guess I have to say the Bad Munkayyyyy.

I will say this though. My best friend is not a pedal...but the volume knob on my Stratocaster sure is. I had forgotten how well the volume pot actually WORKS on the Strat. My Gibson could sure stand a pot like that.

tremoloman
October 6th, 2005, 11:27 AM
I'm not a major effects fan either. Nowadays so many players seem to hide behind effects to mask their inability to play. If you go to your local dealer, try the Hendrix pedal on #7 in the clean and distorted univibe setting - you'll be hooked! It has the exact tone as Jimi used at Woodstock and the New Year's Eve BOG show. 'Machine Gun' is at your fingertips!

Justaguyin_nc
October 17th, 2005, 12:30 AM
I like to HIDE behind my BD-2 or I stink like BO... Now if I could just keep this Bad Monkey off long enough to use the BD I would be a happy camper... umm for now.

tehuti
November 4th, 2005, 04:55 PM
Never heard of that pedal. Start another thread and brag about it!

Mine would be the Bad Monkey or the Blues Driver or the Micro Amp - can't pick which!

Just out of curiosity, what's the difference between the Bad Monkey and the Screamin' Blues?

Nelskie
November 4th, 2005, 05:05 PM
The mun-kaaay is sooo fun-kaaaay! Such a warm, pleasing tonal effect with so many different amp / guitar combinations. And she'll bark when you need her to! Yep, an easy pick for me, too. :p

dougb415
March 17th, 2006, 09:00 PM
Right now my favorite pedal is the Pedalworx HellBaby light OD. Very touch responsive, no compression or tone coloration, no tone sucking, just GREAT tone. Only 25 made.

marnold
March 17th, 2006, 09:26 PM
Actually, I can live without any pedals. I've been backing off on the effects on the AD30VT too. Enjoying that parched, parched dry tone. The only effects I use with any regularity are a touch of chorus or reverb on clean tones or a touch of delay on distorted tones. I only use the TO800 to turn the UK70s model on the Vox up to 11.

I'm with Tone on the volume pot usage. I never really touched mine until I visited this forum. It's amazing what you can do with it.

Spudman
March 17th, 2006, 10:20 PM
tehuti

The Bad Monkey doesn't really color your tone. The Screamin Blues gets more of a midrange boost. Go for the Monkey. The Digitech Tone Driver is very similar to the Monkey but digital.

Can't live without? I usually have something to push the front of the amph like Tube Screamer, DS1 etc. But since the Monkey came along I'm eating a lot more bananas. Just look at my avatar photo. I'm voting Bad Monkey closely followed by a Crybaby.

warren0728
March 18th, 2006, 05:55 AM
as "someone" on this forum said "bad monkey is a good monkey"

ww

SuperSwede
March 18th, 2006, 06:45 AM
The G.A.S pedal

duhvoodooman
March 18th, 2006, 07:36 AM
The G.A.S pedal
Amen, bruddah! I can't stay off that one, either!

Seriously, I just love the Digitech Tone Driver (used) I picked up on eBay. Best $33 I've spent in a long time. It's "morph" control turns it into kind of a Bad-Monkey-on-steroids. They even give you some control setting combos to emulate vintage OD pedals including the Ibanez TS-9 and TS-808 Tubescreamers and the DOD 250. Essential tones for a big SRV fan like me! :R

Nelskie loves his Tone Driver, too. He did a posting on it back in December, HERE (http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php?t=185).

Katastrophe
March 18th, 2006, 09:37 AM
Man, I gotta tell ya that I love the Digitech RP-80. It does more than my old, expensive, heavy, temperamental rack setup used to do, at a fraction of the cost. Wanna wah? There's an expression pedal for that. Wierd delay flanged 12 string effects? Different amph models? It's all in there. The cables and unit all fits in the front pocket of my gig bag.

