Pedals for the Jazz Guitarist?

[Irwin1993]

I have a Ernie ball volume pedal >> sparkle drive (only have for when I'm playing with a Quartet/quintet and will use only for a tune or 2 a night) >> carbon copy delay>> freeze pedal into a Henrikson 112. I also have a ditto looper for practice. This set up works for a "modern sound" i.e. Lund, kurt, type sound because that is what I am fond of. I also set my eq pretty flat, trying to get a more acoustic sound out of my shitty low end ibanez.

Edit:
I will add- I often practice acoustic or just straight into the amp. FOR ME it's important to be comfortable playing straight into an amp. I don't want to be reliant on pedals for my sound. Situations such as jam sessions or gigs when it may not be appriate to have delay come about and I personally don't want to be thrown for a loop when that happens. I do prefer having them but don't want to NEED them to play and improvise freely. My biggest thing is my base guitar sound. I'm very picky with that. A bright thin top end or Bassy low end kills my inspiration. so my primary concern is setting my base sound up to a place where I'm comfortable and can freely play without being bothered by my own sound.

[jorgemg1984]

Multi-fx units have come a long way... My Amplifire has excellent spring reverb, delay and compressor (modulation is nice too). A Fractal FX-8 should be better than most pedals. And even "cheap" units have come a long way... Digitech pedals have the same algorithms they use on their pedals, the TC Nova System sounded great too and the Zoom units have lots of delays and verbs (no great spring reverb or ep-3 delay though).

One advantage of multi-fx pedals is they have much more parameters to control than individual pedals... the reverb or the compressor on the Amplifire have options I never saw on individual pedals-

[Stevebol]

I have the Boss ME 80. One of the things I like the most about it is the pre-amp which acts like a subtle compressor. Compressors in general alter the sound too much for me but I think the pre-amp will allow me to compensate for whatever quirks an amp might have.
Out of curiosity I had a look to see if there were any pedals that were just pre-amps but nothing came up.

I have a little Zoom B1on too. it's for bass but bass effects work for guitar.
It's nice and a cheap way to experiment to find out if you need pedals at all.

There are plenty of alternatives to the Boss stuff. I like Boss because their stuff always works.

[mad dog]

The two indispensable effects for me (jazz or anything else) are reverb and clean boost.

I prefer reverb and delay together, but can simplify there; the Mad Professor Silver Spring reverb pedal somehow manages to sound like reverb plus a little delay. By itself gets the sound I want.

Clean boost is an acquired taste. Having acquired it, I find very few amps that do not benefit from using it. The way I use clean boost, it's much more about creating a base, clean sound than about overdrive per se. Also a matter of EQ. Paul Cochrane's TIM pedal is the one. Perfectly voiced, with highly useful EQ controls. Trick is to keep the gain knob low, roll off a little bass to taste, maybe some treble too. The kind of sound enhancement I notice more when it's not there ... seems to bring out more of what an amp has to offer, without imposing a characteristic sound of its own.
MD

[jim777]

Boss came out fairly recently with the GT-1 multi-effects pedal, and it is $199US new. For the price, it really can't be beat. There are a ton of nice pedals out there though, so I guess it really depends on whether you want something to gig, where a small unit like the GT1 would be great, or play at home and grow a collection of pedals or something in between. I've always gone for the single units where possible, because with the patching (in all of them) you can turn on or off (or alter) 3 or 4 effects with a single step. Even in my last cover band where we played all sorts of different things (from the Ramones to Yes to The Partridge Family lol) I used 4 patches - my clean sound at rhythm and solo volumes, and a dirty sound at two volumes. It was just always easier for me to not have 5 or 6 pedals on the stage.

That said, if I had the cash I would get a DD-500 delay in a heartbeat

[Groyniad]

never ever used a pedal

but maybe, i've never ever had a clue either

everyone says reverb pedals are the dog's

but i don't use reverb either

when i plugged in a looper once it seemed to steal half my tone (and it was good new boss one too)

no thanks

[morroben]

when i plugged in a looper once it seemed to steal half my tone (and it was good new boss one too)

no thanks

I agree with you about loopers and tone, but just to be clear, at least regarding my particular post, I only use my looper as a practice tool. Which is why I mentioned it never leaves the house. My metronome has terrible tone, too. But that's not really the point.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Boss came out fairly recently with the GT-1 multi-effects pedal, and it is $199US new. For the price, it really can't be beat. There are a ton of nice pedals out there though, so I guess it really depends on whether you want something to gig, where a small unit like the GT1 would be great, or play at home and grow a collection of pedals or something in between. I've always gone for the single units where possible, because with the patching (in all of them) you can turn on or off (or alter) 3 or 4 effects with a single step. Even in my last cover band where we played all sorts of different things (from the Ramones to Yes to The Partridge Family lol) I used 4 patches - my clean sound at rhythm and solo volumes, and a dirty sound at two volumes. It was just always easier for me to not have 5 or 6 pedals on the stage.

