How it came to be...
For as long as I've been playing guitar I've loved effects pedals. Just like guitars however, they seemed to come and go as I chased the tone I was seeking. I'm a huge fan of Jerry Garcia and Steve Kimock (among others) and my current rig allows me to nail just about any Grateful Dead or classic rock tone.
I set out a few years back buying and selling effects pedals on ebay. I'd find good deals on popular pedals, relist them for more than I paid, and used the profits to purchase the pedals I now have. It was a lot of work but now I have what I consider to be a "best of the best" for the tone I want.
So here they are...
The G-Lab Wowee Wah. More than any other pedal, I found it most challenging to find a Wah pedal that I was happy with. Over the years I experimented with countless Dunlop, Vox, and Keeley Modded versions and they all left me wanting something more. I decided to think outside of the box and bought myself this little tank. It has enough switches and options to nail just about any wah tone I could want and it's optical rather than using a band/pulley system which I like. If you can get over the looks of the thing, it's an awesome choice if you're looking for a do-it-all wah pedal.
Next up is the Electro-Harmonix Micro Pog. Unlike the Boss OC pedals, the tracking on this pedal is smooth, and it features both octave up and down sounds. It can go from weird organ sounds to convincing bass tones depending on the settings. I usually play with it with the the dry signal nearly fully intact and the sub octave at about 2 o'clock, with no octave up. It's a critical effect for nailing some of the Garcia/Kimock tones that I love... especially when coupled with an envelope filter. There are other EH POG (and HOG) effects which expand on the features of this pedal but for what I want, this model does the trick.
Sadly, this envelope filter from Emma has been discontinued for a few years now. I was hoping that perhaps they were working on a new and improved model (though I strongly believe they got it right the first time) but I have not seen one. This is hands down the best modern envelope filter I've tried. It's been said to be more Mu-Tronish than the Mu-Tron itself and I can believe it. Having only tried one vintage Mu-Tron, I can say that I'd rather have this than the original. It absolutely rocks on every level. It's simple to use and works well with single coils and humbuckers (when you adjust the sensitivity). You can get that nasally quack that's just on the edge of blossoming that Jerry used so often on tunes like Fire on the Mountain and Estimated Prophet... it's perfect. It also does full on funk assaults if that's your thing. Having experimented with various Q-Trons, there is no comparison... this is the envelope filter to get your hands on!
Another discontinued pedal, this one from Maxon. Why they discontinued it is beyond me because it's amazing. I experimented with vintage Boss Phasers and a few from MXR and this one plows them under. It can nail any phase tone you're after, from gentle ambient swirling to cosmic rotary weirdness. I usually opt for the gentle but I always like fiddling around with this to find new textures to add to my playing. My only qualm is that it adds a little bass to the mix regardless of which setting you use. When used in combination with the octave and envelope filter, it's tonal bliss.
This is a an odd duck in terms of my effects chain. Let me start by saying that I have no interest in playing in the "metal zone" but the EQ section of this effect is superb. This is the Keeley Modded version of the Boss MT-2. I use it to boost the output of my overdrive pedal and color it slightly. It adds a nice little crunch and sizzle to my lead tones. I never use it as a stand alone OD/distortion effect but if searing metal and crunch is your thing, it would certainly fit the bill. After trying countless combinations of OD/distortion in my rig, the one I have going now is the one I like the best.
It's hard to improve on the classic TS9. It's no surprise that it's as popular as it is. I had a Keeley modded version of the regular TS9 but actually prefer this stock version of the TS9DX. It has some extra features (higher gain modes) but I always have it set on the TS9 mode. I've contemplated sending this one to Keeley to have them mod it but I like it so much as-is that I'd be disappointed if the tone of it changed in any way. I have it set to add just a slight boost with very little OD.
The T-Rex Replica is hands down the sweetest delay I've used. I'm a delay junkie, I almost always play with this effect on. The "brown" setting is fantastic and the overall tone of the thing is just stunning. It's almost transparent (where I have it set) but adds a richness to my tone and allows the occasional repeat to sneak through. I don't mess with the setting very often but when I'm in the mood for weird backing tracks to jam over, I do use the subdivision switch and up the echo and repeat knobs... it can do some pretty cool stuff with some experimenting. Yeah, it costs a fortune but I got mine used and it is a truly perfect delay pedal IMO. It also has an out for a tuner... a nice touch.
What can I say about this one? It does what it needs to do and like all Boss pedals, it's built like a tank.
