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Does anyone ever get annoyed with guitar pedals?
- Thread starter Shimmi
- Start date
Is this an I hate effects thread in disguise? At least it's not in the Effects Forum like they usually are.
I love em' and I use em' all the time.
My guitarist has a small board and everything is dialed in perfectly for what he needs.
We both adjust during sound check to make sure the levels are all good.
Neither of us waste any time on a gig dialing stuff in. That's what practice at home is for.
I love em' and I use em' all the time.
My guitarist has a small board and everything is dialed in perfectly for what he needs.
We both adjust during sound check to make sure the levels are all good.
Neither of us waste any time on a gig dialing stuff in. That's what practice at home is for.
Guitarists and their pedals seem to be frequent offenders, but honestly, I think it applies to all instruments. I don't care how much or how little gear you bring to the gig, but please, have it dialed in and ready to go so you don't have to mess with it.
One band I was in featured a 2-3 minute break during every show while the guitarist messed with his pedal board. I developed a whole repertoire of jokes to tell while he did that. "A duck walks into a bar ..."
I think we have probably all been in a band, or still are, where one or more band member just can't keep quiet between songs, at rehearsals as well as at gigs. It's quite unprofessional, especially on stage. If you haven't dialed in your effects at home, made some final tweaks during rehearsals, then don't bring them on stage. And please keep quiet between songs so it's possible to have a conversation about the song we just rehearsed, or the one we're about to play.
And yes, I'm a grumpy old fart.
And yes, I'm a grumpy old fart.
Ditto to the first part, but I do like tweaking them a little bit now and then and seeing if I can get a certain song to sound more like how I want it to in my head. But for the most part I have about two standard settings per pedal that I write down on the song, so I know immediately what the settings need to be.
For me personally, pedals are a means rather than an end. If I need a pedal to support what I'm doing, I'll use it. If a pedal or an effect serves no useful or creative purpose for me, then I leave it at home. I don't get any satisfaction tap dancing on pedals, but if the gig calls for using them, then I'll use them.
I've seen guitarists use simple FX setups and sound great and complicated setups and still sound great. But the reality of the matter is if a guitarist wants to use FX in an effective way that won't destroy their tone, some thought needs to go into it. They need to be thinking about their signal chain, what FX are going to go in front of the amp versus the loop, tone sucking pedals should be put in true bypass loops, and the signal should be buffered. If they find themselves often needing multiple FX at once, then invest the time and money into using a switching system. Otherwise, it's time to go the processor route. That means something like a TC G-Force or Fractal Audio AxeFX. Leave the $200 Digitech toy at home. Many modern amps now have MIDI capability.
I've seen guitarists use simple FX setups and sound great and complicated setups and still sound great. But the reality of the matter is if a guitarist wants to use FX in an effective way that won't destroy their tone, some thought needs to go into it. They need to be thinking about their signal chain, what FX are going to go in front of the amp versus the loop, tone sucking pedals should be put in true bypass loops, and the signal should be buffered. If they find themselves often needing multiple FX at once, then invest the time and money into using a switching system. Otherwise, it's time to go the processor route. That means something like a TC G-Force or Fractal Audio AxeFX. Leave the $200 Digitech toy at home. Many modern amps now have MIDI capability.
One of my guitarists uses no pedals at all, except occasionally a filter. Our joke is our role reversal - I show up with my pedaltrain and about eight boxes on it, every practice and gig, he plugs right into his amp. In the other band, the guitarist has about as many pedals as me (seven or eight). The only thing that annoys me is that he won't get a board. He insists on carrying them all loose in a bag and spreads them out in an arc at his feet every time we play. Makes setup longer, but then it's his rig, not mine.
I used to work in an environment with lots of bells and whistles between the guitar player and various other electronic stuff (footpedals, sequencers, percussion pads, etc). We had distinct time reserved for engineering versus rehearsing and it was scheduled. Once rehearsal time starts, the knob twiddling stops - period. Rehearsal should be as close to a performance as possible. If it's not, then you're not rehearsing, you're just jamming.
I never could get the hang of distortion pedals on guitar. I always have to screw around with it and the amp to get a good tone. And I don't even play in a band! That's one of the things I like about bass: It sounds good to me without pedals no matter what I play. Just plug in and that's it.
Disclaimer: Nothing against bassists who use pedals. Effects can really enhance the already sweet sound of bass...it's just not my thing...for now.
Disclaimer: Nothing against bassists who use pedals. Effects can really enhance the already sweet sound of bass...it's just not my thing...for now.
It's really simple. You tell the offending party that rehearsals are for getting the band tight, not for them to find their tone. My current guitar player has a system you need a PhD to operate. He doesn't spend one minute of rehearsal time playing with it. He shows up ready to play.
Guess I'm a grumpy old fart too. Nothing is more annoyng than musicians who are constantly "noodling" while others of us are trying to talk at rehearsals or at gigs. It's like some of them don't practice their instruments until they arrive at rehearsal or at a gig and try desperately to make up for lost time. I include drummers practicing fills in this, too.I think we have probably all been in a band, or still are, where one or more band member just can't keep quiet between songs, at rehearsals as well as at gigs. It's quite unprofessional, especially on stage. If you haven't dialed in your effects at home, made some final tweaks during rehearsals, then don't bring them on stage. And please keep quiet between songs so it's possible to have a conversation about the song we just rehearsed, or the one we're about to play.
And yes, I'm a grumpy old fart.
I used to make fun of guitarists with big pedalboards. I had a tuner and a compressor, and felt very virtuous. Then I got a BBE Sonic Stomp because somebody convinced me it would improve my overall sound. And for the most part, it did. And then I started going downhill: I got a funk gig and a Q-Tron. Then I played with a band that had all this stuff in Eb and got an octaver. Then I played with a grunge band and got a Bass Muff. And all of a sudden I've got all these boxes on the floor. I put the octaver away when I got a 5-string (so I could play Contemporary Nashville Hits), and in my current outfit no use for the fuzz, so I've stepped back from the idea of an actual pedalboard. But I've also had to lay off teasing guitar players. Bummer.
maybe you could suggest - very strongly - to the guitarist that he figure out his tone at times other than practice...
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
They are tools. Theycan be used, abused, or wasted. Overuse of pedals is just a symptom, not the disease.
Worse than this is the keys player who changes keys sounds 3-4 times in a 2 chorus blues solo.
I get it, your keyboard has 8000 sounds on it. But they all don't have to happen this gig.
My big beef with guitar players is when all their stuff starts causing issue where their guitar cuts out and they don't see the disruption as being as urgent of a problem as everyone else.
I get it, your keyboard has 8000 sounds on it. But they all don't have to happen this gig.
My big beef with guitar players is when all their stuff starts causing issue where their guitar cuts out and they don't see the disruption as being as urgent of a problem as everyone else.
OMG So much this!!! It's like he was doing it just to annoy us, like seriously dude we're planning a gig.
I go through phases where I try to add effect pedals into my chain, but I always seem to find them too big of a hassle to deal with when it comes to gigging. They're fun at home and in the studio, but I'd rather just play at a gig and not get too worked up in effects. That, plus I can never seem to get my effects to work live without them being too loud or too subtle.
