I respectfully emphatically disagree with this. In the very early 90's, way before we had any of the options aailable to us now, I played with a guitarist who was a genius with effects. He had about six pedals and he was constantly kneeling down to tweak parameters all set long. The key was that he had it all choreographed and knew his pedals so well that it became just part of the show rather than these weird awkward pauses between sets. And he wasn't using these pedals simply either. He was creating soundscapes as well as holding down rhythms and lead. So I think it takes a special talent to be able to pull knob tweaking, but by no means should one absolutely never move a knob all set.Also, your guitarist is doing it totally wrong, IMO: Stompboxes should be tweaked during soundcheck then left alone. A full minute of dead air is unacceptable, given that most of the tweaks will go totally unnoticed to the majority of the audience, anyway. Your guitarist needs to simplify things by finding stompbox settings that work for the entire set. Then all he'll have to do is switch them on or off as needed. It seems like common sense, but apparently it's not that common!
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Live performance - have analog effects pedals had their day?
- Thread starter Al Krow
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- analog effects multifx
There are always exceptions, I can certainly agree with that. We've all seen performances by Radiohead and the like where this was achieved successfully and brought something interesting and unique to the performance. Aside from big acts like these, however, what I've seen so far in terms of mid-set or even mid-song tweaking was more of the awkward pause variety.
On those rare occasions when I actually play a gig,I have a small board with a tuner,compressor,script phase 90, and I Palmer DI Box. Or I can bring my AX8 if I need more complex effects. The last gig I did ,all I brought was a bass and the AX8. It sounded fantastic. Never ever thought I would have anything digital in my signal chain,but the Fractal changed my mind.
This is totally cyclical.
Multieffects didn't arrive until the 1980s so everyone used multiple pedals and the big pros started turning to custom pedalboards (Pete Cornish was the hot name at the time). Ibanez came out with a few analog units (that go for a pretty penny used these days) but digital soon took over once they could not only do more than one kind of effect but more than one effect at a time and store presets. They have never left the marketplace since then, but analog pedals came roaring back on the heels of the boutique amp and guitar trends. Now some people are starting to understand why digital multis became so popular 30 years ago...K.I.S.S., of course. You can (and will) argue about the sound but if sound was the be-all and end-all we would all be taking out mortgages on $100,000 rigs, right?
P.S. the same thing is happening over in the synthesizer world where vintage-style analogs are all the rage, despite the baggage they bring with them when it comes to live performance.
Deputy = UK slang for a substitute
Multieffects didn't arrive until the 1980s so everyone used multiple pedals and the big pros started turning to custom pedalboards (Pete Cornish was the hot name at the time). Ibanez came out with a few analog units (that go for a pretty penny used these days) but digital soon took over once they could not only do more than one kind of effect but more than one effect at a time and store presets. They have never left the marketplace since then, but analog pedals came roaring back on the heels of the boutique amp and guitar trends. Now some people are starting to understand why digital multis became so popular 30 years ago...K.I.S.S., of course. You can (and will) argue about the sound but if sound was the be-all and end-all we would all be taking out mortgages on $100,000 rigs, right?
P.S. the same thing is happening over in the synthesizer world where vintage-style analogs are all the rage, despite the baggage they bring with them when it comes to live performance.
Deputy = UK slang for a substitute
They all have their place.
I used mainly high end boutique analog pedals for quite some time then switched to the Helix. It was an awesome unit and got 95% of what I was looking for. Having said that, I switched back to my analog stuff about 3 gigs later. I found that you can easily go down a rabbit hole of tweaking the digital stuff to the point where no one but yourself notices or cares.
I used mainly high end boutique analog pedals for quite some time then switched to the Helix. It was an awesome unit and got 95% of what I was looking for. Having said that, I switched back to my analog stuff about 3 gigs later. I found that you can easily go down a rabbit hole of tweaking the digital stuff to the point where no one but yourself notices or cares.
This is a problem with the guitarist, not the pedals.
And no, analog pedals have not had their day.
This is a dirty lie. Nespresso is terrible.
Hey Frank, "dep" = deputy i.e. (in our case, regular) #2 guitarist who fills in when our 'main' man is not available. The show must go on - gigs wait for no man (or woman)
Do you guys use the same or different term in Canada?
But would I be correct in thinking that you guys were playing an originals set? In which case, for sure, I accept that. Ben Phillips in the Pretty Reckless is another example who comes immediately to mind of a constant mid set pedal tweaker.
