Best pedal you bought in 2024

[Owen]

On 23/12/2024 at 11:20, tayste_2000 said:

Borrowing the idea from another forum but why not.

 

For me it was the JHS Punchline

Interesting. Tell us about it....

[tayste_2000]

26 minutes ago, Owen said:

Interesting. Tell us about it....

 

This will do a better job than I can

 

 

But I only play basses with flats, very vintage and thuddy sounding, with my preference being a studio chain more so than an amp.

 

It’s like this pedal was built for me, just damn big, especially when you’re using the amp sim (my fav part)

 

 

So generally I’m running it with a touch of compression, eq is flat or even the bass cut which I’ve never done on a pedal before. Drive is a rat style distortion with a blend so I can get a lot of tones out of it when needed.

 

Thought about getting a second but I’m going to give the Strymon Deco a try first and go from there.

[Owen]

Thanks. I looked at the Deco some time ago. It looks very nice indeed.

[Owen]

Just watched the video. I can see the attraction.

[tayste_2000]

20 minutes ago, Owen said:

Thanks. I looked at the Deco some time ago. It looks very nice indeed.

 

My main driver on this is since I mainly play Ric’s I can use the deco as a fancy ric sound box as it’s a single input but switchable from mono to stereo, then you’ve got all that saturation goodness and something akin to a lpf and hpf.

[Owen]

It was the saturation which was attracting me. But my days of playing live and being able to hear the nuances of my sound are well over. The saturation looks very nice. 

[SumOne]

UA Volt 2 interface: Not a pedal, but as a decent interface it has allowed me to use virtual pedals with low enough latency to play live - that has opened a whole new world of possibilities, including this lot:

 

[Sibob]

Easily the 3 Schu-Tone 1590a pedals I had arrive. One original Chorus circuit, and two overdrives based on popular bass overdrives (but not available in this small an enclosure).

 

So happy with them.

 

 

Si

[Woodinblack]

For me, as an actual pedal (I agree the Boss Katana Go was good, but not really a pedal!), it is probably the Boss ME90B. Really flexible, great sounds, very simple to use battery life for ages, great to gig with.

I have gone back gigging with my Mod Dwarf, because I need keys which it also provides, but I do miss the flexibility of the Boss, and maybe when I sort the keys out, I might go back to it, it certainly does all the practices.

[Baloney Balderdash]

3 candidates:

EHX Black Finger (backup for my beloved Black Finger, tube driven optical compressor, though I use it more so as a tube preamp stage, with compression practically off)

EHX English Muff'n (genuine tube overdrive, one of the best damn overdrives for bass I ever heard)

Boss RC-500 Loop Station


My favorite pedal of all times in the Black Finger, essential for my tone, but as it was just a backup to one I already owned and bought years ago, I am not sure if this makes for a legit candidate.

 

Edited December 27, 2024 by Baloney Balderdash

[itu]

On 26/12/2024 at 12:14, Sibob said:

These schuldn't be turned on with boots, eh?

 

Are these good for schugazing?

[neepheid]

Hands down it's got to be the Hotone Harmony pitch shifter:

 

 

As well as being comically small, and being super cheap (like about £40), it has far exceeded my expectations.  Sure, it's a little warbly on low notes when detuning (and I wouldn't dare go lower than -3 semitones) and I wouldn't record with it but it's more than adequate for live work and it has ALL the intervals you need for when the vocalist says "can we raise/drop this one by X semitones?".  The Pitchfork (everyone's go-to answer) has no 2 semitone interval.  The Drop only goes down (duh, clue's in the name).  This one couldn't be simpler - choose direction up/down, choose number of semitones.  That's it.

 

I'm thinking of buying a second one as a backup in case it ever makes it clear why it's £40...

[JPJ]

For me, it’s the SushiBoxFX Finally v2 ‘with bass in mind’ valve DI box. Calling it a DI does it a bit of a disservice as it also has a built-in fixed HPF and the ability to include or exclude the valve from the DI chain. It’s become a fixture on my meagre little board and just adds that valvy goodness to my otherwise quite sterile signal path.

[pantherairsoft]

WMD Geiger Counter Pro. I’ve been after one for years, and have been a long time user of the regular GC. Finally getting my hands on the big boy version was awesome and it absolutely does not disappoint!

[thisisswanbon]

TL;DR version: Bought loads of gear, some great, some crap. New-to-me-old Tonehammer still the best. 👌 

 

I've bought (and returned/sold on) ALOT of pedals this year, but only a few have kept their place on my board. I feel like there's a clear cut winner for me, but some honourable mentions too...

 

The best of these HAS to be the Aggie Tonehammer (V1). Bought used about 2 months before V2 was announced. Hugely late to the party with this, but it offers SO much! Between the clean side (which still adds some sauce to my ears) to the AGS drive/amp sim (without cab sim! 🙌) it's exactly what I've looked for since going ampless.

 

Honourables:

 

*Celebrity Pedals Taylor Shift

OC2 clone from a small builder. Seems excellent but not having been gigged yet keeps it from getting top spot. May well be the thing that gets me to move my Octabvre Mini on. Gregori is really approachable and patient with questions, so it's great to support a business like this

 

*Jam Bass Rattler MK2

Man, what a versatile drive! Currently using it for low gain grit, even when not musically appropriate! It's just so organic and full sounding. Covers so much ground too. Of all the pedals on my board, this is the one I could do without... but I can't bring myself to boot it off.

