Guitar effect pedal
May 3, 2005 10:01 AM Subscribe
My daughter's birthday is in 3 weeks & I'd like to get here an effects pedal for the stratocaster she appropriated from me, but I'm largely clueless. Would like to keep cost around $100-150. Any suggestions on brand/model/features?
Danelectro makes a ton of pedals for your price range or less. Shoot, at their prices you could get her three or four and let her really experiment with them.
posted by Kellydamnit at 10:14 AM on May 3, 2005
posted by Kellydamnit at 10:14 AM on May 3, 2005
Following up on the Danelectro bandwagon...
Musician's Friend is offering a couple of package deals where you get a few pedals, a handy carrying case, power supply, and connector cables. It's at the top end of your price range and it offers a number of flavors for your daughter to play with.
Just head on over to www.musiciansfriend.com and do a search for Danelectro.
My link-fu is weak, so you'll have to copy/paste: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/151890/
posted by Rubber Soul at 10:28 AM on May 3, 2005
Musician's Friend is offering a couple of package deals where you get a few pedals, a handy carrying case, power supply, and connector cables. It's at the top end of your price range and it offers a number of flavors for your daughter to play with.
Just head on over to www.musiciansfriend.com and do a search for Danelectro.
My link-fu is weak, so you'll have to copy/paste: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/151890/
posted by Rubber Soul at 10:28 AM on May 3, 2005
What kind of music does she listen to? This will have a big effect on what kind of pedal she wants. Honestly, my best advice is to take her to a music store and let her sit down with the pedals they have. She probably desires a particular sound and there are worse things in life than spending an afternoon with your daughter, at guitar stores no less.
Danelectro equipment is terrible though, seriously. Stick to Boss equipment if she's even half serious about playing guitar, but skip the campy junk.
posted by baphomet at 10:32 AM on May 3, 2005
Danelectro equipment is terrible though, seriously. Stick to Boss equipment if she's even half serious about playing guitar, but skip the campy junk.
posted by baphomet at 10:32 AM on May 3, 2005
It really depends on what kind of music she wants to play and what kind of amp she's playing through. The most fundamental "effect" is overdrive/distortion, but if she's got an amp with clean/dirty channels, she won't necessarily need one. Personally, I'm a pretty straightforward rocker, and the only effect I ever use live is my Crybaby wah-wah (in "the studio" I love my Line6 PODxt, and wouldn't trade it for anything except maybe a rack full of pretty expensive stuff).
posted by uncleozzy at 10:35 AM on May 3, 2005
posted by uncleozzy at 10:35 AM on May 3, 2005
I second Kellydamnit. Danelectro isn't the most amazing equipment, but I wouldn't call it junk. I used to have an assortment of their candy-like stomp boxes to have fun with an old Casio keyboard.
I'd definitely get her a flanger to start with, and yeah, let her go into a music store and play with what they've got.
posted by Specklet at 11:16 AM on May 3, 2005
I'd definitely get her a flanger to start with, and yeah, let her go into a music store and play with what they've got.
posted by Specklet at 11:16 AM on May 3, 2005
Yep, definitely need more info here, Rat.
Otherwise, my best recommendation is a chorus pedal for fattening up the sound to making swooshy sounds. The Electro-Harmonix Small Clone chorus is $80 at musiciansfriend.com. The Boss Chorus Ensemble is also $80. Generally speaking, the Small Clone is good for adding to overdriven and heavily distorted sounds, while the Boss is a good all-arounder.
Flangers and phasers are great for what they do, but these pedals are pretty much one-trick ponies.
If her amp doesn't have reverb, the Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail reverb is $100 as is the Digitech DigiVerb. The Holy Grail has received great reviews.
