essentials for the pedal board?

First post here. If this topic has been discussed already, I apologize!

I am a relative newcomer to electric playing (having played acoustic for decades), I am way into the tele. In my case, a standard MIM sunburst picked up at a local pawn shop mint condition, out the door with hard case for $275.

What would the main, essential pedals for a basic setup? I guess answers might depend a lot on the style of the guitarists I like.

In that case, I lean towards eclectic jazz guitar players and the sounds they manage to produce. And top of my list is Bill Frisell, Metheny...you get the idea.....more ECM-ish, less boppish.

What I have so far:


Boss Harmonizer
Boss RC 20XL looper
Digitech Synth Wah
DOD FX80-D Compressor/Sustain
DOD FX65 Stereo Chorus
Morley volume pedal

Also

Bos AD3 Acoustic Processor/pre amp

Amp

Fender Princeton Reverb (digital)

I am looking for a nice low watt tube amp....one I can afford that is!

Suggestions, observations, etc welcome thanks!

Wow, eventually a pedalboard without dirt-pedal. I appreciate that. I think you'd like a delay pedal to add some space and ambiance to nail that ECM-thing. Boss got some nice offering for clean digital delays.
If you also want to explore the dirty side of frisell a rat distortion might take you there.

Amp: The Fender Princeton or Deluxe Reverb will be perfect for that style. Frisell uses rented Deluxe Reverb Reissues on tour whenever he can get them.

BTW what is a digital princeton reverb? never heard of that before ...

BTW what is a digital princeton reverb? never heard of that before ...


I like the sound I am getting out of the Princeton Reverb. I just wish it were an older model when they had tubes.

It is a solid state amp. That's what I meant to say instead of digital!

I have read about the rat pedal. I guess that is on the short list!

The Dod compressor pedal was my last purchase. I got in a pawn shop for $35 blind. I usually research before buying, but this was on a hunch. I got home and read reviews on line, and apparently I got a good one.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Wow, you seem to have most of your bases covered already with the effects you already have. The only thing I might consider adding to your board would be some sort of tremolo or rotary speaker effect. Boss makes the Rotary Ensemble which is pretty good, and for the trem look around for a good one. MXR, Mythfx, Red Witch, and Fulltone all make good sounding and solid trem pedals.

Not so much an effect, but no pedal board is complete without a Boss TU2 (or TU3) Tuner.

Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 is a must!

A good tuner that can be read while standing whether outside in daylight or on a dark stage.

I am playing what my friends call "Redneck Surf Jazz" but more jazzy, and my pedal board is as follows;
Digi Hardwire Tuner>MXR Dyna Comp>Visual Sounds Double Trouble>Boss MIJ DD2 Delay>Vox amp.

I don't use the Double Trouble for any dirt, but more as a boost with both sides having rolled down tone so I can leave my guitar's tone knob alone. On one side I use the bass boost and the other side I don't, depending on which guitar or sound I am wanting.

I don't have a reverb in there yet, but will add one in the next week or so.....something you may want to add for a little depth of sound.

try a Tube screamer or rat for added texture. also a chorus/trem for a spacey sound to go with the delays and loops.

Tuner?
looks like you've got it covered otherwise.

Tuner, Delay, Dirt and a Tremolo. That'll do.

I did leave out the fact that I have a Johnson inline tuner, but I don't use it. I prefer the Intellitouch tuners that work via vibration when attached to your ax.

http://www.tuners.com/pt10.asp

I am a big fan of that style as well, and have found this set-up to work well for that and many other types of music.

Vox wah
Boss TU-2 tuner
MXR Dyna Comp
Ibanez TS808 (re-issue) Tube Screamer
ProCo Rat 2
tremolo (currently I use a Build Your Own Clone, but I also have a Boss TR-2 that I purchased specifically because I could nail some Frisell sounds)
Boss DD-5 Delay

For loops I'll run into my Akai Headrush E2, but that stays on the shelf most of the time.

My amp is usually a 5-watt Blackheart Little Giant combo tube amp that does what I need and only cost $250 new. Regarding the tube amp be mindful that you don't need much power to get a great tone. Most situations are either small enough to get away with 15 watts or so. Or, if it is a bigger environment you'll most likely be able to mic the amp and send it through the mains.

