# What Blues pedal to buy? Hoping some experienced players will share some tips.



## Hamish (Feb 27, 2015)

Finally I've gotten to the level of being able to bend strings up and down the fretboard and play along to blues backing tracks> It's really fun.
I'm just a basement player and play at lower volume.
My rig is a pRS SE EG ( 3 single coils) and a Fender Excelsior amp & a little Blackstar valve amp.

My wishlist is first a blues pedal & then I crave some other type of pedal that will provide some screech and howl when I'm up on the high frets.

If it's OK may I also ask ... when you are playing blues do u have the volume knob on your guitar maxed or do you play at medium and rotate the volume knob on the guitar? I'm having difficulty with this.

Thank you.


----------



## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

I don't talk to people with just one green square.


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

adcandour said:


> I don't talk to people with just one green square.


Talk to him now....Gotcha!

For he OP (from a Google search):
http://www.guitarworld.com/la-grunge-top-10-blues-approved-overdrive-distortion-pedals?page=0,1

Here are some with videos:http://www.guitarsite.com/best-overdrive-pedal/


Cheers

Dave


----------



## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

greco said:


> Talk to him now.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Dave


Great, now he's going to rob someone here with that free cred he acquired - probably for a blues pedal.


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

adcandour said:


> Great, now he's going to rob someone here with that free cred he acquired - probably for a blues pedal.


Are you joking (I hope)? serious?, grumpy?, paranoid? or something else I didn't have time to think of?

C'mon...we have be supportive of new(ish) members. In addition, this might turn into a very interesting thread. 

Cheers

Dave


----------



## Hamish (Feb 27, 2015)

thanks greco .. by the way I notice u have more green squares than adcandour.


----------



## Chitmo (Sep 2, 2013)

Wtf are the green squares?


----------



## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

greco said:


> Are you joking (I hope)? serious?, grumpy?, paranoid? or something else I didn't have time to think of?
> 
> C'mon...we have be supportive of new(ish) members. In addition, this might turn into a very interesting thread.
> 
> ...


I was totally kidding. I pm'd him as soon as I typed it. And recommended the Boss BD-2 by Keeley.

Edit: I don't think he found it funny.


----------



## Hamish (Feb 27, 2015)

Hey adcandour ... u brought up grreen squares ....Just look at what youv'e done. Now everyone is more interested in green squares than blues pedals! 

Now I'll never find out what pedal to buy. And as CITMO so eloquently stated WTf are green squares? 
Where can I buy some & are they cheaper than a blues pedal? Maybe GFS gives away a green square with every purchase?


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Chitmo said:


> Wtf are the green squares?


FYI...

http://www.guitarscanada.com/showthread.php?71097-Green-bars


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

adcandour said:


> I was totally kidding. I pm'd him as soon as I typed it. And recommended the Boss BD-2 by Keeley.
> 
> Edit: I don't think he found it funny.


I figured that was the case....seriously. You are a good man, Mr. Adcandour 

However, as the OP noted, I have more green squares than you do....:sSig_busted:

Cheers

Dave


----------



## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

Hamish said:


> Hey adcandour ... u brought up grreen squares ....Just look at what youv'e done. Now everyone is more interested in green squares than blues pedals!
> 
> Now I'll never find out what pedal to buy. And as CITMO so eloquently stated WTf are green squares?
> Where can I buy some & are they cheaper than a blues pedal? Maybe GFS gives away a green square with every purchase?



Sorry, for the derail. Trust me - you'll get to the bottom of the blues pedal inquiry. Mainly, it comes down to taste. If you listen to a blues station, there is no one particular "blues tone".

You may want to pick a song that has the tone you're looking for, so we can get a better understanding of what you'd like and make the appropriate recommendations.

Buddy guy, Robert Johnson, BB King all sound so different.

I made my reco for a Boss BD-2 (keeley mod makes a significant difference, imo), cause it can cover a lot of ground.


----------



## bluesguitar1972 (Jul 16, 2011)

Love blues
Personal pedal of choice is my Maxon 808 OD. I don't run it too dirty, just enough to get a driven sound.


----------



## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

greco said:


> I figured that was the case....seriously. You are a good man, Mr. Adcandour
> 
> However, as the OP noted, I have more green squares than you do....:sSig_busted:
> 
> ...



