Looking for best pedal

[Dpendery]

Greetings everyone, you have all helped me a lot in the past. My question now is: What would be the best next pedal to buy for my sound. As I have told you before, I like a very chorus drenched, celestial, Andy Summers, New Age sound. I have only two pedals now. I have a Giggity, which makes a small contribution, and an HBE compressor retro--a must have pedal that does wonders for the mids and highs on my Fender and Ibanez. Now I wonder, what next? The chorus on my Cube amp does a reasonably good job. The delay is simple but works. So what next? A delay/echo? One of those rotating amp sounds a la David Gilmour? Some sort of reverb? Octave effect? Some sort of boost? I look forward to your comments. Just a pedal, not a big thing, just one add on.

[skipclone 1]

It looks like you`ve been away for a while!

If you`re not sure what you need, it might be helpful to work from what you`re sure you don`t need. A boost would be good for lead breaks, but it sounds like you are more of a chordal type person. Octavers are also mostly for melodic passages. Think about how and how often you would use a pedal and that might help your decision.

[Winston Psmith]

I like a very chorus drenched, celestial, Andy Summers, New Age sound. The chorus on my Cube amp does a reasonably good job. The delay is simple but works. So what next? A delay/echo? One of those rotating amp sounds a la David Gilmour? Some sort of reverb? Octave effect? Some sort of boost? I look forward to your comments. Just a pedal, not a big thing, just one add on.

 

Excuse me for compressing your post, first of all. A lot of that 80's Andy Summers sound came out of a Roland JC-120; same thing for much of Adrian Belew's swirling 80's Chorus sounds. Currently, I believe Andy Summers is using the Red Witch Empress. I like my Pigtronix Quantum Time Modulator, which is a lot of name for a Chorus/Vibe pedal. Really comes alive in stereo, and hardly takes up any space on your pedalboard.

 

IMHO, since you already have a dirt box, and a Chorus pedal would cover your Modulation effects slot for a while, a Delay, or Delay/Reverb would be the next thing to look at. Not only does a bit of Delay or Reverb add some depth to your sound, but a good Delay box can be a compositional tool as well, allowing you to create rhythmic patterns of repeating notes. Here's a link to an article about recent Delay pedals that should offer you more than enough to choose from. 20 best Delay pedals/2016

 

You might also consider looking at multi-fx, before you start investing money in an extensive, and potentially expensive, pedal collection. The basic Wah-OD-Mod-Delay/Reverb pedal array can wind up costing as much, or more than, you'd have spent on a good multi-fx unit. I know I keep pushing these things, but for me, they've proven both useful and dependable. Good luck, whatever you choose.

[Caevan O’Shite]

Winston has some very good advice for you there. A good multi-effects unit may serve you VERY well.

 

I'd bet that you'd absolutely love the Strymon TimeLine. It's almost a multi-effects pedal in that it can call up so many incredible, complex delay-effects from 12 virtual delay machines and 200 memory-slots; Strymon refers to it as a "Multidimensional Delay", and that's no exaggeration.

 

I have and absolutely LOVE a Strymon El Capistan virtual tape-echo pedal; Strymon calls it "dTape Echo", it's a tape-flavored digital-delay pedal that emulates the features, details, colors and quirks of THREE vintage tape-echo-machines.

 

It has a BEAUTIFUL "Wow & Flutter" type modulation that is based on the effects of tape-reels, motors, and transport-mechanisms like capstans and magnetic tape-heads found in vintage tape-machines. You may really like this type of modulation as an alternative to or in combination with the chorus and flange type modulation that you already know.

 

The TimeLine will do a lot of what the El Capistan will do- not ALL of it, but a lot- and also a whole LOT MORE.

 

If you can afford a TimeLine, and then further on down the road also got a Strymon blueSky or BigSky (especially the latter, a "Multidimensional Reverb" pedal comparable to the TimeLine), you'll be in "very chorus drenched, celestial, Andy Summers, New Age" Heaven.

