Favourite effects for electrics.

Just for fun, and we've probably done this before, but what are your favourite effects to use with your electric? If you have a multi-fx unit, what pre-sets do you use? If you have pedals, what are they?

I'll start:

Although on guitar, I'll use a lot of stuff, I like my mandolin less effeced. But...

I'll use a compressor - a Mooer Yellow comp, which is apparently a copy of an optical compressor (which gives a nice smooth compression)

an EHX soul food overdrive - very transparent - a nice crunch when needed

An analogue delay - usually set like a slapback - very short three or four repeats.

A touch of reverb - through the amp, otherwise a TC Hall of Fame.

A cry baby wah - but you have to be mindful of the sweep.

I don't like choruses, or harmonisers or phasers or flangers on my mandolin (on my guitar? Love them, thanks for asking)

Your turn - what do you use? No wrong answers, no judgement, just tell us about your sounds.

No reverb?

A touch of reverb through the amp. Although the delay pedal when it’s on does add a bit.

Bump.

Fulltone OCD for drive most of the time
Outlaw Effects boost with bass and treble controls so I can sculpt it to the unique frequency range of emando
Donner Golden Tremolo
Earthquaker Devices Space Spiral for long ambient delays
Donner Yellow Fall for slapback
TC Electronic HOF mini for reverb
Outlaw Effects looper
Generally run into a Fender SuperChamp XD on the clean channel, sometimes with the amps onboard effects too, usually reverb or the vibratone model.
If I need something more "out there" like an octave or a synth sound, I also have a Zoom G3X that gets use as a practice tool/swiss army knife pedal.

And sometimes I skip it all and go straight into a ZT Lunchbox for jazzy clean tones...

I use the delay & echo pedals but haven’t found distortion or fuzz settings I like

I have realised that almost all my effects are actually boost pedals in one way or another...

Mooer octave pedal
Origin Effects SlideRig (2 channel preamp with compression)
DOD FX-10 boost
Boss GE-7 EQ
Boss SD-1 overdrive (I keep the drive very low and use this just to get a little dirt in the tone when necessary. A little goes a long way. )

I run through a POD 2.0 and occasionally play with the effects on it: delay, tremolo, etc.

I agree completely about the modulation effects. Chorus, phase, flange are mostly rubbish on an emando. One exception: Stereo chorus through two speakers on separate channels. That is the biggest sound I have ever gotten from an emando.

Effects in storage:
Boss looper
MXR distortion+
Boss CE-2 Chorus
Boss BF-3 Flanger

Daniel

I run my Fender 5 through my electric guitar rig which is really 2 rigs - a clean (Takt) and a dirty (V8).

I use a Radial Bigshot to switch between the 2. Everything meets at a Pigtronix Infinity Looper which gives me 2 channels and a master volume in addition to looping.

When I want drums I use a Beatbuddy pedal which provides master sync to the looper through MIDI.

Dirty rig:
Multi-Oomph
V8 5 watt tube amp input
V8 effect send
Pigtronix Echolution delay
Pigtronix EP1 Envelope Phaser
Pigtronix Infinity Looper (channel 1)
V8 effect receive
V8 spring reverb and optical tremolo output to speaker

Clean rig:
Morley Distortion/Wah/Volume
Vox Satchurator (high gain distortion)
DOD Ice Box (chorus)
Korg G3 multi-effects
Pigtronix Tremvelope
Pigtronix Keymaster
Pigtronix Infinity Looper (channel 2)
TAKT 3 watt tube amp output to speaker

My acoustic 8 also goes into the TAKT but comes in via a different input section:
Peavey Bassist rack pre-amp
Digitech RDS 6500 Digital Reverb
Pigtronix Keymaster
Pigtronix Infinity Looper (channel 2)
TAKT 3 watt tube amp output to speaker

RMC Pickups to Roland Guitar Synth..

My fx for electric mandolin will vary from rig to rig based on the amp, and gig to gig based on the need. I pulled myself up from a pretty deep rabbit hole. These days really just running 2-3 effects per rig.

Here are a few of my essentials that are usually on the board at any given time;

DOD 250 Overdrive Preamp
Digitech Polara Reverb, especially for the Laney rig
Digitech Obscura Delay for Laney; DOD Rubberneck analog for the Rivera

NoiseKickFX Almond Blossom envelope filter on the Rivera rig, DOD 440 for Laney, or if I want to keep it simple.

BTW, for an easy, robust, and gorgeous sounding modulation pedal that works well with electric mandolin: Fishman AFX Chorus. Built like a tank. Super easy to use. Incredible rotary in particular; easy battery or AC power, and stereo in/out.

