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Hi, my name is Sam. im new and trying my bestest to make friends. Ive been playing guitar for 4 years and im 15.
i recently bought a fender 212FM off eBay and i would like to buy an effects pedal with my remaining money. im not really sure what to buy next. im not asking this as someone who buys equipment, gets tired of it, and buys new stuff. I'm just not sure whats more necessary: something probably essential like a fuzz? or something that's more on the creative side like a loop or delay? i really want the Akai Headrush (loop/delay). but it would probably leave me broke. i was also looking at the Russian big muff, mainly because i love fuzzy distortion and its inexpensive. what would you suggest fellow community members?
Thanks - Sam

what type of effect are you looking for? that is to say, what are you trying to do to your sound? delay? reverb? chorus? overdrive? distortion? phase? etc. . .
it's kinda hard to answer without knowing what you're looking for, so narrow it down and you will be rewarded PRICELESS ADVICE. hahahaha


nice old school gameboy as your avatar. welcome to the boards.

a loop pedal is a great investment. It's like having another person to jam with, only one who won't yell at you for hittng the wrong note here and there

Guitar lessons. I so wish i would have taken some.

What guitar do you have, incidently?

I'd suggest, as a first pedal, something satisfying and noisy like a big muff or rat. Or perhaps a subtler overdrive/distortion like an MXR Dist+ or Boss DS-1.

Delay, loop pedals are fun to play with, but they'll only bore those around you and won't help you improve as a player. As I've mentioned before, too many bands overuse these and they're fast becoming the most passé of effects.

timhulio wrote:subtler overdrive/distortion like an MXR Dist+ or Boss DS-1.

DS-1's are FAR from subtle.

Doesn't that amp have a footswitch? If you like the drive you get from it I'd go for the looper, you can waste days playing with one.

Roll-off the distortion on a DS-1 and you've a subtle, usable overdrive- especially if you're using a guitar without humbuckers.

invest in a looper, it will really make you a better player, you can have a 3 chord progression going and play for hours over it
it also widens what you play, like laying down a bass line and a rythm and lead
keeps you up to date on a lot of aspects of your playing and i wish that was the first pedal i bouht because it would have broken me of a lot of bad habbits

I think a good avenue for you would be to get a decent quality multi-effect processor.
Something along the lines of THIS, perhaps...

It'll serve as a great introduction to basic guitar signal processing and you're likely to come out of it with a clearer grasp
on what kinds of sounds appeal to you the most, as well as the types of individual effects that are needed to produce them.

When you're ready, you just sell the multi-effect and go trolling the bay for quality units.

thanks for all the help. im actually getting either an Eastwood p-90 special, or a Mexican telecaster (another decision) before a pedal.
i really want the loop, but with just the amp distortion all of the loops that i make will have the same level of distortion. the amp distortion goes after all pedals. with a fuzz i could make several loops with different levels of distortion, therefor separating the rhythm, lead, and whatever else. ahhhh dont know what to do

ishkabibble wrote:thanks for all the help. im actually getting either an Eastwood p-90 special, or a Mexican telecaster (another decision) before a pedal.
i really want the loop, but with just the amp distortion all of the loops that i make will have the same level of distortion. the amp distortion goes after all pedals. with a fuzz i could make several loops with different levels of distortion, therefor separating the rhythm, lead, and whatever else. ahhhh dont know what to do

IMO you can play without any distortion and still have a nice time

IF you're into a telecaster, and don't want to spend the money on a classic series mim, the Classic vibe Squiers are supposed to be ace. I've yet to play one, but everyone is RAVING about them.

As for effect0z, a rat or a BM is a good way to go to a first dist pedal. The new "bass muff" or whatever, is supposed to be a close clone of the green sovtecks.

Good luck with finding gear!

Mexican telecaster? Nonono, get a baja telecaster or a squier class vibe duo, both are much better for their respective prices and much better compared to a mexican standard.

The Squier Classic Vibe Tele IS ace - I was really impressed with it (certainly better then the standard Mexican stuff).

I really wish when I was starting to get into pedals that someone like dots would have told me to get a good multi-effect first. I always had a negative opinion of them because, when I was starting, they really sucked. They've become totally amazing, though. I'd look for a used multi-effect that has looping capability. It may be a little more expensive initially, but you'll save yourself hundreds in the long run not dicking around with buying effects you won't really use.

Yeah starting out on a multi effects pedal is always a good idea. I had a fender G-Dec for a while and that pretty much satisfied all my effects needs at the time, and made me realise I don't like many effects other than reverb and dirt.

Hence why when I got rid of it I got a reverb pedal and a loads of dirt pedals (5th one on it's way).

I'd be inclined to say to just keep playing and see what you can do with what you have. Keep messing about with what you have until and try to get the most out of that, then maybe start thinking about what you mgiht be able to buy that'll bring out new things in how you play and inspire you to do something different.

ALSO: watch loads of videos online to see what different effects do, and think about what you might be able to make use of, and what might force you to think about the instrument in a different way.

Having said that, a decent fuzz/distortion/overdrive pedal is probably a sound investment, and you will get your use out of it. Plus, it's probably something you'll buy at some point, but I would hold on and see what you think once you know your current equipment inside out.

laterallateral wrote:I think a good avenue for you would be to get a decent quality multi-effect processor.
Something along the lines of THIS, perhaps...

It'll serve as a great introduction to basic guitar signal processing and you're likely to come out of it with a clearer grasp
on what kinds of sounds appeal to you the most, as well as the types of individual effects that are needed to produce them.

When you're ready, you just sell the multi-effect and go trolling the bay for quality units.

This is the best advice in this thread.

a couple years ago i bought a digitech processor and got my fill out of it. it played with all the settings, made my own, and even learned a but along the way. but i am past that (although i understand that processors are getting better and better). i really want to start building a solid pedal board. i am probibly going to get the akai headrush. thanks for all the help guys.