# What was your first pedal/effects unit?



## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

I remember well - a friend had brought the Electro-Harmonix flyer to school that he'd ordered from the back of a magazine in '77. After considering all the options carefully, I opted for the Big Muff Pi, $39.99 + postage. Only took about 2 wks to receive it, including postage there/back (Cda Post was more efficient in those days!).

I was dazzled by that shiny thing, but it seemed to steer the material I was learning/playing a bit as I wanted to incorporate it somehow into every song, probably why my bandmates at the time didn't dig it as much as I did (chuckle).


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

I'm pretty sure that it was my Boss DS-1 distortion pedal that I probably bought around 1980. I bought it at Cosmo Music when it was on Yonge Street. Still have and use it.


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

I think it was a big muff because I loved jack white fuzz tones.

or maybe an OCD? I don't recall.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

I have no idea - I know it was some sort of fuzz/distortion pedal, and I know it sounded good, but it was almost 35 years ago and I stopped playing for 12-14 years shortly afterwards


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## Merlin (Feb 23, 2009)

I'm pretty sure my first pedal was a Univox Square Wave (fuzz/distortion/dirt - they didn't make the same distinctions in the 70s.)


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

Dod - Grunge... Guess why!


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

My parents bought me an ibanez pt-5 to take my mind off the fact I had fried my mind. 

It was super nice of them. I loved it at the time (even though I couldn't really use it), but it was pretty poor quality. 


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## jimmythegeek (Apr 17, 2012)

I bought a Korg A5 multi fx that I still regret selling (unbelievable plate reverb sounds) and an Ibanez OT-10 octave box. Just traded the octave recently. Only stomped on it a couple times a year so I couldn't justify keeping it but man it was cool!


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

Ibanez AD-80 and a Boss SD-1, didn't even own an electric so I put a spring loaded pickup in my acoustic. The SD didn't last but I held on to the AD until a couple of years ago, sold it and bought it back in a short span basically. Pretty much why I'm all about delay in everything I play.


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## jdguitarbuilder (Aug 1, 2010)

Same as Merlin Univox square wave, Wish I still had it!


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

pedal was a Boss distortion thingy that when you held the footswitch down, would sustain the note indefinitely. Wasn't what I expected, I just wanted more sustain across the board, not an artificial sounding single tone.
EDIT: The guys below had the same one- Boss Super Feedbacker and Distortion DF-2.
Didn't really work for me, but could have been my crappy Traynor SS amp or just my bad ears at the time 

Then I saved up what seemed like a ton of money in the late 80's (about $1200) and got a Roland GP-8 rack mount multi-fx with footswitch. Still have them, but never use them.


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

bw66 said:


> I'm pretty sure that it was my Boss DS-1 distortion pedal that I probably bought around 1980. I bought it at Cosmo Music when it was on Yonge Street. Still have and use it.


It just occurred to me that you can buy a DS-1 for less money now than it cost in 1980. I think they run about $60 now and I'm pretty sure I paid about $100!


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## gtrguy (Jul 6, 2006)

One of these-









Profile+ FLG-5


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

Good ol' Boss DS-1 for me!


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## Mr Yerp (Feb 24, 2006)

Unknown brand fuzz pedal. Long gone....


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Boss DS-1 for me too.


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## TWRC (Apr 22, 2011)

The first pedal I ever owned was a Boss Super Feedbacker and Distortion DF-2. It sounded horrible. HAHA


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## flattopterry (Mar 6, 2011)

Unbranded Ibanez Fuzz Machine. Bought for $79.00 in 1975, sold to Southside Music in Brooklyn on ebay for $475.00 c/w original box. It was the worst fuzz I have ever heard.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

TWRC said:


> The first pedal I ever owned was a Boss Super Feedbacker and Distortion DF-2. It sounded horrible. HAHA


Maybe to you. LOL But I liked the distortion on that pedal more than the DS-1. I quickly ditched my DS-1 when I got one of those and I actually still have my DF-2. I use to run it through a Fender The Twin. Then in 2006 I got into the boutique thing and replaced it with a Radial Tonebone Classic. Never used the feedbacker function though.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

BOSS HM-2, I think it was, in the early 90's.


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## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

Geez, I even still remember my SECOND and THIRD pedals, coz' they weren't nearly as common once as they are today. #2 was grey DOD 250 I picked up at a small music store in Belleville, ON about '80 while stationed at CFB Trenton. #3 was an Arion SAD-1 I snagged on vacation in a Mom'n'Pop music shop in Vero Beach, FL in the early 80's.

