How many pedals have you gone through before you found "the one?"

[Soul Man]

How many?

I assume most are still searching........:JAM

[iggs]

Too many ...

[phoenix 7]

2 choruses bedfore finding the RetroSonic CE. 3 boosts before finding the Klon. 1 delay before finding the T-Rex Replica. Never found a pedal OD that *totally* satisfied me. I don't think you need to go through a trillion pedals to find ones that help you make really good music. I never want to get so caught up in "tone" that I forget about music.

[Zero]

one what?

[slopeshoulder]

about 30 dirtboxes have crossed this threshold twice.

[SoulToStrings]

i hate overdrives the most. Been through too many and know right off the bat normally that they won't work.

Homebrew stuff is settling in nice, hopefully I can get back to recording music again now that I have a lot of their pedals and love them.

[strumminsix]

5 or 6 envelopes til I got my Emma
6 or 7 phasers tile I got my PH350
Barber LTD SR was it right off the bat!

[clothwiring]

ODs...

Fulltone FD II 10th
Xotic BB Preamp
Chandler Tube Driver
Analogman KOT
Gaspedals CARB
Probably 2-3 others I'm forgetting...

And finally: Timmy which has managed to stay on my board for a good 7-8 months now and I have no need to change it. :)

Outside of OD I've pretty much used a Catalinbread SCP or Xotic RC booster. I had a Pedalworx Octabooty and recently got a Fulltone Octave/Fuzz. Had a Vox V847 and now have a Budda Wah. I bought the DD-3 I use used from a buddy of mine...and I love it, sounds better than other DD-3s I've tried and/or owned. Fulltone Mini Deja-Vibe is the first vibe I bought and it works/sounds great.

Honestly I could personally do without the Octafuzz, but the band mates like it so I leave it on there. I hit it a few times a night.

[GuitarsFromMars]

Ummm,I have a 'kick the pre-amp tube' process that is quite acceptable at this time...

[orogeny]

It's funny. . . after reading a recent OD3 thread, I wonder why I ever bothered to look further. I probably got it right the first time . . . . the last time I used it was the only time someone in the audience approached me and said, "HOW DO YOU GET YOUR TONE?!!!!" The ONLY thing that ever bugged me in the slightest was that the bass was a bit thumpy on my low E string and would fart out on certain notes.

If I had bought an eq pedal, I probably would have stopped right there.

Still don't have an eq pedal:NUTS

[Bulldog]

I've probally been thru 20 overdrives before the timmy. I'm not even remotly debating letting it go.

[ocalagtr]

about a million in the last 25 years... especially overdrives and distortions as my taste has changed. currently Lovepedal and BJF stuff suits me... uh, for now?!?!?!?

[supergenius365]

My problem is that I seem to sell ones that I end up liking better than the one I sold them for. I have bought a few pedals a couple of times. I know I am on my 4th Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive and my 2nd Budda wah. :jo

[rob2001]

Concerning dirt, not that many. I've found great dirt tones with my amp and even the best od's don't sound a hell of alot different as far as solo boosting and such. I used to be a modulation nut but for my situation I only need a great basic rock sound. For that i've placed my resources into cabs, speakers, tubes etc.. Of coarse I get to reading about how good pedal X sounds with amp Y and i'll be gassin a bit but all I need to do is step away from the computer for awhile, go play my guitar and it goes away for the most part. I've found that if you look for G.A.S. you WILL indeed find it!!

[sandman]

It's funny. . . after reading a recent OD3 thread, I wonder why I ever bothered to look further. I probably got it right the first time . . . . the last time I used it was the only time someone in the audience approached me and said, "HOW DO YOU GET YOUR TONE?!!!!" The ONLY thing that ever bugged me in the slightest was that the bass was a bit thumpy on my low E string and would fart out on certain notes.

If I had bought an eq pedal, I probably would have stopped right there.

Still don't have an eq pedal:NUTS

I've got the Boss EQ a year ago and it didn't,as you know, cure any of my OD GAS...it did beef up the Strat quite a bit though.

It's and addiction boosted(pun intended) by the fact ODs are all quite similar to an average listener or audience and we all get lost looking for a subtleties that grow to mean a life to us. Opposite applies to fuzz pedals, they're so crazy and radical it's a sin not own a few or quite a few. :JAM :JAM :JAM

[mfgobbi]

It's even worse!!! I have come back to the same pedal twice or 3 times in some cases... so it actually starts to go in circles when you tried them all!!!!!