That said, if I had the cash I would get a DD-500 delay in a heartbeat

I've got the GT-1 on order. It's my xmas present to myself. Like you, I wanted to go from patch to patch with a single click.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned to much in this thread is octave pedals. If you're playing by yourself or without a bass player, or you're laying down some stuff with a looper, it's fun to add a bass line, and playing with a doubling bass line is cool, too.

[destinytot]

I'm new to pedals; as I'd never have imagined wanting (let alone needing) a pedal board, I'm surprised to find myself building one - for convenience (transport and storage).

I'm waiting for delivery of the pedal board, a reverb pedal, and a wah.

It seems to me that for modern styles with a powerful dance groove, subtle use of a compressor for rhythm is almost a 'no-brainer'. Likewise a clean boost for soloing in those styles. I'm getting to know those pedals on my solo gig, along with an octave pedal and a looper:

Since getting a compressor pedal, I believe I can hear compression in my amps - and I'd certainly use compression (subtly) for an even sweet tone on other styles.

Regarding reverb, and again surprisingly, I find several of the particular 'highly processed' sounds of Neunaber's Immerse pedal to be very attractive for certain solo guitar styles. I'll post once I find my way around it.

My ideal tone for straight-ahead jazz remains a big archtop with very heavy flatwound strings in lowered tuning (for lowered tension) - sans pedals (or reverb).

However, I'm very happy to have 'got over myself' regarding pedal use - and even Mrs Destinytot () approves.

[destinytot]

when i plugged in a looper once it seemed to steal half my tone (and it was good new boss one too)

That's a shame. The Ditto x2 doesn't do that - I think it's a great practice/learning tool. (My new thing's recording a bass line loop with an octave pedal.)

PS Found one of my Pyjama Takes (aka The Sunday Morning After The Late Night Before) with the Ditto x2:

[Ray175]

My pedalboard, placed in the effects loop of my amp, is:

Morley optical volume/wah - no need for a boost for soloing
MXR M234 chorus (just a subtle touch)
T-Rex ducktail delay
Digitech Jamman Stereo looper (mostly for practice)

My Princeton Recording has excellent on-board compression (think dynacomp) which is good for rythm and comping, plus a superb spring reverb, so no need for pedals in those departments.

For a long time I used a Korg AX1500G multi-effects pedalboard but despite so many great effects, amp and speaker simulations it was a little noisy - paradoxically this was less noticeable on stage but for quiet home practice pruduced frustration. If I need a good plate reverb I still plug it into the end of my effects loop.....

[pingu]

I've got the GT-1 on order. It's my xmas present to myself. Like you, I wanted to go from patch to patch with a single click.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned to much in this thread is octave pedals. If you're playing by yourself or without a bass player, or you're laying down some stuff with a looper, it's fun to add a bass line, and playing with a doubling bass line is cool, too.

Oooo when you get it , would you mind reporting what
the octave down is like on it , for imitating a bass
Etc

Also can anyone confirm that you can swell into
Delay/reverb ?

Thanks BigDaddy , enjoy the prezzy

[destinytot]

The Mooer Tender Octaver is cheap and effective. (I was surprised to find them in stock near me.)

[destinytot]

I have the Boss ME 80. One of the things I like the most about it is the pre-amp which acts like a subtle compressor. Compressors in general alter the sound too much for me but I think the pre-amp will allow me to compensate for whatever quirks an amp might have.
Out of curiosity I had a look to see if there were any pedals that were just pre-amps but nothing came up.

I have a little Zoom B1on too. it's for bass but bass effects work for guitar.
It's nice and a cheap way to experiment to find out if you need pedals at all.

There are plenty of alternatives to the Boss stuff. I like Boss because their stuff always works.

Interesting:

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Oooo when you get it , would you mind reporting what
the octave down is like on it , for imitating a bass
Etc

Also can anyone confirm that you can swell into
Delay/reverb ?

Thanks BigDaddy , enjoy the prezzy

Sure.

Right now I'm using the TC Sub'n'Up for octave down and it works great, even for chords. I will compare it to the GT-1

I'm not sure what you mean by swell
-- having a predelay, a pause before the delay/reverb kicks in, or
-- having the delay/reverb's volume swell, so that it starts softly.

Predelay is a common parameter, and I don't know if the second exists.

One more thing: there's an effect call "slow engine" which causes note attack to be slowed down and sound like an e-bow swell. A touch of that would be cool with octave down for a bass simulation, but I don't think you can "stack" those two effects. I will see!

[Gilpy]

I find a vibrato pedal or Leslie simulator can add some variety. Good for comping, playing fake organ chords.

[blille]

Out of curiosity I had a look to see if there were any pedals that were just pre-amps but nothing came up.

Not sure what you call a preamp but there's a category of pedals which emulate amps and are effectively preamps. You could plug them in the return of an effect loop as an alternative to any amp preamp.