Regardless of what pedal you get, don't forget to buy another cable. Also, buy a 9-volt adapter and save on buying batteries. I prefer Danelectro's adapters because they usually run between $5 and $9.
posted by mischief at 11:26 AM on May 3, 2005
Otherwise, my best recommendation is a chorus pedal for fattening up the sound to making swooshy sounds. The Electro-Harmonix Small Clone chorus is $80 at musiciansfriend.com. The Boss Chorus Ensemble is also $80. Generally speaking, the Small Clone is good for adding to overdriven and heavily distorted sounds, while the Boss is a good all-arounder.
Flangers and phasers are great for what they do, but these pedals are pretty much one-trick ponies.
If her amp doesn't have reverb, the Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail reverb is $100 as is the Digitech DigiVerb. The Holy Grail has received great reviews.
Regardless of what pedal you get, don't forget to buy another cable. Also, buy a 9-volt adapter and save on buying batteries. I prefer Danelectro's adapters because they usually run between $5 and $9.
posted by mischief at 11:26 AM on May 3, 2005
Response by poster: Uh, not at home but she's got a decent Peavey practice amp w/reverb & likes Annie DiFranco, Dave Matthews, Jimi Hendrix, most of my old 60's R&R (Dave Mason, Led Zeppelin, Who, Jethro Tull, Clapton, Doors, Beatles, etc.) and a bunch of newer and some heavy metal stuff I don't know WTF it is that she gets from her 27-yr old stepbrother -- ;-)
Thank God I don't often have to yell "Turn down that music" like I swore I wouldn't do to my kids. She's going to be 16, pretty much self-taught but a quick study with natural ear & ability.
Her bro hit town over Christmas and brought a Digitech FX unit that she was VERY interested in, but he's in Nashville out of touch at the moment so I thought I'd punt it over to you guys. I'm looking for something she can experiment on various effects with - something like the RP200A Civil_Disobedient suggested, but can use some ideas from those who know what they're talking about.
posted by Pressed Rat at 11:49 AM on May 3, 2005
Thank God I don't often have to yell "Turn down that music" like I swore I wouldn't do to my kids. She's going to be 16, pretty much self-taught but a quick study with natural ear & ability.
Her bro hit town over Christmas and brought a Digitech FX unit that she was VERY interested in, but he's in Nashville out of touch at the moment so I thought I'd punt it over to you guys. I'm looking for something she can experiment on various effects with - something like the RP200A Civil_Disobedient suggested, but can use some ideas from those who know what they're talking about.
posted by Pressed Rat at 11:49 AM on May 3, 2005
How serious is she into playing? What kind of amp is she currently playing through? Does the amp provide overdrive or reverb or vibrato or chorus already? As baphomet said, the type of effect you should get her depends on the music she likes; it may also depend on the equipment she already has (if the amp has some effects already, and to some extent, her level of interest in playing.
Also, effects can be grouped into categories; five most common are: Gain (Distortion, Overdrive, Fuzz, etc.), Modulation (Flanger, Chorus, Phaser, Vibrato, etc.), Spacial (Delay, Panning, Reverb, etc.), Dynamic (Envelope Follower, Volume, Compressor, Limiter, Tremelo, Compressor, etc.) and Pitch (Pitch Shifter, Octave, Harmony, Ring Modulation, etc.). You could read more about what the specific effects do if you are interested on Harmony Central.
I agree that the plastic Danelectro pedals are crappy (the ones in the metal casing are a bit better, but much more expensive), but if she is a beginner, it may be a good start. I would also suggest Guyatone Micro Effects which are a bit more expensive but better quality and for the most part under $100.
Check out the readers' effects reviews at Harmony Central and what her favorite bands may be playing through at Guitar Geek.
