Guitar player effects pedal talk.....

[vi5]

For the past 20 years that I've been playing guitar I've been using individual Boss effects pedals. At my peak I had about 11 of them and I recently had it down to 5. But it was still unruly with all the power cords and cord patches connectors and the like. So I figured I would check out an all in one pedal and then just put my Boss ones up for sale.

So I bought a ridiculously inexpensive ($69) Zoom 505. I don't play out or professionally so I just need something for practice and home recording. I got this thing home and it's amazing for the price. I'ts got a compressor, a limiter, delay, chorus, phase shift, pitch shft, distortion and a bunch of others that I have yet to explore. I sound like a rock god playing through this thing. I'm sure there are other ones out there that are better quality but for my purposes and for $69 this thing smokes.

The best part is that my 5 pedals have several days left on auction and are already bringing me in more than I paid for them.

[wtmusic]

1. Have you checked out the 'Pod'?

Great amp sounds in a little kidney-bean shaped box

[americanstranger]

4. POD is amazing.

I've got a POD v.1 for recording (tried it and bought it when it first came out), as well as a Line6 Flextone II amp for gigs. And I have a DigiTech RP6 multi-effects board that I run through the effects loop on the FlexTone for the whammy and extra chorus/flange effects.

I've got a number of amps - a great-sounding Marshall 50, a Laney 50 combo, a Sovtek MIG-21 head - and while I wouldn't get rid of any of them, I don't use them any more. The FlexTone gets close enough to each amp's sound for live work. And the POD makes it so easy to record, I don't know how I ever got along without it.

When I finally scrape enough dough together, I'm planning on buying a Line6 Variax guitar - it's a solid-body that 'models' a bunch of vintage guitars as well as acoustic, banjo and sitar sounds. That would come in extremely handy for my gigging and recording, as I could probably carry a few less guitars to gigs. :)

-as

[arcane1]

22. I've been anticipating getting my hands on a Pod

when the flow comes back, at least...

till then I'm making do with a Quadraverb and a Boss Dist pedal, old-school :-)

[XNASA]

2. Weird how that works, ain't it.

I've got a Zoom too. A 1010. It replaced about 4 pedals.

Maybe I should sell my old ones before I lose them.

Well, have fun with your new toy. Sounds great! (no pun intended)

[vi5]

3. You'd be amazed what some of these things go for....

I will easily make back what I paid for them 15-20 years ago and on some will make a handy little profit.

[sangh0]

5. I like Ibanez and TC Electronics stomp boxes

They sound great and you don't end up sounding like every other guitar player. I also have a Digitech pre-amp/digital-effects box with a pedal board. It does everything but it wasn't cheap (about $800)

[RetroLounge]

6. I had a slew of Boss pedals and the pedal case/holder

and they weren't bad since they were all together in the Boss plastic holder. I sold them all on eBay and made WAY WAY more than I paid for them back in the 80's.

I may look into the zoom or the pod.

Can you play thru them with headphones and no amp?

[vi5]

8. You can play through the Zoom with headphones/no amp...

One of the better features of it. Especially with a wife who is a grad student and a 2 year old daughter still fond of naps.

[americanstranger]

9. POD's got a headphone jack as well.

And if you're playing through the computer, you get extra editing software for the POD. You can hook it up to the computer via MIDI and do what they call 'deep editing' of the amp models.

And Line6 also makes the GuitarPort (http://www.guitarport.com/) for playing through your computer. It's like 'POD lite', as it has less amp models - but it costs less than 200 bucks.

-as

FOR THE RECORD: I am not a Line6 employee - just a very satisfied customer. I'm happy to rave about quality products! :)

[wtmusic]

10. I run a recording studio and

I used to have guys showing up with 4-5 tall racks of gear, that now (unless requested otherwise) walk in with a POD under their arm.

[americanstranger]

11. The amp models for L6 actually came out of a studio plugin -

the 'Amp Farm' plugin for ProTools. But you prolly knew that. ;)

I have a small home studio, and it's just gotten so easy to do demos. Wish I had all this stuff ten years ago - I could have saved a quarter of a million. :)

-as

[RetroLounge]

12. What's a POD cost?

eom?

[americanstranger]

17. I spent about $300 on mine

with the small, 4-button foot switch. You can also buy the 'Floor Board,' which has a lot more buttons, a volume pedal and wah-wah built in. I got that one with the FlexTone amp, which I got for about $900 new.

-as

[RetroLounge]

13. I'll have to try it...

eom

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

7. I bought a ridiculously expensive rack mounted Roland GX

a few years back. It can do every pedal ever made by Boss in addition to recreating the tone of several amp rack combos. Actually it was $750 bucks but when you add up all the pedals (chorus, flange, echo, disotrtion, wah wah and on and on) it wasn't too bad at all and set up is one a/c plug and one quarter inch cord.

If you can get your hands on a used one, I highly recommend it BUT..I still prefer a RATT BOX for distortion.

[regularguy]

14. I've got a semi-old BOSS GX-700

I cost me about $350 6 years ago. I'm never wanting for any effects, although nowadays you get many more amp simulations it seems. The only problem is that I ended up buying a few stomp boxes anyways, since it feels sorta silly bringing this thing to a little open mic or coffe shop. It's just sad how dependent I've become on chorus and reverb! :)

[SEAburb]

15. Has anyone tried a Korg PX4

Every time I see an ad for one and read all the things this little unit can do, I'm amazed.

[southpaw]

16. Ibanez Tube Screamer and ProCo Rat

The two best distortion boxes ever

IMO

[americanstranger]

18. I used to use an MXR 'Red Box' compressor.

Not exactly a distortion device, but it was great for kicking your level for solos. Still got it in the equipment closet somewhere...

-as

[yorgatron]

19. i only have 3 gizmos left

Vox wah-wah,Maestro Fuzz-Tone and a mxr generic distortion box.

[americanstranger]

20. A Vox? Hang onto that one, bud!

I used to have one, and used it until it died. My CryBaby was a nice replacement, but still not quite the same.

And I gotta say, the wah-wah is the only part of the Line6 that I really don't like.

-as

[regularguy]

21. Anyone ever use that "Swamy" Sitar effect?

I haven't but I heard it sucked.

[mitchum]

25. It is worse than terrible...

My friend plays for a fairly well-known musician who bought him that atrocity and expected him to use it. My friend flatly refused and unloaded the pedal on someone else. He still feels guilty about the fact that he didn't just smash it up, and leave the world with one less Sitar Swami

[FlashHarry]

23. I had a Vox Wah, a Small Stone Phase, and a TC Electronics Distortion...

...then I sold them all. I plugged my Gibson SG straight into my '77 Marshall SuperBass 100 and a sweet sound issued forth. It was the sound of Angus Young, and it was good. (Plus, I found that by adjusting my guitar volume and picking attack, I could get a great many different sounds.)

[toddzilla]

24. i've got pedals

but i rarely use them.. i'm a plug straight in and play type of person..

currently playing a 4x10 peavey classic 50.. amazing sound from an inexpensive amp.

although i do like an octave pedal occasionally..

[mitchum]

26. I'm still a stomp box loyalist (with 7 of them in my chain)...

Tube Screamer
Proco Rat
Small Stone
3 DFX94 4-second delays
Akai Headrush

[opiate69]

27. No pedals for me...

I've never been able to find a pedal (or a rack system)that sounds as good as my Mesa Boogie Mark III's natural overdrive, although I do need to find some coloring effects for my clean channel. I'll probably just pick up a Zoom and stick with some nice chorus, delay and 'verb.