Slowhand
April 3rd, 2006, 11:23 AM
This is a must have for everybody the Boss TB-4
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j265/Oldslowhand/tpedal.gif
:cool:

warren0728
April 3rd, 2006, 11:34 AM
now that's the pedal for me!!

ww

duhvoodooman
April 3rd, 2006, 12:17 PM
This is a must have for everybody the Boss TB-4
I need the more expensive TB-8 model, which has a much wider dynamic range on the SUCK knob.... :D

Nelskie
April 3rd, 2006, 12:54 PM
Slowhand - Your TB-4 illustration is HILARIOUS!! Indeed, I'd be spinning that "talent" knob til' it busted . . . ha ha ha! Then, it's back to the old drawing board - - again.

Yeah, I'd have to be of the same opinion as the Voodooman - the DigiTech Tone driver is one helluva pedal, with buku versatility. Definitely one I couldn't live without. Guitar-wise, everything I plug into it sounds great - Strats, Les Pauls - whatever. Amp-wise, I use it primarily with my Classic 30 and Valve Jr., and that pedal totally loves both of those rigs, esp. the Jr. The morph knob combines settings for an even greater range of tone - something that my *sniff* old Ibanez Tube Screamer didn't *sob* do. Seems I'm getting verclempt ~ ~ talk amongst yourselves.

warren0728
April 3rd, 2006, 01:08 PM
he DigiTech Tone driver is one helluva pedal, with buku versatility. Definitely one I couldn't live without.
is that a discontinued model?...

Nelskie
April 3rd, 2006, 01:44 PM
Nope. Part of the DigiTech X-Series pedals, and probably the best-sounding one of the whole lot. I might be biased, tho'. Anyways - check it out here:

http://www.digitech.com/products/tonedriver.htm

There's some sound clips there, too - bottom right hand side of the page. I believethese pedals go for around $79.99, although you may be able to get one on Ebay like Voodooman did for $35 - $40. I bought mine new. The pedal also came with a DigiTech gig-pack bonus offer, which included a nice 10' braided cloth-type cord, a small padded pedal bag, and a big packet of picks. The picks are those super slippery ones, but I made them usable by sanding both sides with 100-grit, and hitting them with a light mist of 3M spray-mount. Voila' - sticky pix!

duhvoodooman
April 3rd, 2006, 01:44 PM
is that a discontinued model?...
Nope!

Tone Driver @ Musiciansfriend.com (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Guitar/Effects?sku=150207)

Or you can look for a used one on eBay, where I got mine for $33....

warren0728
April 3rd, 2006, 02:14 PM
Nope. Part of the DigiTech X-Series pedals, and probably the best-sounding one of the whole lot. I might be biased, tho'. Anyways - check it out here:

http://www.digitech.com/products/tonedriver.htm


man....i thought i checked every link on that site...oh well :(

thanks

ww

Spudman
April 3rd, 2006, 10:02 PM
I have the Tone Driver and Bad Monkey. I think the Monkey gets more bottom but the Driver is very flexible. I like them both a lot.

Check Harmony Central classifieds too. I got my Monkey there really cheap. $35 shipped like new with box and instructions. If you are patient you might find the Tone Driver there as well in case you can't find a deal on the bay.

The TB-4 actually has a "reverse" suck mode which is located in the mid position. Use sparingly because in this position you'll spray the audience with any food particles that haven't digested yet.

Oh, there is also a "hold" function so you can suck for a really really long time. You can leave the stage and still be sucking.

Slowhand
April 4th, 2006, 05:58 AM
I must thank Lava Man over on the Seymour Duncan Forum for the Pic of the TB-4 I wonder if the Mk2 will have an inspiration Knob

r_a_smith3530
April 4th, 2006, 09:57 AM
The only pedal I can think of that I absolutely couldn't do without is my old DoD Bi-FET Pre-Amp, and the only reason for this is that the pickup in my Epiphone acoustic is one of the old skool Fishman passive piezo's (Thinline 332).