IMHO for first pedals, I would suggest an Overdrive (if she doesn't have a gain channel on her amp; I like the Ibanez TS9 for about $100 and industry standard that won't be outgrown) and a delay (digitals delays like a DD-3 or DD-5 can be found on eBay for under $100).
posted by Dante5Inferno at 11:50 AM on May 3, 2005
Also, effects can be grouped into categories; five most common are: Gain (Distortion, Overdrive, Fuzz, etc.), Modulation (Flanger, Chorus, Phaser, Vibrato, etc.), Spacial (Delay, Panning, Reverb, etc.), Dynamic (Envelope Follower, Volume, Compressor, Limiter, Tremelo, Compressor, etc.) and Pitch (Pitch Shifter, Octave, Harmony, Ring Modulation, etc.). You could read more about what the specific effects do if you are interested on Harmony Central.
I agree that the plastic Danelectro pedals are crappy (the ones in the metal casing are a bit better, but much more expensive), but if she is a beginner, it may be a good start. I would also suggest Guyatone Micro Effects which are a bit more expensive but better quality and for the most part under $100.
Check out the readers' effects reviews at Harmony Central and what her favorite bands may be playing through at Guitar Geek.
IMHO for first pedals, I would suggest an Overdrive (if she doesn't have a gain channel on her amp; I like the Ibanez TS9 for about $100 and industry standard that won't be outgrown) and a delay (digitals delays like a DD-3 or DD-5 can be found on eBay for under $100).
posted by Dante5Inferno at 11:50 AM on May 3, 2005
I would probably recommend a Zoom 505. It's not going to win any awards (it is to guitar pedals what Casio is to keyboards) but it is cheap and it is a lot of fun straight out of the box. Let's put it this way, if my parents had got it for me when I started playing guitar I would've gone batshit for it.
I guess it depends on where she's at though. If she's already pretty advanced and is looking to be in a band then you'll want one or two professional pedals and she'd really need to try them herself. If she's still fumbling around and still looking for her sound then it's probably best to go for something cheap and cheerful with plenty of features.
posted by dodgygeezer at 11:55 AM on May 3, 2005
I guess it depends on where she's at though. If she's already pretty advanced and is looking to be in a band then you'll want one or two professional pedals and she'd really need to try them herself. If she's still fumbling around and still looking for her sound then it's probably best to go for something cheap and cheerful with plenty of features.
posted by dodgygeezer at 11:55 AM on May 3, 2005
Ahh, a multi-FX unit then. I have a Zoom 505 as geezer describes. It's alright but the interface is a bitch. Plus its technology is several years old.
Let me pull out the catalog...
OK, DigiTech RP series: RP50, $60; RP80A, $80; RP100A, $100; RP200A, $150.
On the low end, the RP50 is the most inexpensive for amp modeling technology. It has all the usual effects plus it has a drum machine with 30 different patterns. That's not bad for $60 and the interface looks uncomplicated. I wouldn't use it on stage though. (includes power supply)
On the high end, the RP200A has a more powerful microchip and an expression pedal. Uses knobs for the interface, always a plus. Probably usable on stage. Also, includes power supply.
The Toneworks AX10G, $150, is also quite powerful and has an expression pedal. The interface has both knobs and buttons, really a plus. Also, it has a tap switch which allows the player to tap in the beat for setting delay lengths or sweep rates. Major plus! Also, definitely a stage piece. It doesn't say whether the power supply is included.
The Behringer V-amp 2, $100, and X V-amp, $70. I don't have any experience with Behringer but after sifting through the bullshit of user reviews on Harmony Central, I get the impression that Behringer isn't quite as good as other brands for the price.
That looks to be about it in your price range. Of the above, I would go with the Toneworks AX10G.
If you could swing $200, then you could get either a POD 2.0 Amp Modeler, a Toneworks AX1500G, or a DigitechRP300A. If you think she is serious, going the extra $50 will pay off in the long run. The sound quality and durability are that much better. Many guitar sounds you may have heard on the radio over the last couple years were recorded with a POD; they're that good. However, of these, I would go with the Toneworks AX1500G.
Now, if you could afford $300, you could a Vox ToneLab. I have one of those, and this thing can do anything, literally. Plus it has one of the easiest user interfaces I have ever tried on multi-FX boxes. However, it is a table-top multi-FX unit, not a floor model.
