Guitar effects

February 25th, 2008

Oh, yeah. I love guitar effects.

Any good guitar player will tell you that you have to start with a good instrument, learn good technique and tone, and have a quality amplifier. I agree. I also agree with those who say that the lion’s share of tone comes from one’s fingers. Once you have that foundation, though, it’s a blast to step on a little pedal and totally transform your clean, pretty sounds into a raging troop of screaming monkeys, fire-breathing helicopters, rude buzzsaws, and modulated head trips.

Here are some of my toys.

The pedals I include on the board changes regularly, and not all of my effects are pictured. Here are some notes on a few of the pedals and some favorite settings. For the settings, pretend all of the knobs are labeled 1-10.

Boss OC-2 Octave (octave 2: 3, direct: 4, octave 1: 6)

Morley PWA Wah(level: 4)

DOD FX 30-B Noise Gate/Loop. (release: 3, gate: 5, sensitivity: 9)

Boss AC-2 Acoustic Simulator (level: 9, body 4, top: 4, mode: enhance)

Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive (level: 3, tone: 7, drive: 4.5)

Marshall ShredMaster (gain: 8, bass: 4, contour: 2, treble: 10, volume: 5)

Boss DS-1 Distortion (tone: 7, level: 3, distortion: 10) (I’m simulating a fuzz with this setting)

MXR Micro Amp (gain: 6) (I am using this to counteract signal loss since I have so many pedals. It works great.)

Boss BF-2 Flanger (manual: 5, depth: 9, rate: 5, res.: 2)

Boss PH-2 Super Phaser (rate: 6, depth: 9, res.: 2, mode: I)

Boss DM-2 Delay (rate: 6, echo: 4, intensity: 1)(This may be the best delay I have ever heard)

Boss CE-2 Chorus (rate: 4, depth: 8 )

Ibanez LF7 Lo-Fi Filter (drive: 5, lo cut: 8, hi cut: 2, level: 6, mode: guitar)(this does a great job of imitating the “cheap transistor amp” or megaphone sound, I really like it when used with other effects like my pseudo fuzz setting on the DS-1)

All settings listed are subject to change at my whim, but this is where I had them the day the pics were taken.

As you can see, I am partial to the Boss pedals. You can use ‘em, abuse ‘em, and they just keep working. Fact is, I haven’t had any trouble with any of my pedals, but they are all well built. I am a little skeptical of plastic pedals, even if they sound good, so all my pedals are in sturdy steel cases. The Marshall ShredMaster is probably my best deal–I found it at a pawn shop and only paid $15 for it, in near mint condition!! I’m also in love with the Boss DM-2 and SD-1.

I have a few more not pictured. If there is interest, I’ll post again on the topic and include them in the future.

Entry Filed under: Guitar