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ununtrium
Bronze Member
Germany
84 Posts |
 Posted - 03/21/2008 : 19:49:56
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Hi there!
I am reducing my collection of Boss pedals and I think that my pedal-buying days are over for now!
In the last couple of years I had almost every Boss pedal type on my board, certainly tested pedals of every major effect category.
I settled for these ones:
-Tuner: TU-2
-Compressor: CS-2
-Overdrive: stinkfoot SD-1, SD-2, Keeley BD-2, stinkfoot DS-1
-Distortion: stinkfoot MT-2
-Fuzz: FZ-2
-EQ: PQ-4
-Modulation: PH-1r, HF-2, CE-2, RT-20
-Delay: DM-2a, stinkfoot DD-5
All the rest - at one point I had more than 30 pedals - I sold or am selling off. I don't use them, either because they were duplicates or because they were not seeing nearly as much action as would be necessary to justify keeping them.
The only pedal I would consider buying now would be a TR-2, but I have on-board tremolos on my amps, so it is not that so pressing a matter.
The point to all this would be that I realized at some point that collecting pedals and the collection of pedals itself took the focus away from actually playing the guitar. When you have a ton of pedals at your disposal you want to use them all at least sometimes which makes you end up fiddling with your effect chain and agonizing over settings and the like all too often. At least that was the case with me.
This is something that differs from person to person, but do you, too, think that sometimes less is more?
Cheers!  |
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silvertone6120
Gold Member
USA
609 Posts |
Posted - 03/21/2008 : 22:15:44
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Absolutely! I've been down that road before...then I realized all the pedals in the world were not gonna substitute for talent(or lack thereof). The time came when I needed to concentrate on what I was doing with my hands and not my feet.
Seems strange to say all of this on an effects specialty website, but I totally concur with what you're saying. Nowadays my board only consists of a tuner, a Blues Driver, a chorus pedal and an RE-20 echo unit. Anything else simply isn't necessary for me.
Cheers |
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Tele_Man
Bronze Member
USA
86 Posts |
Posted - 03/21/2008 : 22:22:45
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That's a very compelling observation. Is it better I come to that realization now, when I only have 7 pedals, or sometime in the future after I've collected or dozen or more?
I think, for now, I'd rather acquire them then decide I don't need them, then the other way around. That sounds more fun. I'm almost 40 and have a beautiful family, a nice house, and a fun job. What the hell else am I going to do with my money? There are worse things to collect, right? 
Cheers |
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pedals 4 pv
Platinum Member
Canada
1351 Posts |
Posted - 03/21/2008 : 22:36:15
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Les is more
I find pedal collecting is a hobby within a hobby. I get a little rush finding a pedal that I don't have, priced reasonably. For entertainment value you can beat a used Boss pedal, the trip to buy it, the initial try out of the new toy, download the manual, etc. You can play around for hours with it and them sell it for what you paid. FREE or nearly free entertainment! A Boss pedal is like money in the bank.(other brands can be slow to sell). I also find that playing with my effects does improve my overall playing as it keeps me interested and keeps the guitar in my hands longer, and everyone knows it's practice, practice, practice.
When I want to focus on actually playing guitar, I am fortunate enough to own a Gibson acoustic, so I go with that. |
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Laurie
Double Platinum Member
Canada
4854 Posts |
Posted - 03/22/2008 : 00:30:43
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Agreed!! new pedals = guitar in hands (when it might otherwise not)
I have played more than ever since I joined this forum - the new pedals, the repairs... just keeps me interested.
That being said, i would never set out to collect every model Boss ever made
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Edited by - Laurie on 03/22/2008 00:41:10 |
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jack
Platinum Member
USA
1418 Posts |
Posted - 03/22/2008 : 01:25:00
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| Great reminder Ununtrium. I totally get what you are saying as well, because the more pedals I build, the less I use pedals during my actual playing...but that may also be due to discovering the joys of the neck position pickup as well... |
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The_Doc
Gold Member
United Kingdom
509 Posts |
Posted - 03/22/2008 : 10:01:16
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For me, it's all about choice. I'll usually have no more than 6 or 7 pedals hooked up for a show but being fortunate enough to be able to select them from a larger collection keeps my sound (and my brain!) fresh. I tend to try different combinations for different situations too - I very rarely keep the same set up for long.
