# Effects or straight up



## GuitarsCanada

The market is flooded with pedals. Do you use them or go straight into a head or combo and let er go.


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## Accept2

I use racks. It is a great resourse especially if youre gonna cover things from the Bee Gees to Slayer. As well I use the Roland VG8 to get organ, synth, bass, and other tones that you can never get from a simple setup...............


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## GuitarsCanada

I can dig what you guys are saying. The only stomp box I still have is a 70's Big Muff that I pull out of storage a few times a year. I also have my Rockman rack which I use mainly for the chorus/delay and echo. Other than that I plug straight into the Marshall combo or through my Rockman XP212, which has become my favorite amp.


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## Zeegler

I don't like to complicate things. I use a Boss noise gate, and an SD-1 as a boost, and that's pretty much it. I have a delay pedal and a wah, which I use on occasion, but that's it.


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## GuitarsCanada

Right on Huff... Dunlop has out the MXR Smart Gate, which was originally designed by SR&D and still commands a huge premium on the used scene.. they claim to have tweaked it and made it even better. It is now a stomp box vs the half rack original version. I think I will pick one up and give it a try.


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## Jeff Flowerday

I wish I could get away without pedals but just not possible.

Our practices are at such a low level that I need a pedal for gain. Either way I would still use my Klon for lead work, it really helps cut through the mix.


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## Robert1950

I have one.


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## SCREEM

I have the new Zoom G2 for the PC or practice headphone amp, in my Classic 30 amp it sucks....well not really but with it being digital and all, it seems to kill dinamics a bit.

All I use on the C30 is a Tokai Metal Driver for boost on the clean chanel plugged into a 2005 american deluxe strat with the SCN pups...great blues setup.

The metal driver is basicaly a clone of the Ibanez tube screamer ts-808 with an extra tone knob...it uses a very similar circuit and the same opamp.


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## stratmaniac

I use too many. I never used to think my pedalboard would actually run out of room, but it has.


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## hoser

just a ts-9 and crybaby....
thinking of adding an octave pedal.


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## Rob Eadgbe

I play such a wide variety of material that pedals are pretty much a must. I'm also a firm believer in the concept of having a great sounding clean amp, and running high quality pedals into the front input of said amp. This is especially true when it comes to gain pedals. Boutique ODs, distortion boxes and boosters sound great and aren't nearly as noisy as their mass produced counterparts.


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## Tarl

I only use a Chorus pedal through my loop. To me nothing beats real tube distortion right from the amp, so any kind of boost/distortion pedal just will not get me the tone I,m after. I have used delay, flanger, phaser, etc... in the past but a good amp with the right amount of chorus just rings my bell.

Tarl


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## imbackagain2

*My effects*

I run my guitar into -dimewah from hell- to ibanez soundtank flanger-boss sd-1 to -boss ch-1


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## whackystrings

MXR Dynacomp
Tube Screamer
Rat 2
Behringer EQ pedal
Yamaha M'Stomp (for modulation and delay/echo patches)
POD 2.3
...all set up on a homemade pedalboard

I have had a number of non-boutique pedals over my time. I have played in cover bands (occasional gigs) so variety is important. Something that may get poo-poo'd on this 'Board is that I am planning to get a PODxt Live. Portability, ease, and versatility is becoming more important to me over time. 

-WS-


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## Klash

I use a Boss gt-8 multi effect for all my effects. EXCEPT for wah, I use a crybaby for that


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## asatattack

*Pedal or not to pedal?*

Depends on the mood. Love to play straight up. I do use a GT-6 and have a blast using the big delays, Rotary and Strings settings. Holy space cadet batman! When I work out of town, I take my Jazz Chorus with me. The built-in chorus is from heaven, but the distortion is as bad as, the chorus is good, so I need to use a Hughes & Kettner Tubeman up front for distortion.


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## Yerffej

I bought a wah last year, but havent used it


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## GuitarsCanada

About the only stomp box I use anymore is a 70's Big Muff that I take out of storage now and again. Same with the wah, fire that up now and again. The Big Muff is pretty cool plugged direct into the Marshall DSL 401. The Smashing Pumpkins crunch.


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## CocoTone

Effects are like spice on food. Sure you can live on plain old roasted chicken, but add some jerk seasoning, and its a whole new ballgame!! You`ve got to have some effects to broaden up your tone pallet. I think the guys that rely only on chord and amp, are the same guys that don`t want to take the time to learn how to manage fx to their potential. It takes work, and time to figure out which ones you need, and when to use them tastefully. 

CT.


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## GuitarsCanada

CocoTone said:


> Effects are like spice on food. Sure you can live on plain old roasted chicken, but add some jerk seasoning, and its a whole new ballgame!! You`ve got to have some effects to broaden up your tone pallet. I think the guys that rely only on chord and amp, are the same guys that don`t want to take the time to learn how to manage fx to their potential. It takes work, and time to figure out which ones you need, and when to use them tastefully.
> 
> CT.


I agree Coco in terms of chorus, delay, etc etc. I was more thinking of the overdrive pedals that the market is so saturated with. I have built in effects on the Rockman gear and reverb on the marshalls. So I seldom purchase effects pedals. I also have a full effects rack when I run through that. But the overdrive pedals.. I have ran the course and ended up keeping the EH Big Muff.