All of my other pedals enhance certain aspects of my playing, but aren't absolutely needed.

Robert
April 4th, 2006, 01:17 PM
After playing with my Daz Fuzz pedal a few weeks now, I have to say I can no longer live without it! It is numba 1, shared with the Bad Mo and the Blue Mo!

Tim
April 4th, 2006, 02:35 PM
Robert – 1 + 1 + 1 = 3. I believe the tile of the post reads: What's the 1 pedal you cannot live without? So let’s get down to the nitty gritty and fess-up what is truly the 1 pedal you cannot live without? It is decision time.

Robert
April 4th, 2006, 03:18 PM
Okey. It would have to be the BD-2 then.

Spudman
May 25th, 2006, 09:02 PM
The one pedal that I can't live with out...other than my bicycle pedals...I would have to say my Analog Man modified Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer. It is the pedal that I've had the longest and used the most consistently. I've had it since 1978. That's 30 years. I've played every gig with it since I bought it. But...now that I have a Bad Monkey...hmmm.

Spudman
October 29th, 2007, 01:18 PM
Robert
Is Daz Fuzz still your number one?

Robert
October 29th, 2007, 01:22 PM
No. I don't think I have a number one pedal! [the truth is out there...] :deadhorse:

250Keith
October 29th, 2007, 06:34 PM
I love the Monkey, wont give it up!

duhvoodooman
October 29th, 2007, 07:28 PM
Times change, and so does my #1 pedal. Right now, it's a 3-way tie:

http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/3-way_tie.jpg

Robert
October 29th, 2007, 08:06 PM
I have to say, my top 2 pedals right now are the 19 Sixty 3 and the ZYS... DVM's ZYS is fantastic.

Spudman
October 29th, 2007, 08:14 PM
Well if it is a tie why don't you just put them all in one box? Now that is a challenge for ya.:D


Times change, and so does my #1 pedal. Right now, it's a 3-way tie:

http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/3-way_tie.jpg

Spudman
October 29th, 2007, 08:15 PM
I have to say, my top 2 pedals right now are the 19 Sixty 3 and the ZYS... DVM's ZYS is fantastic.

No fair! The thread is which one pedal.:D

LowEndWonder
December 27th, 2007, 01:28 PM
My Hartke Bass Attack and my Boss Bass EQ. :master:

Robert
December 27th, 2007, 02:04 PM
Ok, right now my #1 pedal is my Maxon SD-9. Ask me next week and I might answer differently.... :)

tot_Ou_tard
December 27th, 2007, 07:43 PM
Peterson Strobostomp ;) :rotflmao:;)

oldguy
December 27th, 2007, 07:49 PM
The one that switches my Traynor YCV 40's drive channel on.
I can actually live w/o pedals if I've got guitar, cable, amp.
It's a plus if I have amp w/ reverb, drive channel, ext. cab.:beer:

pes_laul
December 27th, 2007, 10:16 PM
Definetly my BOSS DS-1 Great distortion sounds

GREENMACHINE
December 27th, 2007, 10:42 PM
Hey Guys
My pedal would be my Eric Clapton Crossroads pedal ay. Or a Boss BD-2 Blues Driver (don't have one but have heard one)

Cheers
GREENMACHINE:D :rockon:

Kazz
December 28th, 2007, 05:57 AM
I do not have the the one I could not live without yet....It is definitely not the Boss DS-1 as I find it to be pretty thin, and surely not the Danelectro Fab Tone...altho there is some usable fuzz in that one....and the RP80 well to me that thing is a joke....

I am interested in modding my DS-1, buying a Bad Monkey and a Screamin Blues and I HAVE to get my hands on a good Crybaby or Morley Bad Horsie Wah pedal.

tot_Ou_tard
December 29th, 2007, 11:16 PM
Number 2: Boss RC-2 Looper.

The drum samples helps me work on my timing.

Being able to record rythym with the drum samples & solo over that or record lead & play rythym over that is indispesible.

