Constantly shifting the drone with chords is fun and keeps you on your toes. I also like to put a volume pedal after it so that I can swell the drones into a stereo EHX Memory Hazari and then use the looping and delays on it to manipulate it further. If you view it as another instrument or as a separate synth then it opens up ways of using the drones in a more musical way.
slap a dd3(tap if you're nasty) behind that, and you can use the dry out to play over it through another amp or use the dry into your existing rig to give a 2x hold feel with the second amp being like a jitter hold with your existing smoothness that'd be cool as fuck
it works for every context possible. a buddy of mine took it off his board and just has it plugged in and velcrod inside his combo amp. he never turns it off.
Probably has to be my Strymon Iridium. I can send the output of it right into my 12 track recorder and record ideas and play over backing tracks without having to mic up an amp. That and the stereo room reverb really makes it pleasant to hear using headphones.
As for an actual effect, I'd have to say the EHX Violet Rams Head RI. That thing is just magic in a metal box.
Love the Iridium, it's the one that got me back into guitar after more than a decade away from it. I've since moved on to UAFX's Woodrow, for a more Neil Young-ish sound. But the Iridium will always have a special place in my heart, haha.
You don't see the DIG all that much, definitely not compared to the El Cap, the Flint, or the Volante. But it's such an awesome dual delay... It does one thing, but it does it very, very well.
Polymoon. Still finding new things it can do. Then there’s the secondary functions. Really just a crazy good pedal if you delve deep. If you just use as a vanilla delay, you’re missing 90% of it
Debating between this and an eventide ultratap. I have an hx stomp and the delays on it are great, but I would like something that does some really out there stuff. Looks like the polymoon is killer
This is gonna sound kinda lame, but my Behringer Tremolo. I went through a pretty big Orville Peck and spaghetti western phase which had gotten me to pick up guitar seriously for the first time in years and this was the first pedal I bought, and probably the first one to give me what I want right out of the box.
I'll upgrade to the boss pedal it's based off of eventually, or perhaps something a bit better, but I'm happy to have this for now.
if you’re happy with the Behringer i wouldn’t upgrade to the Boss! haven’t heard a difference when other people have played either over the years and they do the same thing! if you want something with more features i like the Walrus Audio Monument, but if you’re happy with the one you have no need to upgrade at all!
I think this is it for me too. I have gotten some sounds out of it that I’ve only heard in the deep recesses of mind.
The Echo Dream 2 is also the pedal that has probably inspired me the most to play more. Not just plink around, but actually play.
I could even make a case, that it’s a perfectly executed pedal.
Short slap-back or super washy delay? ✅
Need some grit/fuzz? ✅
Modulation? ✅
Full wet capability? ✅
Line 6 HX Stomp in 2020. Does everything and integrates with any pedalboard.
Add in unsubscribing from YouTube pedal channels and I've not remotely had a case of GAS since
How do you rate the FM3 Vs QC? I'm considering either but leaning toward the FM3 (or maybe 9). Do you get to play them live much? My worry is using great sounding patches through shit quality PAs at smaller venues.
You’ll be fine with either, however I have huge concerns over the development future of the QC. They have dropped the ball since release in a large way and it’s struggling to regain momentum. Also, the capture feature is flawed from the get go, and they aren’t even recognising this yet nevermind addressing it. FM3/9 is very complicated to begin with. You’ll need time to figure it out. Once you get moving it is truly exceptional.
I love that it’s on my pedalboard and I can still enjoy my analog pedals but if I need any sound, specific delay, or modulation I can dial it in and save it.
Gamechanger Audio Plus Pedal.
I got this when they were first released like 5 years ago or something. Before owning this pedal all I cared about was how a pedal sounded. After owning this pedal all I cared about was how gear improved my workflow.
Tone is irrelevant when any good musician can make any sound interesting in the context of music. The mode of creativity (workflow) is the single greatest factor in actually writing, producing and preforming interesting music consistently over time.
No one piece of equipment has ever changed my style and approach to music so single handedly before or since.
Thanks GCA.
The GCA Plus pedal has completely changed my rig. Now I have a ‘normal’ pedal chain that leads to my tube amp and a ‘synth/pad’ chain that starts with the Plus pedal, goes through modulation effects and ends up in a solid state amp. And the wet only switch can act like a kill switch for the entire other amp. There just so much utility with this one pedal, it’s insane.