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## imbackagain2

i love the pumpkins; they're getting back together


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## GuitarsCanada

imbackagain2 said:


> i love the pumpkins; they're getting back together


Seriously? What members? I would be digging that, seen them three times


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## Welladjusted

GuitarsCanada said:


> Seriously? What members? I would be digging that, seen them three times



only corgan and chamberlain have confirmed. melissa auf der maur has said she'll do it if they ask her. no word from james iha yet.

personally, i think it only has to be corgan and chamberlain. corgan wrote everything anyways, and on siamese dream, played everthing but the drums.


oh, and on the topic at hand?
I use pedals. but not very many. delay and phaser is really all i need. i have a wah pedal, but it doesn't see much use. fuzz is also fun, but i prefer amp distortion. i have a pretty wide pedalboard, ironically enough. in case i ever start wanting more gear, i guess


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## devil6

When im writing a song or bassline i do it without any FX...once it's starting to sound like something decent i'll usually start adding a few effects.

Unless im writing a weird synthy/electro part...then i turn on all my pedals and work backwards, removing effects as i go


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## Lester B. Flat

I've used delay, chorus, wah, otavers in the past but keep it straightforward these days because I'm playing mostly blues-based stuff. I like a clean, crunchy, dirty combination so I use the overdrive channel on the amp on a light setting for the crunch and a Boss OD-2 for the dirt, and some light reverb. If I could find an old Vox wah I'd use that too.


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## gproud

I run into a wah (though I sold it, but I plan on buying another one), an MXR Flanger reissue, boss TU-2 (not really an effect), and that's it.


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## bucky

My amp doesn't have reverb, and it only has a tone knob. I use a Zoom G2 at this point for delay, reverb, and eq'ing, and occasionaly some dirt.


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## dwagar

99% of the time I let my gain channel handle the overdrive, no pedals, but once in awhile I find pedals useful:
- good old SD-1 for extra distortion
- Cry Baby Wah
- Danecho - I bought this pedal to use on two songs - heavy reverb for "Why'd you lie-Colin James", and the loop effect on Watchtower.
I use the SD-1 inline, the other 2 through the loops (on the JTM60)


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## SinCron

For now I say **** the amp because all I have is a Peavey Pacer and that's just a jazz amp. I use amp AND cab modeling on the thing and it actually sounds great when mic'd. As for effects, I got ever effect under the sun with my POD XT Live (yet another shameless plug to buy my shit, lol). I think that unless you have a head with the effects you need, you'll need an effect pedal.


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## david henman

Jeff Flowerday said:


> I wish I could get away without pedals but just not possible.
> Our practices are at such a low level that I need a pedal for gain. Either way I would still use my Klon for lead work, it really helps cut through the mix.



...same here. i have been doing the ultimate pedal seach for years. now, i'm starting to re-think this - see my thread entitled amp tone vs pedals.


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## CocoTone

david henman said:


> ...same here. i have been doing the ultimate pedal seach for years. now, i'm starting to re-think this - see my thread entitled amp tone vs pedals.



Your coming to Port Hope sonn aren't you?? The Gannie? I`d like to come and jam, if thats possible. Lee Batchelor sits in with you sometimes on keys. He used to be in our band, but, lets just say he talked his way out!!! you`ll know what I mean.

CT.


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## dodgechargerfan

I use a Zoom 707 II for fun and like mentioned above, I play at pretty low volumes in the house, so the gain helps shape the sound a lot...

My favourite setting is "fatclean". I get a nice SRV sound out of that.

I haven't really spent the time to figure out all of the features. I just stomp my way through the different settings and have fun..
Everything is tweakable and you can build your own effects chains and store them as well as grab samples and work them in.. but I haven't figured it all out yet.


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## iggs

I used to go guitar>cable>amp and no fx, even my tuner got fed from the line-out ... but then I needed more then 2 sounds with my new band and started getting more and more pedals. I always hated pedals, especialy od/dist ones, always thought they sounded like ass compared to amp distortion, that's until I got some really good ones and turned 180 degrees ... now I have 12 pedals and love it, switched for a cleaner, single channel amp as well. Never say never ...


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## 55 Jr

For the most part I use effects.


Nothing too wild:












However I can play all night with just this:











Best regards,

Brian


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## Milkman

As usual I take a different approach (always contrary).

I use a guitar system which is in my opinion integral to the PA.

I run a Vox Tonelab SE direct to PA. If a sound I'm seeking has effects I find what I want and program it to the patch.


My amp is generally around 8000 watts, and 1600 watts foldback LOL.


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## PaulS

I use a SD-1 modded to 808 specs, a homemade katana boost style pedal, a trem pedal as my amp has none, a homemade wah and a deja vibe. Oh and 1 more occasionally a ross clone compressor,


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## Milkman

I don't use a lot of effects, but I like to have everything possible available to me.

For more than a year I've been using a Vox Tonelab SE straight into the PA. I just sold it and have bought a Digitech GNX3000 to replace it.

The effects are quite simply amazing. You can get lost in them.

However that would not be adequate if the tones were not so great as well.


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## PaulS

A lot has happened in the last few months and I have found lately that I am steering away from a lot of effect use. The only one I never leave home without is my trem pedal. I still have an OD/Boost pedal but use when needed, depending on what I'm playing. The only one that is used everytime I'm out is the noise gate....


