Newbie to Pedals

[ejko]

I'm a bedroom player in my mid-50s and have spent most of my playing time on acoustics. About a year ago I got the electric bug and now enjoy playing blues solos to backing tracks, and playing some of my favorite 70s classic rock songs. I have a Carvin C66 with humbuckers and a Carvin Bolt with single coils. My amp is a Blues JR, but I have a SWART Spacetone on the way that I suspect will become my go to amp.

I've never used a pedal in my life and have no idea where to start or if I even need one. But I read the passionate messages people post here about their pedals and it makes me think I may be missing something.

Given the profile I've laid out above, I'd appreciate any suggestions you may have on (1) if some type of pedal would make sense for me, and (2) if so, what type.

If this has been covered before, I apologize. Thanks!

Ed

 

[rob2001]

Do you have a specific effect in mind? I mean the possibilities are endless. You've got some cool amps so if your happy with your dirt tones don't worry about dirtboxes right away. Otherwise, think of your favorite players and research what effects they may have used. Vibes, tremolos, flanges, chorus, phase... infinite!

 

[ungarn]

You probably want to start with a quality overdrive to get nice gainy tones and sustain at lower volumes...

 

[redpill]

Let's see...your SWART is likely to overdrive all by itself at a reasonably sane (but still loud) volume, making an overdrive a little bit of a moot point. So for 70's classic stuff, I'd suggest two pedal types to investigate (and I'll let the pedalheads here trot out their favorites): fuzz and delay. If you want to push the amp without cranking it, I might try a boost pedal in front of it to thicken things up for your blues solos.

 

[semi-hollowbody]

sounds like you have a nice rig so far...good amp, good guitars...
I would start with a nice delay (slap back and blues go hand in hand...dont they?
Im assuming a blues jr has reverb and if its like the reverb on my DRRI no pedal will top it...
maybe a tremolo pedal and a low gain od pedal also (barber ltd or boss blues driver)
chorus is nice also

so to sum up
delay (line 6 echo park, digitech digi-delay)
tremolo (boss tr-2)
low gain od (barber ltd or boss blues driver)

 

[Garage Dog]

Ejko,can you tell us which Space Tone amp your getting?The Atomic Space Tone or the Space Tone with reverb or the 6v6se.
I hope to buy one of those amps one of these days.
I enjoy playing blues also.I would probably agree with a nice analog delay or a low gain overdrive,I have a G2D Cream Tone and absolutely love it

 

[popsongsmith]

there are only two essential guidelines:

1. If it sounds good, it IS good. Only you can determine what works with your amp+guitars+pedals+playing style combination. Everyone's got their opinion, but YOURS is the only one that counts.
2. Buy USED so if you don't like the pedal, you can flip it and basically break even.

Good luck!

 

[ejko]

Garage Dog,

I've got a 6v6se on the way.

I know this really shows my effects ignorance, but what exactly does a delay pedal do?

Thanks to all for your help!

ejko

 

[Lolaviola]

Garage Dog,

I've got a 6v6se on the way.

I know this really shows my effects ignorance, but what exactly does a delay pedal do?

Thanks to all for your help!

ejko

Listen to "Red House" on headphones.

 

[Garage Dog]

Ejko,Here is a link that explains delay and various pedals with sound clips.

http://www.harmony-central.com/Effects/effects-explained.html

Also you may want to check out Pedal Geek use their search engine for the type of effect you are curious about and check out the different pedals,Most of them have sound clips to give you some idea.

http://www.pedalgeek.com/cgi-bin/new_shop.cgi

Another option you may want to consider is to try a cheap disposable multi effect unit to experiment with and find out what you like and what you think you may use.Then shop for the appropriate pedals.

Good luck

 

[ejko]

Thanks for all the great advice!

ejko

 

[EataPeach]

Another option you may want to consider is to try a cheap disposable multi effect unit to experiment with and find out what you like and what you think you may use.Then shop for the appropriate pedals.

Good luck

Exactly what I was going to add.
Digitech has a pedal called the RP50 or 100 and they go for $60.Cant beat them.Zoom makes some great inexpensive modelers too.

Thats how I got started..Then the 'sickness' took over...Good luck!

 

[ejko]

To close the loop on this, after trying out several type pedals at the local guitar shops, I felt an OD pedal best fit my needs. I guess you'd describe what I was looking for as 'crunch' at in-home sound levels [but I didn't realize that when I started this journey).

Anyway, I bought a Barber Silver LTD which seems to get pretty good ratings here and elsewhere. It arrived today and I just finished my first practice with it, playing though my new Swart Spacetone. I think I made a good choice; it gives me a nice level of blues crunch, but doesn't get much beyond that which suits my tastes fine. Some might say I can get that crunch by just cranking up the Swart. I would agree, but I wanted to get it a lower volume levels.

Thanks to all for your advice and suggestions!

ejko

 

[bobmeredith]

Flee this site, lest ye walk the paths of madness

 

[ejko]

I've long been afflicted by GAS, so I know how the madness progresses. I've already caught myself wondering "How might this sound if I add a _________ pedal"!

ejko