If you don't have a looper with drum tracks, then screw all those dirt boxes & flange-a-ma-delay-o-whirls, they might be a delightful obsession, but I submit that your priorities are out'ta whack.

That is unlesss your timing is already impeccable &/or you play with others every week.

Spudman
December 30th, 2007, 01:13 AM
Number 2: Boss RC-2 Looper.


This belongs is the "What is the second pedal you can't live without?" thread.;)

just strum
December 30th, 2007, 10:53 AM
Since I only have two, I can answer both threads in one post.

Damn, I only have two and I'm not sure if one is classified as a pedal.

Anyway, at this stage I would have to say my Jamman is my number one pedal. As noted by a couple people here, it is a great tool to have when playing by myself (not "with"). It's a great timing tool and also gives me a better feel for the components of a song.

Of course that leaves my Vox VFS2 as my #2. although I really liked the added dimension it offers when practicing/playing with someone else.

wingsdad
December 30th, 2007, 12:08 PM
Boss ME-50. Over 60 effects and more without the hassle of the pedal chain board I used to deal with.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b81/wingsdad/5382ME50set.jpg
Here, it's set up as I use it most: as a headphone practice 'amp' (it also takes an Aux Input to play along with....drum machine, cd, whatever...) that's simultaneously going into my amp and in stereo to 2 channels of my mixer & in-turn, recorder. The 2-button switch to the right is a $20 Behringer AB200 A-B-Y switch that I use instead of falling for Boss's excuse to buy 2 of their $25 FS-5U momentary latching switches (still need the $6 stereo Y/insert cable) to switch the ME-50 up & down it's 10 Patch Banks to flip between 30 Presets I've customized for various electric and acoustic/electric guitars.

There's also an ME50B for Bass. Either usually sells new for about $299US and they came out this past year with a scaled down version, the ME-20, that sells for $100 less.

just strum
December 30th, 2007, 06:05 PM
Wings,

I like the ME-50. They can be picked up at a good price if you watch e-bay enough to stick one. I went to the Boss site and did some reading up on it and it isn't a bad deal. How would you rate the effects some of the better pedals you've heard or owned?

wingsdad
December 30th, 2007, 07:11 PM
Strum,
Compared to others I've had or heard? Well, I'll have to apoligize first to the rest of the Fretters for dragging this thread a little off-topic by going into a quick 'review' here of the unit...

The 22 different Overdrives & Distortions include 11 faithful working versions of 5 of Boss's Biggies - my favorite being the 2 I had, the OD-1 & BD-2 (BluesDriver) - and very decent 'models' of 6 others, including the Ibanez Tube Screamer (TS-808, 'the Greenie') I'd had in my board. All better than the MXR Distortion+, which was my 4th of that breed.

From what I've seen in this thread and in Fretters' sigs, or with DVM's rig, I don't think I'm alone in saying that there's no single Overdrive or Distortion pedal that's a be-all end-all if you use different guitars (single coil loaded vs HB's, for instance) and/or amps. What's nice about the ME-50 is the OD/DiS section is you can, to a degree, combine the effects of 2 or 3 of the 11 OD/Dist units with what amounts to 11 preset combos of them.

The Mono & Stereo Chourses and Delays are on a par with Boss's big guy multis of those devices, maybe giving up just a bit of fine adjustment control. The Reverbs are decent, and independent of the Delay section.

The Expression Pedal is a little tricky because it doesn't have the 'travel width', particularly of a Cry Baby Wah; you need to be 'light on the foot'. So those who use a Wah 'extensively' may not dig it. For that touchiness reason, too, I prefer, still, to use my old Goodrich photocell Volume Pedal after this, and while the onboard Tuner is pretty good in pinch, I still count on my Boss TU-12H for crtical tuning.

