Starting new board - what else do I need? (Reverb? Compressor?)

[Mixolydian182]

Hi, MLPers.

I'm joining a band and will be playing my first regular live gigs in a few months. We're starting with covers, classic rock and 80's tunes. Previously I've only played at home and when recording, so all my effects were added in my DAW. Now I'm going to need some pedals.

I have a Vox Night Train 15. I love the sound of it but it does not have an effects loop nor footswitch for gain switching. So an overdrive is vital.

After lots of forum searching & youtube watching, here is what I've come up with as my starter pedalboard:

Tuner - Joyo pitchblack knockoff ($40 on eBay)
Overdrive - Digitech Bad Monkey
Chorus - TC Electronics Corona
Delay - Akai E2 Headrush (bought it long ago for its looping, but it has good delay as well)
Flanger - cheap Joyo off eBay (not sure how much I really need this beyond our cover of "Barracuda," but I figured at this price I can mess around with it and upgrade later if I really dig the flange)

I have a crybaby wah that I've used when playing keyboard, but honestly I haven't used it much on guitar yet. Might leave it off the board until I'm feeling it more.

I ordered a little Godlyke power supply chain to get me started but might upgrade to a sturdier power source when I actually build/order a board for all this.

What else do I need? Reverb? A compressor? Those seem superfluous to me, but I'm a noob.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[st.bede]

I do not know. It can depends on what songs you are playing or it can depend on how you personally want to sound. I wish I could be of more help.

 

[Marshall & Moonshine]

Tribute band=Nail that tone
Covers=Have fun playing it your way
I doubt you really need a reverb pedal at all, except for really mellow stuff, since if you're playing bars, your amp will be turned up, and reverb before any distortion (even amp's) is generally regarded as a no-no. A compressor? Maybe. It depends. It will smooth out your solos, boost if you need, and sustain for sure. A handy little pedal, but I don't use them.
As for your wah, you don't have to put it on the board. I think mine is more comfortable to use on the floor, and have no plans of mounting it, even though I love it.
I do recommend a boost. EHX makes one that lots of people like called the LPB-1. Since your amp will be at volume, boosting for solos will be a breeze. It won't run the volume up much (of any) further, since I assume your preamp will be broken up already, but it will FLOOD your preamp tubes with gain, making them get sweet and nasty.
Speaking of that, check into a fuzz. Big muff is a good place to start.
These are all cheap, reliable, standard-startup stuff, and are by no means at the top of Tone Mountain, but they sound great and will get your board going for as little $$$ as possible. Keep your eyes on ebay.
Think EHX/MXR for good affordable stuff that should last for a while.
Or screw the pedals altogether and plug in after you tune. It's fun, and can be a real eye opener and learning experience, if you usually lean on pedals, as I sometimes do.

 

[BuzzHaze]

If the clubs are fairly small and especially if they have house PA systems, then you should be fine with your guitar, amp and a few stomp boxes, you'd be surprised how good you can sound with bare-ass equipment on stage and a good soundman at the board.

We used to tour with a soundman and he had me using less and less effects (and volume) as time went on. He would remind me that my $60 stomp box was no match for his 20K rack of processing. He was 100% correct too. I'd step out front, off stage while we were playing and WOW....it sounded amazing compared to what I was hearing on stage. It actually made me play a little differently knowing I had all that out front

...just thought I'd share that, not that his has much to do with this thread....hahaha.

 

[Marshall & Moonshine]

+1 with that. It sounds way different out front. I borrowed a long cors from my wife and ran my guitar into my board with it. It let me play from about 30' away. It sounded COMPLETELY different. Much better than what my ears hear on stage, though my knees get the treatment.