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## droptop88

+1 on cocosound's post. I've found i need to get the right guitar/amp combo 1st. Once I've got that happening, I'll try and add effects sparingly, so as not to overpower a good guitar amp combo. I havent yet found an overdrive pedal that eclipses my amps overdriven sound and response, so I try and work it with the volume knob on the guitar. Not always possible though, so a pedal is welcome sometimes. I add some subtle analog delay, a touch of compression, and thats my clean sound for most things. Then factor in the pickup selector, pick or fingers, and there's a plethora of tones available. This is assuming we're not covering "run like hell" or the ring modulation sounds like on "cheap sunglasses". Then I'd have to rethink...:tongue:


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## sh333

It warms my heart to see the results of the poll  !!!1!


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## GuitarsCanada

That is a bit of a one sided poll is it not?


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## sh333

GuitarsCanada said:


> That is a bit of a one sided poll is it not?


Indeed :rockon2: 

Considering that I am sitting on around 800 pedals, i am happy to see the results


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## allthumbs56

Over Labour Day I saw about nine different bands. I was amazed at how many of the guitarists either plugged direct to amp or use very limited effects.

The Caverners (Beatles tribute) use Tonelab SE's. Otherwise, there was a total of three wahs and one Blues Driver - that's it! No big pedalboards in sight and there was some pretty good tone happening too. Best tone was a Big Apple Strat into a Mesa Nomad (believe it or not), followed by an LP into a Soldano halfstack.

Inspired, I left my board at home and only took a tuner and my BB preamp to practice last night, 82' Tokai LP Custom into a Mesa DC-5. It was great. I didn't tap-dance all night and could focus on my playing and had a great time.

Not saying I'm about to liquidate my pedals, but I think it's good to take a break from them now and then.


________
Chris


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## sh333

allthumbs56 said:


> Over Labour Day I saw about nine different bands. I was amazed at how many of the guitarists either plugged direct to amp or use very limited effects.
> 
> The Caverners (Beatles tribute) use Tonelab SE's. Otherwise, there was a total of three wahs and one Blues Driver - that's it! No big pedalboards in sight and there was some pretty good tone happening too. Best tone was a Big Apple Strat into a Mesa Nomad (believe it or not), followed by an LP into a Soldano halfstack.
> 
> Inspired, I left my board at home and only took a tuner and my BB preamp to practice last night, 82' Tokai LP Custom into a Mesa DC-5. It was great. I didn't tap-dance all night and could focus on my playing and had a great time.
> 
> Not saying I'm about to liquidate my pedals, but I think it's good to take a break from them now and then.
> 
> 
> ________
> Chris


The Caverners are excellent! I took the kids to see them a couple Canada days ago.

Hi Chris :wave:


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## aaron

"The only boost between my guitar and my amp is me"(Angus Young).I wish I could say the same but, Unless I can figure out his exact set up and all the custom work that must go into his gear,I will be useing some kind of tone and boost altering affects.I personally like the simple effects,Boss distortion pedal,Flange,Chorus and of course the Big Muff.I have played around with several rack mount unit's and various other gizzmo's but always go back to the good old, straight up distortion or crunch pedals.I also have a Blues driver and a cry baby that sometimes see the light of day.
Aaron


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## allthumbs56

sh333 said:


> The Caverners are excellent! I took the kids to see them a couple Canada days ago.
> 
> Hi Chris :wave:


Hey Scott!

Guess the "DC-5 and BB preamp" gave me away :redface: Still lovin them both! You got that renovation done yet?


______
Chris


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## sh333

allthumbs56 said:


> Hey Scott!
> 
> Guess the "DC-5 and BB preamp" gave me away :redface: Still lovin them both! You got that renovation done yet?
> 
> 
> ______
> Chris



Indeed :food-smiley-004: 

Reno is about 3 weeks away from completion. It is all just fussy finish work now.

Need to figure out how to pay for it now. Need any gear?  i will be pushing alot of stuff out the door over the next two months to stay afloat.


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## allthumbs56

sh333 said:


> Indeed :food-smiley-004:
> 
> Reno is about 3 weeks away from completion. It is all just fussy finish work now.
> 
> I'll bet it looks awesome!
> 
> Need to figure out how to pay for it now. Need any gear?  i will be pushing alot of stuff out the door over the next two months to stay afloat.


I don't "need" any gear ... but I've always been a little fuzzy on the difference between "need" and "want" :tongue: 

Right now I've got a big "want" on for an Eternity.

Seriously though, my oldest boy is getting married in November and I need to help fund that adventure so I'm trying to be good (so send me an e-mail if you've got anything to tempt me with...shhhhhhh).

Cheers

_________
Chris


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## sh333

allthumbs56 said:


> I don't "need" any gear ... but I've always been a little fuzzy on the difference between "need" and "want" :tongue:
> 
> Right now I've got a big "want" on for an Eternity.
> 
> Seriously though, my oldest boy is getting married in November and I need to help fund that adventure so I'm trying to be good (so send me an e-mail if you've got anything to tempt me with...shhhhhhh).
> 
> Cheers
> 
> _________
> Chris


The next shipment of Eternity's is all spoken for already, but I will be putting in another order ASAP. Just say the word and i will keep one back for you. They are not cheap, but man they are nice.

