I Never Really Got... Great Pedals You Couldn't Get On With

Bidley

Another vote for compressors. I bought one years ago, put it in my signal chain, switched it on and fiddled with it, thought "what's the point in this?" and that was that. To be fair I don't play the right kind of music to warrant it.

MattG

it would be a shorter list of things that i did get on with...
i couldnt get on with:
Ibanez TS-9
Boss DS-1
Catalibread DLS
Mojo Hand FX Rook Royale (the rook half anyway i loved the boost!)
and im not a fan of my joyo ultimate drive either it just makes me sound like a bon jovi reject with any dirt pedal and sounds like shite through a clean amp :S
also hate my compressor with any dirty sound, its great for rockabilly though

Love OCD's,valve sporkers and lovepedal elevan amps though... go figure

ICBM

Bidley said:

Another vote for compressors. I bought one years ago, put it in my signal chain, switched it on and fiddled with it, thought "what's the point in this?" and that was that. To be fair I don't play the right kind of music to warrant it.

It's far worse than that for me - I actually quite like the sound they give when I'm playing in isolation, and at least a couple of my favourite players use them all the time. But live, I detest them - it feels like wading through treacle wearing diving boots. I can't stand the lack of direct dynamic control and always end up turning it down to the point it's not doing anything, or just straight off. Oddly enough overdrive/distortion (which is also highly compressed) doesn't have the same effect.

shady

I managed to pick up a 'sought after' Boss FZ-2 for cheaps a couple of years ago. 

The boost function was useful but I couldn't dial in an actual fuzz sound I liked, great for downtooned doom I guess...but fuck all else. 

Catthan

I never bonded with the 2 tube ODs I had, a zendrive 2 and a BK Tubedriver.

ThePrettyDamned

Sadly, I've realised I don't get on great with the Marshall guvnor. It sounds amazing, but something doesn't quite feel right... I recorded it, and it sounded perfect yet it feels odd to me. I'm going to see if I can get a Duncan power grid or a boss dyna drive (both of which I do get on with) and see how I go.

I can make the guvnor work for me if I run a tubescreamer into it and it sorts the feels. I don't want to lose it because it sounds too good!

ThePrettyDamned

ICBM;15818" said:

Bidley said:

Another vote for compressors. I bought one years ago, put it in my signal chain, switched it on and fiddled with it, thought "what's the point in this?" and that was that. To be fair I don't play the right kind of music to warrant it.










It's far worse than that for me - I actually quite like the sound they give when I'm playing in isolation, and at least a couple of my favourite players use them all the time. But live, I detest them - it feels like wading through treacle wearing diving boots. I can't stand the lack of direct dynamic control and always end up turning it down to the point it's not doing anything, or just straight off. Oddly enough overdrive/distortion (which is also highly compressed) doesn't have the same effect.

Try the visual sound route 66. I am the same as you, and have the effect where it does very little compression, but it does add a little something to the sound and everything sounds better with it on. Sorta a magic button for my clean tones.

That said, it's probably a clone of one you've tried already so maybe you're just anti compressor

ragingben

I'm the same with the Guv'nor. Maybe I just never used it with the right setup, but I just can't seem to get on with it no mater what I do.

Col_Decker

To be honest anything made by EHX. Electric Mistress, Fuzzes x3, POG, Chorus, etc. All sound great on their own but as soon as the band starts up it all goes wrong

MojoPin

Had the Timmy twice and sold it twice.

Great pedal but the gain and eq controls were too much interactive.

That is a great feature for most, but a PITA for me!

Majorscale

Rockbox Boiling Point... very pretty to look at but not sure about it at all! 

randomhandclaps

@MojoPin

By that, do you mean you losing gain as you roll off bass?

 

MojoPin

randomhandclaps said:

@MojoPin

By that, do you mean you losing gain as you roll off bass?

 

sort of... the tone changes as you increase or decrease the gain

Sporky

I've yet to use anything Tech21 that I enjoyed. I had one of the original GT2s, and one of the Triacs and had a go with one of the little amps, and none of them seemed to produce any interesting sounds - all very flat and lifeless.

ICBM

Sporky said:

I've yet to use anything Tech21 that I enjoyed. I had one of the original GT2s, and one of the Triacs and had a go with one of the little amps, and none of them seemed to produce any interesting sounds - all very flat and lifeless.

Totally agree - although I would say harsh and fatiguing rather than flat and lifeless. I spend all my time thinking I'm getting close to a usable sound but then it starts to grate, needs tweaking, and so on and on. I sold my second (yes I did try twice) GT2 to a friend though, who loves it. (I also sold him a compressor which sounds fine when he plays it...!)

The Tri-ac I tried once was worse, and I really don't understand the love for the amps either - boxy and nasty-sounding in my opinion.

hywelg

Crowther Hotcake. Sounded horrible to my ears. Gritty, nasty edge to it. Soon got shot of it.

vasselmeyer

ragingben said:

I'm the same with the Guv'nor. Maybe I just never used it with the right setup, but I just can't seem to get on with it no mater what I do.

I have a Mk1 Guv'nor. Setting the EQ is key as the controls are quite interactive with each other. This is how I set mine up: gain at 2 o'clock, bass at 2 o'clock, mid all the way up, treble at 4 o'clock, level at 1 o'clock. It gives me an excellent classic rock solo sound into a clean amp.

ICBM

vasselmeyer said:

I have a Mk1 Guv'nor. Setting the EQ is key as the controls are quite interactive with each other. This is how I set mine up: gain at 2 o'clock, bass at 2 o'clock, mid all the way up, treble at 4 o'clock, level at 1 o'clock. It gives me an excellent classic rock solo sound into a clean amp.

I always find that the more EQ a pedal has, the better it is to run it into a clean amp as a preamp and not into a dirty amp as an overdrive pedal - the Guv'nor Plus even more so than the Mk1. And the other way round... single-tone-knob pedals work better into dirty amps.

vasselmeyer

ICBM said:
I always find that the more EQ a pedal has, the better it is to run it into a clean amp as a preamp and not into a dirty amp as an overdrive pedal - the Guv'nor Plus even more so than the Mk1. And the other way round... single-tone-knob pedals work better into dirty amps.

That's quite an interesting observation. Care to expand on why you think that might be?

ICBM

vasselmeyer said:

ICBM said:
I always find that the more EQ a pedal has, the better it is to run it into a clean amp as a preamp and not into a dirty amp as an overdrive pedal - the Guv'nor Plus even more so than the Mk1. And the other way round... single-tone-knob pedals work better into dirty amps.

That's quite an interesting observation. Care to expand on why you think that might be?

I'm not certain, but I think it may be because complex EQ tends to cause harmonic distortion, or 'phase smear' which thickens the sound - so if you run that into more overdrive it can get muddy, although it sounds big and amp-like into a clean amp. Single-tone-control circuits tend to sound more focused so they avoid being muddy into overdriven amps, but that can make them sound boxy into clean amps.

Also possibly that standard three-band EQ, and most two-bands to some extent, tend to be more naturally mid-scooped, which doesn't work so well into following overdrive since the low end makes it go farty and the high end harsh... more middy sounds like most single-tone circuits tighten up the bottom and top. (This is why I also think dirt pedals stack better from middy to less middy, regardless of gain.)

It's not an absolute rule but it is something I've generally found.