Pedal Suggestions?

[Neemo]

ok i have a Fender HotRod Deville 2X12 60W tube amp

currently i have a digitech rp-255 multi effect board but its not really doing it for me ... for me its hard to use practically and change on the fly .... was gonna look into some stomp box effects so i can get some more flexibility on what i can turn on and off and at what time

i was gonna get the MXR Analog Chorus and MXR Carbon Copy pedals for sure and possibly one more and ditch the digitech board ... what do you recommend? i like the distortion on the amp...if i got an overdrive pedal would that do anything at all for me?

or could i put the digitech in line with the chorus and delay? to pick up a flanger or phaser or wahtever else i wanna mess with? where would i put it in the chain? cuz phasers go at the front and wahs go at the end so placement of this thing kinda freaks me out lol

pedals i am looking at for my third (in the $100 to $150 range)

Digitech whammy (used so i can get it cheaper lol)
Volume pedal of some kind - though rolling of volume post is easy enough lol
some kind of distortion (maybe if it would improve on the distortion my amp already has)
MXR phase 90 - do i really need a phaser if i already have a chorus and a delay?
Voodoo labs super fuzz (told it does the sabbath fuzzy tone fairly well, and yes i know that iommi didnt actually use a fuzz pedal)

I play some popular 90's rock stuff, some metallica, gnr, sabbath, floyd, ac dc, ccr, messing around with bluesy type riffage/penatonic soloing

thanks

 

[StandingWave]

Lot's of questions. I'll try to tackle a little of it.

If you like your amp's distortion, dirt pedals can still augment that: Tube Screamers and treble boosters might be good places to start. If you use a lot of gain from your amp, fuzz might be a challenge, although a Tone Bender might be good.

People tend to prefer modulation, delay, and reverb after distortion, so that would mean putting them in the effects loop. I presume the DeVille has a line level loop, which means some pedals may overload, like the Carbon Copy. The loop is a good place for the volume pedal.

Don't know about the Whammy. The Super Fuzz may be a bit much when using the amp's distortion and Iommi actually used a treble booster, IIRC, as did Page, and many others.

Phase is different from chorus. Only you can determine if you need it or not.

Wahs typically go at the front. Phasers can work well before or after dirt, depending on preference.

 

[Neemo]

The Super Fuzz may be a bit much when using the amp's distortion and Iommi actually used a treble booster, IIRC, as did Page, and many others.

what do you mean by a bit much? like over the top fuzz? or like break the tubes lol

is there an affordable treble boost that you can get at a typical music store?

would it be better to get an overdrive first then add a fuzz or treble boost later if necessary?

sorry for the questions i'm new to the individual stomp box world and wanna have a general idea of what i wanna try before going to the shop otherwise i'll be there forever lol

 

[StandingWave]

Some combinations of fuzz/OD/distortion work 'better' than others, but it's up to you to decide what 'better' is. Adding a SuperFuzz to a distorted amp may be just what you are looking for. Since the two don't simply add together, it could possibly turn into a bass-heavy mushy roar. The reason for the treble boost is to avoid that while still getting more out of the amp. Maybe Hector will chime in as he mentioned an affordable treble booster in another thread.

If you're going to a typical music store, make sure they have a return privilege. Get a Tube Screamer (or one of the zillion clones), treble booster, and/or whatever fuzz you're interested in and try them in your rig at your normal playing volumes. See what works and what doesn't. Maybe none of them will be exactly what you want, but you'll have some experience with which to refine your search, ask more questions, etc. Getting knowledge and advice from a forum is great, but you never really know until you get actual experience with the pedals in question.

 

[Neemo]

Getting knowledge and advice from a forum is great, but you never really know until you get actual experience with the pedals in question.

yeah i can totally dig that, and thanks so much for the advice!

like i said i'm looking for a place to begin when i go to the shop...instead of just saying "just give me all of your pedals so i can check them out"

 

[Batman]

The Carbon Copy is an awesome pedal, I love mine. If you're looking at an MXR chorus, consider the ZW38 Black Label Chorus. I just replaced my MXR Micro Chorus with this one and could not be happier. . .WAY better pedal IMO.

