The Best and Worst FX pedals you have tried or owned ?

[Rock Fella]

To me, effects are like a red flag to a bull, I hate them but understand some forms of music do indeed require a tone that cannot be gained without them.

For me the very best Fx pedals ive owned were:

Analogman Tubescreamer TS9, never shoulda sold it, sweet tones all the way.

My current Morley Bad Horsie Wah 2, its a gem , none of that stomping away to get it to work and tonally, i love it.

Honourable mention to Barber Direct Drive, a giantkiller and ridiculous value for money.



And the worst I can remember:

Boss MT2 metal zone, two hornets having a farting contest in a jam jar, 10 minutes with this was 9 minutes too long.

Digitech RP6 multifx unit, not a usable tone in the whole thing.

Boss CS3 compressor, simply awful, noise and poor tone by the bucketloads.

MXR C101 compressor, read the hype , bought one, sold it within a week, tone killer !!!!!!


theres a few, lets readabout your gems and your not so goods and did you keep them.

 

[jokerjkny]

Best:

Lovetone ??? Flange - like a midi synth / fried funkifier in one.

Worst:

Guyatone Fuzz2000 - what was i thinking?

 

[melondaoust]

Best:

-Reverend Drive Train II
-Teese Picture Wah
-Cool Cat Chorus
-TC Electronic Chorus/Flanger/PM *Droooool*

Worst:
-Boss Super Chorus
-Boss Dual Overdrive (I'm starting to see a trend here...)
-Digitech RP5 (Eeek!)

 

[Shakkal]

Worst:

- DOD Hard Rock Distortion (... I was young and clueless )
- Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Wah
- Vox Reissue Tonebender
- Boss CE-3 chorus

The good ones are too many to mention ... Teese Wahs, MJMs in general, Barber DDSS, Barber LTD, Soulbender, '70, COT 50 ... each do their own thing well.

Surprising finds (for me): DOD FX-52 Classic Fuzz, DOD FX-65 Stereo Chorus, Ibanez EM-5 Echomachine.

 

[somedude]

I'll limit myself to one of each.....

Best - EHX Small Clone. I've managed to break it a few times, but it's always sounded good. If the Analogman version sounds just as good, I'll definatly need to update this post.

Worst - DOD Punkifier. I plugged it in, played three chords, and unplugged it. 'Nuff said.

 

[Rock Fella]

Originally posted by screamingdaisy

Worst - DOD Punkifier. I plugged it in, played three chords, and unplugged it. 'Nuff said.

if i was there right now buddy , id kick your arse for even plugging your guitar into that steaming pile of crap. all i need to see is DOD and thats enuff for me not to even bother with it.

 

[ericb]

This is really hard to say but bests include:
old Mutron Flanger... unfortunately no longer have it
Axis Research Fuzz Faze.. don't use much but 1 of the best I've owned
Klon.. 1 of the best
ZVex Fuzz Factory .. needed money and sold it years ago.. but loved it
Backstepper-modded BOss Ds1.. use it every week
(I emailed him telling him how much I loved the 2 pedals of his I use all the time, and asked what he was doing these days, and he didn't even return the emails!! YIKES)
I have(or have had) WAY too many other great ones so can't go thru them...

AS for worst... not many.. I hated the Boss cs2 compressor. Some love it
I hated the BlackBox Ultraviolet Fuzz.. I'm sure some love it!
I didn't like a HErmida Fuzz Face I had ... now he's 1 of the hottest pedal guys on this forum
Worst hype of all time for me was the original MJM London Fuzz pedal, but whatever....

Pedals that are great and really cheap are:
DOD FX10 bifet preamp
Ibanez em5 echo machine
Danolectro French Toast octave FUzz
Arion Chorus
etc,etc

ERIC

 

[theelectic]

Originally posted by Rock Fella
if i was there right now buddy , id kick your arse for even plugging your guitar into that steaming pile of crap. all i need to see is DOD and thats enuff for me not to even bother with it.

Ah you're missing out on a couple of gems man - besides the BiFet FX10 mentioned above, depending on your POV the FX33 Buzz Box is the BEST horrible grinding noise generator ever, or the WORST sounding pedal ever made

 

[wichita]

The BEST
My Chicago Iron Pedals
All the stuff that Sean at Love Pedal makes.

Worst:
I haven't owned any but all of the DOD (Donny Osmond Devices) sound pretty crappy.