 

For something of a sort of 'quick 'n' dirty' instant-gratification echo and modulation fix, look for the best deal you can find on a used Dunlop MXR Carbon Copy analog echo w/modulation pedal. You'll like it for echo and you would probably still want to keep and use it even if you got all of the aforementioned pedals- you'd always find some use for it along with them or as an alternative, such as short dark slap-back or another delay-time to feed into the other echo/delay effects. And if you ever lost it or something happened to it, they're easy to find for replacement. I see that there's one on Reverb.com for $75 (US$) right now...

[CEB]

What I think depends on exactly which Roland Cube you have. I think the Cube 80 is actually a decent amp. But if it is one of the smaller Cubes then .....

 

Get a multi effect pedal. Something like a Line 6 or Roland GT or ME. I don't really like multi effect pedal boards myself but it makes no sense to me to go out and buy a $200+ delay or a $160+ Chorus unit or a $200 dirt pedal etc.... then run it through a Roland Cube. Get a nice Multi Effects unit then later get you a nice amp with a 12" driver with some good bottom end and a nice round tone.... Then build your sound from there.

[Larryz]

+1 on a good multi effects pedal...as it sounds like you are looking for a variety of sounds and color Dependry. A good multi can save you a lot of money. My little Roland EX4 Cube gets good enough verb and delay for me during my practices at home...but that's about all the pedal sounds I need for what I play. My tube amps have great reverb so I really don't need any pedals unless I want to get back into playing some rock some day...and I have a multi that can get what little I need in the rock and blues world.

[Winston Psmith]

If you're not into programming, get one of the Boss ME-series; very user-friendly, with a bunch of knobs, and basic parameters, like you'd have on pedals, along with some more exotic effects like Slow Gear & Freeze. If you want more depth of programming, something like the GT-100. The Boss units are very good for OD, Modulation and Delay effects, less so for Wah/Filter effects

 

If you want more emphasis on Amp Modeling, some of the Line 6 multis are very strong in that area; great Wah/Filter effects, too. If you don't need, or don't want, Amp modeling, the Line 6 M5, M9 & M13 offer you banks of effects models, and a Looper, without Amp Modeling.

[DocPate]

If you're not into programming, get one of the Boss ME-series; very user-friendly, with a bunch of knobs, and basic parameters, like you'd have on pedals, along with some more exotic effects like Slow Gear & Freeze.

 

Great pedal!

[Dannyalcatraz]

I have MFX devices and individual pedals. Each has its own strengths & weaknesses.

 

Compared to pedals, a good MFX is relatively compact, cost effective, and is easy to set up & use. It will typically have many usable tones.. It will be dependable & rugged.

 

In the negative, it WILL have tones you do not like, and if it defies the odds and goes wrong...you lose EVERYTHING.

 

Pedals, OTOH, will require more cables for connection and & power supplies- that means more points of failure. If something goes wrong, it may take you time hunting down the problem,

 

But if something does go wrong, you can eliminate the failed component and retain all of your other settings.

 

Pedals also hold the edge in individuality. Not only will you find a huge variety of pedals of a given kind, pedal makers haven't given up on creativity yet- all kinds of innovative pedals are out there, either combining effects types & controls in new and interesting ways, but even new kinds of effects and control methods.

[Dannyalcatraz]

Given your stated preferences, one of the pedals I'd recommend:

 

 

(Caevan and I both have that one.)

[Dannyalcatraz]

Adding to the suggestions above...

 

The Great Big Exciting World of Reverb, Echo & Delay!

 

 

Keeley

 

 

 

Catalinbread

 

 

 

Boss

 

 

 

Death By Audio

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwexrkcErR0&sns=em

 

 

Caroline Guitar Company

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTaA5HpOrDQ&sns=em

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYsEZhwGUZ4&sns=em

 

 

Line 6

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRQ9U1abhd8&sns=em

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8d2fpksa40&sns=em

 

 

Red Witch

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdOEUQgtSE4&sns=em

 

 

Walrus

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68vIv0DCu0w&sns=em

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bj97_CzvWE&sns=em

 

 

Blackout Effectors

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EFJxBI752s&sns=em

 

 

Earthquaker Devices

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbEKie_WjPw&sns=em

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8vQQ01uIFk&sns=em

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDPQX0_9aCI&sns=em

 

 

Empress

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc-dkMn54TI&sns=em

 

 

Dr. Scientist

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5DaxU0_DGc&sns=em

 

