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I know I'm giving someone here a nightmare with this question  ;D

But I'm curious....

let's make it a bit easier and say you have an amp with two channels and that it gives you the overdrive you desire. But that's all.


What is the one pedal that would make you happiest / least miserable ?

Just one? Then I'd want something like a Strymon Flint (tremolo & reverb):

(https://media.sweetwater.com/m/products/image/eab6fc7124fYQjV7cfOIZmm3QQJnNaGPvCoTM3Mu.jpg?quality=82&height=750&ha=eab6fc7124227818)

crazy-tube-circuits-constellation-cv7003-limited-edition.jpg

Constellation CV7003

FF: Inspired by the Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, one of the most notable fuzz pedals in history

VTB: Inspired by the Vox ToneBender, a brighter but at the same time "polite" fuzz pedal.

3/2: Inspired by the Sola Sound Tone Bender Mk 1.5 often described as a darker and heavier Fuzz Face.
2: Inspired by the Sola Sound Tone Bender MkII, a wild saturated fuzz with lots of sustain.

RM: Inspired by the Dallas Rangemaster, a treble booster pedal typically used to increase treble content, gain and sustain of already overdriven tube amplifiers.

RMFF: A custom combination of a treble booster into a fuzz face that gives a bright and nasty fuzz sound tailor-made to cut through the mix.

I think this is a bad and boring answer. But I use this on bass, and on acoustic guitars, and even on kabosy. And it's kind of transparent and uninteresting. Yet... When I have a gig that's just bass, I bring a tuner, a compressor, and this. Also: It's a little noisy. When I record with it at home, I always need a little noise reduction.

I'd go Kemper

Easy. J rocket ape https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/356151394870

I guess for one pedal to do everything - the Eventide H9 - but if we are talking a one function pedal - it would be the J Rocket. I also think that the APE is an always on pedal, so impacts core tone, rather than switch in and out effect - so still would go for the APE.

It does require a delay pedal in it loop, but any fully wet delay will do. It's a make everything sound better pedal

B

I can't help but feel that some folks is cheating a little bit! :D

@Geir, did you really mean multi-effects pedals? ;D

They're valid answers... but I think you're after something else?

Quote from: Geir on November 19, 2024, 05:07:55 PMBut I'm curious....

let's make it a bit easier and say you have an amp with two channels and that it gives you the overdrive you desire. But that's all.

What is the one pedal that would make you happiest / least miserable ?

I fall at the first hurdle.
I've NEVER felt happy with an amp with two channels.
I ALWAYS end up ignoring the clean channel and using the hotter channel for my basic sound.
I want this one amp setting to do less ("clean"), rhythm ("crunch"), and more ("lead") - all controlled by pickup selection, guitar tone/volume and picking attack.

If the amp won't do that, NOTHING will make me happy...  ;D

But if I've got an amp (or amp simulator) that does that... then:

Part I
What I want is something that pushes the front of the amp a bit harder 8)

At the moment I use a TC Electronic Spark Booster (original, not the mini).
I use it in front of the UAFX Pedals (Ruby/Lion/Woodrow) I use as amps (AC30/Marshall/Fender Tweed).
The Spark does a perfect job in front of these, same as it does in front of a valve amp.

So... my simple answer is TC Electronic Spark.

Part II
(I coulda stopped there, couldn't I? But there's more, and you know it...)

When I was gigging many years ago, I initially used a DOD Graphic EQ pedal to do the same job.
I eventually replaced that with the original Marshall Guv'nor pedal when it came out.
That was into the same amp.
I bought the Guv'nor for the overdrive but didn't like it that much.
Instead, I discovered that keeping the drive low and the output up gave me a stunning boost/colouration pedal.
This really was to my taste - but I was using it as a boost, slightly dirty.
I never used the EQ again.

I discovered later that this is how some famous people have used Tube Screamers and Boss Overdrives.
I have clones of them, and others, and...
And Fuzz, by the way, and...
They're nice... and fun...
And I've seen videos of people using the same things I've got and I'm thinking "yeah!" ...

BUT!
Playing through them NEVER feels "real" to me.