Where would I be without my good ol' Boss RC-20 Loop Station? I've had this since they came out with them and have probably laid down thousands of loops with it. (I also have a newer RC-30 but I still use the old one the most... more about that later) Being that I'm not in a band anymore, I do a lot of jamming at home in my studio and basically taught myself how to play lead my laying down loops and jamming over them. For me, this pedal is indispensable. They're may be a better looper out there but I'm happy with this one.
And last but not least, the BBE Sonic Stomp. Given that my effects chain is a mile long, I decided to try one of these to see what all the fuss was about. It's one of those pedals that doesn't really do anything but I can tell you that whatever it does, or doesn't do, it brought some clarity and definition back to my guitar tone. Just when I think it's not doing anything, I click it off and realize it's doing something after all. If you play through a lengthy effects chain it will reintroduce some of the tone that's being sucked from all those other pedals and countless feet of guitar cables.
Secondary Pedal Chain
This is the rig that I often gig with, these days I find it to be a royal pain in the ass to drag everything out for a short set. Sometimes I mix it up and bring a few pedals from each rig but I can usually get by with the following. This is also the pedal chain I use in my studio with my little Fender Super Champ head and custom cab.
For whatever reason I don't primarily use my newer Loop Station with my main guitar rig. Actually, it being used but often not for guitar. This is the pedal I use to loop keys and bass with so it gets moved around a lot. I record whatever backing tracks I'm going to play on this one primarily because it has two tracks and more drum tracks. It seems to work well for this. I miss having the reverse button on this model and honestly find the loop effects to be useless but the addition of all the extra memory and an extra track makes up for it.
The Earthquaker Devices Disaster Transport delay is an awesome little pedal. The modulation section can be clicked off which is a very nice touch given that I don't use it all that much. It does offer a nice chorusy warble that I do occasionally use to flavor my tone but I could live without. I really just like having solid and flexible delay that can be left on to thicken my tone a bit. It's not quite as nice as the T-Rex Replica but it's a close second.
The decision to purchase an Empress Multidrive was an attempt to replace my TS9 and MT-2 that I use in my regular rig to shorten up my effects chain. It didn't quite fit the bill but it was worth hanging on to. First of all, this thing dishes out three analog flavors of dirt which is pretty sweet. There are more knobs and switches on this thing than the space shuttle but it's surprisingly easy to dial in usable presets. Inside the pedal is a series of toggles that lest you choose which of the three effects you want to use for each preset. For the first preset I simply use the overdrive. I have it set for a slight boost and a very little dirt when you dig in. For the second preset I use all three effects. With all three set on, you can use the volume to dial any of them out (or up). I add some distortion to my OD signal, just enough to give a nice lead tone. I often experiment with using some fuzz too which sounds fantastic. Despite being easy to use, I get distracted by having so many options. I do love the filter toggles however. I use the low pass filter on the fuzz and the high pass filter on the distortion which makes the overall tone melt into one well balanced lead tone. If you're looking for a do-it-all drive pedal, this could be what you're looking for. Short of uber-metal, it covers any flavor you might be looking for and if you're into tone tweaking, this thing will keep you busy indefinitely. My only grips is that the knobs feel a little fragile and that everything is pretty tightly arranged, you have to stomp carefully to avoid hitting the knobs.
The Line 6 M-Series pedals are superb. The M5 has 100 various vintage (and modern) stomp box models all arranged by type (modulation, delay, reverb, od, etc). Programming the thing to get your 20 (or is it 25?) presets dialed in and labeled correctly on the LCD is a royal pain but once it's done it's done. The effects themselves are what you'd expect from Line 6... pretty spot on. There are some fantastic models of way-out that pedals and all the classics are there too. For example the MXR Phase 90 and Boss choruses are well done, as is the MuTron setting. The delays are also top notch. One of my favorites in the Colorsound Wah... I wish I could have found a stand alone wah that I liked as much as the Colorsound setting. I considered an actual Colorsound but they are both expensive and lack any adapter plug. It's hard to say how accurately the pedal actually models some effects given that I've never used the originals but these clones seem pretty close in the instances where I have. It's been a very fun and useful tool for experimenting with different effects, and at $129, it's an amazing value too.
I'd HIGHLY recommend getting an expression pedal of some sort too... it allows you to make on-the-fly adjustments to most effects while you're playing. You can get some unreal cosmic shifting by messing with delay settings with the expression pedal. I opted a Mission Line6 specific pedal. It's built like a tank and works flawlessly. My only grip with the M5 is that the knobbies feel a little fragile but they're pretty well protected my the little roll bar.
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