How many?

I assume most are still searching........:JAM

[drjordan]

I had a HRDlx amp. I had a Boss Blues Driver that was fine at very low levels. I had an OD3 and a Sparkle Drive that were great at any volume. I had modulations pedals, a compressor, an EQ, a volume pedal, and a delay. Then I sold the HRD and bought a Lil Dawg amp. The amp is awesome, but none of my ODs sounded good any more. I sold the EQ and the Boss ODs and bought an OCD.

Now my pedal board is the OCD and a volume pedal. My pedal search is over!

[enickma]

I'm pretty lucky in that I have a lot of musician friends who I was able to hear a bunch of their pedals first before I decided on putting my board together. Saved me a lot of time, money, headache, and anguish. Research here helped quite a bit also!

Lovepedal Eternity, EB Jr volume, Verbzilla, sniper modded GE7, Keeley modded Vox Wah-RAT-DD4-CE2-MT2, Barber Tone Press and Launch Pad were all first takes. I knew they were for me going in.

For a one trick pony blues pedal, I went through a BD-2 and G2D Cream Tone before I happily settled into a MJM Blues Devil.

No one believes me when I tell them I am sooooo set. There isn't a tone I can't cop pretty close with my rig, and even though I know I'd probably LOVE a BJF honey Bee or Tim/Timmy/Zendrive, I'm more than content to live in my ignorance

[gururyan]

I've lost count. Sometimes I'll luck out and hit "the one" right off the bat, then continue to search in order to confirm my thoughts...all while hanging on to "the one". I went through about 10 envelopes, 5 phase, 14 fuzz, 4 and counting on delay, 20+ overdrives, 1 tuner, 4 compressors, and so on. It all depends on the type of effect, luck of the draw, available on-line reviews and clips, availability, etc.

[lv]

Too many!

Barber direct drive, burn unit, small fry
BJF baby blue, dyna red distortion
Crowther hotcake, bluesberry hotcake
Mad Prof little green wonder
Cornish SS2, SS3, G2
Fulltone Fulldrive Mosfet, soulbender
Klon Centaur
Mesa V-Twin
Matchless Hotbox
Hermida Zendrive
Hermida Mosferatu
Lovekraft mojo drive
M.I. Audio Tube Zone and Blue Boy
Tim/Timmy
Providence Stampede SOV
Tonebone Classic and Hot British
Skreddy top fuel and pink flesh
Soldano GTO


Settled on Landgraff's boost, overdrive and distortion.

[Fuzzdawg]

still looking. i have still never found a pedal that provides me the "light crunch"/ "barely overdriven" tone that is in my head. i have still never found a pedal that really brings me the full-fledged over-the-top distortion sound that is in my head. i have never found a pedal that provides the delay that is in my head. i HAVE found a few pedals that perform the boost sound that's in my head (byoc triboost). and the tremolo sound (byoc trem, and fulltone supatrem). and deffinetely the wah (byoc wah).

[Lucidology]

Too many!

Barber direct drive, burn unit, small fry
BJF baby blue, dyna red distortion
Crowther hotcake, bluesberry hotcake
Mad Prof little green wonder
Cornish SS2, SS3, G2
Fulltone Fulldrive Mosfet, soulbender
Klon Centaur
Mesa V-Twin
Matchless Hotbox
Hermida Zendrive
Hermida Mosferatu
Lovekraft mojo drive
M.I. Audio Tube Zone and Blue Boy
Tim/Timmy
Providence Stampede SOV
Tonebone Classic and Hot British
Skreddy top fuel and pink flesh
Soldano GTO


Settled on Landgraff's boost, overdrive and distortion.

So don't stop there..
Tell us why you settled on the Langraff in comparison to all the others..?

Also curious as to which ones take second or third place in you book...?

[enickma]

still looking. i have still never found a pedal that provides me the "light crunch"/ "barely overdriven" tone that is in my head. i have still never found a pedal that really brings me the full-fledged over-the-top distortion sound that is in my head. i have never found a pedal that provides the delay that is in my head. i HAVE found a few pedals that perform the boost sound that's in my head (byoc triboost). and the tremolo sound (byoc trem, and fulltone supatrem). and deffinetely the wah (byoc wah).
A few suggestions from my previous experiences ...

