Alright, got a quandary and open to suggestions!

Clockworkmike

Clockworkmike

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Admittedly, I've never been a big pedal guy. I don't mean I'm anti-pedal, more so I never really had any. I think in my lifetime I have owned just 5 pedals, 2 of those were wahs from long ago that I got rid of ( a DOD FX-17 wah/volume and a Crybaby). These days I only have 3 ( A Joyo Ultimate Drive OD pedal, an MXR 134 Stereo Chorus and a Joe Bonamassa Crybaby that i have only used once and sits in a box). I guess I was always a cheap hack that just stuck with cheaper multiFX processors ( in fact , the one I'm using currently, is a now ancient Line 6 POD X3 Live that I've had for almost 14 years). It's been fine, but it's become increasingly dated and it's time for a change.


The question I have is this: would it be better to assemble together a basic pedal board and go that route or stick to the a processor? The quandary is: I don't want to spend a small fortune in either direction honestly because while I think it's awesome to have all the options in the world, I personally don't really need it.

So, if it's a pedal board that I should build: what would be the basic essentials and what's some decently acceptable brands? If it's the processor route: whats a good one that won't break the bank? Price point wise, let's start somewhere with a cap of $400 just to keep this simple i guess and amp/cab modeling is a bonus but by no means a necessity either
 
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Clockworkmike said:
Admittedly, I've never been a big pedal guy. I don't mean I'm anti-pedal, more so I never really had any. I think in my lifetime I have owned just 5 pedals, 2 of those were wahs from long ago that I got rid of ( a DOD FX-17 wah/volume and a Crybaby). These days I only have 3 ( A Joyo Ultimate Drive OD pedal, an MXR 134 Stereo Chorus and a Joe Bonamassa Crybaby that i have only used once and sits in a box). I guess I was always a cheap hack that just stuck with cheaper multiFX processors ( in fact , the one I'm using currently, is a now ancient Line 6 POD X3 Live that I've had for almost 14 years). It's been fine, but it's become increasingly dated and it's time for a change.


The question I have is this: would it be better to assemble together a basic pedal board and go that route or stick to the a processor? The quandary is: I don't want to spend a small fortune in either direction honestly because while I think it's awesome to have all the options in the world, I personally don't really need it.

So, if it's a pedal board that I should build: what would be the basic essentials and what's some decently acceptable brands? If it's the processor route: whats a good one that won't break the bank? Price point wise, let's start somewhere with a cap of $400 just to keep this simple i guess and amp/cab modeling is a bonus but by no means a necessity either
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Damn!! I thought this was another concert issue.
Oh well!

Ok here is my take.
If $400 is your cap and you have minimal pedals.
By the time for factor the cost of your basic pedals.
For arguments sake. Let’s just go with
An OD of some kind. EQ, a modulation and possibly reverb or delay pedal. Plus a board, cables, power supply. I will guess you will blow past that $400 mark in a hurry.
If you go with something like an HX Stomp or equivalent you will spend more less around the same and have more options to sculpt your sound.

I had that exact same POD. I traded it in because it wouldn’t accept updates anymore (about 2 or 3 years ago) they gave me $100 credit. Plus GC was running a 15% off on new purchases with trade in.
I bought the HX Stomp. And now I have a closet full of pedals I don’t use anymore.

Just checked on a stomp and it’s about $650 new. Figure if you trade in the POD. You could get it for around $500-$550. And you can still hook up pedals you like with it if you wish. Although I don’t know why. But you could.
 
LiveeviL2000 said:
Damn!! I thought this was another concert issue.
Oh well!

Ok here is my take.
If $400 is your cap and you have minimal pedals.
By the time for factor the cost of your basic pedals.
For arguments sake. Let’s just go with
An OD of some kind. EQ, a modulation and possibly reverb or delay pedal. Plus a board, cables, power supply. I will guess you will blow past that $400 mark in a hurry.
If you go with something like an HX Stomp or equivalent you will spend more less around the same and have more options to sculpt your sound.

I had that exact same POD. I traded it in because it wouldn’t accept updates anymore (about 2 or 3 years ago) they gave me $100 credit. Plus GC was running a 15% off on new purchases with trade in.
I bought the HX Stomp. And now I have a closet full of pedals I don’t use anymore.

