Guitar equiptment Q.

asphalt-cushion

Hey,
I'm thinking about getting some sort of pedal board. Problem is I know nothing about pedals. I desperately need some sort of distortion switch, but a few other effects would be nice too. Anyone got any recommendations?

Dave

Depends on your budget really. You could get some sort of multi effects processor, like the boss ME-50 (which I picked up last week) that's around €280 new. The Boss GT-6 is a better version of that but it's more expensive. There are cheaper ones then like the ZOOM 505II, which has 80 effects in it afaik, but I don't know what they're like. Then there's the option of going for stomp boxes like the BOSS-DS1 and linking them up. Or you could buy a savage amp with different channels.

The possibilties are endless

feylya

What's your budget? I just sold a zoom 505-II today. Great if you're a beginner but as soon as your ear develops, you'll probably grow tired of it.

D!ve^Bomb!

yeah stay away from zoom.. just get yourself a better amp... no pedal can give you the distortion a great amp can give.. after that just get single pedals to suit your needs.. be it wah, eq, chorus, delay etc

feylya

Well, it all depends what sort of distortion your after. Don't forget, both Satch and Vai (who are pretty much tone gurus) get their distortion from Keeley modded DS-1s!

bombidol

Get one of those Digitech RP50's i picked one up for the lauigh in the states and its a pretty cool little thing. loads of different distortions and other effects. should be around 60-70 Euro here

feylya

Christ no, the Digitechs are terrible, especially the RP50. I don't like teh RP100 and that's better than the 50. They are better than the Zooms but still, that doesn't mean much.

ktoal

For a beginner, Digitech RP (80-100), Zoom 505II , Behringer X V-AMP, KorgAX 10 A are all exceptable effectboards and are all under €150. However, if you are really keen on a good effects board, think about a Line 6 POD2. The Price has drop from over €400 to around €200. The POD2 was and still is the main competitor for the BOSS GT3 (Great board by the way, starting to get old now, so the price might be dropping soon too). I bought a POD for €189 last month on "musicstorekoeln" and I'm impressed. The beauty is you can download tones from the Line6 website and add them to your POD via MIDI.

Eoin Madsen

What kind of amp are you playing into?

asphalt-cushion

Thanks for the responses.
Eoin, I use a marshall 15watt. Budget is about 100E, I thought, but it looks like i'm going to have to splash out. Would it be worth updating the amp instead do you think? I'm not too fond of the clean on it either.

feylya

Get a new amp. Even a MGDFX would be better.

Check out the Spider 2 30 watt.

Eoin Madsen

Yeah, definitely think about upgrading the amp first. A distortion pedal into a solidstate amp will sound like crap anyway, so I wouldn't bother with one right now. Just get something with a footswitch and channel switching for your gain boost. The Line6 Spider would be a nice step up, and better than any Marshall in the price range. Don't waste your money on Marshall amps until you have €2-3k to spend.

asphalt-cushion

Ok, thanks. Looks like i'm going to have to start saving.

-=al=-

feylya wrote:

Well, it all depends what sort of distortion your after. Don't forget, both Satch and Vai (who are pretty much tone gurus) get their distortion from Keeley modded DS-1s!

Stay away from the zoom effects, And satch and vai prob have a ton of rack Eq's to run through, nevermind the marshall/peavy/legacy amps they have!

i have a tone inbetween slash, satch and vai, and i get it from a TSL100 and a boss ge-7

Low end SS marshall amps arent the best, theres alot better for the price.....

feylya

Afaik, Satch uses a DS-1 straight into his old Marshall heads.

-=al=-

yea the old 25th aniversary ones! theres a good few Eq options on that one, he has the new peavy JSX amps now, and the new JS1200 but i prefare his older tone myself :S

feylya

AFAIK, the JSX he uses on stage is a different amp in a JSX housing. Not sure though.

Eoin Madsen

-=al=- wrote:

i have a tone inbetween slash, satch and vai, and i get it from a TSL100 and a boss ge-7

Low end SS marshall amps arent the best, theres alot better for the price.....

Marshall have never made a good solidstate amp, period, and TSLs aren't the best either. Try and get your hands on a vintage 1959 SLP or JCM800. If you haven't played one then you're missing out on a whole chapter of Marshall amp making... one in which they didn't suck. Good amps don't need racks of eq.

Doctor J

Eoin Madsen wrote:

Good amps don't need racks of eq.

Amen brother! That's it in a nutshell.

-=al=-

nah the peavy JSX was a Peavy XXX modified which is the JSX he used them in the 2003 G3 in the XXX housing... His tone was ok, but i prefare his older one.... the Newer Jcm's, nothin at all wrong with them, i like the new sounds. yea the vintage ones were good, but My Tsl is great, im a tone freak and Have a really nice tone out of it, tsl suits me fine, prefare em over the Dsl's