"light crunch"/ "barely overdriven" tone - G2D Cream Tone. The only reason I sold mine was because I wanted more crunch available, and didn't have room on my pedalboard for it. It was absolutely the best pedal I've ever heard for what you are looking for, plus it has an adjustable boost channel for solos. If you haven't tried it, I think your head will thank you

over-the-top distortion - monte allums trigain mod for the Boss MT-2 Metal Zone. Takes a metal pedal, and turns it into an versatile monster. Here's an example of a lead tone you can absolutely nail ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6gFzELonjY&NR=1

[lv]

So don't stop there..
Tell us why you settled on the Langraff in comparison to all the others..?

Also curious as to which ones take second or third place in you book...?

Tonally, most in my list were very good, though none had the right combination of gain, compression/feel, and smooth, thick tone. If you listen to any of my clips, you can hear what kinds of tones I go for - I love Warren Haynes' tone, as well as Robben Ford's.

I was a master volume amp guy using two-rock, soldano, bogner as my benchmark liquid lead tones, until I got a Cornish SS2 and ended up using that more than my SLO's lead tone, and after that I switched from those amps to clean blackface style amps and overdrive pedals.

If I wasn't using the Landgraff's, I'd be using an SS3 and G2, and if I couldn't afford those (i can't ;) ), I'd probably use an Xotic RC+AC, or that new AC+

Here are a few comments added to each in my list:

Barber direct drive, burn unit, small fry - all nice, but to my ears sounded like pedals vs amps.

BJF baby blue, dyna red distortion - baby blue - had an upper mid aggressiveness I didn't care for. Dyna Red - Great Marshally pedal, I like the MO'D tone a little more and it offers more versatility.

Crowther hotcake, bluesberry hotcake - Both not smooth enough, regular Hotcake was a bit gritty and harsh.

Mad Prof little green wonder - Nice tone, not enough gain.

Cornish SS2, SS3, G2 - All great but too much $ for me right now

Fulltone Fulldrive Mosfet, soulbender Just average sounding to my ears

Klon Centaur - I don't play loud enough to use this unit as intended

Mesa V-Twin - Nice but a bit too compressed

Matchless Hotbox - Not smooth enough

Hermida Zendrive - Not enough gain, and I just like the LDO's tone better

Hermida Mosferatu - Good but not great

Lovekraft mojo drive - Very good, budget LDO

M.I. Audio Tube Zone and Blue Boy - Loved the Tube Zone and would like to compare it to my MO'D one day. Blue Boy was a bit generic sounding, too many internal controls, could never quite dial it for what I wanted.

Tim/Timmy - Better for clean/gritty boosts vs super smooth overdrive

Providence Stampede SOV - Great tone, poor man's SS3, but not much gain

Tonebone Classic and Hot British - Very nice, though couldn't ever find the sweet sopt on the filter knobs

Skreddy top fuel and pink flesh - These both sound like great OD/Distortion pedals with a little bit of fuzz mixed in (more with the PF). I don't care so much for fuzz and couldn't quite dial it out.

Soldano GTO - Noisy, bright, a little thin - but fun SLO-like high gain. If these only had a depth mod/WH mod.

Xotic RC, AC, BB - All nice, I used an RC/AC combo for awhile, using the RC mainly to boost the AC to a gain level I wanted, the LDO does it all in one box.

edit: I also tried an Eternity, this was one of the contenders for the top spot - I ended up with the LDO because of the versatility the 3 way switch provides, and better low volume performance. That said, the feel of the E was a little saggier which I like, so I may get another....

[sandman]

I had a HRDlx amp. I had a Boss Blues Driver that was fine at very low levels. I had an OD3 and a Sparkle Drive that were great at any volume. I had modulations pedals, a compressor, an EQ, a volume pedal, and a delay. Then I sold the HRD and bought a Lil Dawg amp. The amp is awesome, but none of my ODs sounded good any more. I sold the EQ and the Boss ODs and bought an OCD.

Now my pedal board is the OCD and a volume pedal. My pedal search is over!

off topic: can you compare OCD and OD-3. You can PM me not to hijack the thread...thanx

[Lucidology]

Tonally, most in my list were very good, though none had the right combination of gain, compression/feel, and smooth, thick tone. If you listen to any of my clips, you can hear what kinds of tones I go for - I love Warren Haynes' tone, as well as Robben Ford's.

