Question: 5-6 pedals that will always work for you for any style, genre, guitar ,or amp?

Pine Apple Slim

Pine Apple Slim

Armchair Expert
Ive kinda boiled it down out of my substantial collection what pedals I could be happy with no matter what guitar or amp Im using.

Joe Bossa Mini Fuzz Face>Boss TU3>Nobels ODR-1>Xotic RC Booster. and/or Diamond Jr Comp>Source Audio Collider

Anything else Id need is only for a specific song, like some kind of modulation or filter effect that Id rarely use otherwise.
For me it's usually phaser, and sometimes I want an env filter if Im doing Jerry stuff. So for a specific need I might add my Ph90 or MicroQTron.

Other than that I can make these 5-6 pedals work no matter what the amp, guitar, or genre.
The JoeB FF is pretty tame as fuzzes go but plenty fuzzy for me, and cleans up with vol knob, even with HBs.
TU3 is just a classic that always works.
The Nobels sound is my fav all around overdrive flavor. For some rigs the bog standard ODR-1 can be too bassy, but theres a bass cut switch if you need it. I like the green side of my Protein better, but I could do without the BB side. If I had a do over Id prob get the Browne Atom instead.
The RC is just a good clean boost with great eq.
with the FF, ODR-1, and RC I can pretty much cover everything across the gain spectrum.
The Collider pretty much does it all for verbs and delay.

I have tons of pedals, some expensive and some not, that Id probably prefer in some combination for a specific rig or application. But if push came to shove and I had to pick what always works, these would be the ones.
 
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HSS Stat

Tu3
CS3 Compressor
JHS Screamer
MT2
Holy Grail Max
JHS Tape Delay

NUX Horseman to boost or add additional overdrive would be nice to keep.
 
I have this oddball Tech21 pedal that I bought as a STOD many years ago. Turns out, it's very flexible, but must not have sold well. The two drive knobs (A and A/B) imitate class A or class A/B amps and has a 3 band EQ. The 3 buttons allow storing 3 presets for all the knobs. I set the first as a mostly clean/sparkly drive, the second as a bluesy/slight breakup and the third with over-the top drive. Not sure why it didn't catch on. It's pretty much my always-on drive. :shrug:

tech-21-double-drive-3x-mod-145497.jpg
 
shoeless said:
I have this oddball Tech21 pedal that I bought as a STOD many years ago. Turns out, it's very flexible, but must not have sold well. The two drive knobs (A and A/B) imitate class A or class A/B amps and has a 3 band EQ. The 3 buttons allow storing 3 presets for all the knobs. I set the first as a mostly clean/sparkly drive, the second as a bluesy/slight breakup and the third with over-the top drive. Not sure why it didn't catch on. It's pretty much my always-on drive. :shrug:

tech-21-double-drive-3x-mod-145497.jpg
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That looks like a nice all in one gain pedal. Id love to be able to get my typical 3 gain stage set-up from one box.
 
I wouldn't say I play many styles, but I guess I've kept the ones that work the best for me.

What I have:

Cry Baby Wah (vanilla)
Phase 90 reissue (non-LED)
Boss TU-2
Korg Pitchblack
TS-9
RAT2
Boss DD-3

What I use:

TU-2 -> TS-9 -> Boss DD-3 into my 68 Vibro Champ, but often simply just the Korg Pitchblack and the Champ.

What I might or would like to use for a more 'rawk' kind of gig:

Cry Baby Wah -> Korg Pitchblack -> Phase 90 -> RAT2 into an AC30 or similar style of amp. Or maybe the TS-9 if I was using the Brilliant channel half cranked.

Back in the day my rock rig chain was Cry Baby -> Phase 90 -> TS-9 -> a JMP w. some preamp gain but not totally cranked. No tuner as we did that before going on stage using non-pedal stuff.
 
I've been on a bit a bit of an anti-corksniffer thing in recent years so my picks are general type of pedals rather than specific ones. Most of my pedals these days are either Boss or TC - and there isn't really a huge difference between those and the "boutique" stuff. IMO. The guitar and amp/speaker is far more important than what pedal brand you use. YMMV obviously :wink:

A tube screamer type pedal.
A distortion/OD - preferrably two different ones for a bit of variety
Chorus
Delay
Reverb
Some sort of lead boost thing (I like the TC Spark mini for that).

I could easily get through 90% of my bands' setlists with just that.
 
