Starter

geemobee

Hey Chaps,

So in my attempt to avoid purchasing the wrong stuff I am requesting advice from the esteemed GuitarForum experts.

What would be the first 2 or 3 items that I would need to get my stomp box collection and setup going?

Cheers

Gary

MikeM

Do you have a nice amp?

geemobee

... Erm, its Cube80XL

raithza

nothing wrong with a cube, it's a great amp, but being a modeling amp, it may not take to pedals as nicely as a tube amp. I have a Vox AD50VT, which is very similar to the cube's. Generally, the more subtle a pedal is supposed to be, the less it is suited to being used with a modeling amp. i.e. my MXR blue box sounds cool, but any tubescreamer-style overdrive is generally a waste.

Then of course what pedals you buy depends on what you want to do with them. You should at least give a genre ? but, generally, get a tuner pedal (korg pitchblack/boss tu-2), some form of overdrive/fuzz/distortion depending on preference (way too many options to list) and then some form of modulation (wah,phase, chorus etc).

Do you have a footswitch for your amp? If not, get that before anything else. As the Cube has built in distortion that is supposed to be pretty good, I'd go straight for a wah, a tuner pedal is unnecessary if you only play by yourself, but very useful for jamming with friends/gigs etc.

I don't think the cube has an effects loop, which limits the usefulness of certain pedals, such as delays, choruses,reverbs, and so on.

So yeah. I rate, get a Crybaby.

AlanRatcliffe

Amp is possibly more important for tone. But the Cube 80 isn't bad. ?

But when you go pedals... It's going to be different for everyone. If you've used a multieffect, what effects did you like the most on that? That'll give you some direction as to which have higher priority for you.

Otherwise, start with distortion first (overdrive, distortion, fuzz). Then delay, modulation (phaser, flanger, chorus - your choice) and wah. From there it's variations on a theme (if you have an overdrive, you might want to add in a fuzz) and a few specialised toys (pitch-based or filter-based). Finally it's a case of fine tuning and finding the "perfect" examples of your favourite effects (which is a never-ending quest).

IceCreamMan

Cube already has loads of effects and amp models , and its got a tuner built in (if i remember correctly)

Me in yr shoes, cool yr heels save your cash and mess around with everthing onboard that there is and save for a tube amp.

in that way you get to understand the effects u like playing with, the cube is a great amp and the modelling / effects are great to use

VellaJ

My current fx range comprises entirely of a single Digitech RP90 multi-fx processor, so I don't have much in the line of stompboxes. However, if I were to get 3, they would be:
1: Wah pedal (Preferably a Cry Baby)
2: Boss Blues Driver (I think the current one is a BD-2)
3: Boss Loop Station (for jamming on my own, which is mainly what I do)

IMHO the built-in distortion on the Cube 80 sounds pretty good, from the past few times I've heard them being played. If, however, you would like to improve on those sounds, a good distortion pedal is always great. In general I'm not a fan of the Boss distortions, but then again I don't need one considering I love the sound of my valve amp... The Rocktrons sound pretty good to me though...

MikeM

? Use the Cube to learn what you like in terms of sounds, effects etc, and save up for a great tube amp and a couple of pedals to compliment it.

ezietsman

If it was me, I would think long and hard about 'starting a pedal collection'. If you are going to play live you need a tuner pedal. If not, you can make do with any tuner.

If you are still new to the electric guitar and not ready for playing live, you certainly don't need any pedals. I see pedals as little thingies you use to help your amp make slightly different sounds, to be used sparingly, if at all, in the case of drive pedals. You should be able to access plenty of effects on your cube.

I find this 'natural' progression from beginner amp -> better amp -> pedal collection -> big valve amp + huge pedal collection a bit strange. Think about it, its expensive and neverending (and won't make you sound much different).

geemobee

Thanks guys! Great help indeed!

The cube has a built-in looper and loads of effects and stuff. Let me go play some more.

Now my next dilema is that a good friend of mine is having a birthday soon(30th) and I would like to buy a stomp box of some sorts for him.

He uses a Epiphone Wild Cat, with this he has just bought a Fender Mustang 3.

What would be a good birthday pressie for my good mate?

Cheers
Gary

Squonk

A Korg Pitch Black ?

blues_addict

Everyone needs a tuner ? (well let's rather say we mere mortals who aren't pitch perfect... :-[)

Bob-Dubery

geemobee wrote What would be a good birthday pressie for my good mate?

A crate of beer. He'll need help with that.

geemobee

X-rated Bob wrote
geemobee wrote What would be a good birthday pressie for my good mate?
A crate of beer. He'll need help with that.

LOL ... I see the win win in that

Next obstacle is my budget for the gift .... R300-R500

makepeace

Squonk wrote A Korg Pitch Black ?

blues_addict wrote Everyone needs a tuner ? (well let's rather say we mere mortals who aren't pitch perfect... :-[)

yeah but as a birthday present? especially if its someone that doesn't really know the ins and outs of these things, like how great the pitchblack - albeit a tuner - actually is? i would get him a crybaby. its a fun gift. but if you think your friend really needs a tuner (could be seen as quite an insult too ?), and will appreciate it, definitely go for it.

Averatu

Stomp Boxes? MEH!!

guidothepimmp

Im with Averatu...

If you need a pedal to juje it up, youre doing it wrong 8)

Averatu

guidothepimmp wrote Im with Averatu...

If you need a pedal to juje it up, youre doing it wrong 8)

We're gonna get Fa-Lamed!!

guidothepimmp

?

yeh maybe, I can honestly say though that the only pedal i use, is my channel switch... Im that happy and comfortable with my sound (either that or im tone deaf)

I have pedals, MXR, Tonebone,Morley blah blah... havent used them, they just gather dust.

Guitfiddle>cable>amp... thats how I roll! 8)

makepeace

Averatu wrote
guidothepimmp wrote Im with Averatu...

If you need a pedal to juje it up, youre doing it wrong 8)
We're gonna get Fa-Lamed!!

On the contrary, I think you'll find a lot of players can more than make do with just a geeet and amp and tons of people subscribe to that ideal, myself included.. To some it can be taken as a hallmark of a players quality, if the sounds are good. I for one think there is not much better. Unfortunately though, there is a but. There are some things that you just CAN'T do and sounds you just CAN'T MAKE without some other influence, and IMO to reject the idea of effects completely just because it sounds cool to say 'all i need is a geeet and an amp' is immature. I can see the benefits concerned with making use of effects, however I would hope that I would be able to discern the difference between what's tasteful and what's over the top. As with everything though, it depends on what you want from the activity of playing an instrument. If you're a musician trying to do something new and potentially use it to make a living, a geeet and an amp most likely won't get you as far as if you played around with other influences, as has been evidenced umpteen times past.. If you're a bedroom guitarist, and that's what you like to hear yourself playing through and you maintain that its all been done before anyway - so why even try, that's great - and by all means its the right answer to your question of the best tone.