Pedal Suggestion?

[Kenneth R.]

My amp isn't budget though. It is a good amp, not necessarily for performing, but for practicing. I actually played a show with it in a big theater, and it covered the entire place. I just need crisper distortion with good sustain. Like Steve Vai's sound. Last I heard he uses a Boss DS-1 Distortion Pedal.

last i heard he uses a Legacy stack, or a row of them.

 

[Earth Breather]

All in all, I say.... The Boss OD-20

I am looking for a Steve Vai/Jason Becker like sound. That pedal seems like a good buy.

 

[Jaen]

"All Kinds of fancy" shit is an understatement. He has an arsenal of guitars. A Malmsteen Strat, a White Tiger striped Kramer , a Carvin (as seen in my band's myspace pics), a Hurricane, an Ibanez Body with a Jackson Neck, 2 custom Charvels: One painted Blue, and one with a ghetto ass Eddie Van Halen job, and we're waiting on a custom Ibanez made of all parts he got off ebay. And then he has his Marshall Mode Four head. On the side, his Keeley modded DS1, a Boss Blues Driver (not modded).
We don't know where he gets his money. Nor do we question it, because I don't think I wanna know the answer.

wow, at least tell me that he does justice to all that stuff (its kinda hard to hear form the songs on myspace)

 

[Kenneth R.]

i dunno where you guys got the idea that a simple OD pedal is going to give you Vai's tone, unless you have a Jem7 and/or a Legacy amp, well goodluck. maybe with some imagination.

 

[ABQShredHead]

i dunno where you guys got the idea that a simple OD pedal is going to give you Vai's tone, unless you have a Jem7 and/or a Legacy amp, well goodluck. maybe with some imagination.

Haha. Definitely! Steve Vai's talent would also help...

 

[Horus]

i dunno where you guys got the idea that a simple OD pedal is going to give you Vai's tone, unless you have a Jem7 and/or a Legacy amp, well goodluck. maybe with some imagination.

Saying something like that is as funny as a friend of mine thinking he can get Michael Romeo's tone on his Marshall Mini-Stack.

 

[Jaen]

i dunno, but i dont find vai's tone to be all that great...

 

[Kenneth R.]

Saying something like that is as funny as a friend of mine thinking he can get Michael Romeo's tone on his Marshall Mini-Stack.

the point is, buying a pedal doesn't make nearly as much difference as the instrument itself or the amplifier does. this is unquestionable. granted talent is also a major factor

think about it:

instrument- produces the sound that everything else will be affecting. if this sucks, it all sucks.
pedal - modifies sound.
amplifier - makes sound really loud (and also modifies it).

if you blow cash on a pedal but your amp and guitar suck, you'll have a shitty sound because the shitty amplifier makes it loud... and shitty.

 

[wchuck]

i dunno, but i dont find vai's tone to be all that great...

same with me, I've heard a lot sounds, but only like really few

I just heard Shades of Grey, the sound MJR uses in his solo is great (if you overlook the production of course )

 

[Horus]

Best guitar sound ever.... The chorus of Soul Society by Kamelot. The sound of the guitar in that song is perfect.

the point is, buying a pedal doesn't make nearly as much difference as the instrument itself or the amplifier does. this is unquestionable. granted talent is also a major factor

think about it:

instrument- produces the sound that everything else will be affecting. if this sucks, it all sucks.
pedal - modifies sound.
amplifier - makes sound really loud (and also modifies it).

if you blow cash on a pedal but your amp and guitar suck, you'll have a shitty sound because the shitty amplifier makes it loud... and shitty.

Wanna fly out to New York and explain to my friend why he can't get Michael Romeo's tone with a BC Rich Bronze Warlock, Digitech Hot Rod, and a Marshall Mini Stack head?

 

[ABQShredHead]

Arjen Lucassen's live sound on the Star One CD/DVD is pretty bad ass...

You can approximate anybody's sound with a good DSP and some programming skills...

the point is, buying a pedal doesn't make nearly as much difference as the instrument itself or the amplifier does. this is unquestionable. granted talent is also a major factor

think about it:

instrument- produces the sound that everything else will be affecting. if this sucks, it all sucks.
pedal - modifies sound.
amplifier - makes sound really loud (and also modifies it).

if you blow cash on a pedal but your amp and guitar suck, you'll have a shitty sound because the shitty amplifier makes it loud... and shitty.

One way to think of these statements is determining at which points the string's mechanical vibrations encounter a media or state change. The pickups convert mechanical string vibrations and energy into an electrical signal. Very important part of the puzzle here. The signal is then unchanged (though affected) until it hits the amplifier. At the amp, it is amplified however many times over; however, the signal is still the original electrical signal sent by the pickups (plus system noise, losses, and processing effects). When the signal hits the speakers, it again encounters a state/media change as it is translated to a magnetic push/pull of the speaker cone that creates an airborne waveform related to the original pickup signal (plus system noice, losses, and processing effects).

So, the important parts of the system are the pickups and amplifier/speaker. But, everything between these parts of the signal life have another important aspect: quality! Any stompbox can add distortion to the signal, but the higher-quality boxes and rackmounts will keep the signal integrity high and create better harmonic distortions while introducing minimal noises to the signal. But, the pickups provide the original dynamics of the equation and should be under the highest scrutiny. Then scrutinize your amp. Finally, add the processing in between to your liking and pocket affordability.

 

[Horus]

Umm..... What he said!!

 

[Kenneth R.]

ABQ hits the nail right on the head. I just was too lazy to get into that aspect.

 

[Feel_The_Force]

Get the Keeley Modded DS1 if you want a Vai tone since that is what he uses/used to use (don't know if he still uses it)

 

[ABQShredHead]

Get the Keeley Modded DS1 if you want a Vai tone since that is what he uses/used to use (don't know if he still uses it)

Ugh! :zombie:

 

[Earth Breather]

I am just going to save up for a pedal board. What do you guys prefer? The POD XT Live? Or The Boss GT-8? I need some opinions about ease of use, durability, that kind of stuff before I try them out.

 

[wchuck]

well before spending that much money on a modeller, think about getting a pre-amp, such as

ENGL E 530
SansAMP PSA 1.1
DIGITECH 2120
ROCKTRON VOoDOO VALVE/PIRANHA/CHAMELEON

 

[Kenneth R.]

once again.

PEDAL =/= GOOD TONE. It's just a tone modifier. It can improve tone, but wouldn't you want to have something non-shitty to start off with? Think of how much more that pedal will do then!

GET
A GOOD
AMP

 

[ABQShredHead]

Get good pickups and a good amp and then fill in the necessary tonal aspects.

eBay is an excellent source. Also, check for used-equipment resellers in your town (or even pawn shops). Take your guitar and play through the amp before purchasing.

Once you have a good amp, you'll find you really only need basic processing capabilities - delay, chorus, eq, etc. - and the distortion pedal you spend a couple bills on will turn out to be a waste of money.

My setup at the moment is various DiMarzio combinations through a TCE G Major into an ADA MP-1 into the power amp of my Crate, which pushes two Celestions from an ADA 2x12 (I'm using the Crate 2x12 enclosure and picked up the two speakers on eBay for $35). I someday will build another enclosure for the old Crate 12" speakers I ripped out of the 212, but I don't even have a room to play in at the moment.

 

[Feel_The_Force]

Fuck the pedalboard, they both suck. Get a good valve amp or something and just hear the difference.