My favorites would be from Tech21 (cloned by Joyo as well btw) and Lovepedal. Wampler, Xotic have a fair amount as well.

[Longways to Go]

my current pedal board (very very small)
is Fulltone Plimsoul, Boss DM-2W Wazacraft delay, Digitech Polaris Reverb.
I admit I don't use it much at all. but for a dry amp, the delay + reverb are useful, and sometimes the drive is fun!

I've got room for one more pedal -- thinking maybe a compressor, or maybe something crazy

[Peter C]

It's not clear from the OP at what stage he/she is in jazz guitar. When this kind of question comes up, the implicit reference is usually to Wes/Martino/Burrell/Pass/Farlow & co. rather than the fusion crowd, who basically use a typically rock guitar setup. Anything goes. So, no effects if you're starting out. If you're venturing into fusion, you're on your own, maybe check out guys like Wayne Krantz.

My Boss looper doesn't suck tone to any noticeable extent, by the way. Make sure you have the volume at the right level.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

my current pedal board (very very small)
is Fulltone Plimsoul, Boss DM-2W Wazacraft delay, Digitech Polaris Reverb.
I admit I don't use it much at all. but for a dry amp, the delay + reverb are useful, and sometimes the drive is fun!

I've got room for one more pedal -- thinking maybe a compressor, or maybe something crazy

Crazy? I just saw this pedal at my local music store:

Tempted, but not $179 tempted.

[rpjazzguitar]

I got hooked on the ME50. I bought the ME70 when it first came out and, more recently, the ME80.

The ME80 is a big step up because of the additional four foot switches. Clever design and it works well.

Two of the most productive hours I ever spent were when I sat down and started playing around with effects patches. I eventually set up 4 patches that I use regularly. Roughly speaking, clean, distorted, chorusy and secret sauce.
I almost always have my foot on the volume pedal. When I played a humbucker only guitar I had a setting to make it sound more like a single coil guitar for funk passages.

Beyond that, using the pedal board allows me to control my sound without having to have my amp right next to me. I actually prefer it somewhere in the middle of the band, so I can judge my volume more in context. I don't usually have to use the EQ, but it has 4 bands. Sometimes, especially using an unfamiliar amp, I can improve things with EQ.

[pingu]

Sure.

Right now I'm using the TC Sub'n'Up for octave down and it works great, even for chords. I will compare it to the GT-1

I'm not sure what you mean by swell
-- having a predelay, a pause before the delay/reverb kicks in, or
-- having the delay/reverb's volume swell, so that it starts softly.

Predelay is a common parameter, and I don't know if the second exists.

One more thing: there's an effect call "slow engine" which causes note attack to be slowed down and sound like an e-bow swell. A touch of that would be cool with octave down for a bass simulation, but I don't think you can "stack" those two effects. I will see!

No I just meant a signal chain that goes
Guitar > the GT1's Volume pedal >
GT1's Delay/reverb > amp

Thanks in adv for checking out the octave down BigDaddy

[ronjazz]

I've undergone a strange experience with multi-effects pedals. I do enough commercial work to warrant various electric guitars, but was never that worried about the processed sounds needed for rock and pop tunes, so I always used multi-effects pedals, Digitech and Korg, mainly. Once I got my Godin Multiac Nylon 7-string, I discovered that using both the Zoom A3 acoustic processor and the Digitech RP50 (both tweaked carefully), I no longer needed any other guitar for these gigs. The Multiac's RMC pickup system can sound like a classical or flamenco guitar with the Zoom, or like a Strat or Les Paul or PRS or fat archtop with the Digitech; the limit being that bends are only 1/2 step. I don't think I've taken another guitar on a gig for 2 years now, and those two pedals are small and light and easy to edit. Since I run through a Bose Compact, I can tweak with headphones and know that the sound on the gig will be very close if not right on.

Of course, the Multiac also runs a Roland guitar synth, but that's a whole other thing. I do use it along with the processors, and the sounds are quite remarkable, especially backing a singer with a standard guitar-bass-drums trio. That becomes a bit of a dance.

[Buzzz]

Any advice on best loop pedals and drum pedals in the range of about $150 for each? Playing a roadworn tele through a Yamaha THR10C

[Ray175]

@Stevebol
"Real" preamp pedals containing tubes exist (Rogue and Blackbird come to mind). Here's an interesting review of the Blackbird SR-71
Best Preamp Guitar Pedal Archives - Best Guitar Effects - Reviews of the Best Guitar Pedals & Gear

The better ones allow you to physically change the type of tube and to bias them.
You plug your guitar directly into this pedal, and NOT into the normal input jack of your amp - you are effectively by-passing the preamp stage of your amp and replacing it with a different preamp annd controls - which are physically in the pedal.
Any pedal that would normally go between your guitar and the normal amp now goes before the preamp pedal, and anything that would sit in the loop, goes after this pedal and into the loop "return".
Not for the faint-hearted and possessing a strong potential to do serious damage to your amp if used inappropriately.