 

Spaceman Effects

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdGzXAH3g-4&sns=em

 

 

Eventide

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8c9149i-qQc&sns=em

 

 

 

 

[Larryz]

@ Dpendery, You could also spend a few hours on the "Cool New Effects" thread. A ton of cool pedals with YouTube clips and reviews on that thread. Also, you can call up just about any pedal you are interested in on the YouTube demonstrations and get some pretty good ideas before buying one. Your local GC and music stores usually have a pedals setup in the store for trying many of them out. If not, they will usually have a sound room with an amp so you can try a pedal before buying...good luck and the hunt can be fun! Don't forget to attend some local bands concerts and check out their effects. One picture tells a thousand words if you find a sound you like out there...

[Dannyalcatraz]

These would seem to be right up your alley:

 

 

[Caevan O’Shite]

These would seem to be right up your alley:

 

[video:youtube]

 

Ooooh, I really like that Keeley Dark Side! I would love to have one, myself- and it's getting harder to show me a pedal that I'll want, that does things that I don't already have covered well enough...

[skipclone 1]

That`s a lot of pedal in a small space!

 

I just noticed that the OP didn`t mention a budget-if anything goes, there`s

this:

 

http://www.fractalaudio.com/p-axe-fx-ii-preamp-fx-processor.php

[p90jr]

I don't think Andy Summers used Roland amps back in the day... Fender Twins and Marshalls. There was a point where he was endorsing Dean Markley amps, but it coincides with the time when The Police went inactive, so...

 

Excuse me, I'm a bit of a life-long Summers nut.

 

I'll post a vid of him showing off a new rack effects system in the late 80s, but it also comes from a point in time when The Police were disbanded.

 

The sound on all of those records up to Synchronicity - with the exception of using a Roland guitar synth for a few things like the anti-solo in "Don't Stand So Close To Me (which he recreated live with just a phaser pedal) - are effects that were old-school at the time, even...

 

the biggest being Echoplex tape delays (the older tube-driven models), of which he had several running together.

 

actually, I just remembered that GP had a recently story on just this topic:

 

Play Like Andy Summers during The Police years

 

I had simple tools: a Telecaster, a Fender Twin, and maybe an MXR Phase 90, Summers revealed to GP. The next thing I got was a chorus, and that, along with the Echoplex, became very characteristic of the Police sound. I probably got up to four pedals taped to the floor before I could afford a custom Pete Cornish pedalboard with a MuTron, a couple of fuzz boxes, an envelope filter, chorus units, and phasers, all of which Id combine with the Echoplex.

 

Summers also incorporated Marshall amps and a Roland guitar synthesizer into his rig.

 

When I have to play Police songs from the second through last record (the first record is almost all straight, with a little cocked wah solo on So Lonely and a bit of Phase here and there), I use a Tele Custom or Strat and a compressor, Electro Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man or Memory Boy for chorus and delay, an MXR Phase 100 and maybe a Flanger. Most people say it sounds exactly like the records.

 

 

[p90jr]

Greetings everyone, you have all helped me a lot in the past. My question now is: What would be the best next pedal to buy for my sound. As I have told you before, I like a very chorus drenched, celestial, Andy Summers, New Age sound. I have only two pedals now. I have a Giggity, which makes a small contribution, and an HBE compressor retro--a must have pedal that does wonders for the mids and highs on my Fender and Ibanez. Now I wonder, what next? The chorus on my Cube amp does a reasonably good job. The delay is simple but works. So what next? A delay/echo? One of those rotating amp sounds a la David Gilmour? Some sort of reverb? Octave effect? Some sort of boost? I look forward to your comments. Just a pedal, not a big thing, just one add on.

 

There is, in effect, an "Andy Summers" pedal from the 80s... one that I believe was designed for or with him... the Boss Dimension C. It is a "3D" chorus pedal.

 

[video:youtube]

[Dpendery]

I've said it before: You guys know what you are talking about. A lot of good suggestions (the Empress, Red Witch and Dark Side jumped out at me). A lot of videos to watch. Thanks very much. I look forward to getting the budget together ($70-$120, as I said I am not going for something huge). Thanks again.