I want the amp and its speakers giving me the grit.

So they all end up getting set to "boost and slight colouration" and...
NONE of them do as good a job at that as the TC Electronic Spark does.

Part III
(I could also stop there... But...)

This is the other interesting bit for your original question, @Geir :)

What if I had a two channel amp that meant I didn't need that boost?
OR
What if my single channel amp already has a switchable boost?
(My current Laney does, as do my UAFX "amps")

What would I choose next, if I don't need the Spark?

• Is it a compressor? COULD BE... but it's not on my board... I mainly use it for boost like Rory did (and Spark does the job) or to get that 70s funky geetar sound (and I'm not often after that)... and I've never used one to make my playing sound more consistent, didn't even know that was a thing until recently... so NOPE
• Is it a wah? COULD BE... in the old days it definitely was... I LOVE wah... but I need a boost more than I need a wah... so... NOPE
• Is it reverb? NOPE... I loathe reverb on amplifiers, always have. I want the room (on amp modellors I'm always trying to program a room - the UAFX pedals I've got are superb for that). But if I'm using an amp in a room, I have NO NEED of artificial reverb,
• Is it delay? NOPE... I do have a "tape delay" pedal set to slapback, much preferable to reverb for me... but I never switch it on...
• Is it chorus? COULDA BEEN... in the old days I used it live... but nowadays I find it's a solution looking for a problem... there's no need for it... so NOPE
• Is it flanger? COULDA BEEN... in the very old days I used it live... but nowadays I find it's more of a studio effect... like chorus it does some wobbles I don't really need... so NOPE
• Is it vibrato? COULDA BEEN... I prefer it to chorus and flanging now but, again, it seems a bit "something and nothing"... so NOPE

We're down to two (in my mind) ... both are "wobblers" like chorus/flanger/vibrato. They're more distinctive and useable for me.

• Is is a Phaser? HELL YES... except... for me personally, it's too suggestive of certain songs/recordings that make me want to use it... it's on my board, it does both dirty rock and 70s pop things for me... but we're after one pedal... and there's another that's more usable for me... so NOPE

And the winner is: Tremolo!
I'd never have predicted this a few years ago.

Mine is a Behringer Ultra Tremolo UT300.
I bought a bunch of Behringers to try out various things over the last few years, this was the last one I got, just to give it a go.
It's only this one, the Behringer VP1 Vintage Phaser, and the Behringer Vintage Delay VD400 that have stayed on the board.
And it's the Tremolo that I use, I guess the others are just wasting 9v ;D

Finally...

Part IV
To be honest, I don't really want ANY pedals.

I like a "guitar, guitar-lead, amp, and ROCK!" approach.

I could live without boost or wobbles.
I could definitely live without echoes and ambience.
I don't need anything but a usable sound that responds to my input.
And I HATE all those extra boxes and wires and crackles and stuff unless I really need them...

So I might have wasted the last hour or so...
But that would've been less interesting! ;D  8)  8)  8)

Oh.  ..... well ..... yeah. ...... all right ......

I guess I should have been clearer.... I did mean one single pedal.  Not multi fx.

So maybe .........


This was what I wrote before getting distracted by my son ....... and  when I picked this up again Andy had come to my rescue

I did of course mean a singe pedal, I could make it even more precise and say 1 analog pedal! No fancy modelling stuff and no multi fx. I would make an exception for 2 things: a  digital delay and a digital reverb.

It's therefore still the APE for me then, but it needs a donor delay pedal for it's full feature. You can use it as just a preamp/booster though, that just thickens the sound

Quote from: Geir on November 20, 2024, 05:47:46 AMOh.  ..... well ..... yeah. ...... all right ......

I guess I should have been clearer.... I did mean one single pedal.  Not multi fx.

So maybe .........


This was what I wrote before getting distracted by my son ....... and  when I picked this up again Andy had come to my rescue

I did of course mean a singe pedal, I could make it even more precise and say 1 analog pedal! No fancy modelling stuff and no multi fx. I would make an exception for 2 things: a  digital delay and a digital reverb.

