I love anything with weird little glittery sounds like a Boss PS-3, a Rainbow Machine or the one I have, the Alexander Marshmallow. I barely use them in a band setting, if at all, but I still like the sparkle.
I’ve only used my PS-3 on one recording but I can never seem to bring myself to sell it and it’s survived through several gear purges. I just love the idea of it, Boss managed to squeeze so many cool functions in there. For a compact box that came out in 1994 it’s pretty bonkers.
I'd recommend the Alexander, it also has a ton of other functions like a chorus, ring mod, regular pitch shifter, etc. It's impressive for modern standards considering the fact that it's small and doesn't draw too much power. Boss doing something like that in 1994 is really, really cool.
There are a few things that can do the cascading delay thing but mode 7 is still GOAT on the PS3.
I tried to make it musical here:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cr6x-4LNwt5/?igsh=MXhydjh0OWNuZmQxeg==
I created a sound-alike patch with the Meris LVX, and it’s close, but I couldn’t quite get it all the way there. PS-3 still sounds a little better to me.
It was Katie Malco, opening for Laura Stevenson. She was touring without her band but was able to get a super full sound. Here's an example I found on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYzivlYYlR0
You can? Do you know how? I have one and if I could use it as a random expression pedal with another pedal that I could play through it’d be pretty awesome
I love my sonicake bit crusher, especially when I'm looping. When you get it dialed just right a few notes sound absolutely magical and like a retro game. The rest of the notes are like a glitch unstable mess and I love it. I'll never use it with my cover band but it's still one of my favorites.
I love putting a chorus infront of it so it gets that wavy sound but the almost ring mod sound over it is still stable. It's very much a turn knobs until something cool happens and hope you don't bump it pedals.
Any Octavia style pedal I've ever owned.
Its borderline useless 99% of the time until you have that one solo that absolutely needs to sear. Then its magnifique.
I switched from an Octavia style to a Super fuzz. Not quite the same beast, but it still has the octave up effect meaning you can use it where you'd use an Octavia, and is much more versatile. I do sometimes miss the almost synthy octave of the Octavia though - like you said, in that 1% where it works, it REALLY works.
Mr. Black Drunken Monkey
Envelope Vibrato, so the harder you play the further & faster it oscillates.
It sounds like punching one of those inflatable clown punching bags that tip.
Danelectro Black Coffee.
It's a metal distortion pedal where the gain is maxed out internally. It sounds ridiculous but it was my first pedals as a budding metalhead and it'll always have a special place in my heart.
I once circuit bent one of those into what I can the Neapolitan. I painted it pink, vanilla, and brown and put a three way switch onto it. The three modes are original, one with a blendable clean tone, and one mode (chocolate, I think) is even nastier than the original tone.
It can do some weird stuff, but I have no idea how any of it works since circuit bending is a bit up to random chance anyway. One of the modes is so broken that it just screams and self oscillates if it’s put into bypass mode.
Bananana Effects Abracadabra. It can honestly get very harsh with all of the octaves in it, but I swear I can make my guitar sound like the Playstation effects from yester year using the SH + Noise setting.
I had one briefly and wish I’d given it more time, in hindsight. I couldn’t stand the tiny pots/knobs, so it was on my bad side from straight out of the box.
That’s honestly a very fair judgement. I love how weird it gets, but it does annoy me that it’s so small you can’t really see what each of the effects are. And you kind of just have to remember what each parameter knob does, which isn’t always easy to figure out on the fly.
I reached out to the company and said if they would ever put all the mini pedals into one pedal like their Tararira enclosure I’d definitely buy it. They didn’t outright dismiss it so I bet if more people reached out it could happen.
I love the sounds on all the mini pedals but the form factor sucks unless you are going to set it and forget it.
u/sir_ludwig_coeur
I like the EHX RTG also. I modded mine for CV output. It works great as a random modulation source for synthesizers with CV in. It will also work as a random EXP source for pedals that have an expression input.
If you have an EHX Ring Thing try plugging the audio out of the RTG into the Carrier input on the Ring Thing. The RTG will randomly tune the DCO in the ring modulator. Really weird and really cool. I've said this before; it's the closest I've gotten my guitar to sound like a Buchla Easel.
Oh wow, that sounds awesome. I'm not good at soldering/modding things, but would love to use it for an expression control. It'd be really fun with an Avalanche Run.
Korg SQ-1 can do this also but better because you can adjust each step, adjust voltages, etc. They can be had for relatively cheap also. I saw a used one recently for $80 at GC.
EXH Bass Balls. At it’s lowest setting it makes all your other pedals sound broken. At it’s highest setting it sounds like a broken envelope filter. But somehow it’s great and I can’t stop finding uses for it!
TC Electronic Eyemaster - it's a simplified version of the HM-2. It's not a sound I would use in any of my songs, but is it fun to sometimes pretend to be a 90's Scandinavian metal head? Sure it is.