 

*Sushi Box Space Heater

Doesn't do alot, literally has gain and level settings; but it really does add a tube warmth and bounce. It's subtle, and punters and the band probably wouldn't notice it not being there, but I do. (Side note, you can feel the heat coming from it so I know it's at least heating the tube up 😂).

 

 

[Jackroadkill]

For me it's my Cali76 Compact; I love the way it gives me my sound, but bigger and fatter.  I'm feeling the need for a crazier overdrive/fuzz, and the Holy Island Mountain mover (thanks to @0175westwood29 for the inspiration!) looks like it might fit the bill nicely.

[ProjeKtWEREWOLF]

1 hour ago, Jackroadkill said:

I'm feeling the need for a crazier overdrive/fuzz, and the Holy Island Mountain mover (thanks to @0175westwood29 for the inspiration!) looks like it might fit the bill nicely.

 I had the Mountain mover. It's absolutely insane and really hard to dial in, in my experience.

 

I sent mine back, thinking it was damaged.....it wasn't. I hated it. I was hoping to use it on guitar and bass (I wanted the modern polish death/black metal sound), but I didn't get on with it. I realise our objectives are all different though. 

 

My advice is to get it with the intermittent foot switch for the ring mod. It's crazy as an on/off. 

 

Best of luck. 

[Jackroadkill]

1 minute ago, ProjeKtWEREWOLF said:

 I had the Mountain mover. It's absolutely insane and really hard to dial in, in my experience.

 

I sent mine back, thinking it was damaged.....it wasn't. I hated it. I was hoping to use it on guitar and bass (I wanted the modern polish death/black metal sound), but I didn't get on with it. I realise our objectives are all different though. 

 

My advice is to get it with the intermittent foot switch for the ring mod. It's crazy as an on/off. 

 

Best of luck. 

 

Cheers - I think I may need to do a bit of Youtube-fu and see what it could do for me.

[ProjeKtWEREWOLF]

Just now, Jackroadkill said:

 

Cheers - I think I may need to do a bit of Youtube-fu and see what it could do for me.

If it had a blend, I think I would have kept it. It was bonkers but too much for me.  Try before you buy it you can. Luke (I think?) from Holy Island Audio is a decent bloke; send him a message to talk about what you're after?

[0175westwood29]

7 minutes ago, ProjeKtWEREWOLF said:

 I had the Mountain mover. It's absolutely insane and really hard to dial in, in my experience.

 

I sent mine back, thinking it was damaged.....it wasn't. I hated it. I was hoping to use it on guitar and bass (I wanted the modern polish death/black metal sound), but I didn't get on with it. I realise our objectives are all different though. 

 

My advice is to get it with the intermittent foot switch for the ring mod. It's crazy as an on/off. 

 

Best of luck. 

Sounds like you wanted a more hm2 kinda gain over big muff which is what the mountain mover is based on 

[0175westwood29]

6 minutes ago, Jackroadkill said:

 

Cheers - I think I may need to do a bit of Youtube-fu and see what it could do for me.

It’s def wild if you want a big muff that’s a little more dare I say normal…..I’d also suggest the blue colander black emperor, he also does a mini version now aswell 

[ProjeKtWEREWOLF]

30 minutes ago, 0175westwood29 said:

Sounds like you wanted a more hm2 kinda gain over big muff which is what the mountain mover is based on 

I don't want the HM2 sound. The early demos of the MM made me think of polish bands like Mgla and Terrestrial Hospice. Not a lot of BM bands use fuzz (traditionally), so it's quite distinctive.

 

I'm a fuzz guy for bass and guitar; I'm mainly a black and doom metal player. I have several ODs and Modern Distortion pedals. I tried the EHX Hell Melter, but it's not what I want either. 

 

The insanity of the ring mod and lack of blend were my problem with the MM. If that's what you want, it's great I suppose. 

[0175westwood29]

6 hours ago, ProjeKtWEREWOLF said:

I don't want the HM2 sound. The early demos of the MM made me think of polish bands like Mgla and Terrestrial Hospice. Not a lot of BM bands use fuzz (traditionally), so it's quite distinctive.

 

I'm a fuzz guy for bass and guitar; I'm mainly a black and doom metal player. I have several ODs and Modern Distortion pedals. I tried the EHX Hell Melter, but it's not what I want either. 

 

The insanity of the ring mod and lack of blend were my problem with the MM. If that's what you want, it's great I suppose. 

Yeh it all depends on how you use it I mean I love sending a plague pit into the MM so even more mad lol 

[Supernaut]

NOS Beta MkII. 

[Yorkshire Bottom End]

A boutique-made Hiss Reducer/Tone Enhancer. It has one knob that goes from Hiss/Fart-in-a-Bottle to No Hiss/Justin Raines.

Only kidding. Sadowsky SBP-1. Transformed my sound.

Got a CryBaby Mini Bass Wah 105Q coming so I'm waiting to see how me and it get on.