What effect?

[Si600]

This is proper noob question, well, what do you expect from a proper noob and I realise that there are a million different answers and it's all subjective anyway.

I've got a GE7B and I'm using the inbuilt O/D on my amp for a bit of dirt when I need it. So far both have done me well, using the EQ on the chorus or if there happens to be a bit of a solo line ( ) for a bit more presence and using the O/D all the way through if it suits the song.

Our repertoire is decidedly punky, but with forays into AC/DC and ZZ Top. I've got three 'slots' on my board and I'm not scared of a little tap-dancing or using effects in our originals, what would you suggest putting on it?

[Kev]

If your new to the effect game and don't really know where to go with it, it is very difficult for anyone to suggest something for you. My suggestion would be to sell your Boss, scrap the board and buy a multi effects pedal like the Zoom B3 ,try the effects, see what you like and if necessary move on to individual pedals. The zoom will give you all the EQ options the Boss does.

[xgsjx]

I've always said get a multi fx until you know what you want, but if you've got 3 spaces & £300, then why not go for 3 pedals similar to the Zoom MS60b? That way you get 3 pedals that cover everything.
Or 2 of them and a decent dirt pedal/octaver/wah depending on what you want to do.

[Si600]

Good idea, thanks. When I hear "multi-effect" I always think of the big box with five switches that each do their own thing. I hadn't thought about a programmable stomp-box.
Is it still true that dedicated boxes are better than their programmable counterparts?
It doesn't help that I don't really know which effect is which and what they sound like

[TG Flatline]

[quote name='Si600' timestamp='1375688685' post='2164158']
Is it still true that dedicated boxes are better than their programmable counterparts?
[/quote]

General concensus is distortions, OD and fuzz are better from single units, and anything else where you want to retain the "analogness" of that particular effect. Analog octavers and delays, for example. Getting even a modest multi-effect is a really good way of finding out what you like and what you don't, and what you'd like to hear more of and explore (here's where the singles can come in), as well hearing what things sound like together. You might not like fuzz, but stick an octave and/or filter and/or phaser in there and all kinds of sounds become available.

To answer your original question, if it were me I would add a chorus or phaser in one slot, another gain-based pedal, and an octaver. I'd echo what Kev says though, and overall I'd probably suggest a multi-effect initially. Good luck

[Si600]

[quote name='TG Flatline' timestamp='1375692339' post='2164220']
To answer your original question, if it were me I would add a chorus or phaser in one slot, another gain-based pedal, and an octaver. I'd echo what Kev says though, and overall I'd probably suggest a multi-effect initially. Good luck
[/quote]

I'm quite taken by the Zoom at the moment so I'll have a look at that.
You'd run another OD pedal alongside the valve channel on the head? What does that bring to the party?

[TG Flatline]

[quote name='Si600' timestamp='1375692682' post='2164228']
You'd run another OD pedal alongside the valve channel on the head? What does that bring to the party?
[/quote]

Depends on what your amp OD does and what gain-based pedal you're looking at. I like options, and would very rarely have a board without three different dirt boxes on. Chances are that a Rat and a Mammoth, for example, would add completely different sounds to your amp OD and expand your options greatly. It depends on the need of the song as well. Sometimes, a particular dirt box on your board might sound fantastic in one song, but not so much in another song where you might find a more complementary sound from a different dirt box.

Also, if you've not got to it yet, stacked gain stages can be just magic.

[Si600]

Choices, choices

It's a GK MB500 Fusion and I've currently got an ODB-3 which I hadn't considered using alongside the GK as it already has a gain stage. I'll try it when I get home and see what happens

The Zoom B2 looks like a tidy bit of kit as well, I'm not sure it's as customisable as the MS60B though. Anyone using a B2?

Edited August 5, 2013 by Si600

[Si600]

[quote name='Si600' timestamp='1375694919' post='2164277']
It's a GK MB500 Fusion and I've currently got an ODB-3 which I hadn't considered using alongside the GK as it already has a gain stage. I'll try it when I get home and see what happens
[/quote]

Now that was an interesting experiment. Compared to the natural overdrive the ODB-3 is quite harsh and tinny, but that may be the settings. Put them together and it's a whole new sound. There's a solid body to it from the GK and the Boss adds a layer of bright snarlyness to it. I quite like it but it's a one song thing I think, adding the Boss for a chorus maybe otherwise you're trying to bash two pedals at once which doesn't quite work!

Edited August 5, 2013 by Si600