Have fun!
posted by mischief at 12:26 PM on May 3, 2005 [1 favorite]
Let me pull out the catalog...
OK, DigiTech RP series: RP50, $60; RP80A, $80; RP100A, $100; RP200A, $150.
On the low end, the RP50 is the most inexpensive for amp modeling technology. It has all the usual effects plus it has a drum machine with 30 different patterns. That's not bad for $60 and the interface looks uncomplicated. I wouldn't use it on stage though. (includes power supply)
On the high end, the RP200A has a more powerful microchip and an expression pedal. Uses knobs for the interface, always a plus. Probably usable on stage. Also, includes power supply.
The Toneworks AX10G, $150, is also quite powerful and has an expression pedal. The interface has both knobs and buttons, really a plus. Also, it has a tap switch which allows the player to tap in the beat for setting delay lengths or sweep rates. Major plus! Also, definitely a stage piece. It doesn't say whether the power supply is included.
The Behringer V-amp 2, $100, and X V-amp, $70. I don't have any experience with Behringer but after sifting through the bullshit of user reviews on Harmony Central, I get the impression that Behringer isn't quite as good as other brands for the price.
That looks to be about it in your price range. Of the above, I would go with the Toneworks AX10G.
If you could swing $200, then you could get either a POD 2.0 Amp Modeler, a Toneworks AX1500G, or a DigitechRP300A. If you think she is serious, going the extra $50 will pay off in the long run. The sound quality and durability are that much better. Many guitar sounds you may have heard on the radio over the last couple years were recorded with a POD; they're that good. However, of these, I would go with the Toneworks AX1500G.
Now, if you could afford $300, you could a Vox ToneLab. I have one of those, and this thing can do anything, literally. Plus it has one of the easiest user interfaces I have ever tried on multi-FX boxes. However, it is a table-top multi-FX unit, not a floor model.
Have fun!
posted by mischief at 12:26 PM on May 3, 2005 [1 favorite]
Regarding 9v adapters: instead of many wallwarts, I bought a Godlyke adapter that powers a mess of pedals at once while only taking up a single slot on my powerstrip. It comes with adapters for all sorts of different brands of pedals and cost me about $40. The only problems I've had are the occaisional ground hum, which is pretty common when powering pedals with AC, and the fact that the daisy chain design leads to a rats nest of cables. However, duct taping all the surplus leads into one big wad with only the needed plugs sticking out solved the latter problem.
posted by stet at 12:37 PM on May 3, 2005
posted by stet at 12:37 PM on May 3, 2005
BTW, musiciansfriend.com and Guitar Center are the same company, and the prices will be the same at the store as online. If you buy at Guitar Center, you will have a 30-day no-questions guarantee; if you buy from musiciansfriend, you get a 45-day no-questions guarantee, but you will pay for shipping both ways.
posted by mischief at 12:37 PM on May 3, 2005
posted by mischief at 12:37 PM on May 3, 2005
If you're willing to extend your price range just a little higher, you should also consider getting her a looper w/tap tempo. This will get her thinking beyond the conventional Ani/DMB stuff. If you're bent on getting a multifx pedal, though, this one has a built-in looper.
I'd be careful, though. I got my first multifx pedal less than a year after I started playing, and I almost regret getting it. I spent more time screwing around with the pedal than I did actually learning the instrument, and I progressed much more slowly than I would have if I'd bought the pedal later rather than sooner.
posted by The White Hat at 1:38 PM on May 3, 2005
I'd be careful, though. I got my first multifx pedal less than a year after I started playing, and I almost regret getting it. I spent more time screwing around with the pedal than I did actually learning the instrument, and I progressed much more slowly than I would have if I'd bought the pedal later rather than sooner.
posted by The White Hat at 1:38 PM on May 3, 2005
Ibanez Tube Screamer. Greatest.distortion.pedal.evar.
