What would be a good 1st pedal?

[MAXIFUNK]

I have a Flexline III XL with the short board Pedal.

Now I want to start getting some pedals outside of the shortboard.
What do you guys suggest? I know bass pedals pretty good but Guitar pedals
I am clueless.

[@nthony]

Chorus or Distortion for your first effects. They tend to be the easiest to use. However my first was an Octaver!!!

[Tig***]

DVM's Rabid Rodent (ProCo RAT clone) or his Zonkin' Yellow Screamer overdrive pedal.

I use my home built (BYOC) versions of these pedals in various combinations constantly, and create some incredible tones I thought I'd never be able to make before. Of course, that's with an amp that has reverb, delay, and slap-back onboard.

[ZMAN]

Maxi: Here is my take on pedals. My first pedal was a DOD tube driver. At the time I had a SS amp and wanted some tubey sound. I then went to a Tube amp and decided on a BD2 by boss. Then a DS1, and so on and so forth. I always didn't like the ambient noise and wasn't really liking the tones.
Then I discovered Fulltone pedals. They are a little pricey but when you take into consideration the number of 100 dollar pedals you buy and don't use I found I bought them once and that was it. I have the Fulldrive II, OCD, Fat boost, and Mini deja vibe. I also have multi effect delay pedal the Boss DD20. With these pedal I can get just about any OD, boost, vibrato delay, thickness of tone, and to really get some Distortion I have a Radial Tonebone Hot British that has it's own 12AX7 tube.
The reason I mention Fulltone is they do the job, they are multi facetted and built like tanks. True bypass, so very quiet, and are professional grade.
Check out their website and listen to the samples.
You will find a lot of guys buy pedals and then send them out to be modified by Keely etc. No need with the Fulltones.
Just passing along a lot of experience.

[Robert****]

Hard to give a suggestion since you didn't mention what kind of sound you are after. Think about what type of sound you want to achieve. Then, decide on a pedal that creates that type of sound (chorus, delay, distortion, fuzz, wah, heavy metal distortion, reverb, flanger, phaser, etc... you get the idea).

[mainestratman]

What's everyone's take on the "Bad Monkey" pedal? And what's most recommended for fuzz?

[piebaldpython***]

The general consensus is that the Bad Monkey is an awesome bang for your buck out there at $50. Overdrives your sound and adds some dirt if you want. It's 4 knobs create a lot of magic.

[markb]

What's everyone's take on the "Bad Monkey" pedal? And what's most recommended for fuzz?

It's (the Monkey) a Tube Screamer with smarter tone controls. A very good pedal for the money. So are the Boss SD-1 and both the Danelectro Cool Cat drives if you're after a cheap overdriver.

Fuzz comes in so many flavours it's harder to answer. The Boss FZ-5 models a few classics and would be a good way to find out what kind of fuzz you like before committing to anything expensive.

For a do anything dirt pedal I find it hard to beat an old ProCo RAT. It takes a while to dial in due to highly interactive controls but can do anything from boost to fuzz with a nice tactile response from the guitar volume. DVM's Rabid Rodent is fine example of this circuit with some extras.

[Robert****]

Cool Cat Fuzz is one of the cheaper fuzzes out there, and pretty decent too.

[sumitomo]

The Talent pedal.Sumi but their not cheap!

[Spudman***]

Knowing what I know now after buying so many different pedals...in a heartbeat I'd by a Line 6 M13 or M9. The quest for tone and new sounds is never ending as you develop your guitar playing and each of theses pedals has so much to offer for an incredible bang to buck ratio. You wont be spending more money time and again looking for something. Instead you'll just go turn some knobs and have your new pedal right thee in front of you.

[Eric***]

Knowing what I know now after buying so many different pedals...in a heartbeat I'd by a Line 6 M13 or M9. The quest for tone and new sounds is never ending as you develop your guitar playing and each of theses pedals has so much to offer for an incredible bang to buck ratio. You wont be spending more money time and again looking for something. Instead you'll just go turn some knobs and have your new pedal right thee in front of you.

On that note, I'll also go ahead and recommend the Boss ME series (ME-50 and ME-70). They can be found for pretty cheap, relatively speaking (I paid $170 on ebay for an ME-50), and they offer good effects with a very simple interface so that you can figure out what you like. Similar to the M13, but a bit less flexible (from what I understand of the M13, anyway), cheaper, and simpler.