I don't have an electric mandolin - but for my electric tenor i love judicious delays as i'm a child of the 80s - Cocteau Twins, Chameleons etc.
The list is currently growing but currently.. yes it's kind of heavy on one make!
- Strymon El Capistan
- Strymon DIG
- Pluspedal
- EHX POG2
- Boss DD7
- Boss Rv6
(I only use the Rv6 of the boss pedals)

Currently this goes via my Yamaha THR10c but am going to build a pedal board which will include:
- Strymon Iridium
- Strymon Flint
- TC Hall of Fame2
and a boutique Chorus of some sort...

for acoustics, TC Acoustic Play

I have one pedal that is actually saving me money.

I had been jonesing for an electric octave. Instead I bought a POG octave pedal.

This thing is fantastic, you can immediately play an octave lower, which is what I wanted, without purchasing yet another mandolin.

I am not primarily an electric instrument guy, so take my observations with some salt. I have a four string mandocaster. The POG octave gives me that legit octave below the fiddle sound that i wanted.

I can also go an octave up. I am not sure why I would but the capability is there.

And I can mix the octave (either up or down) with the straight through signal. So if I want to add just a little depth to a tone I already like, I can bring on a percentage of octave. It is like adding steak sauce.

And if you want some mess around fun, reduce the straight through signal, and pot up the octave above and the octave below to full. Then, using the volume control to bring you in and out, you can do a creditable pipe organ. Just a distraction, but fun is fun guys.

I was running, depending on the set, several Mooer pedals. Distortion, chorus, OD and wah.
Now, I am using the Mooer GE-150 (multi-effects pedal). It even has a couple nice settings for when I plug in my acoustic/electric. It is good value for dollar.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JeffD

I have one pedal that is actually saving me money.

I had been jonesing for an electric octave. Instead I bought a POG octave pedal.

This thing is fantastic, you can immediately play an octave lower, which is what I wanted, without purchasing yet another mandolin.

I am not primarily an electric instrument guy, so take my observations with some salt. I have a four string mandocaster. The POG octave gives me that legit octave below the fiddle sound that i wanted.

I can also go an octave up. I am not sure why I would but the capability is there.

And I can mix the octave (either up or down) with the straight through signal. So if I want to add just a little depth to a tone I already like, I can bring on a percentage of octave. It is like adding steak sauce.

And if you want some mess around fun, reduce the straight through signal, and pot up the octave above and the octave below to full. Then, using the volume control to bring you in and out, you can do a creditable pipe organ. Just a distraction, but fun is fun guys.

---

That’s a great idea. I have a boss harmonists and a tc nether. I’m going to try the nether on my mando today...

I’m loving all the different rigs. Keep them coming!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JeffD

I have one pedal that is actually saving me money.

I had been jonesing for an electric octave. Instead I bought a POG octave pedal.

This thing is fantastic, you can immediately play an octave lower, which is what I wanted, without purchasing yet another mandolin.

I am not primarily an electric instrument guy, so take my observations with some salt. I have a four string mandocaster. The POG octave gives me that legit octave below the fiddle sound that i wanted.

I can also go an octave up. I am not sure why I would but the capability is there.

And I can mix the octave (either up or down) with the straight through signal. So if I want to add just a little depth to a tone I already like, I can bring on a percentage of octave. It is like adding steak sauce.

And if you want some mess around fun, reduce the straight through signal, and pot up the octave above and the octave below to full. Then, using the volume control to bring you in and out, you can do a creditable pipe organ. Just a distraction, but fun is fun guys.

---

I posted about this before I think... I have a Mooer octave pedal that does various combinations of one or two octaves away from the source note. I use mine in a bit of a counter-intuitive way.

I noticed my 5 strings generally lack overtones owing to the nature of electric amplification. So I run the octave pedal an octave above the source note and reduce the volume of the additional note to barely audible. That adds a bit of 'air' to the tone.

I find the tone of the octave below a bit dull, though that could be simply a limitation of an inexpensive pedal.

I think a Boss MO-2 might do this job better, but I have yet to try one.

Daniel

I use an Electro Harmonix B-9 organ simulator and it is great in a rock band setting because you can play fat sounding 2 and 3 note rhythm comps under the guitar player! Much as you could with an octave pedal but with a cooler sound.

Alesis Midiverb II and Line 6 POD effects units used on 2 different amp setups,
Ibanez TS 808 distortion, a rack mount compression effect and a Morley JD10
which allows you to plug an electric mandolin into a PA and have it sound decent. Sort
of a fail-safe measure if an amp doesn't work.
The compression settings smooth out & sustain the sound and make it flow. It really makes a difference.
Also using reverb, EQ and distortion. I set these effects in a very conservative way. To improve the sound, not
give it an overt flavor. I mostly want the amp and pickup tone. EQ to tame the tone on the E and C strings.
A touch of distortion to keep it from sounding too vanilla. A little reverb just sounds richer.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by homermando

I use an Electro Harmonix B-9 organ simulator and it is great in a rock band setting because you can play fat sounding 2 and 3 note rhythm comps under the guitar player! Much as you could with an octave pedal but with a cooler sound.

---

What a good idea!