The other pedal I would recommend you look at is the MXR M77 Custom Badass Modified OD. This is Jeorge Tripps take on a modified Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive. It sounds similar to the SD-1 but adds a mids bump switch and 100Hz knob. The 100Hz allows you to tailor the low end response of the pedal independently of the tone control. You can get both a Tubescreamer like mid dominant tone or, with the tone and the 100Hz control fully up, a flat EQ tone. These pedals are great for driving another pedal or an overdriven amp to give you a really nice creamy lead tone.

 

[StandingWave]

Good luck! You'll probably get lots of other suggestions here before long.

 

[Neemo]

If you're looking at an MXR chorus, consider the ZW38 Black Label Chorus.

yeah i was looking at the blue analog chorus...i guess its the same thing as the BLC just with a different casing

been watching you tube vid reviews....

swollen pickle and green rhino look like they are pretty cool pedals...also was watching mxr distortion+, Distortion III, the custom badass distortion and the classic silicon fuzz reviews

 

[StandingWave]

The variety of pedals is endless. However, 80% of them are variations on a few major themes. [For example, Green Rhino & MXR M77 > Tube Screamer, Swollen Pickle > Big Muff, MXR 108 > Fuzz Face, MXR '78 > Boss DS-1, etc.] Learning what's what can help you zero in on the types that you prefer, then what suits you best within a type.

 

[Neemo]

So I.just grabbed the mxr custom badass m77 and the way huge green rhino....whichever one I like best will stay with me and the other will go back

 

[Batman]

Both are excellent pedals and both are on my board. I'd keep both but that's just me. . .

 

[rwhammond]

i had the carbon copy for awhile, just recently decided to sell it. for a few dollars more, you can get a Boss DD7, which does a lot more IMO. im not a big chorus guy, but i picked up a micro chorus a little while ago. its perfect for what i need it to do.

for distortion, ive been turned on to wampler pedals by some of the guys here, you might be able to get some used ones for your price range. i've also got the mxr 78 distortion. its a fantastic pedal.

 

[Neemo]

Hmmm....after messing around with both pedals for a couple hours I'm not sure that it is making a real difference to what my amp can do already distortion/overdrive wise....maybe I'll try a big muff

 

[StandingWave]

Try them with the tone up (max treble, minimum bass), volume up (to push the tubes), and gain low. I would think that the Muff is the wrong direction, but you won't know until you try it. Does your shop stock any treble boosters?

 

[Neemo]

i dunno i was jamming away and my buddy was turning knobs all over the place to try different settings...weird thing was when i flipped from my amp clean to its distortion channel nothing happened with the stomp boxes engaged....in fact if anything there was a bit of a signal drop going from clean to the distortion channel...at higher volumes you could hear a tiny bit of a change...but not enough to justify a $100 price tag

would you consider line boosts as treble boosters? or if not is there a specific pedal i could look for? or check out a youtube review?

seriosuly though the clean, distortion, overdrive channel options of the hotrod deville are pretty cool imho, thats why i got it ... and after playing the two pedals for all that time i'm like lets just play the amp...

i mean if nothing else I could always just put the $80 on my account to help pay off the financing of my Les Paul

 

[gibsonguitar1988]

I love the M78 and M77. Killer pedals. That pair is one of those times where you have to have both as those two cover SO much ground together. Excellent pedals and highly recommended you get an M78.

 

[StandingWave]

It's interesting that you hear very little change. That doesn't seem quite right. Maybe you don't need anything else as you like what the amp does already. Not much sense in buying stuff you don't need (although that's not what this group is about ).

Treble boosters are different from full-range boosters. Here's a demo that includes some explanation of treble boost vs. full-range boost:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba03Rcih-Tc"]Catalinbread Naga Viper Boost - Demo by Just Nick for Rock n Roll Vintage - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Neemo]

so i messed around a bit again this morning....i'm a dork...i was running thru the preamp....it does way more if you run it straight in to the amp...lol

oops...i guess i have to play guitar again tonight

 

[Batman]

Very cool pedal. . .I think I need one. . .

 

[Neemo]

yeah not diggin it...i even checked out the big muff w/ tone wicker

of the 3 gonna have to say the big muff was the coolest IMO

but yeah gonna jsut roll with my amp distortion and the mxr analog chorus and mxr carbon copy for now

thanks for all the help guys