Still wish I had all three of those pedals - hmmmm....


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

My first was an Electro Harmonix Muff Fuzz which was not really a pedal. It was built in the same box as the LPB-1 which was a little steel box with a male 1/4 jack fused to one end, a female 1/4 on the other end, an on off switch (not a stomp switch) and a level pot.

It was meant to plug in to the amp input, not sit on the floor.

It gave me a nice dirty sound as I recall.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Don't know if this counts, but it was a tube tape recorder. I would plug my guitar into the mic input, and use the line out to drive my amp. Sounded HUGE.


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## puckhead (Sep 8, 2008)

seems to be a popular choice


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Mine was an old Boss BF-1--the big style pedal.
It was reduced as the compact pedals took over.
I used it to get a chorus type sound and a phase shifter type sound, more than as a flanger.
Now I don't use it as much.


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## elliottmoose (Aug 20, 2012)

Strangely enough mine was a Boss phaser. I say strange because now my taste has totally changed and now I steer clear of Flangers, phasers and Leslie-style effects. Not entirely sure why or when it changed but it did...


Sent from my iPhone


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

My first pedal ..one I still am married to...an Ibanez UE 305 compressor/delay/stereo chorus


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

zontar said:


> Mine was an old Boss BF-1--the big style pedal.
> It was reduced as the compact pedals took over.
> I used it to get a chorus type sound and a phase shifter type sound, more than as a flanger.
> Now I don't use it as much.


I own two of these. I lifted a resistor in each (easily reversible) so that they only provide a delayed out. Made myself a simple splitter/mixer to feed the two units from a single input and combine their outputs.

Why do this? An old trick I learned from Craig Anderton. If you want "thru-zero" flanging (that dramatic Axis Bold as Love Itchy-Koo Park thing), just combine a signal that has a brief delay with a modulated delay signal. I can turn the Depth down all the way and use the Manual control on one flanger to produce a very short delay, and when the other one sweeps up high, it will "pass through zero" on the way there and on its return. And since I can introduce some modulation on both flangers, I can also arrange it so that the thru-zero point is unpredictable.

It is possible to add a small daughter-board to your unit to do through-zero flanging. PM me if interested.

Incidentally, the unit works MUCH better, and has a wider more dramatic sweep (though still not A/DA territory...but closer) when operated with 12V than with 9v. The _pedal chassis_ says 9V, but the _service notes_ say 12V.


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## dtsaudio (Apr 15, 2009)

CryBaby Wah pedal was my first. I still own it. It was a Christmas present from my parents many many years ago.
This is a pre-Dunlop. Made by Jen in Italy.


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## dcole (Oct 8, 2008)

Zoom 505. It sucked.


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## TubeStack (Jul 16, 2009)

Ibanez Digital Flanger, brand new at the time. I was in Gr 8 and remember being disappointed that it sounded nothing like "Unchained." I think my dad was talked into getting the latest and greatest by the music store salesman. 

The Ibanez DFL was later used by Tom Morello on a lot of signature Rage... tracks (ex. Killing In The Name). I only recently sold mine, just never use it.


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## pattste (Dec 30, 2007)

A Yamaha Distortion pedal. Exactly like this one:









It sounded craptastic.


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

A Rocktec chorus pedal, which is probably a big reason why I still don't like chorus.


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## bluzfish (Mar 12, 2011)

Arbiter Fuzz Face after seeing Jimi with 6 of them connected in series. Then a Vox Wah-wah pedal. And with that, I had the biggest pedal board you could buy at the time. I used them for my wild 20 minute bass solo of the evening.


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## sambonee (Dec 20, 2007)

Ibanez UE300 

http://m.ebay.ca/itm?itemId=321273519862

I sold it used to song bird in 2002 for $300. I just bought a mint one for $240 with original box. 
It's a fine pedal with a strong personality. 

I still don't know where I'm gonna use it. It's a killer board though. Funny back then I never used the comp and now I really like my dynacomp clone re-bad!!


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

Somewhere in the mid 70's the music store I worked at took in a Garnet Herzog on trade. I grabbed onto it and gigged with it for about 2 years. That was my first and only "effects" until I got a Boss DS1 sometime in the 80's.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

mhammer said:


> I own two of these. I lifted a resistor in each (easily reversible) so that they only provide a delayed out. Made myself a simple splitter/mixer to feed the two units from a single input and combine their outputs.
> 
> Why do this? An old trick I learned from Craig Anderton. If you want "thru-zero" flanging (that dramatic Axis Bold as Love Itchy-Koo Park thing), just combine a signal that has a brief delay with a modulated delay signal. I can turn the Depth down all the way and use the Manual control on one flanger to produce a very short delay, and when the other one sweeps up high, it will "pass through zero" on the way there and on its return. And since I can introduce some modulation on both flangers, I can also arrange it so that the thru-zero point is unpredictable.
> 
> ...