I'm enjoying reading about everyone's setups, and appreciate the notes about why you've chosen certain effects over others. I'm still fairly new to electric mandolin (or electric any instrument, for that matter - I do have electricity in my house just not in many instruments). I don't even know where to start on effects. I have tried researching effects by checking YouTube videos, but they always have titles like "The 167 pedals YOU MUST HAVE!!" Some pedal boards look like a giant version of my computer's keyboard.

I think the trick is that spending money on an instrument makes sense to me, I know what different instruments are supposed to sound like because I have played a lot of them. Spending money on different amps makes sense (I have a SS practice amp with spring reverb, and a small tube amp for different tones) because I used to be an electronics repair tech and built tube Hifi setups for years. But I don't even really get what most pedals do, let alone what they sound like. I was reading about "Flangers" and the author said "You know, they sound like flangers." Gee, thanks. Makes it unlikely that I am going to drop $75-200 to se what happens when I plug something called "Fire Balls" or something into my guitar. If shops were open, I could probably try things out, but that's not an option.

What's a good place to learn about effects from someone who has played for a long time but is just exploring electric instruments, AND is stuck at home?

I just really got into pedals a few years ago,(I'm 59), and I got a lot out of watching lots of reviews that demoed the pedals.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96xy3EgeyvA Also, I spent time at this site. http://www.gilmourish.com/ And there are businesses like this. https://pedalgenie.com/join-pro?SID=...61df471ec810f2.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mreidsma

I'm enjoying reading about everyone's setups, and appreciate the notes about why you've chosen certain effects over others. I'm still fairly new to electric mandolin (or electric any instrument, for that matter - I do have electricity in my house just not in many instruments). I don't even know where to start on effects. I have tried researching effects by checking YouTube videos, but they always have titles like "The 167 pedals YOU MUST HAVE!!" Some pedal boards look like a giant version of my computer's keyboard.

I think the trick is that spending money on an instrument makes sense to me, I know what different instruments are supposed to sound like because I have played a lot of them. Spending money on different amps makes sense (I have a SS practice amp with spring reverb, and a small tube amp for different tones) because I used to be an electronics repair tech and built tube Hifi setups for years. But I don't even really get what most pedals do, let alone what they sound like. I was reading about "Flangers" and the author said "You know, they sound like flangers." Gee, thanks. Makes it unlikely that I am going to drop $75-200 to se what happens when I plug something called "Fire Balls" or something into my guitar. If shops were open, I could probably try things out, but that's not an option.

What's a good place to learn about effects from someone who has played for a long time but is just exploring electric instruments, AND is stuck at home?

---

I'm with you. I didn't know anything about or use any pedals for years. Then I met a fellow who wanted to start a pedal company and I got a crash-course in all things pedals.

There are basically 3 types of pedal effects - distortion, modulation and utility.

Distortion pedals actually started out of things like the Treble Booster (which boosted treble because early tube amps were really dark) and fuzz. Today there are more distortion and boost pedals than just about any other kind. If you use tubes in your amp for distortion, these aren't necessary but if you're using a SS amp these types of pedals add an acceptable distortion without valves.

Modulation effects cover everything from reverb to flanging, chorus, delay, phasing, tremolo and everything in between. They generally add body to the tone that can go from subtle to in-your-face.

Utility effects are things like line switchers, noise gates, eq's and the such.

In general I find a delay with a splash of reverb gives my tone enough body for most things and resort to the other modulators when I need a specific tone. I also use my envelope-phaser regularly as a subtle modulation under everything else. I generally use my tube amp for distortion but I have a clean booster (multi-oomph) which pushes the tubes harder for more gain. For my clean amp I use a Vox Satchurator pedal which goes from bluesy to ultra-high gain. On the ultility side, I use the Keymaster and BigShot to switch inputs and outputs.

You can spend a life-time keeping up with what's new and exciting in pedals but hopefully the foregoing will let you categorize the various offerings so you can hone your searches to what's important to you.

Here's a video I did showing how I use my rig:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCyBFAz6wlQ

Verne,

That is SUPER helpful! And your rig is intense and amazing. Looks like a lot of fun! I'll keep at it, and will look at the links that John shared above, too. Reverb I get. That's where I will start!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mreidsma

Verne,

That is SUPER helpful! And your rig is intense and amazing. Looks like a lot of fun! I'll keep at it, and will look at the links that John shared above, too. Reverb I get. That's where I will start!

---

Thanks and enjoy the journey. Discovery is a big part of the fun.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mreidsma

What's a good place to learn about effects from someone who has played for a long time
but is just exploring electric instruments, AND is stuck at home?

---

This is a mix of different tutorials:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO43...rt_radio=1&t=2

I typically don't use a lot of effect with my Mandobird, but one of the reasons I like it is that I can use effects
I do like a bit of distortion at times.
Chorus can be nice, if it's subtle or over the top.
I do like an Octaver with Octave down settings (Octave up is too much for me--but maybe somebody can make it work.)
An auto wha is cool too.
And I often use a volume pedal for volume swells, and to kill volume between songs.