[peachhead***]

I vote for the monkey- fairly cheap but very effective.

[Eric***]

It's (the Monkey) a Tube Screamer with smarter tone controls. A very good pedal for the money. So are the Boss SD-1 and both the Danelectro Cool Cat drives if you're after a cheap overdriver.

For a do anything dirt pedal I find it hard to beat an old ProCo RAT. It takes a while to dial in due to highly interactive controls but can do anything from boost to fuzz with a nice tactile response from the guitar volume.

I'd agree with any of these, but the ones above (Bad Monkey, Dano transparent overdrive or drive, SD-1) will probably be the most cost effective.

You have a flextone iii xl? You already have an awful lot of effects at your disposal, don't you? I guess one of those overdrives would be my recommendation if you want to venture into stompbox-land.

[mainestratman]

I do apologize for hijacking the thread...

Before I was able to afford the amp I wanted, I was running a Fender 212 SS.. iffy distortion at best, but a super clean (and LOUD) clean channel, so I supplemented it with stompboxes (and eventually a Behringer V-Amp, which didn't work well at all on stage. Fortunately, I only had to use that setup for about a year, then I was able to get my Marshmallow, my failed distortion pedal experiments went on eBay.

The first pedal was a Boss DS-1, and I really did not like it at all... it was super noisy... but then again, I was running a single coil American Strat through it. I attempted to dial in a better sound my supplementing the 212R's distortion with the pedal, but it just kept getting worse.

Someone had touched on this earlier... decide what sound you're after... if you're in a more urban area than I am and have access to a GC or Sam Ash, take your guitar in, find your amp (or something close), and start experimenting with pedals.

I think once you find the base distortion sound you like, then you can start adding in fun stuff... I love my Chorus pedal... I have a Boss CH-1, and adding a hint of chorus, especially when I'm running clean, really adds to the tone.

I also have a Boss flanger, but almost never use it. It's basically just filling what would otherwise be an empty slot on my pedal board. I've experimented with it to no end, but really can't come up with any sort sound from it that I like, or would use on even a semi-regular basis... so to me, it's a "gimmick effect".

I like delay pedals, and have used both the Boss and Ibanez delay pedals.. they are both pretty much the same, to my ear... The only reason I had DD was to play "Welcome to the Jungle", but I know adding a little delay, especially during a solo, can add a depth to the overall sound.

The only other "effects" I use are my Crybaby GCB-95 wah pedal (if it's good enough for Hendrix, it's good enough for me.. lol) and my Rocktron talkbox (all the sound of a Golden Throat without the chance of blowing my head)...

Personally, the fewer things I have to remember to stomp on during a performance, the better... but I know some guitarists revel in having a zillion buttons to stomp... which is an artform all unto itself. :-)

As for taking my own advice of taking my guitar to a local store and test driving pedals... there is a distinct lack of retailers in this part of the Pine Tree State. :-)


Anyway, I jumped into this thread to ask about some "basic sound" pedals, the Bad Monkey and something else fuzzy.. thought input from folks who have used those types of pedals might help the OP on his quest.. although with a Line6, he should be more than well-off with different sounds and effects.

Cheers!

[sunvalleylaw]

The Bad Monkey was my first, and is still a favorite. For the price of a used one, it is hard to beat. Given that, I would take a serious look at a M-9 or M-13 also. (Frankly, if I were starting out on pedals and wanted to go this route, I would go with the 13). It seems so flexible, and you get so much as a starting place. Tuner, looper, effects loop if you choose to get a special overdrive or some other pedal you want to include in the mix, and the combinations you can set up and change on the fly look really interesting, useful, and fun! So, either start easy and get a used Bad Monkey for like $25 or go for the M-13. That is my vote!

[mainestratman]

Hrmm... although.. if I had a Bad Monkey, that would give me clean grit, gritty, dirty and creamy lead....

See what you guys are doing to me? LOL

[sunvalleylaw]

A used Bad Monkey is cheap GAS. For the price of say 6 premium coffee drinks, or 5 micro tap pints, you have a very useful tool.

[mainestratman]

I might have to come home with one after school today then. :-)