I'm not into modding pedals--but thanks for the info, if I want something like that I'll get someone to do it for me.

As for the 9V/12V thing, I use the adapter it came with.
i'd have to go look which it is.


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## surlybastard (Feb 20, 2011)

Here's an oddball first pedal: Digitech XP-100. I was big into Tom Morello and Dimebag Darrell at the time and all I wanted to do was use the Whammy, and I figured having a wah pedal would also be a good idea. I quickly learned that the whammy was more of a gimmick and only useful doing Morello/Dimebag style stuff but I used the hell out of the Wah. Sold it a few years ago, I really miss the wah pedal setting #3 on it, it was perfect. Wouldn't want another one, just want that one setting.


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## Macki (Jun 14, 2010)

I think my first pedal was an OD-1(?) from the mid/early 80s. When I was playing in a hair flare band in the mid/late 80s I had a horrible Korg PME-40X modular board.


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## buzzhave7 (Dec 22, 2013)

Boss HM2 


Who says I'm ugly?


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Macki said:


> I think my first pedal was an OD-1(?) from the mid/early 80s. When I was playing in a hair flare band in the mid/late 80s I had a horrible Korg PME-40X modular board.


 Those Korg modular boards were neat! I bought a Waveshaper module sometime in the early 80's and always hoped to get some of the others.


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## Macki (Jun 14, 2010)

You can still pick up some on Ebay now. I have a friend in states who has one. He as telling me they have this cult following. Engineering wise it was quite well done, I just don't remember getting a good sound out of it but truthfully it could have been more user related :0)



mhammer said:


> Those Korg modular boards were neat! I bought a Waveshaper module sometime in the early 80's and always hoped to get some of the others.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

mhammer said:


> Don't know if this counts, but it was a tube tape recorder. I would plug my guitar into the mic input, and use the line out to drive my amp. Sounded HUGE.



I seem to recall that Ritchie Blackmore did much the same for awhile.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Milkman said:


> I seem to recall that Ritchie Blackmore did much the same for awhile.


Yes, but it was a solid-state Aiwa tape deck. The more I learned about it, the more it seems he was using it for just a bit of boost but mostly tone-shaping, the way that some folks swear by the input stage of the Echoplex or one of those Korg delay units, or deliberately use a curly-cord with a Marshall to roll off highs (keep in mind the tape deck would be assuming a much lower impedance load from the signal source than a guitar would normally provide). I was overdriving the mic preamp with my guitar, and then overdriving the guitar amp with that signal. Not _quite_ a Herzog, but moving in that direction, I suppose.



> You can still pick up some (_Korg PME modules_) on Ebay now. I have a friend in states who has one. He as telling me they have this cult following. Engineering wise it was quite well done, I just don't remember getting a good sound out of it but truthfully it could have been more user related :0)


They had a big mix in that series. Some were pretty much boilerplate effects that were indistinguishable from any non-modular products of similar category (distortion, analog delay, phaser, etc.), but others were far more advanced, like the Waveshaper I have, the Octave V and the Distortion Wah modules. AS with many commercial attempts at modular systems over the decades, it failed because of the proprietary nature of the system. You had to REALLY like _their _distortion, _their_ chorus, _their_ phaser, _their_ compressor, etc., because nothing else from any other company could plug into those slots and they (Korg) only had one of each kind of effect.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

A Maestro Fuzz Tone.


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## stringer (Jun 17, 2009)

Macki said:


> I think my first pedal was an OD-1(?) from the mid/early 80s. When I was playing in a hair flare band in the mid/late 80s I had a horrible Korg PME-40X modular board.


My first pedal, if you can call it that was a zoom g21u? not too sure. It gave me an idea as to what I might like in the way of effects, but I had a hard time adjusting the stock sounds.

Ouch! I've just recently pieced a second korg pedal board together a piece at a time. I got the first one from my dad. I really like it. 8 pedals in the area roughly the size of 2 computer keyboards and only 2 power chords is a big plus for me in my very small home. What didn't you like about it? The proprietary nature?