If I decide to blow some stuff out, I will drop you an email.


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## david henman

...back in the day i scoffed at pedals. plugged my sg straight into an ampeg half stack. tone for days. but loud. we cranked the monitors and screamed our vocals over the din of guitars and drums.

then, i started working with older and more polished players (and, singers), and playing and rehearsing at more _sensible_ volume levels. and that, boys and girls, is how i became acquainted with processing, starting with the creations of mr tom scholz.

-dh


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## Milkman

Well, I'm gigging tonight and tomorrow night with a conventional amp (as opposed to a modeller / processor).


This will mark the first time I've used a normal amp and a couple of pedals for a gig in more than a year.

It will be:

Guitar - Wireless - Crybaby - Traynor YCV40 and I'll have a Visual Sound H20 Chorus / delay in the effects loop.

Of course the amp will be mic'd and I'll have some foldback in the monitors if I need it.

My distortion will be via the amp. If that's not enough, I may look at a pedal for the next gig.


We'll see, but as you tell from the set up I've described, I'm using only wah, OD, Dist, Chorus and delay.


That's all I seem to use.

The rest (good or bad) is in my hands.


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## sh333

Milkman said:


> Well, I'm gigging tonight and tomorrow night with a conventional amp (as opposed to a modeller / processor).
> 
> 
> This will mark the first time I've used a normal amp and a couple of pedals for a gig in more than a year.
> 
> It will be:
> 
> Guitar - Wireless - Crybaby - Traynor YCV40 and I'll have a Visual Sound H20 Chorus / delay in the effects loop.
> 
> Of course the amp will be mic'd and I'll have some foldback in the monitors if I need it.
> 
> My distortion will be via the amp. If that's not enough, I may look at a pedal for the next gig.
> 
> 
> We'll see, but as you tell from the set up I've described, I'm using only wah, OD, Dist, Chorus and delay.
> 
> 
> That's all I seem to use.
> 
> The rest (good or bad) is in my hands.


:wave: 

Def. let me know how the H2O works in the traynor E. loop. i have only tried that pedal straight into an amp thus far.


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## old crow

Voted yes , but only a bit of delay for rockabilly and country...maybe a bit of o.d. if playing quiet.
Can't beat a good old geetar thru a good old amp.:food-smiley-004:


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## Stratin2traynor

*too many pedals*

Once I discovered Ebay, I started buying pedals non-stop. I have way too many and find myself only using Strat > Modded Boss BD2 > Fulltone FD2 and EHX Deluxe Memory Man > Traynor YCV20WR. 

Everytime I decide to sell a pedal I plug it in first to test it and then realize that I like it. So I keep it. I think it's some kind of addiction. But I love it!!evilGuitar:


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## Ophidian

Pedals to me are like crack. I'm always looking a new pedal to see what it can do to my sound. Sometimes good and sometimes really bad. Just like drugs.


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## Mr. David Severson

I run a fulldrive 2, ocd, fat boost and a klon. I used my Fulldrive and OCD a lot and when I need the boost I'll hit the klon to make my axe sing:smile:


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## CocoTone

Stacking up OD's and fuzzes can make for some pretty cool tones. I my favourite clean Strat tone is a Fuzzface type pedal, with the guitar vol backed way off. Try it,,,you'll love it. 

CT.

PS the best fuzzface clone in the world is made right here in Canada,,,look here.....http://www.mjmguitarfx.com/


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## PaulS

I run a Diamond JDrive Tr into a BYOC rat clone and it offers endless possibilities. Like using the TR boost on the diamond feeding into the rat.


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## Milkman

sh333 said:


> :wave:
> 
> Def. let me know how the H2O works in the traynor E. loop. i have only tried that pedal straight into an amp thus far.



I've used modulation and delay type effects in effects loops for a long time now. 

The H2O works perfectly in the Traynor loop. I also put my Planet Waves tuner in the loop.
No issues at all.


My signal is as follows:

AKG Guitarbug wireless - BYOC Clyde McCoy Wah clone- Kelley compressor - Catlinbread SCOD (overdrive) - Amp (Traynor YCV40 + 1 X 12 ext cab)

In the loop:

Planet Waves Chromatic tuner - Visual Sound H2O (chorus, delay).

I use one channel on the amp for cleans and one for mild overdrive. The Catlinbread takes care of medium to high gain tones.


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## Lemmy Hangslong

*Effects ???*

I use effects quite a bit when recording with my BR 1600... they sounds so good!

I like to use effects playing live but in general I like my tone much better when plugged straight into my amp.

It's a necassary evil.

Khingpynn


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## Hamm Guitars

I plug straight in but...

I run my rackmount head through a digital mixer and I can put some sauce on from there. Generally I don't use effects on my dirty sound, but I do like to use a bit of chorus on my clean sound. I find that too much processing just washes out the sound I like.

I have a Big Muff and a Cry Baby, but neither of them are usually connected.


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## The Tourist

I came here from HCFX so...pedals for me! I agree with whoever said that they're quite addictive..


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## Lemmy Hangslong

I'd have to vote yes or it would be a lie for me because yes at times I use effects because they add to the tone I'm getting from my amp. However I truely enjoy plugging straight in to my amps and I do that far more often then using effects in the line.
I would have to say that I never "need" a boost whether it be clean or for dirt... they do have certain good qualities but I never find I "need" them. 
The best investment I have made in the last10 years besides guitars andamps is Monster Cables Studio Pro 1000 cables. I thought I had tone before but now I HAVE TONE... through you boost away and get these cables.