Good luck on your search!

Jeremy

Boss Harmonizer
Boss RC 20XL looper
Digitech Synth Wah
DOD FX80-D Compressor/Sustain
DOD FX65 Stereo Chorus
Morley volume pedal


The Dod compressor pedal was my last purchase. I got in a pawn shop for $35 blind. I usually research before buying, but this was on a hunch. I got home and read reviews on line, and apparently I got a good one.


Great looking pedal board so far! If that is a DOD FX80-B then you got a very nice compressor for very cheap. I also bought one blind off evilbay for $27 shipped and I'm still amazed at how musical those things are.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/92BlueSi/FX80B/DSCF2320.jpg

As has been suggested already, I would try a ProCo Rat or Tube Screamer.

add to the mix some good instrument and patch cables as well! enjoy!

I would keep the RC 20XL looper, the FX80-D Compressor and the volume pedal. Just check those three don't suck your tone out, especially the Morley vol pedal !
I'd add a good analog delay like the MXR Carbon Copy and a good reverb pedal like the Wet Reverb. Then you would have a good all around a spacey sounding arsenal at your will.

Here's my suggestion for the order :
vol > comp > delay > reverb > looper

and if you want to add a dirt box, put it just before the comp.


Edit : I forgot the power : go for a T-Rex Fuel Tank Junior, it has enough power and 5 isolated outputs for a totally noiseless env.

Before you buy any pedals, you might want to test them out first and see if they do what you intend for them to do. Depending on what order you have your pedals in, they will respond differently. I would probably put the compressor before any dirt boxes. Decide on what you want, then play with the setup. Buy quality cables, trust me.

For me the basic pedalboard is tuner>comp>drive> modulation>reverb or delay. I had the GAS last fall & bought about 10 pedals, 5 of which I didn't need. I settled on Pitchblack, Supercomp, Fulldrive 2, VDL Tremolo & Boss FRV-1. This combination also works good for my electric-acoustic.

Great looking pedal board so far! If that is a DOD FX80-B then you got a very nice compressor for very cheap. I also bought one blind off evilbay for $27 shipped and I'm still amazed at how musical those things are.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/92BlueSi/FX80B/DSCF2320.jpg

As has been suggested already, I would try a ProCo Rat or Tube Screamer.

Here is the one I got. Maybe a different year than yours?

BTW, thanks to everyone for the great suggestions. :!:

lexicon mpx100

I like the rat and tubescreamer combo as mentioned above. The rat going into the tubescreamer is a religious experience. Add a nice delay like a Boss DD20 and you're in Eric Johnson territory.

I'd second the opinion a tuner pedal. When I look at my board (and I'm a pedal junkie - always buying and selling pedals), the one pedal I see on my board I know is never leaving is a Turbo-Tuner. I don't play out at all or in a band, yet having the ability to quickly tune up as well as mute the entire signal chain instantly is a big plus. I didn't think I needed a tuner pedal until I got a bonus at work a couple years ago and figured a tuner pedal would be a nice addition.

It has never crossed my mind to get rid of the tuner. Dirt boxes and delay pedals come and go all the time.

Great suggestions! Thanks everyone.

I have come to some conclusions on some of the pedals I own. I took the harmonist and the synth wah out. They seem more a pain in the ass trying to dial in any actually useable effects. I decided to leave the FX65 Chorus in the chain even though I am running through a chorus amp.

which leaves me this:

GTR ---> Morley pedal; johnson tuner; ibanez delay; fx65, fx80-b compressor/sustain; boss rc20xl looper -----> princeton chorus amp.

I want to get a nice EQ and a rat pedal.

Any impressions of the Ibanez DDL digital delay pedal?

This is the one I found (doing it on the cheap; so far no new pedals thank you very much!) You can see it dwarfed between other effects on my pedal board (in process of being built).

This is actually a pedal board for my acoustic (Takamine EAN15C)

Oh by the way, for the present time, I am using a tuner that works via vibration. I keep it clipped to the headstock.