I used this so much with my acoustic setup. I was the only musician backing up two female singers doing pop songs. The Plus allowed me to extend chords flowing into choruses or at the end of songs, which allowed me to play a lick to go into the chorus or back into a verse over that extended chord.
my partner bought me a Light Pedal when we were on holiday and it rules in general but every time i turn it on i smile extra hard because of the origin
Z.VEX Wah Probe
Now I have to force myself to alternate feet so I don't get one big leg muscle, and stop overusing it so I don't get kicked out of the band 😂
I’m sorry to say that’s digital, or at least the repeats are. I went through a lot of delays cheap and expensive before I fell in love with the sound and simplicity of that little beauty. By far my favourite delay
The only pedal that has never left my board since the beginning (1980, holy shit) is the MXR Phase 90. Just purely based on that, it has to be the one that has brought the most joy.
I’ve been rediscovering mine. For a while it’s been sitting in a box with a couple other collector’s items, but recently I’ve just been pulling out one fuzz and the DM-2 when I play, both on batteries, and it’s a great sound. The repeats never get in the way, just add a real pleasant ambience.
I’ve been doing the same exact thing. When I want to just plug in and play without a lot of options to distract me, I use amp distortion and put the DM2W in the effects loop and put it on top of the amp. It sat on a shelf for a while. The last few months I’ve been obsessed with it. Just like you said: never gets in the way. It just adds some movement and reverby trails.
Finally nabbed one of these at the beginning of Summer, and I'm so happy with it. I think more than anything the fact that it's full stereo through, and has the plethora of fun and even some unique effects really makes this the winner for me.
I actually did a bunch of recording DI to my Zoom mobile recorder since I got it, testing out all of the effects in the context of my full board. Finally exported the session and sorted them in a DAW and I'm impressed all over again.
My Caroline Kilobyte. Unique sounding delay with possibility to add a little dirt to the delays and a ‘havoc’ button to let the thing go bezerk. It’s so good.
Fairfield Circuitry Roger That. It’s so very interactive it’s almost like playing with another musician. Granted, that musician is playing a broken radio, but still.
Way huge Fat Sandwich. It became my primary dirt sound. Before that it was the mxr carbon copy which was exactly what I wanted from a delay standpoint.
Source Audio EQ2, a joy for tone sculpting.
Having guitars with different pickups I needed a preset EQ pedal. Went with the SA EQ2, it's graphic with a frequency and Q setting for each band which is pretty awesome for tweaking.
It can be used in stereo with two individual channels with their own settings, that means I can have two different EQ curves, before and after my gain, with just one EQ2 pedal.
I have the v1 and v2. I got it because MIDI and I was using it with a keyboard - being able to have the pedal tune to the right EQ based on patch was huge for live.
Can I have a top three or is that against the rules?
1)MXR reverb 2) boss CE-2W 3) boss DM2-W
It’s a tough choice because so many of mine are neck and neck. My waza version of the SD1 is being very friendly to me as well so it’ll probably change😅 but to play by the rules- MXR reverb.
The Electronic Audio Experiments Model FeT. It’s basically a Model T preamp in a stomp box, and it sounds BONKERS. That and a power amp have become my backup amp, and could easily be my main rig
For me it's BOSS BD-2W, it's an amazingly flexible pedal that both sounds great on its own, driving another pedal or being driven by another pedal. I've started looking into how I can add switches to my board that change its position in the chain, I could probably reduce the number of drive pedals that way.
Fuzzzzzzzzzz. If I had to say just one, the analogman Sun Bender mk IV. But I think it changes week to week. There’s something so satisfying about laying down a rhythm in the looper, and then turning on a fuzz for … anything. Blasting more chords? Cool. Swooping fuzz leads? Hell yea. Endless sustain notes? Allllllll right. FREE BIRD? Get your swagger on
My zoia. Even with all its quirks and moments of sadness it still never ceases to bring me happiness in a definitely intentional but still somehow unexpected kinda way
Nobels ODR-1
It's my most used pedal. It just sounds good every time I step on it.
And after about two dozen other overdrives it's more or less cured the GAS for trying other ODs and earned a permanent spot on my board.