Delay pedals are way fun too.
enjoy the shopping tho. Being an adult has its fun moments.
posted by petebest at 2:07 PM on May 3, 2005
Delay pedals are way fun too.
enjoy the shopping tho. Being an adult has its fun moments.
posted by petebest at 2:07 PM on May 3, 2005
I'm not a big fan of multi-effects pedals; one's tone seems to lose something when playing through them. I also find that some of the effects just don't sound good (usually chorus, delay and distortion sounding a bit too digitized).
IMHO, individual pedals for specific effects are the way to go. But if you are willing to spend a little more, I suggest Line 6 equipment, the POD maybe closest to your price range (though I don't know if it will grow with her; I notice many people who get more serious with playing discard their PODs). I like the sounds and overall tone coming out of Line 6 modelers better than what I've heard from other multi-fx.
Also as side note, another guitarist with whom I collaborate has used a ToneWorks pedalboard (I believe it's the AX1500 or precursor) for years, live and in the studio. He still occasionally uses it but is moving towards buying individual pedals for specific effects. I don't really like some of the ToneWorks' sounds, but it seems to have served him well.
posted by Dante5Inferno at 2:34 PM on May 3, 2005
IMHO, individual pedals for specific effects are the way to go. But if you are willing to spend a little more, I suggest Line 6 equipment, the POD maybe closest to your price range (though I don't know if it will grow with her; I notice many people who get more serious with playing discard their PODs). I like the sounds and overall tone coming out of Line 6 modelers better than what I've heard from other multi-fx.
Also as side note, another guitarist with whom I collaborate has used a ToneWorks pedalboard (I believe it's the AX1500 or precursor) for years, live and in the studio. He still occasionally uses it but is moving towards buying individual pedals for specific effects. I don't really like some of the ToneWorks' sounds, but it seems to have served him well.
posted by Dante5Inferno at 2:34 PM on May 3, 2005
I know I already replied, but I just asked the resident guitarist and he said "A Crybaby Wah Wah is the pedal everyone should own, even if they only own one pedal."
If she's into that classic rock sound they even have a Hendrix edition based on 1960s designs.
posted by Kellydamnit at 3:47 PM on May 3, 2005
If she's into that classic rock sound they even have a Hendrix edition based on 1960s designs.
posted by Kellydamnit at 3:47 PM on May 3, 2005
I'll second the Crybaby suggestion. Any (semi)serious rock player should have one. Especially one into Hendrix.
A buddy of mine has a multieffects pedal that I liked alot. I'll check with him later and get back.
posted by 6550 at 4:49 PM on May 3, 2005
A buddy of mine has a multieffects pedal that I liked alot. I'll check with him later and get back.
posted by 6550 at 4:49 PM on May 3, 2005
There's no guitarist (electric) on earth who wouldn't be delighted with a Boss DD-6. In the Dunlop Wah line, the crybaby is the classic but I like my 535Q much, much better because it is adjustable. If I were trapped on a desert island with only one pedal, Boss DS-1 hands down. People have been turning their noses up at Pods, but I stopped doing that with the Pod XT, which is out of your price range.
Radio shack patch cables are $3 apiece - buy a handful for her, in case her amp has an effects loop.
Giving your Strat to your daughter rocks, by the way. I wish I had a daughter so I could give her mine.
posted by ikkyu2 at 5:06 PM on May 3, 2005
Radio shack patch cables are $3 apiece - buy a handful for her, in case her amp has an effects loop.
Giving your Strat to your daughter rocks, by the way. I wish I had a daughter so I could give her mine.
posted by ikkyu2 at 5:06 PM on May 3, 2005
I'd buy the Vox wah over the crybaby any day. More character and more class. I would get her this if I were choosing and I couldn't follow my last suggestion below.
You ought to be able to get a boss delay pedal used for ~$50 and that would be a good idea -- delay pedals are all pretty similar and are very fun and interesting to play with.
