First effect I should get?

[laundromatt]

hi, it's me again.

what do you guys recommend for a first pedal/effect for a budding electric guitar worship team member? overdrive? delay? something else?

right now, i have just my tele and an amp. oh, and a tuner. i did a search in all the forums, and the sentiment there was to go for an overdrive pedal, but i don't know if that's true or useful if i'm going to be playing for worship, as opposed to, say, heavy metal. my church plays a lot of hillsong united and chris tomlin, if that helps.

thanks!

[Pickalittle]

Laundromatt:
Pedals are such a personal thing. I play lead at a large church (5 weekend services) and we do a lot of Chris Tomlin, Hillsong, etc. From my experience I would recomend in order of importance:

1.) Boss TU-2 Tuner (I know you already have a tuner. This is bullet proof and fast for stage work).

2.) Fulltone OCD (Superb Overdrive and light distortion)

3.) Fulltone Distortion Pro (or distortion of your liking)

4.) Fulltone Fat Boost

5.) Ernie Ball 6166 Volume Pedal.

6.) Delay pedal--your choice (Boss DD-3?).

You could get by with just the Boss Tuner and Fulltone OCD for a long time and do well. I just like to have a little more diversity.

I'm not pushing Fulltone, it's just that I've tried a lot of pedals and we play a lot of services and they have proven stage worthy and are built with reliability and quality.

You might also consider a good chorus, but frankly I believe they are used way too much. Hope this helps.

[garytelecastor]

What amp are you using? Does it have onboard reverb?
I would suggest, that if it does, go get a good compressor, and a distortion or overdrive unit and grow from there. You should be able to cover most of the material with this set-up. As time goes on you might want to add a delay. But right now focus on the comp and drive.

[garytelecastor]

One more thing. I don't know if you read Guitar Player, but you may have a

buddy with it, or whatever. In the December issue there is a head to head

comparison of 12 different models of new distortion and overdrive pedals. It

might be worth a quick read.

[aunchaki]

Originally Posted by garytelecastor

What amp are you using? Does it have onboard reverb?

Important question. I NEEEEED a touch of reverb. I've played in church bands for a few years. I don't use much distortion (usually just a bit of overdrive I can dial in on my amp). I've had luck with VERY modest use of modulation effects, like Chorus, Phaser or Flanger. Just a hint of Flange makes my day! The key is to not overdo it.

[Trimmed&Burnin]

You're right Aunchaki, a little bit goes a long way,,,
A guitar, amp, tuner, a touch or reverb and a OCD box (Obsesive Compulsive Drive) will really be all you need. Learning to use those well is enough to keep most of us busy without adding the layers of tonal crap, chorus, flangers, and all that other stuff. The OCD is easy to use, very versitlie, and can add a lot of demension to your sound even though it's just a small box. For a first pedal this is a huge addition,, they're running around $165.00 - $180.00

[Grin'n'pick]

I'd get a delay. You can do a lot with them to alter your sound and you'll get good sound effecting bang for your buck if you will. They can be a lot of fun! And very versatile. Maybe start with a Boss DDx or the Digitech Digidelay.

Otherwise a good overdrive (depending on your amp). I'd recommend a Barber Direct Drive as certainly a great place to start for overdrive. It does Tube Screamer plus a whole lot more besides. Or a Bad Monkey, people seem to rave about them and they're cheap but good.

Wah wahs are a radically effecting effect - and again a lot of fun.

Funnily enough as I got more experienced with pedals I found the ones that initially (well, when I first started out with effects anyway... ) appeared to do the least were the ones that had the most merit. Things like compression (especially - my favourite effect), boost, and mild delays.

[refin]

If you have an amp that is switchable in channels/boost,and has reverb,I would get a good chorus.

[Pickalittle]

It just occurred to me that I didn't even know about the OCD until
Trimmed and Burnin' recommended one to me! (Thanks Shannon!).

What he said about your question is absolute the truth. Less is more, but at least....get a Fulltone OCD. I'd forget the chorus, delay and flanger stuff for quite a while, if not for good.

[Dillon]

For a Tele...

1. Tuner.
2. On-board reverb.
3. Bad Bob booster.

[imwjl]

I suggest checking out a BBE Sonic Stomp, but it's not an effects pedal or effects generator as much as it's an item that has a nice effect on all playing. The on and off differences mine make has everything sound like blankets are piled on the amp without it.

[GoldieLocks]

I gotta have reverb. Marshall Reflector is pretty good price wise.

Next you gotta have a good overdrive. Theres' lots of them. Price is good for a Bad Monkey. There's alot better, but thats a good place to start.

[Durtdog]

I'd grab a used Yamaha Magicstomp off eBay. You can find them stupid cheap.

LOTS of effects to play with: compressor, flanger, chorus, overdrives, fuzzes, on and on and on.

Oh, and the reverbs and delays are absolutely first-rate.

[andy__woods]

I'll give my two cents too. Like most guys here, I like some reverb, but most amps have that built in (in some manner, digital or otherwise). I was in your position about 2 years ago. I had bought a Tele and a VOX Valvetronix. I had 2 channels, and reverb effects. I still went out to look for an Overdrive though, and I'm glad I did. I started with a Blues Driver, but got a Bad Monkey soon after and still use both of them. Good luck in your search!

[Guitarmatt818]

A half decent overdrive is a great starting point, with a delay soon to follow IMO.

