Question about guitar pedals
 

I've been inspired to play more guitar lately, as opposed to the usual synths and samplers, and I'd like to invest in some new tone shaping toys. I presently own a POD (the original) to go with my Strat and while it serves a certain purpose well, I'm a bit bored with it and want to explore other options. The stuff by Electro-Harmonix has caught my attention lately, like the Deluxe Memory Man and the Q-Tron, etc, how are these regarded in the guitar player's universe? I haven't had a chance to go play with them but I willl soon.

Also, if you had a choice, would you prefer an all-in-one multi-efx unit (like a Boss, Zoom or Digitech) or is it better to have individual pedals? There's a new BOSS ME50 pedalboard going for $299 which seems to offer tons of bang for the buck, just not sure if I want to go that route or buy really good individual ones.

Any advice would be great, thanks.

Oh, and Happy New Year to all you cats!

Re: Question about guitar pedals
 

Boss has the GT 6, big gold thing. It has been a while since I played on it but it is one of the few multi boxes that doesn't strip all the personality from your playing. Most multi boxes it doesn't seem to matter what pickup you use, how you pick etc.... it all sounds the same. The GT6 also has a lot of great sounds in it. I didn't buy it cause I have a ton of little stomp boxes and a big velcro pedal board already.... Check it out.

(Maybe something new will show up at NAMM, in a few months I think?)

John

Re: Question about guitar pedals
 

I have and use the GT-6, and I regard it is a powerful piece of equipment. I use it without an amp on much of my recordings and get a very natural sound ... so much so that my musician friends cannot tell which songs were direct out from the GT-6 and which were amplified. You loose natural feedback and some sustain when recording the pedal directly, but unless you need those high-gain qualities, the sound is spectacular. Plus you get a S/PDIF direct out on it that can be directly plugged into a 002/002R and save your analog inputs for other duty. Of course, if you want to crank it up through your existing amp, the GT-6 shines brightly.

Oh, did I mention that there are literally hundreds of sounds useable right 'out of the box'? Go from a bluesy overdrive to a scooped metal to an ethereal flange to a jazz chorus clean to a synthesised sitar with the turn of a dial or a step on a switch. Every guitar effect you can imagine can be (re)created with this processor. The only thing missing on it is a real tube.

If you play guitar -- GET ONE NOW!!! For the cost of buying 4 standalone guitar pedals, you could have this unit that replaces scores of stomp boxes, wah-pedals, tuners, pre-amp modelers, equalizers, and more!

Re: Question about guitar pedals
 

whatever pedal you go for won't have any cab emulation. problem solved: http://www.greenmachine.opuscases.de/body_index.html

its vst, so you'll need the rtas wrapper, but its free and it sounds great.

Re: Question about guitar pedals
 

Actually, the GT-6 has a preamp section that has emulation of Vox, Marshall, 5150, Fender, Pignose, Mesa, and Roland amps with different variations of these amps and different speaker combinations (1x12, 2x10, 4x12, etc. etc.)

Well, that particular feature could be a benefit so that you could modify the sound of the guitar AFTER recording is done.

Re: Question about guitar pedals
 

S' up DB! I'll call you soon.

I'm actually not looking for a plugin, I realise there are tons of options in that world, I'm looking for pedals. I'm looking forward to try out that Memory Man, among other things, and I can still use my POD for the amp section, it's the implemetation of new effects I'm trying to explore.

Re: Question about guitar pedals
 

Re: your initial question: the Electro-Harmonix pedals are fantastic, and very widely used and admired. The Memory man gave the Edge his signature delay sound, so if you're into that warm analog delay, it's the way to go. The Q-Tron is a great filter, which also sounds great w/ keys as well as guitar. The small stone phaser is fantastic as well, and also check out their micro synth, which provides a lot of great sonic posibilities. I'm actually selling my EH pedals to buy more recording gear, so let me know if you're interested.

My opinion is that you absolutely cannot match the sound quality of great pedals with a multi-effects unit. I've used a lot of them, and some sound pretty good, but still nowhere near the quality of great analog pedals. But, what you lose in sound quality you gain in portability and ability to recall preset sounds, which is great for playing live.

Happy gear buying!

Re: Question about guitar pedals
 

Don't overlook the Zoom GFX-8, go play it in a store, it has cab modelling, & all that, but it also has the some of the best distortion sounds you'll hear, and a ring modulator & other more esoteric effercts and don't forget the built in expression pedal..

And it's built like a small tank.

I have one of these and a J-Station for reording and am confident I can get any sound I want.

Live? I wouldn't touch 'em.. individual pedals still rule live.

Re: Question about guitar pedals
 

i guess i'm also part of the minority on this, but being a guitarist first and an engineer second....i can't stand mulit effect units. my pedalboard is just full of analog pedals that i can turn on and off, change the gain/delay/whatevaa, at my quickest whim. no cycling through menus on a digital readout to make sure i'm doing the right thing, blah blah blah.

maybe i'm just a purist, but i just love a good stompbox, sound wise and vibe wise. the EH stuff is great, all i've got from them is the big muff NYC and the small stone, but i love them. i think the boss stuff is pretty good on the effects side (delay, trem, etc.) i'm a big proco rat fan for distortion (vintage rat being the fav), but there's just some random pedals that i find a lot of fun (nobels, mxr blue box, stuff like that).

Re: Question about guitar pedals
 

I think the reason why the Guitar Digital Multi FX type units sound worse than the older pedals/delays is because they don't blend the original dry signal into the sound without converting into digital first.

The old '80's Digital Delays / Pedals for example kept some of the dry signal to blend into the outputs, some had wet/dry balance controls for this.

Best to split the guitar signal into 2 paths & combine them at the Amp &/or Recording stage.

Mind You most Guitar FX units even expensive ones still have that "Wasp in a Jar" sound for Overdrive/Distortion type sounds! I usually bypass those& use an old Pedal/Sansamp GT2 or similar instead!

Cheers JK