Just how much is too much?

[KsToaDangr]

I was hanging out with a friend of mine that plays drums, harmonica, and acoustic guitar, and I was explaining the different effects pedals I own. He noticed that I currently own 5 distortions, 3 overdrives, and 1 fuzz, all on my board. On it's way to me right now is another distortion, and I plan on buying at least 5 more after that, along with at least one more fuzz. Each of the ones I own is set to a specific sound, but he couldn't seem to wrap his brain around why I want so many gain-based effects pedals. If I turn all of them on at the same time, I can still get a signal through, but it's so distorted that it no longer sounds like a musical instrument. I have 2 noise music projects going right now that that sounds good in, but I just wanted some opinions from the effects forum. Is there a point where obsessively collecting gain effects becomes way too much?

[Oreomeister365]

...

[fuNKmaster83]

eh!!! too much is when it starts to heart you in any way or other!!!

[BassSurfer]

Originally Posted by Oreomeister365

...

thats REAL helpful......

i don't know if you can have TOO much pedals..but are you using them all at the same rate? or are you using some more then others?.. i never liked alot of pedals.. but who cares what others think... if its YOUR sound then do what YOU want to do..dont let others bring down your ideas..

[rcubed]

I'd say less distortions, more fuzz. I would think you'd want a Fuzz Factory for a noise project.

[Jazz Ad]

Sometimes chaining 2 gain pedals leads to awesome results.
More than that, I don't see the use.
In my experience, most distortion can be duplicated with a basic unit and a bit of EQing.
Now, if you like owning many pedals, more power to you. It's you money and sound after all.

[fenderhutz]

Want an opinion?

Too many pedals. I would bet in a full on band mix some of those sound VERY similar.

[syciprider]

No such thing as too much!

You will never catch up with Tayste!

[Valerus]

Originally Posted by fenderhutz

Want an opinion?

Too many pedals. I would bet in a full on band mix some of those sound VERY similar.

That seems to be swaying towards my thoughts.


I'd say 4 maximum. 2-3 is a good number.

[Smallmouth_Bass]

If you find that having that many distortions gets you the sounds that you want that you couldn't otherwise get, then I don't see a problem with it.

These days, I personally prefer to have a small setup, so it wouldn't work for me. To each their own.

[Smallmouth_Bass]

Originally Posted by fenderhutz

I would bet in a full on band mix some of those sound VERY similar.

I find that even heavy gain settings tend to disappear on bass in a live full band setting. It's made me question whether it's even worth having any distortion pedal in my setup at all considering the few songs I use it on.

[syciprider]

I never disappear
I start with a fat OD (my DHA VT1) and take it over the top with an active onboard pre. If I want more nastiness there's still the Fulltone waiting to pipe in. But yeah back on topic, I pretty much figured that two gains are all I need.

[bassman251]

I would do what YOU want. I would see for me that would be WAY too much as I would want different sounds other then overdrive/distortion. Now I could see have a few set to different settings though.

[KsToaDangr]

It seems that I left a little bit of info out of the original post. the 9 gain effect I own right now are less than half of my total effects collection. As stated previously, each of them has it's own sound, but I do agree that the difference between some of them is so subtle that most people wouldn't notice it. The sounds range from just a touch of overdrive all the way up to an even more distorted sound than Korn's guitarists. I'm currently involved in 5 different projects, plus a 6th that is being planned, I do some session work occasionally, and that I also play guitar and keyboards using some of the same pedals. I find that keeping each of them on one setting is a lot easier to use than taking 1 or 2 distortions, 1 fuzz, and 1 overdrive and changing the settings inbetween songs.

[Andy419]

I personally don't see the need for a lot of pedals but if that's what you're into then that's what you're into.

[JoshC]

You do have a lot of gear. I am thinking maybe instead of having so much cheaper gear, at least your profile says that pretty near every pedal you own is a Danelectro. Maybe find a pedal that will cover several of your sounds and save for that instead of just buying so many cheaper pedals.

I would say that you are indeed overkilling on the gain department. I can get all the drive tones that I need from my Skreddy Screwdriver and TF Huckleberry. Granted there are other tones out there that are desirable. I can't see there really being much merit to having more than 5-6 dirt pedals though. There comes a point where other gear should become priority to pedals. Like maybe a nice Ampeg head or something.

[Thunderscreech]

i guess the ting to ask is this: Does it work for you?
I've been getting flack from my guitard because of the pedals i want/own. You've got 9 gain stages on your board. So? If it's what works for you, then go for it. Theres really not a point where it becomes "too much" as long as you're happy about it.


Plus I think there's a little bassist racism going on. if you were a guitard, no one would say anything. They'd just say "Feh, he's a guitarist. Let him be." But since you play bass, they feel a need to criticize.

On a side note, my dad has the same problem with CAMP STOVES. he has around thirty in his collection, but only uses a few of them. My mom gives him a ton of doo-doo about it, but he doesn't care. It's what he likes.

[KsToaDangr]

Originally Posted by JoshC

You do have a lot of gear. I am thinking maybe instead of having so much cheaper gear, at least your profile says that pretty near every pedal you own is a Danelectro. Maybe find a pedal that will cover several of your sounds and save for that instead of just buying so many cheaper pedals.

I would say that you are indeed overkilling on the gain department. I can get all the drive tones that I need from my Skreddy Screwdriver and TF Huckleberry. Granted there are other tones out there that are desirable. I can't see there really being much merit to having more than 5-6 dirt pedals though. There comes a point where other gear should become priority to pedals. Like maybe a nice Ampeg head or something.

Two things you aren't realizing, mainly because I never said anything about it:
1-About half of the pedals that I own I got for free by designing a website for a danelectro distributor.
2-I have a form of OCD that make me compulsively collect things, and one of my collections is danelectro pedals.

Currently, most of my money goes to bills since I am a single parent of a two year old, and I don't make that much money to begin with. I would love to upgrade my amp, but I just don't see it happening anytime soon.

Sidenote-I would like to thank everyone for their input. Part of me agrees with my friend, but the OCD/wierd noises part of me keeps saying "more pedals, more pedals". It seems fitting that TB would be divided into the "do what you like" and the "that's overkill" parties as well.

[manutabora]

Well, since you said that you do session and studio work, I guess that changes things a bit.
I saw a video of Curt Bisquera (spelling?), an awesome and in demand session drummer, where he says that he has like 20 or 30 different snares so that he can find exactly the right one for each of his sessions. Maybe this is comparable? I don't know. It all comes down to what you want to sound like and how much gear are you willing to accumulate and haul around for it.
But, beware. I am a guy who uses no effects, and my musical situation and environment are very different to yours, so my $0.02 may not be worth even that.

[Nick Kay]

There's no such thing as too much. If I could afford it, I'd have a 15 foot pedalboard just for live uses, with more in the closet.