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Milkman said:


> I seem to recall that Ritchie Blackmore did much the same for awhile.





mhammer said:


> Yes, but it was a solid-state Aiwa tape deck. The more I learned about it, the more it seems he was using it for just a bit of boost but mostly tone-shaping, the way that some folks swear by the input stage of the Echoplex or one of those Korg delay units, or deliberately use a curly-cord with a Marshall to roll off highs (keep in mind the tape deck would be assuming a much lower impedance load from the signal source than a guitar would normally provide). I was overdriving the mic preamp with my guitar, and then overdriving the guitar amp with that signal. Not _quite_ a Herzog, but moving in that direction, I suppose.


I actually used an old tape deck before I got a pedal.
But I didn't count it as a pedal.
I used it to overdrive by plugging into the mic input, cranking the recording level and then going into an amp.
It wasn't the greatest, but it worked until I got a pedal.


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## jayoldschool (Sep 12, 2013)

Still have my first one. A Scholz Rockman Soloist. Parents gave it to me for Christmas when I was in high school. Still use it occasionally, plugged into a laptop along with my guitar.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

I tried to buy the UE300 but they were out of stock and I had to get the 305. I use the compressor all the time with a Tele. Not so much with my Gretsch. The UE's are really versatile with lots of patches available. 



sambonee said:


> Ibanez UE300
> 
> http://m.ebay.ca/itm?itemId=321273519862
> 
> ...


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## dcole (Oct 8, 2008)

shoretyus said:


> I tried to buy the UE300 but they were out of stock and I had to get the 305. I use the compressor all the time with a Tele. Not so much with my Gretsch. The UE's are really versatile with lots of patches available.


There is one of these being sold locally, currently. He is asking $325.



> Don't know if this counts, but it was a tube tape recorder. I would plug my guitar into the mic input, and use the line out to drive my amp. Sounded HUGE.


It wasn't my first effect pedal, but the first "rig" I used in a band was as follows: Guitar -- BOSS Metal Zone 2 -- Mic Input of Lloyds cassette deck (had to have a tape in it on pause/record so that the signal would transfer to the outputs) -- Lloyds stereo amp -- The speakers that came with the Lloyds stereo. It just barely kept up with the drummer. My buddies killed the speakers on me shortly after I started playing with them. At that point I replaced it with the following: Guitar -- BOSS Metal Zone 2 -- Mic Input of Pioneer stereo amp -- Peavey P.A. speaker with 15" Black Widow speaker and the tweeters removed. Powerful stuff!


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## astyles (Apr 6, 2009)

BOSS Heavy Metal pedal - HM-2. Decades ago. I ran it through a ghetto blaster and thought it was the greatest thing... my, how particular I've since become.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

mhammer said:


> Don't know if this counts, but it was a tube tape recorder. I would plug my guitar into the mic input, and use the line out to drive my amp. Sounded HUGE.


Mine was a pair of Seabreeze reel-to-reel machines. One had been my Dad's, the other my Grandfather's, but they were of approximately the same vintage. 7" reels, a little light that more or less showed when you were clipping, 1/4" mic input, 1/4" speaker out, internal oval speaker but I usually used a separate extension speaker or headphones. If you kept the output volume low it would push the front end of my little single channel Harmony tube amp crazy. I remember using a pair of Koss headphones and experimenting by placing them over a piece of steel pipe with holes and a microphone inside for ears then sending that signal to the amp or a second tape machine. Of all the ways to make a Kent electric guitar sound good, this wasn't likely the best. Weird tones though.

My first pedal was a passive volume pedal from John Bellone's in London. It even had the classic Bellone's badge on it like their speaker columns. I used it for volume swells (I was and am a big Roy Buchanan fan, and I had some pipe organ experience) for everything, guitar, bass, and keyboards. I still use a passive volume pedal but right now it's an Ernie Ball. I've also had several other brands, stand alone, and in multi-fx units. The Bellone's pedal was dealt years ago.

Peace, Mooh.


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## hardasmum (Apr 23, 2008)

I bought a Rat 2 and BOSS CE-2 from the classified section of the local paper. I think I paid $60 for the pair. Both long gone.


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## Rski (Dec 28, 2013)

mine a late 80's Boss Flanger BF-2....bought her later during that decade...like all new effects....we play em for a while a lot at first....with my square wave mondo distortion mini gig....radio shack ham speaker with two knobs protruding out....and op amps driving a 5 watt chip amp....was my starting point....LOL.....