[Dannyalcatraz]

Here are 2 modern Echoplex clones- the Catalinbread Belle Epoch and Dawner Prince Boonar.

 

Reverb Search: Belle Epoch

 

Reverb Search: Boonar

I own a Belle Epoch and like it. Eric Johnson posted pix of one of his rigs a few months ago- he had 3 of them in his signal chain...

[Dannyalcatraz]

p90jr, correct me if I am wrong, but didn't Andy Summers also run 2-3 Klon Centaurs in his rig at one point?

[Scott Fraser]

There is, in effect, an "Andy Summers" pedal from the 80s... one that I believe was designed for or with him... the Boss Dimension C. It is a "3D" chorus pedal.

[video:youtube]

 

I have one of those. They are rarer than hens' teeth. It's basically a Roland Dimension D in a pedal, but not quite. The Dimension D was a 2 rack space studio unit with those same 4 pushbuttons, no knobs. I believe it was a matrix of 4 preset chorus units in parallel. It was subtle & you never really heard a singular up/down sweep, just a swirl. The Dimension C pedal has, I believe, just 2 internal preset chorus units in parallel. Again it is subtle & much more complex than a simple LFO driven up/down sweep. The Dimension C also is as quiet as a studio unit, which is why it found its way onto my pedal board. The 4 buttons are basically a range from less to more. I always kept mine on the first button setting. They were made for maybe a year in the late 80s, & quickly discontinued. A truly great pedal, they now go for "vintage" prices. If you ever find one for sale, buy it. If you don't use it you can always sell it for more than you bought it for.

[Winston Psmith]

I had one of the Dimension C pedals, and sold it off with all the other vintage pedals.

 

It was a cool sound, but you can get very close with some more modern devices. Line 6 and Roland also have models of the Dimension effect in some of their processors; IMHO, they get the 'close-but-no-cigar' rating. They sound a bit like the Dimension C, but not exactly the same.

 

I saw one recently going for $275US, at a local music store. If you find one for under $100, grab it.

[Caevan O’Shite]

There is, in effect, an "Andy Summers" pedal from the 80s... one that I believe was designed for or with him... the Boss Dimension C. It is a "3D" chorus pedal.

 

[video:youtube]

 

I have one of those. They are rarer than hens' teeth. It's basically a Roland Dimension D in a pedal, but not quite. The Dimension D was a 2 rack space studio unit with those same 4 pushbuttons, no knobs. I believe it was a matrix of 4 preset chorus units in parallel. It was subtle & you never really heard a singular up/down sweep, just a swirl. The Dimension C pedal has, I believe, just 2 internal preset chorus units in parallel. Again it is subtle & much more complex than a simple LFO driven up/down sweep. The Dimension C also is as quiet as a studio unit, which is why it found its way onto my pedal board. The 4 buttons are basically a range from less to more. I always kept mine on the first button setting. They were made for maybe a year in the late 80s, & quickly discontinued. A truly great pedal, they now go for "vintage" prices. If you ever find one for sale, buy it. If you don't use it you can always sell it for more than you bought it for.

 

I had one of the Dimension C pedals, and sold it off with all the other vintage pedals.

 

It was a cool sound, but you can get very close with some more modern devices. Line 6 and Roland also have models of the Dimension effect in some of their processors; IMHO, they get the 'close-but-no-cigar' rating. They sound a bit like the Dimension C, but not exactly the same.

 

I saw one recently going for $275US, at a local music store. If you find one for under $100, grab it.

 

Might this be a viable alternative? Though not particularly cheap, either, or necessarily easy to find... :idk

 

________ [video:youtube]

 

________ [video:youtube]

[Winston Psmith]

@Caevan: Damn, that is a very cool sounding-pedal! However, IMHO, the Boss DC-2 was more subtle, with less obvious pitch-bending/LFO sound, more like stereo detuning. The DC-2 was not for fans of sea-sick Chorus sounds, which the Seraph excels at! (And yes, that's a good thing!)

 

The Pigtronix QTM will get you close, and so will your old favorite, the T.C. Electronics Chorus/P.M./Flanger, although the QTM has the upper hand with multiple BBD's. Haven't tried most of the current run of Chorus pedals, I must admit, as I'm happy with what I've got, (the QTM and the T.C.).