You're going to lose that green square if you continue to derail this thread


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

adcandour said:


> Sorry, for the derail. Trust me - you'll get to the bottom of the blues pedal inquiry. Mainly, it comes down to taste. If you listen to a blues station, there is no one particular "blues tone".
> 
> _*You may want to pick a song that has the tone you're looking for, so we can get a better understanding of what you'd like and make the appropriate recommendations.*
> _
> ...


This would certainly help....in addition, the names of few blues guitarists that you like to listen to.


Cheers

Dave


----------



## Tarbender (Apr 7, 2006)

Everyone should have a Timmy on their pedalboard. Also basic would be a TS808 Tube Screamer.


----------



## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

FWIW, most overdrive pedals designed to be mid gain type pedals work well for blues. SRV used tubescreamers, there are a million variants of that circuit out there. Your best bet is to go to a few music stores and try a bunch out. These days you can spend a fortune or a pittance depending on how good your ears are and if you believe a pedal is worth it. My cheap favourite is the danelectro TOD V1, which is a ripoff of the Tim pedal. My favourite expensive pedal (of the few I have tried) is the Bearfoot Uber Bee. 

One shortcut to choosing the right pedal for you is to try a modeller like the zoom G3 which has excellent models of many of the iconic ODs and distortions.


----------



## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I wouldn't call myself a blues player by any stretch, although I do play classic rock with a bluesy feel and as many will agree, much of that genre borrowed heavily from the blues.

I like a Tube Screamer but I think another to consider is the Fulltone OCD (any version).

It sounds great as a boost with just a bit of hair, but can get a bit more gainy when you need it to and can deliver kind of a gnarly mid boost.

I also like the idea of a stompbox modeler.

I have a Line 6 M5 that I use as sort of a Swiss Army pedal.

It would be a good first pedal and would allow you to experiment.


----------



## GTmaker (Apr 24, 2006)

greco said:


> Talk to him now....Gotcha!
> 
> Dave


I actually thought the green dots had some value added significance...

Silly me..... they are obviously useless...

G.


----------



## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

Tubescreamer, which is coincidentally green and square shaped.


----------



## LexxM3 (Oct 12, 2009)

adcandour said:


> You may want to pick a song that has the tone you're looking for, so we can get a better understanding of what you'd like and make the appropriate recommendations.
> 
> Buddy guy, Robert Johnson, BB King all sound so different.


Robert Johnson! I'd love to know what blues overdrive pedals Robert Johnson used? I can't seem to find any of his videos on Youtube. Anyone? ))


----------



## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

LexxM3 said:


> Robert Johnson! I'd love to know what blues overdrive pedals Robert Johnson used? I can't seem to find any of his videos on Youtube. Anyone? ))


No videos, but I did find this...


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

adcandour said:


> No videos, but I did find this...
> 
> View attachment 13766


Hopefully, mhammer will be able to identify it for us!

Cheers

Dave


----------



## JBFairthorne (Oct 11, 2014)

Back to the blues pedals....

There's no such thing as a blues pedal. All sorts of blues players have used all sorts of pedals. Generally speaking I would say get yourself a decent drive or overdrive pedal. Something that goes in the range from a clean-ish boost to approaching the range of distortion. Some less expensive models can be had from EHX. Soul Food, OD Glove, East River Drive. In fact I saw someone on here selling a Soul Food for $70 I think. Not a bad place to start, and later you could use it as a boost pedal if you found a drive pedal you liked more. The guy at my local store says he can't keep them on the shelves right now.


----------



## Guest (May 22, 2015)

here's a site where you check out the sound of different ones.
http://buzzfox.com/
me, I don't use any. I just overdrive my amps.


----------



## dcole (Oct 8, 2008)

I agree with all the others on the tone part. You can play clean and dirty blues which all require different setups. If you are just starting out with pedals then the Ibanez Tube Screamer and the Boss Blues Driver 2 (BD2) are excellent places to start as they are effectively "standard" pedals. Its easy to get lost in the pedal market. As an electronics technologist, I can look at schematics and see differences in pedals if any. Lots of times different manufacturers pedals are basically the same things as others just with a blue LED or true bypass switching. Standards are a good place to start.

P.S. My green squares suck.