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

:smiley-faces-75:


Mooh said:


> Mine was a pair of Seabreeze reel-to-reel machines. One had been my Dad's, the other my Grandfather's, but they were of approximately the same vintage. 7" reels, a little light that more or less showed when you were clipping, 1/4" mic input, 1/4" speaker out, internal oval speaker but I usually used a separate extension speaker or headphones. If you kept the output volume low it would push the front end of my little single channel Harmony tube amp crazy. I remember using a pair of Koss headphones and experimenting by placing them over a piece of steel pipe with holes and a microphone inside for ears then sending that signal to the amp or a second tape machine. Of all the ways to make a Kent electric guitar sound good, this wasn't likely the best. Weird tones though.


I think mine as either a Wollensak or a Grundig, with 5" reels. You had a Kent too? My first electric was a Videocaster, just like this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1964-Kent-5...itar-w-video-demo-/181289040331#ht_765wt_1105

While not a pedal, my first "effect" was a fuzzbox I made for my $25 Regent acoustic, before I ever went electric. I used scotch tape to let a nickel hang/dangle on the belly of my guitar, just south of the bridge. I found that if it hung with just the right amount of looseness (and using a canadian nickel was crucial, since it provided the right weight and size), it would vibrate in sympathy with the notes I picked and buzz against the top of the guitar body in the pitch of the note, providing what sounded like harmonics. Power chords sounded great.

I also stumbled onto the effect of removing the plastic saddle from the bridge of my cheap acoustic and how it yielded a sitar-like buzz, that let me play _Norwegian Wood_ and _Monterey_. Critical to this was using an acoustic that had a tailpiece and floating bridge, rather than a bridge glued to the top. If one knows anything about the physics of the _jawari_ (sitar bridge), the elevation point on the bridge where the string pivots is just ever so slightly higher than the portion of the bridge just neckward of it. This results in those harmonics that produce maximum vibration adjacent to the bridge resting-point being progressively cancelled/damped as the string bangs against the jawari. That's what produces the "swept filter" type sound of a sitar. Having a trapeze tailpiece allowed the strings to be at the appropriate angle such that they vibrated more freely and were able to grind against the bridge. Frankly, I'm surprised that nobody sells a retrofit jawari-type bridge that a person could simply slip onto the posts of a standard ABR-type tunomatic, for those who would like a sitar sound now and then. Now that I think of it, next time I'm at the local exotic hardwood place, I'll snag a hunk of rosewood or ebony from their bits-n-pieces bin and see what I can come up with.

Finally, I found that if I slid the floating bridge under the tailpiece, I was able to get banjo tones, with a sharp decay. My intonation was shot to hell, but being 14 or 15, I didn't particularly care. I just liked the way I could make my guitar sound like an entirely different instrument.


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## avalancheMM (Jan 21, 2009)

I can't believe nobody has mentioned my first: Ibanez TS-9, still have it, great pedal.

Regards


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Did anyone else experiment with huge speaker magnets? A friend and I tried to make pickups out of them, reasoning that if we straddled the strings over the stock pickups with a big u-shaped magnet from a blown out bass speaker, we would get an infinite note. What we got was infinite uncontrollable feedback. Too bad we didn't know what to do next, there might have been a patent in it. The foot controlled vibrato/bender went no further. (That used bicycle brake cables hooked to the Kent tailpiece on one end and the brake handle on the other under our feet.)

Don't remember my second effect, but an early one was a nondescript phaser. If you applied double voltage to it, it sounded more like a flanger, then died. 

Ever mount Fishman undersaddle pickups to drumsticks? Don't ask.

Peace, Mooh.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

You and your friend came within inches of having invented sustainer systems.


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## bzrkrage (Mar 20, 2011)

My first was the *Ibanez* BC-9 *Bi mode chorus.
My parents bought it for me for my 14th birthday.
*Thanks again to the GC member who sold it back to me for nostalgia reasons.


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## Rodavision (Feb 26, 2010)

My first amazing pedal purchase was a Danelectro Dan-O-Matic Tuner, a beautiful metal case with a really annoying tuner inside. While it did manage to keep me in tune it was the last Danelectro product I would buy. 

Shortly after I bought a Rat 2 which sounded awesome with my amp. 

Next I bought a used POD, along with half of the guitar world. It was actually amazingly useful and diverse, and produced all the sounds that I needed back then. Using the hand controls while playing was supremely annoying though so I mostly used one setting per song. Oh and of course that lead me to the Line6 green delay wonder machine, which I bought used for deal and a half. I still have all of those oddly enough.

Now I'm into completely different effects pedals, more mainstream, but I keep the old stuff for fun.