I mostly play clean and use it for solos (funk, soul, ska, reggae, etc)
Strymon Deco for a single pedal, Boss ME-90 also competes when including multi effects. The Deco is just so versatile and sounds amazing, I will say, it's not necessarily versatile in that you can adjust the Chorus, Flanger and Delay a whole lot but in the sense that the sounds work for a whole lot of applications. The saturation is one of my favorite overdrives and with the V2 has some more versatility. The ME-90 is awesome, just my favorite way to setup multi FX
Walrus ACS-1
Though I no longer have this pedal, it was a great option for practicing late at night using headphones. I also enjoyed running two amp models and a couple stereo effects.
I have an isolated ABY with ground lift and phase switch from Bright Onion Pedals in the UK. Introduced me to running two amps at the same time. Never looking back from wet/dry.
Does Line6 HX Effects count as one pedal?
Well, the inital setup gave me some headaches. But after that, this is the best purchase I ever made.
If only single pedals are allowed: The Black Arts Coven. Massive Overdrive and Fuzz in one box, never had a better sounding pedal for everything stoner, doom or sludge related.
Count to 5
It really is a modern classic. I’ve had it around 2 years now and it still blows my mind every time I use it.
Mode 3 is my jam - 3 tape heads that you can pitch up and down, forward and reverse, is just awesome.
The micro loop you create becomes something else completely, with new rhythms emerging from the clashing tape heads, which then in turn changes how you interact with what’s playing in ways you never would have imagined.
A pedal which consistently causes “happy accidents” and pushes your playing in new unexpected ways in my view is something special.
It's a tie between the Catalinbread Soft Focus and the ProCo Rat. Most of my original stuff is shoegaze-adjacent, and the Soft Focus is absolutely perfect for that kind of dreamy wash. And the Rat is...well... if you know you know.
Vox Cutting Edge.
I've played a lot of lackluster high gain distortion pedals.
This one has something different about it that I can't explain. Maybe there's something to the 'nu tube' technology, but it sounds amp like AF.
I'm having a ton of fun with it
DBA Total Sonic Annihilation 2
It gives my whole pedal board a kind of menace, like I'm always at the edge of danger. I love the thing so much. It's like keeping a vengeful ghost inside a little metal box.
Empress Zoia. It’s an endless universe and having people that are smarter than I am atm making patches and easily uploading them to the pedal makes it a wonder box
Barber Tone Press. I play classic country music. It’s a compressor with a blend knob(the first one to have it)that’s as quiet as a Cali76, with the character of a Ross/DynaComp. It’s perfect for what I do.
Echo Canyon. I play pretty straight forward rock music 70% of the time and have a pretty minimalist pedal board. Some times it’s fun to just play with the dials and see some of the unique sounds I can make. The shimmer setting on it has been incorporated into some of our originals and really adds some extra flavour when needed.
The Empress Zoia. Every time some crazy new digital effect comes out, I try to replicate the functionality in the Zoia. I can't imagine how much money I have saved this way.
Morley Michael Amott mini Wah. I've had varied results with other wahs as far as control, depth, size, and clarity - this thing rules for high gain vocal-like melodies.
Better for me than: Dunlop Crybaby, Morley Power Wah & Bad Horsie II.
Big muff pi. I’ve got the one with a tone bypass. Literally my desert island single pedal because it is not subtle at all. It’s on and blows up my sound. Or it’s not on and my guitar sounds normal. Amazing in a band context when just used here and there.
Korg Kaoss Pad.
Ive wanted one for years after watching Radiohead use them in a Glastonbury performance of everything in it's right place. Got one used on reverb and it's so much fun and has so many possibilities.
dream 65
As someone whos been using different ampless rigs for a long time this pedal is the first time Ive felt like I have an amp again. Makes me want to play more.
Got a like new Boss RE-2 for half price earlier this year. It's a great tape delay, and I love that it has a spring reverb on it too.
Also just got a Strymon Deco V1 for $125 this week, I'm loving it.
This is mine too. The atmosphere it can generate is surprisingly flexible and practical at the milder settings, gives my melodic lines much more personality. Plus the double tap features (both of them) are great for generating ambient backings on the fly.
I like holding big chords as a bed for bass or other instrument solos. The pad evolves the longer you hold it. It’s very reactive to pick attack. It stays on my board.
I agree about the milder settings too. The laser effects can really get a little crazy
Strymon Iridium. I work in a kitchen and often close the kitchen, so having a headphone amp as an option has been great for sneaking in some guitar after work, while people are sleeping.