I traded my 30 yr-old board loaded with 'vintage' stuff, some pretty beat up (stomp boxes, right?): the Cry Baby and those 4 Distortion pedals, plus an old Ross Flanger, an MXR Stereo Phaser, MXR Stereo Chorus and MXR DynaComp Compressor and a Boss NoiseGate, a power supply and all the little cables and patchjacks for this, even up. All I had to buy was the PSA-120 AC Adapter (it also runs on 6 AA's if you need it to).

I feel like I got everything I had in that board, or at least used alot, plus I got a Harmonizer, an Octaver pedal, and more.

The biggest advantage? a lot less signal degradation and invitation to interfereence & noise from all that daisy-chaining. One plug in, one plug out.

Spudman
April 23rd, 2008, 09:25 AM
I have to change my original pedal choice from the modded TS9 to the Dah Voodoo Man's Zonkin Yellow Screamer. Everything else now just completely sucks...except for the Tonebone Hot British.:)

WackyT
April 23rd, 2008, 09:54 AM
I use my modified CS-3 the most.
Second is my modified SD-1 in symmetrical distortion mode.

snoglobe
April 23rd, 2008, 09:56 AM
Boss TU-2 (on account of my tin ear)

The rest of the pedals come and go.

ZMAN
April 23rd, 2008, 12:30 PM
If I were to choose one pedal it would be my Fulltone Fulldrive II. Od and gain pedal. Actually all of my Fulltone pedals are the cats ***. The OCD, the Mini deja vibe are also amazing. I have recently purchased a Boss DD20 Giga Delay and we shall see how it fits in.

Bomber
April 23rd, 2008, 12:46 PM
Similar to a ts 808?

oh oh
GAs

Jimi75
December 29th, 2008, 06:54 AM
Ibanez TS-9. No it's not modded and it sounds fantastic. Just yesterday we rehearsed and the Marshall JTM45 and the TS-9 are big friends that deliver some really mean sounds. This pedal does a great job and I have been using it for more than 10 years right now. I was at a point where I thought that I do not want that sound no more, but with the new amph this pedal remained my number one.

ZMAN
December 29th, 2008, 07:21 AM
Fulltone Fulldrive II. A very close second, the Fulltone OCD.

mrmudcat
December 29th, 2008, 03:22 PM
vintage tube screamers x2

white signed #125 steve vai bad horsie2 wah

Blaze
December 29th, 2008, 03:35 PM
My old Boss CE-2 Chorus that follows me long...

mrmudcat
December 29th, 2008, 03:41 PM
I have to change my original pedal choice from the modded TS9 to the Dah Voodoo Man's Zonkin Yellow Screamer. Everything else now just completely sucks...except for the Tonebone Hot British.:)



yea that too my voodoo special ds1

Who dah man:dude:

cherokee747
December 29th, 2008, 06:23 PM
Tubescreamer!:AOK: Mike

R.B. Huckleberry
December 29th, 2008, 06:58 PM
Okey. It would have to be the BD-2 then.



+1. I just can't do without the Blues Driver these days.

Rocket
December 29th, 2008, 07:49 PM
Okey. It would have to be the BD-2 then.
+1... yup Boss BD-2 Blues Driver, that the one!

just strum
December 30th, 2008, 09:28 AM
I did a search for the Marshall BB-2 and it brought me to this thread (search picked up on Marshall), so I took the time to read through the four pages.

You people change your mind probably more than you change underwear. Oh, and Robert, if your North American tour ever brings you to Ohio, I am not, I repeat, I am not taking you to dinner. You would change your order before the first selection got to the table.

This is one of those GAS threads x 100

Spudman
December 30th, 2008, 09:57 AM
You people change your mind probably more than you change underwear.

Ahem, pot calling the kettle black eh?:deadhorse:

just strum
December 30th, 2008, 10:05 AM
Ahem, pot calling the kettle black eh?:deadhorse:

I meant it in a humorous way. Reading through the entire thread was comical.

Oh and I prefer a white kettle, no blue, wait make that red....