I was a master volume amp guy using two-rock, soldano, bogner as my benchmark liquid lead tones, until I got a Cornish SS2 and ended up using that more than my SLO's lead tone, and after that I switched from those amps to clean blackface style amps and overdrive pedals.

If I wasn't using the Landgraff's, I'd be using an SS3 and G2, and if I couldn't afford those (i can't ;) ), I'd probably use an Xotic RC+AC, or that new AC+

Here are a few comments added to each in my list:

Barber direct drive, burn unit, small fry - all nice, but to my ears sounded like pedals vs amps.

BJF baby blue, dyna red distortion - baby blue - had an upper mid aggressiveness I didn't care for. Dyna Red - Great Marshally pedal, I like the MO'D tone a little more and it offers more versatility.

Crowther hotcake, bluesberry hotcake - Both not smooth enough, regular Hotcake was a bit gritty and harsh.

Mad Prof little green wonder - Nice tone, not enough gain.

Cornish SS2, SS3, G2 - All great but too much $ for me right now

Fulltone Fulldrive Mosfet, soulbender Just average sounding to my ears

Klon Centaur - I don't play loud enough to use this unit as intended

Mesa V-Twin - Nice but a bit too compressed

Matchless Hotbox - Not smooth enough

Hermida Zendrive - Not enough gain, and I just like the LDO's tone better

Hermida Mosferatu - Good but not great

Lovekraft mojo drive - Very good, budget LDO

M.I. Audio Tube Zone and Blue Boy - Loved the Tube Zone and would like to compare it to my MO'D one day. Blue Boy was a bit generic sounding, too many internal controls, could never quite dial it for what I wanted.

Tim/Timmy - Better for clean/gritty boosts vs super smooth overdrive

Providence Stampede SOV - Great tone, poor man's SS3, but not much gain

Tonebone Classic and Hot British - Very nice, though couldn't ever find the sweet sopt on the filter knobs

Skreddy top fuel and pink flesh - These both sound like great OD/Distortion pedals with a little bit of fuzz mixed in (more with the PF). I don't care so much for fuzz and couldn't quite dial it out.

Soldano GTO - Noisy, bright.

Xotic RC, AC, BB - All nice, I used an RC/AC combo for awhile, using the RC mainly to boost the AC to a gain level I wanted, the LDO does it all in one box.

Thanks Lou for the very informative rundown..
When I get a few minutes, I'm looking forward to checking out your clips...

[BmoreTele]

Hello, my name is BmoreTele. I am a pedal whore.

That said -

OD - about 18 - I am happy with my Timmy, Mosferatu, and MIG*Boost

Distortion - only about 5 - I don't use any currently. (see octave)

Fuzz - about 8. I haven't found the "one."

Octave - three. I still have my Cow4prez Tinnitus (Scrambler clone) and Bennett Lowball for over the top crazy tones.

Comp - about 5. Love the Tone Press.

Vibe (and rotary) - a dozen. I found the "one," the Voodoo Vibe, before I tried all the rest. I still have the VV.

Phasers - here's where it gets scary - about two dozen, some twice, one three times. Still looking. My favorite - the MOOG.

Tremolo - only slightly less crazy - another 18 - the "two" are the Vibutron and the Cusack TAW.

Filters - nine - love the MuRF. Still looking.

Delay - nut city - 42, as far as I can remember. Analog - love the SAD-1 and AD202, on the tour box for the Retro Sonic. Digital - really like the DD20 and the Korg 301dl. Waiting to hear about the Nova and TimeFactor.

Chorus - only 2. Not looking that hard.

Flange - Four. Again, not looking hard.

Others - another dozen or so. Ruled out ring mods, pitch shifters, wahs, noise generators, feedback loopers ...

[amphead777]

For me it's an ongoing quest. This week i got a Landy DO and a Tim. It keeps going on.

[Theorywolf]

Been through BB Preamp, Classic Trimode Tonebone, fuzas face, and others! I found my pedal not long ago and would die without it--MJM Blues Devil! Superior at low and high volumes! At higher volumes, very transparent and screaming! Best pedal I've ever had that works wonders stacked with other pedals. Last night, used the BD along with an OCD! Also used it with my RI TS/9 into a reissue Super Reverb. The club manager said we had the best guitars he had heard in a long time! I get compliments always about the tone of my guitar using the Blues Devil. It is so articulate in higher volumes! Dripping with soul with a bit of delay added. You just have to add the playing techniques, which is the REAL bases of tone!