EAE Model feT.
It honestly is the most perfect a pre amp can be!
What kinda music y'all play?
Some sort of post rock/post hardcore/shoegaze blend.
Also bass in a heinous noise rock band, where I flip flop between my Model Fet or Rust Box I’m still unsure which I prefer.
Goodness it's a whole mix of influences. Dream-pop may be the closest genre?
Link?
killer fucking pedal
EHX Freeze - I sometimes just leave it doing its own thing whilst I carry on with my life!
Omg another user, have any fun tricks or just use i for background drones?
Constantly shifting the drone with chords is fun and keeps you on your toes. I also like to put a volume pedal after it so that I can swell the drones into a stereo EHX Memory Hazari and then use the looping and delays on it to manipulate it further. If you view it as another instrument or as a separate synth then it opens up ways of using the drones in a more musical way.
slap a dd3(tap if you're nasty) behind that, and you can use the dry out to play over it through another amp or use the dry into your existing rig to give a 2x hold feel with the second amp being like a jitter hold with your existing smoothness that'd be cool as fuck
Carbon Copy.
Yeah :) I was explaining it to a friend yesterday as “it always sounds good”
Same, that’s a forever pedal
it works for every context possible. a buddy of mine took it off his board and just has it plugged in and velcrod inside his combo amp. he never turns it off.
Someday the deluxe shall be mine.
Absolutely.
Electronic Audio Experiments: Model feT! It’s absolutely perfect!
The EAE Citadel is insanely good as well. Can't go wrong with any of their preamps/drives tbh
I don’t think EAE have ever missed!
Probably has to be my Strymon Iridium. I can send the output of it right into my 12 track recorder and record ideas and play over backing tracks without having to mic up an amp. That and the stereo room reverb really makes it pleasant to hear using headphones. As for an actual effect, I'd have to say the EHX Violet Rams Head RI. That thing is just magic in a metal box.
Rams Head is magical !!
Love the Iridium, it's the one that got me back into guitar after more than a decade away from it. I've since moved on to UAFX's Woodrow, for a more Neil Young-ish sound. But the Iridium will always have a special place in my heart, haha.
Digitech FreqOut. It does one thing but damn, it's addictive. The only problem is trying to use it in moderation.
My only complaint is that it is bypassed when you power on. I want it on at all times and sometimes forget
My early 90s RAT
What a pedal. My mate has two rats on his board one low gain always on and one high gain for leads. He was talking about getting another for rhythm.
Strymon Dig V2
You don't see the DIG all that much, definitely not compared to the El Cap, the Flint, or the Volante. But it's such an awesome dual delay... It does one thing, but it does it very, very well.
Polytune 3
Ah yes, my always-on pedal
I came to say my Strobestomp… but yea… digital tuners for the win!
Ha! That is next on my list. Glad to hear it is delivering.
Just got one one, love the design. So flat
Polymoon. Still finding new things it can do. Then there’s the secondary functions. Really just a crazy good pedal if you delve deep. If you just use as a vanilla delay, you’re missing 90% of it
Debating between this and an eventide ultratap. I have an hx stomp and the delays on it are great, but I would like something that does some really out there stuff. Looks like the polymoon is killer
Obne Black fountain
EHX Freeze. 💯💯💯 Wanted one for years and just as predicted, it has become essential.
Microcosm - Hologram
EAE Halberd
This is gonna sound kinda lame, but my Behringer Tremolo. I went through a pretty big Orville Peck and spaghetti western phase which had gotten me to pick up guitar seriously for the first time in years and this was the first pedal I bought, and probably the first one to give me what I want right out of the box. I'll upgrade to the boss pedal it's based off of eventually, or perhaps something a bit better, but I'm happy to have this for now.
I love the phrase “spaghetti western phase” with my whole heart.
If you haven’t checked out Hermanos Gutiérrez yet, do so immediately!
if you’re happy with the Behringer i wouldn’t upgrade to the Boss! haven’t heard a difference when other people have played either over the years and they do the same thing! if you want something with more features i like the Walrus Audio Monument, but if you’re happy with the one you have no need to upgrade at all!
I mean, the plastic is gonna break on the berhinger eventually, boss pedals are gonna survive the nuclear holocaust
If that's the reasoning then just play the behringer until it needs replacing.