Distortion and fuzz pedals are a difficult one to buy for someone -- they vary so widely that it would be better to leave the selection of this kind of thing up to her. But, if you were going to go that route the old standard Boss overdrive pedal is a cheap and flexible pedal that has a lot of good sounds. Line6 makes a distortion pedal that has many different pedals emulated... that might be a good one to try.
All that said, consider trying to get her a line6 podxt used or new. They are $300 new and for a kid they are worth $3000. If they had this when I was a kid it would be the only thing that I wanted. This pedal simulates to a very high degree of accuracy dozens of real life amplifiers, cabinets, distortion, delay, modulation pedals and the like. She will get a sound that will be beyond belief compared to a practice amp and the best part: it has a headphone jack in it. You can rock out through eddie van halen's amp from 1984 or Wes Montgomery's setup through the phones. Quiet for you, better for her. A good amp encourages the key aspect of good guitar playing: good picking technique and good 'feel.' To buy all the bits that are built into this thing would cost you most of $50,000 so it is a steal for $300.
just my two cents.
posted by n9 at 6:20 PM on May 3, 2005
You ought to be able to get a boss delay pedal used for ~$50 and that would be a good idea -- delay pedals are all pretty similar and are very fun and interesting to play with.
Distortion and fuzz pedals are a difficult one to buy for someone -- they vary so widely that it would be better to leave the selection of this kind of thing up to her. But, if you were going to go that route the old standard Boss overdrive pedal is a cheap and flexible pedal that has a lot of good sounds. Line6 makes a distortion pedal that has many different pedals emulated... that might be a good one to try.
All that said, consider trying to get her a line6 podxt used or new. They are $300 new and for a kid they are worth $3000. If they had this when I was a kid it would be the only thing that I wanted. This pedal simulates to a very high degree of accuracy dozens of real life amplifiers, cabinets, distortion, delay, modulation pedals and the like. She will get a sound that will be beyond belief compared to a practice amp and the best part: it has a headphone jack in it. You can rock out through eddie van halen's amp from 1984 or Wes Montgomery's setup through the phones. Quiet for you, better for her. A good amp encourages the key aspect of good guitar playing: good picking technique and good 'feel.' To buy all the bits that are built into this thing would cost you most of $50,000 so it is a steal for $300.
just my two cents.
posted by n9 at 6:20 PM on May 3, 2005
I just talked to my friend. He has a Digitech RP50 which is a pretty decent pedal for the price. Musicansfriend has it for only $60:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=guitar/search/detail/base_pid/150830/
It has decent effects and amp modelling built in. I thought the Fender Blackface amp model was particularily nice sounding. And for the price you could get that and a wah and stay about in your budget.
PS Sorry the link is like that. I'm new here and not sure how to make the regular style links.
posted by 6550 at 8:05 PM on May 3, 2005
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=guitar/search/detail/base_pid/150830/
It has decent effects and amp modelling built in. I thought the Fender Blackface amp model was particularily nice sounding. And for the price you could get that and a wah and stay about in your budget.
PS Sorry the link is like that. I'm new here and not sure how to make the regular style links.
posted by 6550 at 8:05 PM on May 3, 2005
mischief: Not to sidetrack the conversation but I got a guitar for $350 from Musician's Friend (lefty Shecter Omen 6) which Guitar Center said they could get for $500. I thought MF was an old mail-order outfit.
posted by baphomet at 9:15 PM on May 3, 2005
posted by baphomet at 9:15 PM on May 3, 2005
I second the Ibanez Tube Screamer. Find an old green one with chipped paint and make up stories about it. "This pedal belonged to (insert name) when he started out in (insert city)...
posted by TeamBilly at 9:28 PM on May 3, 2005
posted by TeamBilly at 9:28 PM on May 3, 2005
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Something like this, but not necessarily that model, or from that dealer.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 10:13 AM on May 3, 2005