Just checked on a stomp and it’s about $650 new. Figure if you trade in the POD. You could get it for around $500-$550. And you can still hook up pedals you like with it if you wish. Although I don’t know why. But you could.
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Yeah I'm thinking the price cap is not going to be realistic lol so it's gonna have to go over unless we are talking some very cheap or basically unknown brands here. I mean there ARE cheap pedals and bundles but, who knows what you're getting into there really. Honestly, same point applies to processors.

Exhibit A) Pedals: one could buy just about any necessary pedal type in the Behringer series or Donner for under $250 but the verdicts out there on those.

Exhibit B) Processors: you have companies like Valeton that claims it's the Line 6 killer at $279 but it's an unproven brand outta China, as is NUX. You don't even get into known names unless your talking a minimum of $350 and that's for a Headrush MX5 which my comparison to anything equal in Line 6, would put it closer to a POD Go in ability.

So option B definitely isn't a great choice, while option A would require some serious testimonials to even consider
 
I really did a pretty decent deep dive into bargain pedals. I did find some really good ones out there and some really stinkers too.
Donner
Joyo
Behringer
All have pedals that go from great to down right terrible.
And I tried a bunch of them.

If you are interested in that route, let me know what pedal effects you are looking at and I can tell you if I found good ones.

I found any type of modulation pedals or time pedals in the budget range aren’t worth it. Better off getting the better pedals there.
 
fitz said:
Check these out - I have one of each for front end and loop.
120+ different pedals to choose from with up to 6 at a time on each unit.
Controls like analog pedal knobs.
Used ones are well within your budget.
zoomcorp.com

G3n / G3Xn Guitar Processor | Buy Now

Intuitive Multi-Effects Processor for Guitarists
zoomcorp.com zoomcorp.com
View attachment 96264
Click to expand...
I saw those and always wondered. They had decent reviews when I looked into them
 
LiveeviL2000 said:
I really did a pretty decent deep dive into bargain pedals. I did find some really good ones out there and some really stinkers too.
Donner
Joyo
Behringer
All have pedals that go from great to down right terrible.
And I tried a bunch of them.

If you are interested in that route, let me know what pedal effects you are looking at and I can tell you if I found good ones.

I found any type of modulation pedals or time pedals in the budget range aren’t worth it. Better off getting the better pedals there.
Click to expand...
Sure man! I appreciate it!

Basically, at a core minimum if we're going pedals much like you already mentioned: I'd be looking into an EQ and a Noise gate as priority. A delay and viable preamp/distortion would be a strong probability and a compressor or looper would be a possibility. Reverb wise, I use a lil from the DSL50 and if I go expansive with it, I usually click on the floor pedal for the Mode Four as it has a really awesome onboard digital reverb ( like a massive hall effect)

The Chorus I have is awesome and I would like to stick with it because it's really versatile and plus I use it to split my signal to two amps. The Overdrive I have? Eh, it could go either way ( it's a Joyo clone of a Fulltone OCD): as a boost it's pretty good, as a distortion its finicky at best.

Wah wise? I use one occasionally and like I said, got a brand new Crybaby Joe Bonamassa that i used ONCE lol
 
fitz said:
Check these out - I have one of each for front end and loop.
120+ different pedals to choose from with up to 6 at a time on each unit.
Controls like analog pedal knobs.
Used ones are well within your budget.
zoomcorp.com

G3n / G3Xn Guitar Processor | Buy Now

Intuitive Multi-Effects Processor for Guitarists
zoomcorp.com zoomcorp.com
View attachment 96264
Click to expand...
Indeed. Gets my vote!
I had a reverb and flanger and was looking at a DD7 delay pedal.
This Zoom G3x was LESS money than a single delay! Because of the 3 switches, one patch can be 3 different delay times. So of one needs to change delay, no need to fiddle with knobs etc or have multiples.
The weird fun effects are just that - weird fun effects. Use em or dont.
The acoustic sim is nice plus I use it for time based effects and the odd octave effect.
Worth every penny.
 
I put something together for you with pricing on some of those pedals.