D
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I'm playing originals, and being experimental is part of it. One of the nice things about these analog boutique pedals with lots of tweakability is that you get to know them well enough to adjust them as second nature and anyway if I end up sounding like a bad film sound effect for a few seconds it's no big deal.
Of course if I were playing in a function band I'd probably have a different viewpoint, but I'm not. The only non-originals band I'm involved with is a tribute act and that is a "no pedals" scenario on account of the original bassist didn't use any.
I’m a set-it-and-forget-it guy, analog or digital. The problem is in setting it. I need to be playing with the band to do the final tweaks and get a pedal dialed in.
I can do this at rehearsals, but it is so much simpler with analog pedals than with digital.
Sometimes some pedals need to be re-tweaked live as the gain goes up or down. With digital pedals, for me, that amounts to turning it off and making a mental note of what to change. With analog I can sometimes tweak live for minor adjustments. Add in how much character good analog pedals have, and there is little contest for me.
I can do this at rehearsals, but it is so much simpler with analog pedals than with digital.
Sometimes some pedals need to be re-tweaked live as the gain goes up or down. With digital pedals, for me, that amounts to turning it off and making a mental note of what to change. With analog I can sometimes tweak live for minor adjustments. Add in how much character good analog pedals have, and there is little contest for me.
Hey Frank, "dep" = deputy i.e. (in our case, regular) #2 guitarist who fills in when our 'main' man is not available. The show must go on - gigs wait for no man (or woman)
Do you guys use the same or different term in Canada?
Here we usually use the term "sub" (for "substitute"), we'll also say things like guy x is subbing with band y, or for guy z.
Who needs to do that? If I have multiple settings on a pedal that I like to use on a gig, they are memorized and I don't need to test them out beforehand. I would assume most people would do it that way, at least if they're semi-professional.
Hah! 'Subbing' is definitely not a thing in the olde country! (Certainly not my bit of it, anyway). If someone is playing a subby-bass they have the treble dialled off and the bass boosted a touch.
So it begins... a little overdrive / fuzz and phaser.
Then you kinda think I definitely should add a tuner, compressor and, oh yes, an HPF may be a very good thing...and then you hear some of those funk synth sounds which seem really cool... and it wouldn't hurt to have a bit of tremolo and delay on tap (just in case)? And dang that octave down with my dirt pedal sounds just great...but wow how much did I just spend on a Chase Bliss pedal, I didn't know pedals cost that much!
Didn't someone tell you pedals are the work of the Great Seducer? There is NO escape once you start down the slippery slope.
I find it ironic, that, while having embraced the modern, lightweight and efficient class D amp,bass players still poopie on digital modeling, while guitarist have gone balls deep into the modeling world with the kemper/axe fx/helix and have only a handful of class D power amps and zero amps available to them.
So is digital the future, yes it is but it's also the present : watch any rig rundown video, there's an axe/kemper/helix in 90% of them, either taking care only of the FX or replacing the whole rig.
Why ? because touring, especially international touring. When touring abroad, you need to go with the smallest rig, which is now made possible by the different modeling technology. Also, less gear = easier travelling = less roadies = more money. Which is not something negligeable when you're a small/medium act trying to earn a living by touring !
Also units like the Kemper and the Axe fx are great studio units, they're now the gold standard.
But don't worry guys, analog isn't dead yet and won't ever be, just look at tube amps : an outdated technology, yet still here.
So is digital the future, yes it is but it's also the present : watch any rig rundown video, there's an axe/kemper/helix in 90% of them, either taking care only of the FX or replacing the whole rig.
Why ? because touring, especially international touring. When touring abroad, you need to go with the smallest rig, which is now made possible by the different modeling technology. Also, less gear = easier travelling = less roadies = more money. Which is not something negligeable when you're a small/medium act trying to earn a living by touring !
Also units like the Kemper and the Axe fx are great studio units, they're now the gold standard.
But don't worry guys, analog isn't dead yet and won't ever be, just look at tube amps : an outdated technology, yet still here.
Nah, I'm good. I've been down the rabbit hole. I have what I need. The other stuff's been sold off.So it begins... a little overdrive / fuzz and phaser.
Then you kinda think I definitely should add a tuner, compressor and, oh yes, an HPF may be a very good thing...and then you hear some of those funk synth sounds which seem really cool... and it wouldn't hurt to have a bit of tremolo and delay on tap (just in case)? And dang that octave down with my dirt pedal sounds just great...but wow how much did I just spend on a Chase Bliss pedal, I didn't know pedals cost that much!
Didn't someone tell you pedals are the work of the Great Seducer? There is NO escape once you start down the slippery slope.
GET BEHIND ME SATAN!