Craig


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## fretboard

If I'm playing to humour myself or a couple of friends who are standing around having a cocktail or two, it's straight into a Matchless Spitfire 2X10. Between a couple of hands and a couple of pickups and a couple of knobs, it's pretty easy to tell if I've got something worthwhile to say with the guitar or not. 

If not, I'll turn off the amp and plug into a Boss BR1600, fire up the monitors and automatically gain some confidence with a wealth of effects to put me at ease.

They've both got their time and place - and almost equally fulfilling in my books, but my first choice would be to plug straight in and make it happen.

Suppose it could be age catching up to me, or spending more time finding an amp that's the right fit for me, rather than buying what I could afford but not giving it much thought. 


One thing is for sure now though - tomorrow afternoon I'm plugging in the REXX RG45 amp I bought new in '89 or '90, hooking up whatever old pedals I can find and reliving my youth, the way it sounded when I was learning how to play.


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## mandocaster

Humbuckers into a Super for the most part. In quiet situations I use a Tubeworks overdrive to cream it up, so I voted yes. But it's a very thin yes.


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## Warren

I have a Keeley Compressor with me all the time pedalboard or not. Straight to amp is great. But, having pedals is fun too. Each different set up creates it's own set of limitations/options which are fun to work with.


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## valen

A Barber Small Fry and an old Cry Baby do it for me. Oh and of course I have a BYOC phaser which is essential for the old Floyd tunes.


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## Mooh

Planet Waves tuner, Marshall Guv'nor, Marshall compressor, Boss super chorus, Danelectro Spring King (kinda funky reverb pedal), Radial a/b/y box, Boss eq, Boss loop station, George Dennis volume/wah,

Shopping list has the Duncan tube preamp/overdrive, Boss DD-6, Boss AC-2 acoustic simulator...

Peace, Mooh.


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## felenoral

My Laney is great enough as it is. Straight in, baby. :rockon2:


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## Tom Sawyer

Sometimes when I'm just practicing I'll just plug straight into the amp. But I do like to use my pedalboard and when I'm playing with my band I always use it. Some songs we play just don't sound right straight. My board has 8 pedals on it which so I only consider myself a moderate pedal whore. lol


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## Cowinacape

I can't imagine not having my fx boxes in front of me when I am playing, although I am right now completely effectsless (sold off everything last year, and I am in the process of "rebuilding" it all).

I think my biggest problem is that I am an unabashed gear whore, and just love the look of all of them knobs lights and switches laid out on the floor before me


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## auger

I had to vote no....since i only have 1 peddle...
weeping demon wah...by Ibanez....
but for the last few month's its been straight into the mesa boogie...lonestar special....and I am liking the clean sounds....with my strat...

I was hoping to try a few more effects....in the future....but its been a work in progress getting a pile of different tones out of my boogie....and I keep finding more...

so I vote a thin no.....cause it can go either way or both...

Auger


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## jimmy peters

*Effects Or Not*

WELL, ACCORDING TO THE POLL ONLY "13" GUYS NO HOW TO PLAY GUITAR.

i am not one of them
i use a ROSS dist.&phase
MARSHALL fuzz
NO NAME analogue echo
and the dist. chan. in my amp.


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## gevans378

I like the idea of using effects, but inevitably ended up playing straight through my amp after gigging a couple of times with an effect. That is, however, until a buddy recommended I try a Fulltone OCD pedal. Now I can't play without it.


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## KTownPete

With guitar, depending on the song, I will occasionally use a wah and depending on the amp, I will occasionally use an overdrive. With bass it is straight in.


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## SkunkWorks

The tone I get plugged straight into my Soldano is like MSG to my ears and I haven't been able to bring myself to pollute that signal path in even the slightest way. I use mine for recording and any effects I occasionally use on guitar are placed downstream in post. The only thing I might be willing to place upstream in front of my head would be a wah, but I don't own one yet.


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## Short Circuit

I used to use pedals and as someone mentioned on here, was always searching for "the" tone. 
This winter I started building my own effects and still wasn't really satisfied with anything I had found.My amp didn't come with a channel switcher so I built one and there's the clean and dirty tones I was looking for....right in my amp.:rockon2: 
I have been experimenting with different pickups in my guitars,and that makes a difference in my tone too.
I just installed a GFS Alnico Fat PAF humbucker in my Kramer Strat. What an awesome pickup for the money.

Mark


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## SkunkWorks

Short Circuit said:


> I used to use pedals and as someone mentioned on here, was always searching for "the" tone.
> This winter I started building my own effects and still wasn't really satisfied with anything I had found.My amp didn't come with a channel switcher so I built one and there's the clean and dirty tones I was looking for....right in my amp.:rockon2:
> I have been experimenting with different pickups in my guitars,and that makes a difference in my tone too.
> I just installed a GFS Alnico Fat PAF humbucker in my Kramer Strat. What an awesome pickup for the money.
> 
> Mark


Ya a good amp is the key. It's pretty much generally accepted that even a crappy guitar through a great amp is still going to sound half decent, while a great guitar through a crappy amp is still going to sound crappy.