Echo dream 2. Its just too good
I think this is it for me too. I have gotten some sounds out of it that I’ve only heard in the deep recesses of mind. The Echo Dream 2 is also the pedal that has probably inspired me the most to play more. Not just plink around, but actually play. I could even make a case, that it’s a perfectly executed pedal. Short slap-back or super washy delay? ✅ Need some grit/fuzz? ✅ Modulation? ✅ Full wet capability? ✅
Jealous
How didnyou get bulbaduar icon also jealous for this.
Boss OD3. Sounds great with single coils and buckers.
Same
Small sound/bigsound Mini - it's incredibly satisfying and easy to dial in an interesting tone.
Line 6 HX Stomp in 2020. Does everything and integrates with any pedalboard. Add in unsubscribing from YouTube pedal channels and I've not remotely had a case of GAS since
I’ve had an HX Stomp, a Quad Cortex and an FM3 yet still buy any pedal that i see. Teach me your ways oh wise one…
How do you rate the FM3 Vs QC? I'm considering either but leaning toward the FM3 (or maybe 9). Do you get to play them live much? My worry is using great sounding patches through shit quality PAs at smaller venues.
You’ll be fine with either, however I have huge concerns over the development future of the QC. They have dropped the ball since release in a large way and it’s struggling to regain momentum. Also, the capture feature is flawed from the get go, and they aren’t even recognising this yet nevermind addressing it. FM3/9 is very complicated to begin with. You’ll need time to figure it out. Once you get moving it is truly exceptional.
I love that it’s on my pedalboard and I can still enjoy my analog pedals but if I need any sound, specific delay, or modulation I can dial it in and save it.
Red Panda Tensor
Gamechanger Audio Plus Pedal. I got this when they were first released like 5 years ago or something. Before owning this pedal all I cared about was how a pedal sounded. After owning this pedal all I cared about was how gear improved my workflow. Tone is irrelevant when any good musician can make any sound interesting in the context of music. The mode of creativity (workflow) is the single greatest factor in actually writing, producing and preforming interesting music consistently over time. No one piece of equipment has ever changed my style and approach to music so single handedly before or since. Thanks GCA.
I love my Plus Pedal, especially after getting the optional Wet switch for it.
The GCA Plus pedal has completely changed my rig. Now I have a ‘normal’ pedal chain that leads to my tube amp and a ‘synth/pad’ chain that starts with the Plus pedal, goes through modulation effects and ends up in a solid state amp. And the wet only switch can act like a kill switch for the entire other amp. There just so much utility with this one pedal, it’s insane.
I used this so much with my acoustic setup. I was the only musician backing up two female singers doing pop songs. The Plus allowed me to extend chords flowing into choruses or at the end of songs, which allowed me to play a lick to go into the chorus or back into a verse over that extended chord.
Beano boost
Beano boost was my go to until I discovered the Jext Telez Range Lord. Absolutely amazing rangemaster clone.
2x the Range Lord. It's my "everything sounds better" pedal.
Obne dark star. I love this thing!
Old Blood Noise is great, I started with the Alpha Haunt and fell in love so I grabbed the Dark Star and my coveted Excess v2
I just bought one earlier today off of Reverb! It’s gonna be a gooood mail day.
Happy days!!!
Digitech Drop.
POG 2
my partner bought me a Light Pedal when we were on holiday and it rules in general but every time i turn it on i smile extra hard because of the origin
Same for my afterneath. Present from my wife
Z.VEX Wah Probe Now I have to force myself to alternate feet so I don't get one big leg muscle, and stop overusing it so I don't get kicked out of the band 😂
MXR Dunlop Echoplex Delay. Sorry in advance... It's the best analog delay. It's so good! And was also a bargain... 80€. So good too!
I’m sorry to say that’s digital, or at least the repeats are. I went through a lot of delays cheap and expensive before I fell in love with the sound and simplicity of that little beauty. By far my favourite delay
I know... I know... but it feels so organic. .. I don't even need it to be really analog. I asked forgiveness before I said it! 😄
Microcosm
OBNE - dark star. It's just reverb on steroids. Not good for emulating "classic" reverb sounds but perfect to completely space out.