Dexter Inferno said:
I've been on a bit a bit of an anti-corksniffer thing in recent years so my picks are general type of pedals rather than specific ones. Most of my pedals these days are either Boss or TC - and there isn't really a huge difference between those and the "boutique" stuff. IMO. The guitar and amp/speaker is far more important than what pedal brand you use. YMMV obviously :wink:

A tube screamer type pedal.
A distortion/OD - preferrably two different ones for a bit of variety
Chorus
Delay
Reverb
Some sort of lead boost thing (I like the TC Spark mini for that).

I could easily get through 90% of my bands' setlists with just that.
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I like my boutique pedals, but I also own Joyo. I'm convinced I could get along just fine with nothing but Joyo.

On guitar forums, a recurring thread topic has often been, "Pick one brand and build a virtual pedal board." I would often pick EHX because they seem to have the largest variety of different types of FX. I own a few EHX pedals. I like their stuff, but some of it has flimsy build quality IMO.

Boss have the meat and potatoes covered. They don't have the variety of EHX, but Boss is nearly bullet proof.

PunkKitty said:
My Boss Gx-10 does everything I need it to, and much more.
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I don't doubt it. Modern modeling is great. I could easily use just my Line 6 HX Stomp and have more variety than I would ever need.
 
I just went against my policy of disliking mini pedals and ordered a phase 95.
2 pedals I usually want on a board but are either always on or rarely used, are some light compression and phaser.
I only want some light comp w/ my single coil Tele and the Falcon's Filtertrons. The SG's HBs are fine without it.
I prefer my reg sized Diamond Jr comp but my JHS Whitey Tighty works just as well if I dial it in carefully.
The Diamond Jr, phase 90 and Walrus Lillian just take up too much valuable space esp if Im putting together a simple compact board.
Im prob gonna sell them both if I like the Ph95. the Lillian's a great pedal but it has way more features than I need and I actually prefer the tone and simplicity of the Ph90 for 99% of what I do. The Ph95 has that plus another couple options which should be plenty for me.

If anybody is interested in a standard block letter Ph90 or the Lillian shoot me a PM.
 
Lerxst said:
delay,
fuzz,
od,
phaser
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Yea, thats basically all I want if Im playing rock w/ humbuckers, or if I want to pair a Strat & Fuzz Face.
For the cleaner stuff I normally do with a Tele or Filtertrons, I usually ditch the fuzz and go w 2 ODs or OD/boost plus some light compression.
 
Just saw a clip the other day of McKnight talking about how the Fender Tone Master series, unlike the original tube versions that they're replicating, are inconsistent with pedals. I remember pedals sounding different from a solid state amp to a tube amp as well...and not like a Fender or Marshall or Vox or Boogie or whatever sound from a each other, but the interaction. Still completely usable, but the sound and sometimes feel were different.

So, I don't think there's a guarantee that the specific pedal we love will work in all situations. That said, I do think that there are pedal types that will help most of us cover all the main sounds we want, kinda like Lerxst's list. We may just need to find the ones that work best with the amp we're using. The guitar plays an obvious role too. But a combo of these basics should cover most needs
  • overdrive/dirt pedal
  • distortion or fuzz (if the above isn't giving you all the flavors you want)
  • delay
  • modulation (chorus or flanger, maybe both, some folks prefer a phaser)
That's really good at covering most stuff, but these can be useful if you want them:
  • wah
  • EQ
  • looper
Reverb is the most obvious one missing from the options I've two-cented, but that is usually on the amp I'm using and I'm good with it. While I prefer an analog reverb given the choice, I can appreciate having several voices as offered in most pedals.

Analog vs. digital is a choice to make as well. There's something to be said the various analog delay recipes vs. even a great multi-voiced digital delay.

My collection is:
  • DS 1
  • CE 2
  • Flashback II
  • Thunderstorm Flanger
  • BoG Fuzz Face Mini
  • Ditto Looper
These are in the collection, but need servicing:
  • MESA V-Twin preamp
  • Dunlop Crybaby
Just plugged in my Fender Blues DeVille 2X12 for the first time in decades last month...it also needs to be serviced to work properly. Beyond my current skill set, but I'm working on trouble shooting as much as possible before taking it anywhere. I'd like it to work, but I don't wanna spend much to get it there. Beyond that, it is much too loud for my needs...been looking at some solid state or other lower watt tube options...
 