;D  ;D  ;D  ;D

Phew! A Spark boost still qualifies :)

Quote from: bruno on November 20, 2024, 06:41:04 AMIt's therefore still the APE for me then, but it needs a donor delay pedal for it's full feature. You can use it as just a preamp/booster though, that just thickens the sound

And this one sounds very interesting... but wouldn't be a "one pedal" pick for me.

Quote from: AndyR on November 20, 2024, 04:27:51 AMTo be honest, I don't really want ANY pedals.

I like a "guitar, guitar-lead, amp, and ROCK!" approach.

I could live without boost or wobbles.
I could definitely live without echoes and ambience.
I don't need anything but a usable sound that responds to my input.
And I HATE all those extra boxes and wires and crackles and stuff unless I really need them...

So I might have wasted the last hour or so...
But that would've been less interesting! ;D  8)  8)  8)

I'm with you on keeping it simple.  The last year or so I've been limiting myself to just that : a guitar, a cable and an amp. Mind you I do fall off the wagon all the time and buy some new pedal and rearrange my pedal board, but I do like the simplicity of just using the pickup selector and volume pot to control my sound.

That said, to answer my own question......

if you asked me two weeks ago I'd said either boss cs-3 compressor or an analog delay pedal.

 BUT I just got the mooer e-lady and tho it's an almost unusable pedal as the only pedal, it's just so much fun ..... so that or the one it's s a copy of.....



Ps. Glad I could amuse you for an hour or so Andy  8)

Quote from: Odi on November 20, 2024, 10:47:28 AMFine... Lol.
If I can only have "ONE"... gimme'a looper!

PS;
The CATALYST is a single channel with a built in BOOST... Just sayin'  ;D

I checked out the Catalyst after seeing your post... looks cool (I've got a POD 2.0 and a fully loaded POD XTLive hiding in a cupboard somewhere, and a bunch of Variax instruments hiding in the loft - I kinda like Line6 stuff... just not using any of it at the moment).

I did kinda think the Catalyst qualified as the amplifier in this game ;D

There are many to choose from but the one that gets hit the most on my pedal board is the MXR Prime Distortion....or maybe an Akai Compressor or.... ;D

Bass Balls, very hard to get and I wish I had mine still. It has a tube!

The Q Balls is ok but just not the same.

If you could only have one pedal board ...

Quote from: bruno on November 21, 2024, 04:42:51 AMIf you could only have one pedal board ...

You open your car door and a bunch of pedals fall out!

Quote from: launched on November 21, 2024, 02:52:46 PM

Quote from: bruno on November 21, 2024, 04:42:51 AMIf you could only have one pedal board ...

You open your car door and a bunch of pedals fall out!

How did you know :-)

Quote from: bruno on November 25, 2024, 02:39:29 AM

Quote from: launched on November 21, 2024, 02:52:46 PM

Quote from: bruno on November 21, 2024, 04:42:51 AMIf you could only have one pedal board ...

You open your car door and a bunch of pedals fall out!

How did you know :-)

I just saw that picture lol!

So thanksgiving has turned into a double pedal day delivery. The Ross distortion and a jhs series 3 screamer. Tomorrow comes the series 3 phaser. What am i like....

B

I'd say definitely my Strymon Deco. It's an extremely versatile pedal; tape saturation, crunch, delay, chorus, flange and vibrato all in one box. The addition of a tone knob is also really useful. It's on a whole bunch of my recordings, sounds cool even direct-in too! It was quite expensive for a pedal but I'd say it was justified compared to the other Strymons on the market (though the Strymon Lex seems cool too). I got it exactly around this time 2 years ago and haven't looked back since....

Quote from: launched on November 21, 2024, 02:52:46 PM

Quote from: bruno on November 21, 2024, 04:42:51 AMIf you could only have one pedal board ...

You open your car door and a bunch of pedals fall out!

Read this... good stuff all of it.  I enjoy learning stuff.  I never had alot of pedals.  I tend to stick with my on board stuff or the multi effects I have had for 6 years or more..
I would have to have some kind of distortion though...gotta...gotta...gotta