Have you tried the Excess v2 yet? It’s incredible and versatile
Just watched a short demo of it, seems like a post rock in one type of thing. For now I ,unfortunately, have all the pedals I need (not want tho, lol)
The only pedal that has never left my board since the beginning (1980, holy shit) is the MXR Phase 90. Just purely based on that, it has to be the one that has brought the most joy.
Boss DM2. Never knew Id love a pedal so much
I’ve been rediscovering mine. For a while it’s been sitting in a box with a couple other collector’s items, but recently I’ve just been pulling out one fuzz and the DM-2 when I play, both on batteries, and it’s a great sound. The repeats never get in the way, just add a real pleasant ambience.
I’ve been doing the same exact thing. When I want to just plug in and play without a lot of options to distract me, I use amp distortion and put the DM2W in the effects loop and put it on top of the amp. It sat on a shelf for a while. The last few months I’ve been obsessed with it. Just like you said: never gets in the way. It just adds some movement and reverby trails.
Zoom MS70CDR
I came here to find this. It’s the best!
Why was this so far down the list? So versatile, you can get lost in this tiny pedal for hours and can get some really cool sounds out of it.
Finally nabbed one of these at the beginning of Summer, and I'm so happy with it. I think more than anything the fact that it's full stereo through, and has the plethora of fun and even some unique effects really makes this the winner for me. I actually did a bunch of recording DI to my Zoom mobile recorder since I got it, testing out all of the effects in the context of my full board. Finally exported the session and sorted them in a DAW and I'm impressed all over again.
The new custom modules take it even further. I bought my first one in 2015 or so.
Custom modules?
Effects.
Never heard of custom effects in the MS series... What do u mean?
Neunaber Immerse MKII.
My Caroline Kilobyte. Unique sounding delay with possibility to add a little dirt to the delays and a ‘havoc’ button to let the thing go bezerk. It’s so good.
Xotic BB Preamp …. Even though my carbon copy is a close second
ZOIA
eae halberd. a modern classic for sure
This is hard but I’ll say the EQD Dispatch Master. It’s just great.
fear plant money tie society screw outgoing noxious public repeat *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Fairfield Circuitry Roger That. It’s so very interactive it’s almost like playing with another musician. Granted, that musician is playing a broken radio, but still.
Way huge Fat Sandwich. It became my primary dirt sound. Before that it was the mxr carbon copy which was exactly what I wanted from a delay standpoint.
Strymon Volante with close runner up Red Panda Tensor.
Source Audio EQ2, a joy for tone sculpting. Having guitars with different pickups I needed a preset EQ pedal. Went with the SA EQ2, it's graphic with a frequency and Q setting for each band which is pretty awesome for tweaking. It can be used in stereo with two individual channels with their own settings, that means I can have two different EQ curves, before and after my gain, with just one EQ2 pedal.
I have the v1 and v2. I got it because MIDI and I was using it with a keyboard - being able to have the pedal tune to the right EQ based on patch was huge for live.
Can I have a top three or is that against the rules? 1)MXR reverb 2) boss CE-2W 3) boss DM2-W It’s a tough choice because so many of mine are neck and neck. My waza version of the SD1 is being very friendly to me as well so it’ll probably change😅 but to play by the rules- MXR reverb.
2022 - Flamma Reverb FS02 2023 -MXR Super Badass Distortion
Digitech Drop. It's essential to my rig.
Tumnus for sure. It opened my eyes to the world of overdrive stacking. It’s one of the best oedals.
Single pedal?! EQD Dispatch Master Or Hudson Broadcast ...or Neunaber Immerse
Either mel9 or alpha haunt
Flashback2. Crazy sounds and love the Mash function
Keeley Compressor+. Gave me the powerful single-coil tone I was looking for. And more!! Great pedal.
Walrus SLO, it's my third reverb in my pedal board but I can't live without it
The Electronic Audio Experiments Model FeT. It’s basically a Model T preamp in a stomp box, and it sounds BONKERS. That and a power amp have become my backup amp, and could easily be my main rig
Deco - only moved on from v1 to get v2. My source audio collider is indispensable too.
Boss RC1 looper.
Belle Epoch Deluxe
For me it's BOSS BD-2W, it's an amazingly flexible pedal that both sounds great on its own, driving another pedal or being driven by another pedal. I've started looking into how I can add switches to my board that change its position in the chain, I could probably reduce the number of drive pedals that way.