Ive been on a simplification kick which is kinda the inspiration for this thread. Ive gone thu tons of OD/boost/preamp combos & mod/delay options to figure out what's the best result with the least number of pedals given the demands of the gig and guitar and amp I want to use.
A few things Ive discovered-
If Im not gonna be picky about the guitar and amp then standard issue stuff is fine-
Boss pedals, ODR-1, MXR etc. Simple, bulletproof, and I can make them work with just about and guitar & amp I own.

But when it comes down to the minutia of a specific guitar/amp/venue/style of music to be played there are other options I like even better.

At home it's great fun to run a huge board with a buncha fancy boutique pedals into a wet dry rig, but thats totally impractical to play out with.

Under normal circumstances I like to have 2-3 gain staging options, some simple modulation, (I prefer phase to chorus or flanger), and a simple delay (+reverb if the amp doesn't have it).
I can do it up right w/fancy pedals like my Protein+Notaklon+Plumes, maybe a fuzz or DOD250 or Rat, Diamond comp, Walrus Lillian, & SA Collider. But those are mostly big power hungry pedals that require a pretty big board to shlep around, and if you're only using a preset or two, not really worth the trouble. I never use tap tempo and my delay is usually just set to a short fattening or slapback. I find I prefer a tape sound kinda in between my dark DM2w or bright DD3, the tape setting on the Colllider is perfect. I tried a TC Gauss a while back and it sounded good but it sucked signal so bad I found it unusable. My old Dan Echo analog is good but it's big, heavy, oddly shaped, and the knobs are cramped and hard to get to. So I have a Series 3 Tape Delay on order to hopefully find a simple, compact, & lightweight alternative.

My goal is for most playing out situations to wind up with a compact and simple core board of
tuner>1 to 3 gain stages (that includes the amp itself, OD, distortion, fuzz, boost, and compression)> phaser>simple tape delay.
Anything else exclusively depends on the set list and is usually unnecessary.

Next thing Im gonna try is TU3, Whitey Tidy, EP boost, Ph95, one OD still to be determined, & 3 Series Tape Delay, into my little Crate Vintage Club for my ultimate grab n go easy peasy rig. I have a sufficiently clean powered little one row mini board I think it will all fit on.
 
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TBH, I don't get too hung up w/ specific pedals for specific guitars or specific amps .....or at least I've managed to buy a bunch of gear with enough inherent flexibility that I've manged to get by adequately. Not to say I don't have preferences on pedals. Edit: granted, I tend to steer clear of pedals that need tweaking of internal switches/pots that aren't readily accessible.
 
Lerxst said:
TBH, I don't get too hung up w/ specific pedals for specific guitars or specific amps .....or at least I've managed to buy a bunch of gear with enough inherent flexibility that I've manged to get by adequately. Not to say I don't have preferences on pedals. Edit: granted, I tend to steer clear of pedals that need tweaking of internal switches/pots that aren't readily accessible.
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Im trying to get back to that point myself. Went for years with only a 1-12"/100w/2ch Peavey combo & wah, and was just glad to have em.
Then for another 10-15 yrs just with guitar straight in the Crate VC 20w 1-10" combo, tho granted I didn't play much electric over that time.
Since picking the electric back up kinda seriously in the last 10-15 yrs it's been an orgy of gear, mainly because I had the disposable income and the time and space to experiment. It's been fun and educational but ultimately kinda pointless. I'm wanting to thin the accumulated pedal herd substantially but I'm still trying to decide what I really want to keep, and the ever present urge to try something new and different is hard to suppress.
Re complicated and expensive deep dive pedals, I agree they are usually not worth the expense or time and effort required to fully justify them.
For example Ive been on a quest for an env filter that works for me to do the Garcia thing, but I've always been reluctant to spend the $ or give up the board space for a real Mutron or big ol QTron+. Im prob never gonna be in a full GD cover band playing guitar, it's just a private obsession. I tried a friend's old Boss autowah and a couple different mini pedals, but they just didnt have that sweet spot. So I splurged on a SA Spectrum w/ a relatively small footprint that Im pretty sure could run the Space Station, but I still can't coax a satisfying Jerry thing out of the standard settings. I did stumble on a great bass filter in it, so theres that I guess.
I finally just got a Nano Qtron. It's small, pretty inexpensive, and does the thing I want it for better than anything else Ive tried so close enough.
 
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