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## ElectricMojo (May 19, 2011)

avalancheMM said:


> I can't believe nobody has mentioned my first: Ibanez TS-9, still have it, great pedal.
> 
> Regards


+1
Same for me. The TS-9 was my first pedal.


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## Option1 (May 26, 2012)

My first effects (as opposed to the Boss TU-3 tuner that was the real first buy) is a very recent buy, and like so many in this thread already is a fuzz - in this case an Electro-Harmonix Satisfaction fuzz. Ironically, I'm only using it for one song I'm learning - Satisfaction. 

Next up, a TC Electronics Hall of Fame reverb.

Neil


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## jbealsmusic (Feb 12, 2014)

My first pedal was a BOSS Metal Zone distortion pedal. Terrible thing, but I absolutely LOVED it at the time.


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## corbo (Sep 14, 2012)

big jam distortion


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

ross distortion.









it was the only dirt box that the local store had.
it was something like 12 bucks.
i think they say its the same as the mxr distortion +.
dont know what ever happened to it.


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

Boss OD 2 Turbo Overdrive. Around 1985 or so.


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

jbealsmusic said:


> My first pedal was a BOSS Metal Zone distortion pedal. Terrible thing, but I absolutely LOVED it at the time.


LOL. For those who've never had the pleasure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uut1ol_HfCU


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## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

zdogma said:


> LOL. For those who've never had the pleasure:
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uut1ol_HfCU


Bottle that tone and call it "Eau du fromage"!


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## jbealsmusic (Feb 12, 2014)

zdogma said:


> LOL. For those who've never had the pleasure:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uut1ol_HfCU


Oh the memories... If I recall correctly, my settings were: Gain, bass, and treble maxed with the mids all the way off and level at about half. Visions of buzz saws flying through the air emanating from my amp. It hurts my ears just thinking about it! lol


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## Spikezone (Feb 2, 2006)

When I was just a tadpole, my parents (still cool after all these years) bought me a King Vox-Wah for Christmas. I think I was about 12 at the time. I kept it through thick and thin and it still works, but it has been put out to pasture since I got my AMT Japanese Girl.
-Mikey


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## Stonehead (Nov 12, 2013)

I had a zoom multifunction pedal, I thought it was the sh!t till my friend brought his pedal board over...... zoom was history pretty quick. I must say for beginners who don't know better it does offer a tremendous amount of sounds and effects for the price.


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

fraser said:


> ross distortion.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Necro thread alert but I figured I'd pile on vs. starting a new one. I just picked up a ROSS Distortion in a trade with @pckpat and am really impressed. Pleasant crunch and cleans up quite nicely with the guitar's volume knob.

Spent some time with @adcandour yesterday checking out pedals and A/B'd the ROSS to a 70s script logo MXR D+. Whaddya know, the interwebs was right!?! They sounded EXACTLY the same, although the MXR D+ was on EST and the ROSS was on PST - - the ROSS at noon was as loud as the D+ at 3:00.

P.S. My first pedal was also a BOSS Metal Zone - - it got traded back in on a Yahama (?) OD pretty quickly.


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

dcole said:


> It wasn't my first effect pedal, but the first "rig" I used in a band was as follows: Guitar -- BOSS Metal Zone 2 -- Mic Input of Lloyds cassette deck (had to have a tape in it on pause/record so that the signal would transfer to the outputs) -- Lloyds stereo amp -- The speakers that came with the Lloyds stereo. It just barely kept up with the drummer. My buddies killed the speakers on me shortly after I started playing with them.





astyles said:


> BOSS Heavy Metal pedal - HM-2. Decades ago. I ran it through a ghetto blaster and thought it was the greatest thing... my, how particular I've since become.


I'm glad I wasn't the only one to do that. I'd traded the Metal Zone in on a Yamaha (?) OD - I remember that it was black with orange knobs & the selling feature was that it had a gold contact in the switch for pure tone- and was also ampless. A sweet early 80s LP Custom with flip-out tuning peg winders came into Fromager Music in Owen Sound, so I sold my '73 Mustang, Squier Strat & the amp that had been given to me with the Mustang. I have since Sherlocked that the amp was a 5E3 and the Les Paul was Pelham Blue faded to baby shit green & likely had Shaws. 

Now I had my Les Paul, a pedal and a couple of cables but no amp or money to buy another amp, so I plugged the Custom into a Sears ghetto blaster & wailed away on November Rain thinking I sounded just like Slash. I'd love to get my hands on that Lester again (last I heard Phil X had it) but I have a feeling that my 40-something particular self would probably think it was a dog.