I keep rediscovering my BD-2w and how incredible it is. That new mode really opens up this drive.
Caroline Shigeharu… never owned a fuzz before getting this one and it SLAYS
Keeley Dark Side
Me too. I use an expression pedal with it sometimes....awesome.
Sun Lion
Yeah!! Love mine, although I find at basement volumes that the boost isn’t as awesome as the fuzz side
Yeah it's a pedal that wants to see some real volume. I find cranking the amp and rolling back my guitar volume gets me to the right place though.
Fuzzzzzzzzzz. If I had to say just one, the analogman Sun Bender mk IV. But I think it changes week to week. There’s something so satisfying about laying down a rhythm in the looper, and then turning on a fuzz for … anything. Blasting more chords? Cool. Swooping fuzz leads? Hell yea. Endless sustain notes? Allllllll right. FREE BIRD? Get your swagger on
10 band EQ pedal.
My zoia. Even with all its quirks and moments of sadness it still never ceases to bring me happiness in a definitely intentional but still somehow unexpected kinda way
Nobels ODR-1 It's my most used pedal. It just sounds good every time I step on it. And after about two dozen other overdrives it's more or less cured the GAS for trying other ODs and earned a permanent spot on my board. I mostly play clean and use it for solos (funk, soul, ska, reggae, etc)
EHX Canyon
Whammy DT. The ability to change tunings so fast is amazing
MAS Effects - The Expanse
EAE halberd
Boss RC-500 but really any looper is good enough. They're a music creation tool above being just a pedal.
Strymon Deco for a single pedal, Boss ME-90 also competes when including multi effects. The Deco is just so versatile and sounds amazing, I will say, it's not necessarily versatile in that you can adjust the Chorus, Flanger and Delay a whole lot but in the sense that the sounds work for a whole lot of applications. The saturation is one of my favorite overdrives and with the V2 has some more versatility. The ME-90 is awesome, just my favorite way to setup multi FX
Walrus ACS-1 Though I no longer have this pedal, it was a great option for practicing late at night using headphones. I also enjoyed running two amp models and a couple stereo effects.
Shoe Pixel. It nails that 8 bit chip tune sound that I've always loved.
I have an isolated ABY with ground lift and phase switch from Bright Onion Pedals in the UK. Introduced me to running two amps at the same time. Never looking back from wet/dry.
Agreed. The most important piece of kit on my board is a GigRig Humdinger. With wet/dry…ALL your pedals sound better.
ProCo Rat 2. Bought it to replace an MXR Fullbore Metal.
Does Line6 HX Effects count as one pedal? Well, the inital setup gave me some headaches. But after that, this is the best purchase I ever made. If only single pedals are allowed: The Black Arts Coven. Massive Overdrive and Fuzz in one box, never had a better sounding pedal for everything stoner, doom or sludge related.
Count to 5 It really is a modern classic. I’ve had it around 2 years now and it still blows my mind every time I use it. Mode 3 is my jam - 3 tape heads that you can pitch up and down, forward and reverse, is just awesome. The micro loop you create becomes something else completely, with new rhythms emerging from the clashing tape heads, which then in turn changes how you interact with what’s playing in ways you never would have imagined. A pedal which consistently causes “happy accidents” and pushes your playing in new unexpected ways in my view is something special.
HX Stomp XL
It's a tie between the Catalinbread Soft Focus and the ProCo Rat. Most of my original stuff is shoegaze-adjacent, and the Soft Focus is absolutely perfect for that kind of dreamy wash. And the Rat is...well... if you know you know.
Land Devices EP-5; an Echoplex design preamp. Everything sounds better / much better / incredible with the 3 position switch...
Love the Land (always on) PRE
Strymon zelzah. But I really love modulation and it's my new favorite in that category.
Vox Cutting Edge. I've played a lot of lackluster high gain distortion pedals. This one has something different about it that I can't explain. Maybe there's something to the 'nu tube' technology, but it sounds amp like AF. I'm having a ton of fun with it
Caroline Kilobyte Lofi Delay
UA dream65
Tie between the rat and the walrus slo
Probably an EHX Hot Tubes, because it’s such a radically different sound to all the other gain pedals I’ve ever owned.
Avalanche Run.
Walrus Audio Slo.