Most things that you stick between your guitar and your amp are going to be tone suckers to a certain degree, with the exception of most good overdrive or distortion pedals. Alot of guys that have a great amp will usually try to keep any effects in a loop if the amp has one, and a parallel loop will be less of a tone sucker than a series one by nature of its design.

Keeping the amp and guitar as a static factor, speakers and then pickups will be the most tone altering factor with speakers making the most radical change.

I love any sort of PAF type pup with alnico magnets through my Soldano. They are more crunchy, complex and harmonically rich than modern ceramics and actually work quite well even for more modern aggressive type music through the right amp. There's a new band called The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus whose guitar tone makes me salivate. After emailing the producer who was also the engineer I was actually quite surprised to find out that all the guitars on the album were using Gibson '57 Classic Plus pups... not at all what I expected with this more modern hard rock stuff. If you read my sig you'll see what I now have in my SG :wink:


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## GP_Hawk

Agree with the above. I think I have never used more than 2 maybe 3 pedals including a wah. I've had a lot of amps in the past and for a while have been down to 1 amp. I'm now in the process of building up a small amp collection as I do mostly tracking, mixing. Slowly building up an asrenal of tools. Being a "gear whore" can get expensive wether it's pedals, pre amps, comps, monitors, amps. In the end, at least I'll have good stock for a musical equipment storewoot


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## maybeyes

*Effects please*

Funny, how people think that just because you use effects you can't play. Oh well to each their own.

I have always used effects. Mostly distortion pedals when I was younger for that extra boost when you take the solo. Other than that I only really used chorus to add colour. Now I use phaser, chorus, sustain pedal and distortion. I use my GSP now and run with the controller on the floor.

Funnily enough when I write or figure out a song I usually don't use effects. I find even when the artist uses effects, it is easier to figure out the part without the use of effects. Once I have the song down then I start thinking if it needs effects. 

Years ago I had a Riviera 100 W tube amp that I was given. I really wasn't impressed with it and ended up giving it and a les paul (which I was even less impressed with) to my brother who sold them. Overall, I find I like my Peavey and Vox amps. They sound great and now with the Digitech, I love my sound. I have a palette that can be used to acheive pretty much any sound. Still figuring it out, but enjoy using it so much I have to be sure to continue to go effects-less every so often.LOL
evilGuitar: :rockon2:


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## CrazyMisfit

I used to have a bunch of pedal, about 20+. I had the whole Pink Floyd setup going, bunch of delays and modulation effects and of course distortions. 

Now I have gotten rid of most of them. My setup now is just my Strat > Wah > boost (occasionally) > 18 Watt Clone/Silvertone Twin Twelve. I have adopted the idea of "less is more" And believe me that ideology applies to a lot more then just guitar effects!:tongue:


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## david henman

maybeyes said:


> Funnily enough when I write or figure out a song I usually don't use effects.


...same here. when i'm playing alone i play clean, sometimes with a touch of compression and reverb. for the most part, when i listen to my playing, i hate to hear any kind of effects or o/d.

but when i'm performing, out comes the monster pedal board!

-dh


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## zontar

I sometimes play straight through the amp.
Most of playing is actually not even plugged in at all--just enjoying the natural sound of the guitar.

But when I do plug in I usually am using my Boss DF-2, and possibly a few others--but I don't saaturate my sound with effects.


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## fraser

ive got a pair of scratchy old crybabys- i used to just set em cocked in a position where it had kind of a rangemaster type boost and leave them there-and in the voodoo chile/machine gun/bridge of sighs days i used them a lot. i havent used them in years tho- otherwise ive always been a straight to amp guy-
i dunno if its still like this- but i recall showing up for jams or gigs and bieng sneered at when i plugged straight in- or meeting another player someplace, and theyd always ask- what kinda pedals do you have? when i said i had none id be laughed at lol. of course theyd laugh when they found out i never tried to learn "eruption" and in fact could not do two handed tapping at all.
weird times they were.


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## fraser

> What is this Eruption of which you speak? Is that what all the young kids are into these days?


lol- well it was when i was a young kid-


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## Guest

I've had a chock full of pedals in the 80's.
Now I prefer straight, with _maybe_ an
overdrive and a wah.


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## JSX/6505

I'm not big on effects. 
I do use a few pedals though. A Boss NS-2, BBE Sonic Stomp, Marshall Echohead delay and a Fender PT-10 pedal tuner.


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## LowWatt

Just look at my sig and you will see everything that is on my pedal board. The thing is, most are for the occasional specific sounds. 90% of the time, it's just my guitar and one of 4 sounds. 

1 - Straight in for cleans
2 - with SHO for cleans that stand out a little more
3 - with Hot Cake for just a tiny bit of OD and volume boost
4 - with Screw Driver for nice Stones-style OD grit


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## a Pack of Wolves

i have a decent little collection of pedals
but
just use whatever seems right fer the gig

that's usually means a few ones to get a couple extra tonal colors

the odd times i've done experimental recordings/shows
i go nuts and bring every gadget i can cram into a pedal board

rarely
i'll go straight guitar to amp
but
that's more during recording when i'm going for something very specific

there's a 'i never use pedals ' cult that's just as close minded 
as the 'i only use crazy expensive one off pedal' cult

use what enables you to create freely
but
often less is more


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## Dude5152

All I use now is a crybaby and the odd phaser or flanger.


