Build Me A Small, Budget, Pedalboard

Samgb

Ok, here is a bit of fun for you Pedal Enthusiasts: I usually play pretty clean with only a spot of crunch and maybe reverb just from the amp. Bollocks to that - Its time i had some pedals to play with.

There is a pretty bewildering array of gadgetry out there so lets say im after a small, 5-7 pedal or so set up. Ive got an EHX East River Drive which i am very happy with so im sorted for OD (although i would consider a Fuzz of some sort in there as well for a different flavour).

I dont really want to be spending more than £80 on an individual pedal so while i would dearly love boutique items hand crafted by civets in a Tibetan monastery that isnt really feasible. If you bear in mind that i have just bought an insane amount of Christmas goodies for my two kids then you should be able to imagine the strictures of my budget.         

Tell me wondrous stories of pedals...

ThePrettyDamned

Okay, well... Why do you want them and what do you want them to do?

Wanting a 5-7 pedal board is well and good but if you're just spending money for the sake of it and don't really want them for anything, you could do better spending that cash (quite a bit!) buying a new amp. It would be about enough for a small boutique 18 watter, of you like that sort of circuit.

Or a new guitar?

If I could get all the sounds I want without pedals I'd definitely flog the lot and buy a new amp

Otherwise, the hardwire digitech range is excellent and covers most bases from distortion to delay. The only thing missing is a fuzz box

Flanging_Fred

Hmm

How about

S/H Boss TU-3
EHX Big Muff with tone Wicker
EHX East River (already have)
MXR micro chorus
Mooer Trelicopter
S/H Boss DD7
Harley Benton power plant Jr.
Ikea Gorm board
Roll of Velcro
Kabl patch cables with Hicon plugs

ICBM

Second hand Zoom G3.

Any amount of fun and wacky sounds to play with, goes for about £80, runs off a standard 9V power supply so is easy to integrate with other pedals.

stickyfiddle

ICBM said:

Second hand Zoom G3.

Any amount of fun and wacky sounds to play with, goes for about £80, runs off a standard 9V power supply so is easy to integrate with other pedals.

I was going to say that or an M9, but the Zoom is definitely better value.

And a regular crybaby wah pedal, because wahs are kinda stupid but also lots of fun.

Without sounding mean, I wouldn't buy any more than that if you don't already know what you want because pedals can be a huge money-sink and actually you don't need eleventy-twelve of them to have fun. Just don't tell my wife

xSkarloey

A s/h Boss BF-2 flanger or the cheap Thomann copy.

There's a whole world of possibilities on those pedals, from subtle chorus type sounds to 80s whoosh to steel drum effects.

digitalscream

TC Polytune (or Mini)

Mooer Ninety Orange phaser

Boo Instruments Boost

TC Flashback

TC Hall of Fame

Diago Micropower9

Daisy chain

One of @dindude's Smorg boards (with a riser if necessary)

Job jobbed.

Beexter

I'd echo the suggestions of a small, cheap Multi fx so you can try out a load of different sounds and hone in on the ones you like/ use. You can always go to individual pedals further down the line if there's a particular effect that really floats your boat. The Zoom G3 is a great suggestion. Even cheaper would be a Zoom MS50 or MS70-CDR.

mike_l

Digitech stuff is good on a budget. I have several and haven't yet found a bad one. Maybe they're not for everyone's taste.

Boss is reliable, and has a massive variation in what is widely available. Billy Duffy uses Boss as they're reliable, and easily replaced if lost/broken.

MXR, generally a bit more expensive than Boss/Digitech, but a few really good pedals (Phase 90 I'm looking at you).

 

Samgb

Thanks for the suggestions here. I knew you lot would give me some shiny things to Google.

@ICBM/Beexster

I had already thought a multi effects job might be what im after.The Zoom G3X with the expression pedal is very much my preferred route at the moment. I think not knowing exactly what i want makes that more attractive because youve got an awful lot to play with in a compact package there. The only reason i am considering individual pedals is that i had a quick shufty and could probably pick some nice things up second hand for not so much money. Also, i would really really like one of those Deluxe Big Muffs. So that got me thinking pedals again

@ThePrettyDamned

I appreciate the point about cost vs a new guitar/amp but a) i could pick these up one by one as and when i have a few quid to spend and b) it has been made Pretty Damned Plain by the powers that be that i can not be buying any more guitars or amps. 

To be fair, we are emigrating to Canada next year and i dont really want to be acumulating anything large so she has a point. Im pretty sure im going to flog anything not in a hardcase before i go anyway.

DrBob

Still got a G3 for sale cheeeep if it's any interest !

monquixote

Grab a load of Digitech, or Hardwire pedals. 

EricTheWeary

I was reading an interview with Jeff Baxter from 1976 this morning ( sad but true) and his effects essentials were phaser, wah-wah (sic) and an echo box. But the basics are some sort of OD ( which you have covered), modulation ( phaser is good for lots of stuff from the 70's on), eq ( classic example of which is a wah) and something time based ( the reverb on your amp but a delay adds variety).

Dave_Mc

Digitech/Hardwire, Boss (depending on the exact pedal, some Boss pedals are better than others) and electroharmonix (heard some complaints about reliability but they sound good) are pretty good on a budget. It just depends on which effects you think you're liable to use...

TheCount

Boss ME5 ~ £100 on ebay

 CS-2 
- DS-1 
- OD-2 
- RV-3 
- EQ-1 
- CE-1 
- DD-2 
- BF-2 

All Japanese versions so they sound better than all the others

d8m

Digitech gear.

Can't go wrong at the price(generally)