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

My parent's house was always the jam space so I accumulated a number of things, but the firt pedal I actually chose and acquired myself was a:










Not a bad pedal, but depending on the amp (we all had cruddy solid state stuff back then) it could sound a little anemic.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

A friend of mine gave me one of those as part of a box of pedals for a birthday present. I had to mod it to make it sound decent.

I don't know what my first "official" pedal was. I know that sometime in 1976 or 77, I bought a couple of pedals; including a Fernandes Funky Filter, MXR Envelope Filter, MXR 6-band EQ, and Univox compressor. But I don't recall in what order. I think the Fernandes came before the MXR EF, but that's as clear as my recollection permits. By 79, my "pedalboard" ended up being the compressor, envelope filter, EQ, and MXR noise gate, with the compressor level controlled by an EHX Hot Foot. At the other end was a "cheese wheel" vibratone from an organ that I had built into a cab. By that point I had also acquired a PAiA Phlanger as part of my arsenal, by I don't recall it ever being on the floor with the others.


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## Alex (Feb 11, 2006)

A Nady tube overdrive that my dad bought me in the early 80's.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

My first pedal was a Roland fuzz wah. Hey, two pedals for the price of one, how can you go wrong. But it wasn't very good at either. Traded somewhere along the way.











I used it into a Peavey 120watt 212 Classic - that I'm sure I never heard the power tubes clip on. I would roll my guitar down to about 2 for cleanish stuff and up to ten for solo's and mayhem. It did teach me about using the guitar's volume control, though.


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## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

It was probably a Boss Chorus that I bought used.


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

High/Deaf said:


> My first pedal was a Roland fuzz wah. Hey, two pedals for the price of one, how can you go wrong. But it wasn't very good at either. Traded somewhere along the way.
> 
> View attachment 125089


They're worth something now. A buddy of mine has been lusting for one.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Granny Gremlin said:


> They're worth something now. A buddy of mine has been lusting for one.


I suspected as much. Of course, long gone. I hope I just didn't lose it or leave it somewhere. LOL

The good news is I still have this. Probably the second pedal I ever bought:


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## Distortion (Sep 16, 2015)

This one. I later moded it with the vintage chip and some resistor changes. Still use it.https://medias.audiofanzine.com/images/normal/ibanez-ts5-tube-screamer-655260.jpg


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

My first pedal was a Ross Compressor... I play bass so this was the obvious pick ! Still have it, still use it , and will never let it go !


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Crybaby bought at a store in Markham back in about 1973. Last seen in about 1998 when my mom was using it to hold the kitchen door open. Might still have it in a box somewhere; need to have a look some day.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Mine was a Denzo Distortion which was DS1 Clone, I got it in '89. It's the 2nd pedal from the right in the front row. This pedalboard was also the first one I had which I used in the 90s and early 2000's.


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

Chito said:


> Mine was a Denzo Distortion which was DS1 Clone, I got it in '89. It's the 2nd pedal from the right in the front row. This pedalboard was also the first one I had which I used in the 90s and early 2000's.


Think I also had an OS-2, bought it at Kitt's Music in Ville St. Laurent (north end of Montreal) 20+ years ago. That was a cool little store, always enjoyed going in there.


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## vokey design (Oct 24, 2006)

First pedal for me was a real tube overdrive, paid $99 for it in 90's.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

High/Deaf said:


> My first pedal was a Roland fuzz wah. Hey, two pedals for the price of one, how can you go wrong. But it wasn't very good at either. Traded somewhere along the way.
> 
> View attachment 125089


The Double Beat is a terrific fuzz. I've built two clones of it. The stock has a 3-position switch that lets you filter the fuzz in three different ways (it does NOT produce the waveforms shown). I extended mine to include 3 additional distinct filters, since I had 3 positions left on the rotary switch.


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## Moosehead (Jan 6, 2011)

It was a crybaby i got for xmas in about '92 or '93


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## georgemg (Jul 17, 2011)

Mine was an Ibanez Mostortion. The main reason I bought it was because one of the guitar magazines had a "You Can Win Steve Vai's Rig" contest and that was the pedal they were including. I was a huge fan of his at the time and the pedal was the only thing I could afford in the rig, so I bought that. I don't think I ever saw him using one though (LOL).