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## wnpgguy

I recently just started using a multi effects pedal *boss gt-6* and I find it opens up a whole world of style that would other wise be to frustrating to learn dry. Normally being a Neil young, beatles, clapton, fingerpicking type player, I have now moved on to Floyd and Hendrix and might check out some U2 and see what I can do. I don't think I will go back to playing dry for a while. I'll save that for when my accoustic hungers to be played.


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## Tawm!

The nature of the sound of my band lends itself to lots of effects and modulation, but with a minimalist approach. Think coldplay but with more balls, and stereo fx.

I use a boss chorus ensemble and tremolo, digi whammy (2nd gen), line 6 mm4 and dd4, jimmy dunlop crybaby, 2 volume pedals one for master output the other is modded to control effects blend. 

I love clean tones without alot of texture, but this is just how our sound works


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## sproul07

To me pedals are just as important to my sound as the guitar or the amp. Its all equal parts that make my guitar sound. I love using pedals and I find the whole process of finding the right ones, combining them for different sounds, re-arranging them to be fun and exciting


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## Greg Ellis

I use a Toneport at home for practise, so I've got a whole whack of effects to play around with there. A touch of chorus and delay is all I use on a regular basis. 

On the odd occassion that I get to a jam, I take a wah, distortion, chorus, echo and phaser, and hope that I can get some sort of decent sound out of whatever amp is available.


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## Budda

I've got a GT-8, but its mostly for headphone practise. i like that i can dabble in fx, but the only effect i really find myself using is stereo delay.

for any show i just run guitar-OD-halfstack. and it works like a charm


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## steve60ca

*Pedals good, Steve bad*

Pedals excite me. 

The way some guys look at cars and motorcycles, I look at pedals and guitars. It's an addiction. In two or three weeks I'm getting a GR-20. Like Homer and doughnuts. Since I'm "older", I have original EH's. I also have a GnX1, a RP3 and a bunch of singles like Boss CS-2, Ibanez BC9 blah blah blah.


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## hollowbody

I went a little pedal crazy in the last little while and ended up with a huge board filled with effects that I used for one song here and one song there.

As a result, I decided to buckle down and actually pull stuff off my board, but it broke my heart to see my beloved vintage Rat, OD-1 and Small Stone sitting there, so I decided to sell some of my stuff in order to keep it off my board (though I miss my Rat already).

Point is, I'm down to a TS-9, a Fulldrive, a flanger, a trem, a delay and a reverb. Hopefully the pedalboard stays around this size :rockon:


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## Canadian Charlie

I use a few pedals, mainly a Boss Noise Gate and the Boss Heavy Metal pedal. I also have a Boss Chorus, Behringer OD and a DigiTech Flanger but I don't hook them up as much


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## 46&2

I perfer my bass right into the power amp. No point in complicating things. Good tone is in your hands and comes out a good amp/cabs.


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## Andy

I was using a modest pedalboard, until I started getting a ground loop when plugging my power supply and amp on the same circuit. I intended on getting some type of hum killer, but that was about 2 months ago and I haven't really missed the pedals.

Mind you, I think I'd miss the board if I had a lesser amp.


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## monty

Most of the time at home, I play with no effects.
With the band however, always have some pedals with me.


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## Samsquantch

I have a delay pedal and a fuzz. That's all I need!


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## rhh7

I have never owned a pedal.


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## marcos

*Pedals*

Only use a Electro Harmonics delay pedal to my amp.I hate having to set up a rig with all sorts of effects and gizmos but i do like the sound of people using them.:smilie_flagge17:


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## Guest

I'm an effects pig. I love'm all. When I'm in the mood for something different I play clean. I've had racks and pedals. Pedals are more fun.


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## Falcatarius

I really enjoy the versatility and plain-fun pedals provide. However, i'm a very firm believer in being practical when it comes to rigs and I think a lot of people take pedal-use to ridiculous and un-needed extents.

I want my rig to be extremely portable and easy to set up/take down. I run a Blues Jr. (small combo, clean only) through a tuner, a delay, and a single other effect. (usually distortion or trem)

Any more pedals then this and I feel that they're just too much of a burden on both my shoulders and my wallet.


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## Cort Strummer

I think I get enough gain and OD from my amp for my liking and that is just in CH2. So I just use a Delay pedal and a Very Tone pedal for different sounds, I would like to get a wah pedal and I think that would be it.


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## Alien8

I play 'em, but when I don't they aren't in the chain at all... just axe to amp.


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## lbrown1

I use a POD XTL.....mainly now for chorus (love the wet sound of the chorus) , some extra fuzz when needed and for delay and trem....I tend to stay away from flangers or phasers or anything like that even though th ePOD has them readily available


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## ennsgr

Love them. Nothing to my ears sounds better than an overdrive and a fuzz running into stack.


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## Jim DaddyO

I very rarely plug in my strat at all. Just practice unplugged. When I do plug into my Peavey Classic 30 (old one) I use an original TS 9. The only difference is that I use a variable voltage wall wart to power it and I set the voltage to 7.5 volts. Sounds great. I thought this up from reading an Eric Johnson interview where he says he likes the sound of his OD when the batteries are just about to die and the voltage is reduced. Apparently, he can tell the difference between brands of batteries by sound.