I agree that it's not about what you jump on with your feet but what you do with your hands. I guess if you're comfortable playing to hundreds of people at a gig - pedals are 'icing on the cake' and they can make it more interesting for the audience too; if you get it right.
At our last gig, a guy caught up with me afterwards and asked me how I got so many different sounds out of one guitar? Of course, the guitar and amp was a major part of that, but, so were the pedals. It just adds to the entertainment I guess and that's what it's all about for me personally and the people that pay to watch our show.
I can't see me downsizing just yet - the collection just keeps growing!
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happyplucker
Bronze Member
United Kingdom
126 Posts |
Posted - 03/23/2008 : 21:32:19
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im all for using as few pedals i a can, currently for gigging, besides a guitar and an amp, i use just an old analogue delay for warming, an overdirve pedal and my fingers and brain,(and foot).
but i have other pedals, so should i need them, they are there, but most importnat i think is what you are playing, to an extent.
anyways, i wouldnnt downsize, unless they were rubbish pedals |
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4evrnewB
Silver Member
Canada
322 Posts |
Posted - 03/24/2008 : 15:53:59
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Interesting topic, with some interesting viewpoints...and as ever, in life, like the rock/paper/scissors game no one answer is always right, while each one sometimes is...
My 2 cents...I agree that guitar playing and effect buying can be separate though related hobbies/ obessions - one just has to decide what's right for them and go with it...and there can be no denying what you do with your hands comes first and deserves the most attention...
For me, buying pedals has been both an obsession in itself and a little bit of way to forget about the fact that I don't know how to play...for me, downsizing at the moment is a practical necessity - too much $$ tied up, and it is detracting too much from learning to play. What I am trying to do now is to decide on/ make my (first) "perfect pedal board" - everything I think I want - and then to stop for while with the buying and concentrate on the playing.
I have also been trying to reduce it to good pedals with the fewest variables - two knobs instaed of four, for example - to again make that part a little simpler and keep the focus on the playing.
All that being said, I'm sure an improvement, a certain comfort level in my playing ability, will drive a whole new interest in getting those elusive "perfect pedals"... |
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zentropa
Gold Member
USA
837 Posts |
Posted - 03/25/2008 : 06:11:13
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i have gone through many phases of upsizing and downsizing pedals. there's fun to be had with the cheap little binge here and there.
pedals are such a small investment in the greater scheme of things. i've personally found the nicer your guitar and the nicer your amp, the less pedal-dependent you become as your pedals are meant to enhance your sound more than dictate it.
my downsizing usually occurs during periods where i lose interest in guitar either by choice or by circumstance (hand injuries). if money gets tight during those stretches i generally purge pedals. if you choose your pedals wisely and pay the "right price" for them used, you can often make money in this endeavor, or at least break even while unloading them in a hurry.
lately i've been trying to accumulate the "classics" and 1 of every type of specialized effect pedal.
as long as you have all meat and no fluff, it becomes much harder to cast pedals aside on a whim.
my pedals i won't get rid of:
DS-1 MIJ, OD-1, DM-3, CE-2, etc.
pedals i could do without:
MT-2, BF-2, HM-3, RV-3, etc.
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Goran
Double Platinum Member
Sweden
2203 Posts |
Posted - 03/25/2008 : 07:09:20
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quote:
Originally posted by pedals 4 pv
Les is more
I find pedal collecting is a hobby within a hobby. I get a little rush finding a pedal that I don't have, priced reasonably. For entertainment value you can beat a used Boss pedal, the trip to buy it, the initial try out of the new toy, download the manual, etc. You can play around for hours with it and them sell it for what you paid. FREE or nearly free entertainment! A Boss pedal is like money in the bank.(other brands can be slow to sell). I also find that playing with my effects does improve my overall playing as it keeps me interested and keeps the guitar in my hands longer, and everyone knows it's practice, practice, practice.
When I want to focus on actually playing guitar, I am fortunate enough to own a Gibson acoustic, so I go with that.
I agree to 100% on this, collecting Boss pedals is fun and something else from playing music.
I never use more than a couple of pedals when playing with a band or at home, but I love to test one of my Bosses one at a time.
And, as mentioned, I rather have my $$ in a Boss collection than on a Bank account!
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Why I downsize my pedal collection
