your favorite pedal overall

Barklessdog · April 29, 2008, 02:11:26 PM

Mine is this Boss DM-2 Delay

I bought it new when they came out. It is a great warm sounding delay, that at he time was as close as one cold get to a space echo in a pedal. Sounds nice on bass.

chromium · April 29, 2008, 02:56:40 PM

Does this count as a pedal?

Actually, I just got it and I'm waiting for a replacement tape loop. The one that is in there has seen better days. When I'm done with it, if it sounds as good as the others I've heard, it will be my favorite effect!

I rarely use effects when I play bass in my band, but for home recording, I think delay/echo is my favorite ingredient. You can create hypnotizing pads and soundscapes with it. I must have listened to too much Lee Perry, Black Uhuru, Bad Brains, Radiohead...

Chris P. · April 29, 2008, 03:50:21 PM

It has to be my Korg DT-10 tuner. Won't leave home without her.

hieronymous · April 29, 2008, 04:41:43 PM

I don't think I could do just one!

So this picture has a few of my favorites:

Front L-R: Big Briar (now Moog Music once again) MF-101 Low-Pass Filter, Z Vex Woolly Mammoth, (Roland EV-5 expression pedal to control frequency of the MF-101), Fulltone Bass Drive (also CAJ tube compressor, which I like but wouldn't list in my all-time favs).

The MF-101 and Woolly Mammoth are a set - if considered separately then I don't think I would consider them favorites, if that makes sense. And the Fulltone is just such a great all-around bass distortion.

Oops, and of course the Space Echo in the back is up there, but it can't really be considered a pedal, now, can it?

angrymatt · April 29, 2008, 09:08:23 PM

Right now, EH Stereo Polychorus. It's too much fun in one little package. Still hunting to find something usable in my current band though.

Barklessdog · April 30, 2008, 06:12:04 AM

Damm you people with your space echos, I'm so envious

Nothing comes close to the real deal- although my little pedal is the best I have.

Andrew · April 30, 2008, 08:29:50 AM

If I had to pick my overall fave it'd be the Budda Phatbass, but these days it sees equal time with my Tronographic Rusty Box, so I'm not sure I could pick between them.

chromium · April 30, 2008, 11:26:14 AM

Quote from: Barklessdog on April 30, 2008, 06:12:04 AM
Damm you people with your space echos

Damn dirty tapes! </Charlton Heston>

I'm loving the Moog MF-104 delay too. That uses similar chips as that DM-2, but adds control inputs for the various parameters - so you can use an expression pedal to control delay speed, feedback, and mix. I can also use the control voltage outputs on the synthesizers to control it, which is a cool feature.

Actually, one of the coolest delays I've used isn't a stomp box at all. If you're running a computer recording setup, check out the EPhonic RetroDelay. He offers it free, and takes dontations. He did a really bang up job on it. You can use track automation to sweep the various parameters. That's the only delay I used on this song:

hieronymous · May 01, 2008, 12:36:50 PM

There's an interesting analog delay on ebay right now. Never heard of it myself, but it looks like it could be fun (it's not a tape delay though - you're probably better off with the Boss pedal!)

n!k · May 02, 2008, 09:33:34 AM

The Boss Space Echo pedal is really good if anyone is interested. Plus you won't have to use that wonky "third hand" pedal to get that really cool intensity sweep. The new one has an expression pedal out for the main parameters.

chromium · May 02, 2008, 10:27:25 AM

Quote from: n!k on May 02, 2008, 09:33:34 AM
Plus you won't have to use that wonky "third hand" pedal to get that really cool intensity sweep.

That pedal is a trip! The whole setup reminds me of a Rube Goldberg machine... Mine has an expression pedal input for the repeat rate, but not the intensity $:-\$ - so I'm probably going to have to get one of those pedals for that.

Hieronymous had posted a nice comparison on another site between the tape echo and the new pedal. That might be something cool to repost here, or link to if that's OK to do. Both are very good, but have their own characteristics. Hearing them side-by-side swayed me even farther towards the tape echo. My only plan is to use it for home recording, though. I think if I was getting it for live use, I'd have opted for the RE-20 - just becuase it's easier to transport. It's also more clear-and-present sounding, so it would probably cut better in a live mix.

As for the analog delays, another good one to keep an eye out for is the Yamaha e1010. It's an early-80s rackmount/tabletop thing, uses similar chips to the DM-2, has some neat modulation capabilites, and generally sells $100-150 less than an old DM-2 (those are getting pricey).

n!k · May 02, 2008, 11:08:12 AM

Yes, all those observations are true. For live use I just can't justify hauling around a piece of equipment the size of the original and dealing with maintenance. The Boss is real close to the sound and very convenient (plus extra tweak able with the expression pedal outs and tap tempo). I'm not normally a Boss fan at all, but they did this one right.

hieronymous · May 03, 2008, 12:07:38 AM

I'm too tired/lazy to retype in all the hyperlinks, so here's the thread that chromium mentioned:

vintage vs. digital space echo thread

I love my tape Space Echo, but the digital one gets the job done pretty well, and I've been using that more lately. Biggest problem is that if you push the feedback too far, it gives off some horrible digital distortion, so you can't really turn it past 3:00. But if you don't go that far it's pretty good.

Basvarken · May 11, 2008, 06:35:59 AM

Till this day I use only one pedal. It's the Boss OC2. The octaver. I use it a lot.
I love the grit you get when you dial it in.

I bought the OC3 a while ago because it it was said to have better tracking. But it just hasn't got the "mojo" that the OC2 does have.
Come to think of it I should sell it. Haven't used it for over a year.

I'm still waiting on my first basscreamer pedal; a modified tubescreamer with clean blend.