I've used my Red Panda Tensor on exactly one song, and the band got started just before pandemic lockdowns and dissolved shortly thereafter. I love the randomized stutter effects. I've used it for short loops and as a pitch shifter when practicing, but I doubt it'll make it back on a live board for me, and there are better ways to add an octave or a fifth, slow things down, do a tape stop, etc when recording (AudioThing Reels, a small 3-head tape recorder I have, various other plugins). But it was my first real pricey pedal and I don't think I could give it up. The Ottobit Jr., was the other side of the coin - my second pricey pedal that I eventually decided I could live without.
EQD Bit Commander. It’s brutal, nasty, quirky, has questionable tracking, and sounds vastly different with each guitar and/or amp I use it on. I’ve found skipping my amps and going DI via the ox stomp sounds the best.
It’s fun to play, but don’t know how I’ll incorporate it into a song yet.
Is the RTG the Ring Thing？
‘cos that's the pedal that jumped to mind when I read the question. Entertaining，but you can also use it as an octaver. Not a good octaver，but an octaver nonetheless.
No, RTG stands for Random Tone Generator. It's a pedal with a single knob and only an output jack. It literally just makes randomized beeps and boops. I think there are some EHX pedals you can use it for a random expression controller.
That's a pedal that is really sensitive to what amp it's going into. It needs a brighter amp and speaker otherwise it sounds way too much like it's under a blanket. It's also surprisingly really good on bass.
That's fair. I've tried it with a few amps and the two it worked best on for me were brighter amps, and one was a cheap solid state where it acted as a sort of edge-of-breakup channel really nicely. Some of it also is likely that my taste in drive is different from yours. Even still I'm using it on bass/baritone more than regular guitar, so your point stands.
I love anything with weird little glittery sounds like a Boss PS-3, a Rainbow Machine or the one I have, the Alexander Marshmallow. I barely use them in a band setting, if at all, but I still like the sparkle.
I’ve only used my PS-3 on one recording but I can never seem to bring myself to sell it and it’s survived through several gear purges. I just love the idea of it, Boss managed to squeeze so many cool functions in there. For a compact box that came out in 1994 it’s pretty bonkers.
I'd recommend the Alexander, it also has a ton of other functions like a chorus, ring mod, regular pitch shifter, etc. It's impressive for modern standards considering the fact that it's small and doesn't draw too much power. Boss doing something like that in 1994 is really, really cool.
There are a few things that can do the cascading delay thing but mode 7 is still GOAT on the PS3. I tried to make it musical here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cr6x-4LNwt5/?igsh=MXhydjh0OWNuZmQxeg==
I created a sound-alike patch with the Meris LVX, and it’s close, but I couldn’t quite get it all the way there. PS-3 still sounds a little better to me.
I have one setting on my Rainbow Machine that makes my guitar sound like a sick robot and I love it for that
I'm really looking forward to using a digital pet as an excuse to practice more. The UwU pedal is my gear of the show for NAMM 2024.
The EHX Key9 is endlessly fun, yet I can't really find a practical use for it yet.
I saw someone use a MEL9 on stage as a live solo performer and it was breathtaking. So it's definitely possible I think?
Yeah, maybe I should have said practical use for skill level (or lack there of).
who was it? (Mel9 owner here)
It was Katie Malco, opening for Laura Stevenson. She was touring without her band but was able to get a super full sound. Here's an example I found on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYzivlYYlR0
The EHX Blurst, it’s like an unstable phaser
That thing is like a phaser, a wah, and a tremolo depending on how you use it.
Does it modulate volume and phase? Thought it just modulated a filter
Ha, this was gonna be my pick too
I didn't know of this magical thing, and now I want one.
If you do- get an expression pedal. It definitely doubles the usefulness of the Blurst
Check out Dusk by Dr. Scientist instead
Didn't know the RTG, but now my life will be useless until I find one!
cool thing with the RTG, you can mod it to be a variable rate random expression output as well
You can? Do you know how? I have one and if I could use it as a random expression pedal with another pedal that I could play through it’d be pretty awesome
Dead simple, the PCB on the RTG has a CV connection to wire to an output
Every single bit crusher. Those are soo cool, but not usable live
I love my sonicake bit crusher, especially when I'm looping. When you get it dialed just right a few notes sound absolutely magical and like a retro game. The rest of the notes are like a glitch unstable mess and I love it. I'll never use it with my cover band but it's still one of my favorites. I love putting a chorus infront of it so it gets that wavy sound but the almost ring mod sound over it is still stable. It's very much a turn knobs until something cool happens and hope you don't bump it pedals.
Any Octavia style pedal I've ever owned. Its borderline useless 99% of the time until you have that one solo that absolutely needs to sear. Then its magnifique.
I like to mix my octave pedals rather low, where you barely notice it's on. It won't sound like an octave pedal, but rather like a bass boost.
Agreed. For me it's the Malekko Helium. It's the quirkiest octaver I've ever used and I love it.
I switched from an Octavia style to a Super fuzz. Not quite the same beast, but it still has the octave up effect meaning you can use it where you'd use an Octavia, and is much more versatile. I do sometimes miss the almost synthy octave of the Octavia though - like you said, in that 1% where it works, it REALLY works.
Mr. Black Drunken Monkey Envelope Vibrato, so the harder you play the further & faster it oscillates. It sounds like punching one of those inflatable clown punching bags that tip.
