Pedals question

[mark555]

Hi Everyone

Of late I have been wanting to use a combination of pedals in some of the numbers we play live, for example I might want to go from using an overdrive to then incorporating a reverb or delay. One example is the Wishbone Ash number "Throw Down The Sword", which ideally I would combine my Boost, overdrive and Reverb Pedals all at once when changing from playing the chords in the verses to going to the solo. There maybe other combinations I want to use at some point. 

Does any one here know if there is anything I can add to my pedal board which will allow me to do this? I don't use a lot of pedals, but would like to get more out of what I have without having to do a complicated dance sequence when I want to get the right combination?

Thanks in advance.

[kzoolou]

Sounds like a loop switcher would get you where you want to go.

[mark555]

7 minutes ago, kzoolou said:

Sounds like a loop switcher would get you where you want to go.

Never heard of one of those, only been playing electric guitar for forty four years, so much to learn! How do you use them?

Any suggestions for a good brand worth looking into?

[kzoolou]

Probably depends on how complex your needs are.   I don't have a recommendation on brand and I'm certainly no expert with them. 

On it's simplest level, they can make it so you can take several pedals, put them into a loop and turn them on or off using a single footswitch.  When it's off, the pedals are essentially out of the loop whether they're on or not.  More complex switchers let you define different combinations of pedals and even control some midi functions, although that's a bit over my head and needs for what I do.  I like the idea for things like my Whammy pedal which seems to suck tone when it's not in use so I keep it completely out of my signal chain unless I want to use it.  I use a cheap joyo programmable switcher because I wanted to see if I would like using them.  Turns out, I probably only needed something that would take one or two things in/out of my signal chain simultaneously.

[t0aj15]

https://www.fractalaudio.com/p-fx8-multieffects-pedalboard/

[JeffB]

I got the Boss MS3 exactly for this.

I like the Kingsley Jester and Jetter Red Square od pedals I have  and I use minimal fx but I wanted switching options like any multifx unit has.

The few times Ive used the ms3 has been without the Jester or red square. The drives in the MS3 are pretty good, surprised me. I could see  turning up to a gig with a clean amp and just the MS3.

Ive read where people have mentioned a millisecond delay between switching between loops with the MS3, I havnt noticed it but I could see it might be a problem for some if its there.

 

[tbonesullivan]

"effects switchers" are pretty much external effects loops. So you can keep using your old school stomp boxes, but instead of having to stomp on all three, you just stop one button.

There are a pretty wide variety of implementations out there.

[mark555]

27 minutes ago, tbonesullivan said:

"effects switchers" are pretty much external effects loops. So you can keep using your old school stomp boxes, but instead of having to stomp on all three, you just stop one button.

There are a pretty wide variety of implementations out there.

That's what I want to do, might have a trip to the guitar shops and see what there is.

[Gianluca]

there are various choices, midi controlled while keeping signal path entirely analog and possibility to have groups and channels, separate sets for fx loop and stereo channels

:-)

[gpuma]

again, I see these kinds of question and I wonder why multi-effect units fell out of fashion...

[JeffB]

41 minutes ago, gpuma said:

again, I see these kinds of question and I wonder why multi-effect units fell out of fashion...

fashion is for other people. Ive always owned mfx right from the first boss units.

Some of them were garbage tbh

 

[gpuma]

36 minutes ago, JeffB said:

Some of them were garbage tbh

some stand alone pedals are garbage too, though

[gpuma]

I guess, what I am trying to say is that, especially in a live situation, simplicity and reliability should have a much bigger weight than what the typical guitar player (me included, I had a pedal board as well) assign to them.

Just not having to troubleshoot in the dark one of those thing would be enough. As a matter of fact, even though here in Puerto Rico I do not have band anymore, hence I do not play live,  I promised myself that if the opportunity rises to play in a live setting again I will no longer have a pedal board but I will acquire a quality MF unit, maybe with one extra pedal. That's it.

[tbonesullivan]

One Control makes some small, affordable, two loop switchers. One has two buttons for the different loops. The other has one button for A/B and another for On/Off. Which is best depends on your effects chain.

[mark555]

I like things to be as simple as possible.

[Kuz]

I use a 6 switch pedal looper box I bought from Brent years ago.  All of my OD pedal go to the looper box then out to my univibe pedal and then to delay pedal.  

The beauty of the looper pedal box is that the OD pedals are always on and they aren't activated until I select them on the looper box.  Also I have them in order so I can stack them for increased gain/boost.  The pedals are spread all over the board, but only thing I need to stomp on is the looper box.  I love it and couldn't play with out it.

I will eventually buy a Boss ES-8 which is an assignable looper pedal box for 8 pedals.  You can make patches and banks for exactly which pedals you want on and in which ORDER you want them in the chain.  So YES it is exactly like a multieffects unit but you can use your analog pedals (pedals that sound great and don't suck like multi-effects)  and trade on & off the board which pedals you want to use (you aren't limited by the sounds that are inherited in the multi-effects box). 

check this out, brilliant!!! 

 

[bobmeyrick]

Hi Mark, the solutions are out there, but some of them aren't cheap. The Boss ES-8 mentioned by Kuz retails for around £500, while the GigRig G2 is nearer £800! The thing is, both of these probably have way more capability than you want or need - the GigRig G2 is designed to take 10 pedals. I use a couple of GigRig Remote Loopy 2's,  and they are very well made.

However, I've just looked up the Joyo switcher mentioned by kzoolou, which retails for £165, and is stocked by three shops near you, in Leeds, Pontefract and Sheffield. You can find them here - https://www.joyoaudio.co.uk/find-a-shop.html. It's probably not built as well as GigRig stuff, which is designed for heavy duty touring, but looks like it would do the job for you without breaking the bank.

Let us know how you get on.

[mark555]

All great help, much appreciate it. I didn't have a clue what any of this would cost so I might have to hold out for a bit. I really like Boss gear, but as Bob says, it might be too much more than I actually need. I only use four pedals, Boost, OD. Reverb and Delay. I really just want to be able to make a couple of mixes - boost and overdrive, and boost overdrive, and reverb. Maybe one more. I don't use chorus and other effects, I keep it quite simple really. I might add another OD pedal at some point. I get bewildered at times.

I've heard Joyo make some usable stuff for a decent price, will check them out.Thanks for the links Bob.