----------



## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

+1 to either a Tube Screamer or the Blues Driver. You can get either one modded by Analogman, Keeley, etc, but honestly, they sound pretty decent to begin with. The Boss SD-1 is a Tubescreamer-ish pedal with a different tone (based on a different clipping method) and is super cheap! I've had a few over the years they're a great pedal to have kicking around just in case.


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

If you *had* to use a pedal, any "overdrive" pedal will do the trick.

But blues isn't about pedals, it's about crying through your guitar. Get that down first, and then worry about anything gear-related after.


----------



## Hamish (Feb 27, 2015)

Maxon 808 OD. Thank you, Ill check it out. Hamish

- - - Updated - - -

EXH, Soul FooD, OD Glove, East RIver Drive ... thank you. Hamish.

- - - Updated - - -

Thank you, I really appreciate the info. I can only afford one pedal. Thanks again.


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

If you want overdrive, turn up your amp - it will do it!


----------



## fretzel (Aug 8, 2014)

if If you are looking at the EHX pedals, personally I prefer the soulfood over the east river. ER seems a little flat to me. Another tubescreamer variant to consider is the digitech bad monkey. good thing is it has both treble and bass controls. Also the Visual Sound Jeckyll and Hyde. Two for the price of one with one being a TS. 
Lastly the Caline CP-18 delivered to your door for $40. From clean boost to dirty. Very nice little pedal.


----------



## Petey D (Sep 8, 2011)

Sooooooo many OD pedals to consider, it's mind boggling, and really it all comes down to personal taste.

I have tried many different pedals, my favorites are The Fultone OCD and many of it's copies like the EHX OD Glove, and the Joyo Ultimate Drive. I also like the EHX East River Drive a lot. Oddly enough I found the OD side of the Marshall Jackhammer pretty good. Marshall's Blues Breaker pedal sounded decent to me too.

I didn't care for the Digitech Bad Monkey, sounded thin to me, and the tone sweep wasn't great. I also wouldn't reccommend the Boss BD-2, unless it's Keeley modded. In stock form the BD-2 is pretty limited in tone and drive versetility.


It's all super subjective though, everybody's ear is different.


----------



## b-nads (Apr 9, 2010)

Blues is more feel than pedal. Great blues players take advantage of dynamics, so a pedal that allows for this like a Timmy, a Sweet honey OD, or a Rockett Blue Note would be high on my list. The Retro-Sonic 8-oh8 (new one with the toggle) is amazing, and the Kelley BD2 is also great. I prefer the Timmy and SHOD through amps that have a mid control.


----------



## garrettdavis275 (May 30, 2014)

I'll bite. Tubescreamer variant for contemporary blues, Maxon is an unreal company with everything they do. For older styles (eg, Chess records tones) I'd go for a tweed in a box pedal. Something greasy in the mids with a bit of a ragged vibe. I hear great things about the Wampler Tweed '57. And that company's quality and customer service is second to none.

As far as working the volume knob that's totally personal preference and largely based on how your gear responds to it. I've always rolled off the bridge volume a bit to get a thinner, reedy kind of sound that cuts thru, then switch to the neck pickup running wide open for the times when want to howl over everything. All up to you tho, lots of good players on both sides of fence.


----------



## Hamish (Feb 27, 2015)

bluesguitar1972 said:


> Love blues
> Personal pedal of choice is my Maxon 808 OD. I don't run it too dirty, just enough to get a driven sound.


thank you - and have a great summer. PEI must be a great place to live.


----------



## Hamish (Feb 27, 2015)

I'm looking at the pic of your pedal board with envy. That's about 3 times the value of my guitar. You are very lucky.


----------



## ed2000 (Feb 16, 2007)

The Wampler Tweed 57 was mentioned above...I'll second that.


----------



## bzrkrage (Mar 20, 2011)

ed2000 said:


> The Wampler Tweed 57 was mentioned above...I'll second that.


Wampler "Amp in a box" series is really good. 
The Clarksdale is a great TS-9 style pedal with tweakable mids and great drive sound.
I'm using the Euphoria (Dumble in a box) with the drive a bit smoother than & backed up with my new Tone Bakery Creme Brulee.(thanks again sj250!)
Good luck with you hunt for blues tone.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------