I was a really good sounding pedal but I ended up selling it when I started my 'everything must be true bypass' phase. In hindsight I should have just had it rehoused and had the switch changed out (I've seen a few that have had that mod, so it is possible). They're a bit of a hidden gem, and a few Nashville guitarists use and speak highly of them. I sold mine a couple of years ago for $100, but they go for over $300 now. Ooops...


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## aC2rs (Jul 9, 2007)

My first pedal was a Roland Bee Baa that I purchased in the summer of '76.

That was followed shortly thereafter by a phase shifter and a wah pedal. I don't recall the make of the phase shifter other than it was blue, the wah was likely a Dunlop. The phase shifter and wah were traded for something a year or so later.

The Bee Baa was not working and I had it in storage until a few years ago when it finally went to recycling ...

(Not my picture)


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

georgemg said:


> Mine was an Ibanez Mostortion. The main reason I bought it was because one of the guitar magazines had a "You Can Win Steve Vai's Rig" contest and that was the pedal they were including. I was a huge fan of his at the time and the pedal was the only thing I could afford in the rig, so I bought that. I don't think I ever saw him using one though (LOL).
> 
> I was a really good sounding pedal but I ended up selling it when I started my 'everything must be true bypass' phase. In hindsight I should have just had it rehoused and had the switch changed out (I've seen a few that have had that mod, so it is possible). They're a bit of a hidden gem, and a few Nashville guitarists use and speak highly of them. I sold mine a couple of years ago for $100, but they go for over $300 now. Ooops...


I recall Lee Roy Parnell spoke quite highly of it. I purchased materials to make myself a clone, but it fell to the bottom of the stack. Maybe I should move it up the stack a bit. Its main distinctive characteristic is use of an op-amp chip that few, if any, other overdrives use, a CA3260 dual op-amp. I've seen the single op-amp version (CA3140) used in some things, but never the 3260.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

aC2rs said:


> My first pedal was a Roland Bee Baa that I purchased in the summer of '76.
> 
> That was followed shortly thereafter by a phase shifter and a wah pedal. I don't recall the make of the phase shifter other than it was blue, the wah was likely a Dunlop. The phase shifter and wah were traded for something a year or so later.
> 
> ...


Interesting, isn't it, just how many Roland/Boss pedals during the early/mid 70's had multiple stompswitches to select different performance features, decades before m multiple stomps started coming back on all those boutique pedals. It's like we wandered in the desert for 30 years, labouring under a single stompswitch, before someone thought "Well, it doesn't HAVE to be one switch, does it?".


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## aC2rs (Jul 9, 2007)

mhammer said:


> Interesting, isn't it, just how many Roland/Boss pedals during the early/mid 70's had multiple stompswitches to select different performance features, decades before m multiple stomps started coming back on all those boutique pedals. It's like we wandered in the desert for 30 years, labouring under a single stompswitch, before someone thought "Well, it doesn't HAVE to be one switch, does it?".


And that flexibility of this pedal was why I bought it. Two cool fuzz tones and a treble booster in one box!
I used it for 10 years before I was motivated to buy another distortion pedal


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

We're talking about the dark ages of my life here so details will be sketchy at best.

My first pedal was a Bellone's passive volume, circa 1977. I played a lot of lap steel as well as regular electric guitar and the volume pedal was great for swells as well as a general kill when I switched to something else. John Bellone Music is a shop in London Ontario that marketed a few products under its own name. I still use a passive volume pedal, though it's an Ernie Ball nowadays. My first experience of volume pedals came with messing around with church organs. 

After that I don't remember the sequence of purchases but early on I had an A/B box, phaser, and a malfunctioning distortion. EQ figured into my tone but I can't remember my first EQ pedal. My bandmates and jammates passed around pedals a lot when I was young, so I'm not entirely clear on what all I actually owned and what was borrowed,


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

A 1986 Boss DS-1 MIJ. Still own it, still use it. I think it cost me $25 or $30.


































Still pretty clean.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

mhammer said:


> The Double Beat is a terrific fuzz. I've built two clones of it. The stock has a 3-position switch that lets you filter the fuzz in three different ways (it does NOT produce the waveforms shown). I extended mine to include 3 additional distinct filters, since I had 3 positions left on the rotary switch.


Now you tell me! LOL

It was traded or lost so long ago, I can't recall. I didn't really use it as a fuzz, more as a distortion pedal, which it seemed to be OK at. But I've never seen any love for one, like I do for a few other famous fuzzes, so I just assumed it was a member of that big 'fx failed to reach iconic status' club. I recall the wah never did it for me, though. To this day, I'm still not much of a wah-guy. Perhaps if I started with a Vox ..............


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