Mike

[dividedsky]

Depends what type of effect...I found my Delay on the second try. I found my Vibe after about number 4. Tuner, first try. Tremolo on about the 5th one. Overdrive? 50+ and counting. :)

[slingshotmb]

3 or 4






















hundred thousand.

[GTRJohnny]

I've gone through several. Many will be going up here or elsewhere for sale soon. The ones that have made it through so far are most of the flatter sounding O/Ds...
BB, BD-2, LTD, OCD3, and several others on order. Man, I need some serious help!

[E Baxter Put]

I seem have been through about 20-25 ODs? I usually love a pedal for 1-2 months and then get something else. I usually sell the old pedal to fund the new pedal. The only one I have kept since my pedalholism started is the boss od-3. It's not my favorite, but it always works. It's starting to be a sentimental favorite though.

[dspblues]

I haven't been through as many as some here, but I think right now I'm going to be staying with the Cornish SS-3/G-2 duplex once I can find one.

[Seegs]

I look at this as a never ending journey and an exploration and not a trip with an end destination...I don't think that will be changing any time soon...

I've tried many pedals and for one reason or another sold them...sometimes I try pedals a second or third time as something else in my setup changes...

I'm on my second Klon and Tim...the Klon has lasted over a year the Tim is going on 2 months and I like them both a lot but nothing is sacred...

the MO'D has a good chance to stick but I have an XactTone Precision OD coming and who knows...I generally don't like to hang onto stuff that I don't use...

Chow,
Seegs

[lv]

I haven't been through as many as some here, but I think right now I'm going to be staying with the Cornish SS-3/G-2 duplex once I can find one.

Warren,

No need to continue the quest with the duplex...you'll have one of the best imo.

[EXP]

Ive tried way too many Fuzzface clones:

Addrock Geranium fuzz
Analogman NKT 275 Sunface
Analogman Standard Germanium
Analogman Red Dot NKT
Analogman BC-108
BJF Pink Purple Fuzz
Crest Audio Fuzzface with BC-109c
Diaz Square Face
Foxrox Fuzzfoot (Captain Coconut)
Fulltone '69
Fulltone '70
KR Gypsy Fuzz
Pro Analog Scaryface (four count em' FOUR Scaryfaces!)
MJM London Fuzz
MJM London Fuzz II (silicon)
Roger Mayer Axis Fuzz

Right now I have a Lovepedal Black Beauty Balance( Destroy All Guitars version: All Ge, Raytheons, smoother than a stock BBB) that is just sick and definitely a keeper! Sounds like a finely tuned '67 Ge fuzzface for sure.

[Craise]

Ive tried way too many Fuzzface clones:

Addrock Geranium fuzz
Analogman NKT 275 Sunface
Analogman Standard Germanium
Analogman Red Dot NKT
Analogman BC-108
BJF Pink Purple Fuzz
Crest Audio Fuzzface with BC-109c
Diaz Square Face
Foxrox Fuzzfoot (Captain Coconut)
Fulltone '69
Fulltone '70
KR Gypsy Fuzz
Pro Analog Scaryface (four count em' FOUR Scaryfaces!)
MJM London Fuzz
MJM London Fuzz II (silicon)
Roger Mayer Axis Fuzz

Right now I have a Lovepedal Black Beauty Balance( Destroy All Guitars version: All Ge, Raytheons, smoother than a stock BBB) that is just sick and definitely a keeper! Sounds like a finely tuned '67 Ge fuzzface for sure.


BJF PinkPurple Fuzz if very far from a FuzzFace clone....:o
The BJF Folk Fuzz would be closer....
Also I think it's funny that some of you guy's talk about overdrives and go into detail about them..but never state the type/style of music you play...
I would think it makes all the difference in the world...but that's just me...

[EXP]

BJF PinkPurple Fuzz if very far from a FuzzFace clone....:o
The BJF Folk Fuzz would be closer....
Also I think it's funny that some of you guy's talk about overdrives and go into detail about them..but never state the type/style of music you play...
I would think it makes all the difference in the world...but that's just me...

I knew somebody was eventually going to chime in and correct me on the PPF.

I think my list posted above pretty much sums up the style of music I play.:AOK