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## lbrown1

I run my POD XTL into the front of my Traynor YCV50...although MOST of the time the effects are all off turned off.....I introduce delay, trem, chorus , tube screamer and wah when the occasion calls for it - but other than the inherent (small I think) tone mod of the signal running through the POD before it hits the amp, I usually use the guitar tone only.

I almost always have generous amounts of reverb on the amp though...I don't like the tone to be too dry


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## Corrode

How can you practice unplugged? That takes all the fun out of playing an electric. I personally would get frustrated always practicing without my amp.

Back on topic: I love pedals. I only have 6 on my board but have a list of about 4 or 5 more that I'd like to try. Trouble is, my tastes are getting more expensive.


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## Jim DaddyO

Corrode....get married, you learn. lol


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## Ti-Ron

I tend to downsize my pedalboard. When I started writing here I had around 15 fx unit and now I use 5 pedals but never in the same time. Normaly it's dirst (ts and a fuzz face) with choice of Octron/delay/trem, depend on what I'm playing. 
I still have my beloved DOD Grunge when I feel it!!!


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## GuitarsCanada

I have thinned down to almost nothing as well. it's one of those trend things. get into it for a while and then back out again.


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## jimsz

I recently sold off a new Vamp and an older Digitech GSP 21 to go back to just straight guitar and amp. And, then wound up buying a FET dream this last week, after swearing off guitar effects for a while.

"Youse tries to get out, and they pulls you back in."


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## Pibeau

For my part I use effects depending on my mood. I have a Boss GT8, but most of the time I use a SansAmp GT2 distortion, Carl Martin compressor, Boss digital delay, in front of a Mashall JCM 800.


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## Alien8

I love both. 

You just can't beat that straight into a tube amp tone. Mind you I don't consider EQ pedals FX...:wave:

IMO, an effect is an extension of the instrument's capabilities, especially if they are dynamically interactive. I see using an auto filter the same as using a pinch harmonic, or a fuzz factory the equivalent of picking with fingers or a plastic pick. They must have character sdsre, and response  to my expression kksjur. Some effects turn the guitar into a totally different sounding instrument, which can be fun too!


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## EGBDF

I used to be a one pedal (for boost) kind of guy.
Lately, I've expanded the palette - but I'm at a 5 pedal limit.

I still run straight in to the Bassman and let it rip, whenever I can.
Those are great times...

Like flying down a highway in jeans and a t-shirt :rockon2:


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## tojoe

I go back and forth, right now my 2 gigs, rockabilly..need a boost and a delay, the other blues rock thing is about eight pedals, people still think I'm not using them, and that was the goal for me believe it or not..seems a bit backwards but as soon as I start hearing the board I end up tossing it..sq #1 all over.


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## Deef

I have about 12 pedals on my board, and I use them all during our gigs.


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## prodigal_son

Any old sauce is just a sauce until you add flavour. Effects are the herbs and spices that make a guitar's tone sauce taste just right.


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## zjq426

I do collect pedals, for now just for fun but later may use them to gig.
Most of the time I plug my guitar straight into POD.


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## warse22

Definitely love running pedals! For me, they open up so many tonal possibilities, which is very important in the styles I play.


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## High/Deaf

While I couldn't imagine not using a few effects, especially when playing covers, I think its a good exercise to do just that. 

If I'm just jamming blues or something straight-forward like that, I think its good to do the guitar-cable-amp thing every now and then. I don't know if others feel the same, but sometimes I wonder if the effects aren't a bit of a crutch?

.


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## PEImatrix

For some bands use pedals, others I don't. Funny thing is, I tend to play better hwen I don't use them. I guess it really makes me work harder why I don't use them.


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## vanhannam

I'm rockin a line 6 M-13 for my multi effects. I love it! go effects!!


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## Setneck

*Fx*

I use a TS 808 re-issue (MIJ) and a Dynacomp MXR 1979 Compressor.
I really want to get my hands on a Ibanez UE 300 or 305 that accomplishes that in one pedal.
Ben


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## mrmatt1972

Being a one channel amp kind of guy, stopboxes are indispensible for me. I need at least a boost and an overdrive. Right now my chain is Guitar --> Boost - Volume Pedal - Deluxe Reverb pedal (gives me an extra tremolo and reverb as well as a nice 2nd clean sound)- Reverend Drivetrain II - EHX English Muffn -->amps. I also sometimes pull out my wah, my pignose fuzz or use my rack for stereo delays and reverbs.


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## Merlin

Keeping it simple as possible right now. Just running a Boss TR-20 Rotary Sim pedal and a TC Nova Drive.


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## Shiny_Beast

I used to be a one chord guy. TB pedals make it a little easier to live with a few pedals always hooked up. Used to be I'd plug in the wah just once or twice a year for the heck of it. Now I roll with 

Octaver->Wah->Vibe->Delay

Not really into dirt pedals in front my Marshall. I am getting a FF for that Monterey sound. Have a LTD Silver that's killer with amps that don't really have any overdrive of their own.


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## screamingdaisy

I like pedals, but I almost never use them live. They never sound the same as they do at home, and the simpler my rig the easier/less frustrating it is to dial it in.

If I do use them live it's usually just a wah and a Phase 90 for colour.


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## Samsquantch

My Wampler Analog Echo is all I use and all I need.


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