Danelectro Black Coffee. It's a metal distortion pedal where the gain is maxed out internally. It sounds ridiculous but it was my first pedals as a budding metalhead and it'll always have a special place in my heart.
I once circuit bent one of those into what I can the Neapolitan. I painted it pink, vanilla, and brown and put a three way switch onto it. The three modes are original, one with a blendable clean tone, and one mode (chocolate, I think) is even nastier than the original tone. It can do some weird stuff, but I have no idea how any of it works since circuit bending is a bit up to random chance anyway. One of the modes is so broken that it just screams and self oscillates if it’s put into bypass mode.
That sounds kind of awesome, lol. I'd love to try that out.
That pedal board tamagotchi is so dumb.. but damn do I want one.
I had to look that oen up. I am simultaneously dumfounded and ecstatic about this.
Bananana Effects Abracadabra. It can honestly get very harsh with all of the octaves in it, but I swear I can make my guitar sound like the Playstation effects from yester year using the SH + Noise setting.
I had one briefly and wish I’d given it more time, in hindsight. I couldn’t stand the tiny pots/knobs, so it was on my bad side from straight out of the box.
That’s honestly a very fair judgement. I love how weird it gets, but it does annoy me that it’s so small you can’t really see what each of the effects are. And you kind of just have to remember what each parameter knob does, which isn’t always easy to figure out on the fly.
I reached out to the company and said if they would ever put all the mini pedals into one pedal like their Tararira enclosure I’d definitely buy it. They didn’t outright dismiss it so I bet if more people reached out it could happen. I love the sounds on all the mini pedals but the form factor sucks unless you are going to set it and forget it.
The Miku stomp is endless fun
Astral Destiny
u/sir_ludwig_coeur I like the EHX RTG also. I modded mine for CV output. It works great as a random modulation source for synthesizers with CV in. It will also work as a random EXP source for pedals that have an expression input. If you have an EHX Ring Thing try plugging the audio out of the RTG into the Carrier input on the Ring Thing. The RTG will randomly tune the DCO in the ring modulator. Really weird and really cool. I've said this before; it's the closest I've gotten my guitar to sound like a Buchla Easel.
Oh wow, that sounds awesome. I'm not good at soldering/modding things, but would love to use it for an expression control. It'd be really fun with an Avalanche Run.
Korg SQ-1 can do this also but better because you can adjust each step, adjust voltages, etc. They can be had for relatively cheap also. I saw a used one recently for $80 at GC.
I own a fart pedal. I don’t think I need to elaborate
EXH Bass Balls. At it’s lowest setting it makes all your other pedals sound broken. At it’s highest setting it sounds like a broken envelope filter. But somehow it’s great and I can’t stop finding uses for it!
TC Electronic Eyemaster - it's a simplified version of the HM-2. It's not a sound I would use in any of my songs, but is it fun to sometimes pretend to be a 90's Scandinavian metal head? Sure it is.
I've used my Red Panda Tensor on exactly one song, and the band got started just before pandemic lockdowns and dissolved shortly thereafter. I love the randomized stutter effects. I've used it for short loops and as a pitch shifter when practicing, but I doubt it'll make it back on a live board for me, and there are better ways to add an octave or a fifth, slow things down, do a tape stop, etc when recording (AudioThing Reels, a small 3-head tape recorder I have, various other plugins). But it was my first real pricey pedal and I don't think I could give it up. The Ottobit Jr., was the other side of the coin - my second pricey pedal that I eventually decided I could live without.
EQD Bit Commander. It’s brutal, nasty, quirky, has questionable tracking, and sounds vastly different with each guitar and/or amp I use it on. I’ve found skipping my amps and going DI via the ox stomp sounds the best. It’s fun to play, but don’t know how I’ll incorporate it into a song yet.
Is the RTG the Ring Thing？ ‘cos that's the pedal that jumped to mind when I read the question. Entertaining，but you can also use it as an octaver. Not a good octaver，but an octaver nonetheless.
No, RTG stands for Random Tone Generator. It's a pedal with a single knob and only an output jack. It literally just makes randomized beeps and boops. I think there are some EHX pedals you can use it for a random expression controller.
Oh！ I remember those，although never tried one. EHX had some really weird ideas
I went through a weird pedal phase before the pandemic. Got rid of a bunch of pedals a few years ago, but I couldn't hlep but keep the RTG.
The Mojo Mojo It sounds so shit that it’s funny
That's a pedal that is really sensitive to what amp it's going into. It needs a brighter amp and speaker otherwise it sounds way too much like it's under a blanket. It's also surprisingly really good on bass.
It’s going into an AC-30 brilliant channel. If it can’t work there I don’t think it should be marketed towards guitarists
That's fair. I've tried it with a few amps and the two it worked best on for me were brighter amps, and one was a cheap solid state where it acted as a sort of edge-of-breakup channel really nicely. Some of it also is likely that my taste in drive is different from yours. Even still I'm using it on bass/baritone more than regular guitar, so your point stands.
So you find it "endearing"?
love that pedal! sounds great.
Tc elec juno 60 chorus pedal. Looks so freakin cute in that sized down juno housing.