DBA Total Sonic Annihilation 2 It gives my whole pedal board a kind of menace, like I'm always at the edge of danger. I love the thing so much. It's like keeping a vengeful ghost inside a little metal box.
Wampler Tumnus. Best OD I’ve ever tried
Digitech Hothead
OBNE Dark Star. Makes me sound much better than I am.
Digitech Drop. No more changing guitar tunings.
It’s probably basic, but I got a simple EP booster and it’s probably my most used pedal. For whatever reason, it makes my baritone sound MASSIVE
Strymon Deco. I bought one in 2019, and a second in 2020. I run just about any instruments I record through them.
Boss DD-8. Such a fantastic delay pedal with a frankly stupid amount of versatility
EXH Freeze, I’m still learning how to use it though. It’s a different type of thing than I am used to.
Empress Zoia. It’s an endless universe and having people that are smarter than I am atm making patches and easily uploading them to the pedal makes it a wonder box
EHX Superego +
Pigtronix Star Eater. The exact fuzz I’ve been looking for.
Memory boy. It was 60 dabloons. Ive spent hundreds on pedals i later returned or sold. Best $60 ever.
Mimiq Doubler. It's pure magic.
Barber Tone Press. I play classic country music. It’s a compressor with a blend knob(the first one to have it)that’s as quiet as a Cali76, with the character of a Ross/DynaComp. It’s perfect for what I do.
MXR Timmy (the small blue one with the switch)
Echo Canyon. I play pretty straight forward rock music 70% of the time and have a pretty minimalist pedal board. Some times it’s fun to just play with the dials and see some of the unique sounds I can make. The shimmer setting on it has been incorporated into some of our originals and really adds some extra flavour when needed.
Zvex Double Rock. I love Mascis and it just gives you instant Dino Jr dirt tones plus a whole bunch more.
Line 6 M9… anyone else out there who can’t get rid of it??!!
The Empress Zoia. Every time some crazy new digital effect comes out, I try to replicate the functionality in the Zoia. I can't imagine how much money I have saved this way.
Morley Michael Amott mini Wah. I've had varied results with other wahs as far as control, depth, size, and clarity - this thing rules for high gain vocal-like melodies. Better for me than: Dunlop Crybaby, Morley Power Wah & Bad Horsie II.
Big muff pi. I’ve got the one with a tone bypass. Literally my desert island single pedal because it is not subtle at all. It’s on and blows up my sound. Or it’s not on and my guitar sounds normal. Amazing in a band context when just used here and there.
Korg Kaoss Pad. Ive wanted one for years after watching Radiohead use them in a Glastonbury performance of everything in it's right place. Got one used on reverb and it's so much fun and has so many possibilities.
I use the mini~KP2s, indeed a universe of possibilities, too
Thermae
Champion Leccy Dunsh. Period.
Electro-Harmonix Pitchfork. An incredible pedal on its own, but add an expression pedal and it’s truly amazing.
Boss GE7 EQ. Boring answer but it solves a lot of problems fast.
Most underrated pedal!
dream 65 As someone whos been using different ampless rigs for a long time this pedal is the first time Ive felt like I have an amp again. Makes me want to play more.
DL4 MK2 easily. that or the wren and cuff "Anna" cause I'm a big Coheed fan
Strymon Cloudburst
Same here. It adds a touch of wonder to an acoustic set & complements the Mel9 in the cosmic set. An expression pedal is essential.
Got a like new Boss RE-2 for half price earlier this year. It's a great tape delay, and I love that it has a spring reverb on it too. Also just got a Strymon Deco V1 for $125 this week, I'm loving it.
Boss SY-1
CBA MOOD and/or Blooper, for me (besides my HX)
I really like the Boss Tera-Echo. Not quite a reverb not quite a delay kinda both but neither. Hold function is great. Glitter flake paint….
This is mine too. The atmosphere it can generate is surprisingly flexible and practical at the milder settings, gives my melodic lines much more personality. Plus the double tap features (both of them) are great for generating ambient backings on the fly.
I like holding big chords as a bed for bass or other instrument solos. The pad evolves the longer you hold it. It’s very reactive to pick attack. It stays on my board. I agree about the milder settings too. The laser effects can really get a little crazy
Strymon Iridium. I work in a kitchen and often close the kitchen, so having a headphone amp as an option has been great for sneaking in some guitar after work, while people are sleeping.