You mention Hillsong United... about 75% of the songs we play are Hillsong or Hillsong United. You can find pics of their rigs fairly easy. All the guitar players of United have at least one and sometimes 2 tubescreamers on their pedalboard. I've used a modded Boss SD-1 for a while and now used a Fulldrive.
For the delay sounds a Boss DD-5 or DD-20 will cover just about everything.

[laundromatt]

thanks everyone for the suggestions. i have some follow up info/questions.

right now i'm practicing at home on a vox pathfinder 10, no reverb. it has a "clean" mode and an "overdrive" mode (which seems to be just the clean mode but louder). the amp at church doesn't have reverb either.

after seeing the recommendations, i looked into the fulltone ocd for overdrive. everything i've read says that it's good, but is it ~$100 better than a boss overdrive unit or a bad monkey?

thanks!

[Trimmed&Burnin]

Originally Posted by laundromatt

thanks everyone for the suggestions. i have some follow up info/questions.

right now i'm practicing at home on a vox pathfinder 10, no reverb. it has a "clean" mode and an "overdrive" mode (which seems to be just the clean mode but louder). the amp at church doesn't have reverb either.

after seeing the recommendations, i looked into the fulltone ocd for overdrive. everything i've read says that it's good, but is it ~$100 better than a boss overdrive unit or a bad monkey?

thanks!

I think the OCD is worth every cent,,,

[601210]

IMO chorus is the way to go.

[Jim W]

I agree with Pickalittle and Dillon the tuner is number 1. Other things in my opinion more important than a bunch of effects are:

1. ready on time with all the music
2. ability to listen, i.e., fit with the group
3. don't over play.
4. remember you are not the only one there (also I doubt that anybody except your mom and girlfriend are there to see you).
5. Ability to discern whether the effect works with the song and arrangement.

I have been the primary guitarist (elec and acoustic) in a PW group for about ten years. I am still waiting for No. 1. to be fulfilled. Usally the other guitarist show up late, no music, and no tuner.

[vap0rtrail]

Originally Posted by laundromatt

thanks everyone for the suggestions. i have some follow up info/questions.

right now i'm practicing at home on a vox pathfinder 10, no reverb. it has a "clean" mode and an "overdrive" mode (which seems to be just the clean mode but louder). the amp at church doesn't have reverb either.

after seeing the recommendations, i looked into the fulltone ocd for overdrive. everything i've read says that it's good, but is it ~$100 better than a boss overdrive unit or a bad monkey?

thanks!

Since the amp you practice on at home has overdrive, but no reverb, and the amp you play through at church doesn't have it either, i would go with a good reverb pedal. I also have an amp with no reverb, and I like to use an electro-harmonix holygrail reverb pedal.

[cknowles]

I'm faced with a similar issue at our church, I plug directly into the system and the sound of my guitar is quite sterile that way.

I bought a DigiTech RP250 guitar modeling processor.
It does a great many things with numerous distortion models to choose from as well as numerous reverb and chorus and flange effects. In addition you can select different amp and cabinet models.

This has given me much greater tonal range than I would have with specific individual pedals and only takes up an 8x8 inch space on the floor in front of me.

Other features that I like include the ability to plug in my MP3 player and headphones so that I can practice without waking up the kids. The USB connection allows me to connect it to my laptop and to record tracks using Audacity. Great fun.

Something to consider.

[telechaser]

If you're not using multi-effects; Overdrive and Delay. Hillsong uses a lot of overdrive and delay. United tend to go a bit heavier.

I have a modded Boss DS-1 (rectifier, tri-gain) and SD-1 (TS-808, dual-gain) on my board. I don't need any other gain pedals nowadays.

[giantslayer]

If you can get a good overdriven tone from your amp, then I'd say definitely a delay pedal. If you get one with multiple settings, "echo" or "analog" usually will have the highs dampened on the repeats, which helps the repeats to blend into the background better. Use it well and it will really fill out your sound a lot.

With your amp, try turning the "gain" up on the overdrive mode and turning the "volume" down. Don't be afraid to turn the gain all the way up. This should get you an overdriven tone, but it looks like your amp probably doesn't have the controls to get balanced levels on overdriven and clean.


With the kind of budget you're on, I have another suggestion: a multifx pedal. I know some guys will chime in saying that they don't sound as good as regular stomp boxes, but a $100 mfx can get you emulations of several overdrive pedals, as well as delays and chorus and such. Mfx units also have tuners onboard. As far as bang/buck goes, it's really hard to beat a mfx, and, nowadays, the tone really isn't all that bad. As someone using a 10 watt SS amp, I doubt you'd be in a position to appreciate whatever subtle tonal advantages analog stomps may have.

I'd recommend a Digitech RP90. It looks like a good option for around $100. It's got enough amp and stompbox models to give you some options, but not enough to bury you.

Another cool thing about a MFX pedal is it can help you get a feel for what kind of gear you need to get the sounds you're looking for. The fact is that with amps and pedals and all that, there is a HUGE amount of subjectivity in evaluating them. There isn't very much "better" or "worse," but mostly just "different." Plus, a mfx lets you try out a lot of different stuff without having to go buy more gear.

Honestly, for the amount of money it would cost to get a good OD pedal, a delay, a tuner, and maybe another pedal or two, you would have been a good ways towards getting a decent amp. If I were in your shoes, I'd pick up a mfx pedal and save money for a nicer amp. You didn't say what your church's amp is, but I'm going to guess that it's probably not all that great if it doesn't even have reverb (yes, I know there are some good amps that don't have reverb, but I doubt his church has one of them).

[Flat357]

If you are playing in a church , perhaps consider the ' Holy Grail '