Off the bat.
The Donner Noise killer is a phenomenal noise gate. Simple to use and inexpensive as all hell. You can pick one up on reverb for around $20-$30 used. I believe they are around $40-$50 new.
 
Clockworkmike said:
Admittedly, I've never been a big pedal guy. I don't mean I'm anti-pedal, more so I never really had any. I think in my lifetime I have owned just 5 pedals, 2 of those were wahs from long ago that I got rid of ( a DOD FX-17 wah/volume and a Crybaby). These days I only have 3 ( A Joyo Ultimate Drive OD pedal, an MXR 134 Stereo Chorus and a Joe Bonamassa Crybaby that i have only used once and sits in a box). I guess I was always a cheap hack that just stuck with cheaper multiFX processors ( in fact , the one I'm using currently, is a now ancient Line 6 POD X3 Live that I've had for almost 14 years). It's been fine, but it's become increasingly dated and it's time for a change.


The question I have is this: would it be better to assemble together a basic pedal board and go that route or stick to the a processor? The quandary is: I don't want to spend a small fortune in either direction honestly because while I think it's awesome to have all the options in the world, I personally don't really need it.

So, if it's a pedal board that I should build: what would be the basic essentials and what's some decently acceptable brands? If it's the processor route: whats a good one that won't break the bank? Price point wise, let's start somewhere with a cap of $400 just to keep this simple i guess and amp/cab modeling is a bonus but by no means a necessity either
Click to expand...



OGC.aa4768ceec07c5e6596d315ef1bf84ea
 
Having the individual pedals allows for the slow build up to the ultimate board, the all-in-one allow for instant patches so you can change several effects at the same time. Yes, there are pedal switchers, but then it's another box purchase to account for.

The hard part is finding the right balance of sound/price.
 
If you playing the Marshall, I am not a pedal guy but do mess around(mostly fenders) more pure circuit cranked with proper speaker type player

klon(pure clean boost) just more of or ad a tinge of saturation. Can be used in front or end of board(i have one on each end actually)

treble booster- does crazy good things for slice & cut above & through things especially if 2 guitars in mix or ya just want up & over in the mix or live for leads

Boss sd-1- the classic Marshall mid push pedal & bottom end cleaner upper
 
I can't help at $400.00 but most of the time play straight in to the amp but the two efx I use is the Klon and the DryBell The Engine
I got this new Wingman Klon double channel that you can stack sounds killer sounds real I sold my gold and silver Klons still have the red KTR klon.

klon 001.JPG
Klon 002.JPG
 
I had an enjoyable time building a pedal board this year.
I used to run a Zoom multi-effects board.(a Zoom GFX-8, I kept the amp sim’s off…always…it is still working today AFAIK)
Both worked pretty well for my needs.
I like the individual pedal route, personally.
If you can handle a soldering iron, most of the usual dirtbox and boost suspects can be found, affordably, in kit form. There’s some pretty slick stuff out there that can be built fairly easily too…but that’s not for everyone.
Time based effects, and eq, maybe not so much…but be careful with the cheapies and the minis. My phase 95 turned into a buzz-box within a few months…very disappointing…though it sounded very good when it wasn’t humming.
A small pedal board would be difficult in that budget though. There are some decent power supplies out there, these days, and some of the good ones are reasonably priced.
Don‘t know what else to say…the digital multi-effects board is more affordable/programable, but less adventurous/flexible/creative. The pedal board is more expensive/finicky/cumbersome, but customizable/modular and you can use it as you build in your own time.
I may have one or two things that I could throw your way if you decide to take the pedal board route. :cheers:
 
So there's been some great advice and suggestions tossed around here and I appreciate all of you taking the time going over this!

As I'm weighing the options to go one way or the other, I guess I do have a couple other questions to ask.

First: playing mostly in a hard rock/metal style, what pedals would be absolutely crucial? I know the first thing I hear every time is an overdrive ( which again, I would definitely be open to changing out from the one I have). But keeping it relatively simple, what else is a definite must have?

Second: if pedals are what I do end up with ( again not final!) , are there cases where name power is meaningless in certain pedals? What I'm trying to say I guess, is there a difference in EQs or Noise Gates? Obviously, yeah you have parametric vs 6-7-10 band graphic but I mean does one brand sound better than the other?
 
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