 

[landru64]

i think it's too easy to list pedals that are sort of supposed to be crappier than all this boutique stuff, so i really appreciate the posts that list something that OUGHT to or is SUPPOSEDLY good.

so, for the record:

BEST:
Cornish TES delay or close second: Blues Pearl Tejas Trem

WORST:
Trex replica

 

[bigolcasino]

FWIW, some of the old 70's DOD pedals were fantastic. The old large-bodied, AC powered DOD Chorus 690 Chorus with the footswitchable speed ramping is incredible, and gives a great 'doubled' guitar sound.
It's been on my board for years along with my other favorites; the old red ROSS Flanger, which does both a stupidly good leslie sound and a great 'barracuda' thing, and the Klon, king of the boosts.

Worst? The Prescription Electronics Dual Tone. Two flavors of flatulence. I still don't understand how anybody could have heard that, and said "Mmm, now THAT is good!" Normally I find some reedeeming quality even in the worst pedals, but that one, broke the mold.

 

[somedude]

Originally posted by Rock Fella
if i was there right now buddy , id kick your arse for even plugging your guitar into that steaming pile of crap. all i need to see is DOD and thats enuff for me not to even bother with it.

At the time, the only amp companies I new about were Marshall and Peavey.....

.....and Ibanez made top of the line effects.....



....boy, have I learned a thing or two since then.


Although, I do still like the DOD Grunge.

 

[Deaj]

Best effect pedal owned to date: Hermida Audio Zendrive - hands down!

Worst: Hard to say. I've owned some that I lost interest in but none that qualified as bad. The worst ones are effects that didn't work out for me but not what I would qualify as bad. OK, I had some sort of Digitech heavy metal distortion when I was younger that really sounded thin and raspy. I don't remember the model though.... American Metal maybe???

 

[exodus]

BEST:
Klon: its just so damn thick!
V-stack Tweedy
TIM
Addrock Electric Smile
HK Tube Delay (forgot the name)


WORST:
Boss CS-3
Boss RV-3. Its horribly metallic and clangy sounding if there is any sort of drive before it.

Other than that, I'd call the rest of the stuff I've had mediocore, but not the worst.

 

[erksin]

Best (so far...):

Keeley TS-9/808 Mod
Reverend Drivetrain II
Old Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble (wish I still had that one!)
Startouch ST-2 A/B/Y switcher

Worst:

Stamps Drive-o-matic
Pharaoh Amplifiers Magnolia Overdrive
TS-9DX Turbo Tube Screamer
Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Fuzz/Wah

Biggest Surprize:

'70s DOD 680 Analog Delay - great slapback echoes

 

[zoooombiex]

Originally posted by bigolcasino

Worst? The Prescription Electronics Dual Tone. Two flavors of flatulence. I still don't understand how anybody could have heard that, and said "Mmm, now THAT is good!" Normally I find some reedeeming quality even in the worst pedals, but that one, broke the mold. [/B]

i still can't make up my mind on this one - it often does sound really weak, with a weird fizzle in the high end. but every once in a while i fiddle with it and get some good sounds - always in fat mode, and at lower gain settings.


Some of my favorites: rx vibe unit, klon, tim

 

[theelectic]

Originally posted by zoooombiex
i still can't make up my mind on this one - it often does sound really weak, with a weird fizzle in the high end. but every once in a while i fiddle with it and get some good sounds - always in fat mode, and at lower gain settings.

I always get the two confused, but it was either the Stamps Drive-O-Matic or the PE Dual Tone that was voiced specifically to give Marshall type sounds into BF Fenders. Into anything else, or if you're looking for any other sound, it's horrible. Anyone here remember which is which?

 

[ericb]

Originally posted by theelectic
I always get the two confused, but it was either the Stamps Drive-O-Matic or the PE Dual Tone that was voiced specifically to give Marshall type sounds into BF Fenders. Into anything else, or if you're looking for any other sound, it's horrible. Anyone here remember which is which?

That's the PE Dualtone... I've owned both of those and I could see how for many people they'd be the worst.. To me they weren't as they both at amp situations they excelled at but I can see how people might jump to that conclusion!!! ERIC

 

[smilefan]

Best -

Cornish SS-2 and G-2. I have never been so happy with
grind pedals. The buffers make them sound so 'right' in every situation, they have such a natural amp-like like feel, and run on Duracell's so I never have to change batteries. Perfection.

Honorable mention - TIM
HBE Powerscreamer (the only TS-9 variant
I ever liked)

Worst - So many cheap FX out there. The aforementioned
Stamps Drive-O-Matic was awful. Used one thru a Twin which they were supposed to be voiced for, now I still have permanent
age lines on my face from the pained expressions I made upon hearing it.

 

[Big Bob]

The best for me are the ones I've kept....Matchless Hobox, Crowther Hotcake...a few others.

The worst of all time has got to be the TS9 ri.

Bob