Popular pedals that you hate.

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TheMarlinTheMarlin Frets: 7744
edited April 2019 in FX
I love pedals, I’ve got far too many, and rotate pedals regularly. 

In my pedal journey, I’ve tried many popular pedals, some of which I really didn’t like. 

My list of hated pedals

Any Dumble pedal. That sound just bores me.

Tube Screamer.  80’s time warp tone. Sounds great for EVH, but unusable in my rig. It actually sets my teeth on edge. 

All Line 6 pedals. Clunky switches, meh tones. Don’t get why people like the Echo Park, I absolutely hated mine. Awful thing. 

Catalinbread Echorec. Interesting tones, but very fragile switches, very indecisive selector switch, had no confidence in its build quality or longevity in my heavy hands. Moved it on quickly. 

Dynacomp.  Removes dynamics, adds noise. 

OCD:  just meh!  OD for the deaf. 

HOF2 and Flashback 2;  both very proficient pedals, they just left me cold. HOF2 tones are just not up to scratch compared to other modern reverbs, Flashback 2 just didn’t excite me.  MASH feature is gimmicky, and not practical long term. Saving grace for these in the excellent Toneprint feature, but replaced with proper pedals. 

TC Electronic Trinity 2. Fun, but pointless. 

Trex Replica Worst delay ever. Would take a bog standard Joyo delay over this!



Pedal highlights
LOVED these. 

MXR M300. Awesome reverb pedal. Endlessly enjoyable. 

Simble Pre Driver. Spectacular, subtle, but awesome. 

Nocturne Attomic Brain. Best pre amp ever, especially for those who don’t use a lot of gain (like me). Adds to articulation, pick dynamics, lift the tone, adds a touch of sparkle. A cult pedal with Gretsch players. Expensive, but boy is it worth it. 

OBNE Black Fountain. One of the most enjoyable and engaging pedals I’ve ever come across. Perfect for nighttime ambient noodling.  I can loose myself in this thing for hours. Adore it. 

Mad Professor Golden Cello. Gloopy OD with perfect amount of delay. Not normally my kind of thing, but tremendous fun. 

Tumnus. I’ve got two on my board! Regular and Deluxe. Nuff said!

Almost all Barber pedals. Burn Unit with Fender amps, Half Gainer with EL84. Just quality!

Boss DD500. Tremendous fun. Though, probably too complex for me. But, I love playing with it. 

Ky-ll-drive. A clone of the Univox UD-50 Uni-Drive. It’s my longest surviving pedal, had it on my board for 10 years. It’s a fuzz, sounds excellent, but I mostly use it like a Klon. Low gain, bit of volume. It adds some girth to the tone. Love it as an angry fuzz too. Will keep this one for life. 



Marlin



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Comments

  • FuengiFuengi Frets: 2849
    Hate is a strong word, but the Catalinbread Talisman sucked the tone right out of my amp. 
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  • brooombrooom Frets: 1170
    I could never get along with tubescreamers, so I guess that one would be high on my list. It definitely does something to the sound that has become too cliche for my tastes.

    Can't really understand the tim/timmy pedals either, I know they're supposed to be good "transparent overdrives" but something about them seems flat.


    I have recently become quite big on JFET preamp type pedals, like the Benson preamps, or catalinbread's 5F6. They have a different kind of response/sonic signature and are super dynamic and responsive to your guitar's volume.
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  • TateFXTateFX Frets: 114
    tFB Trader
    The OCD can't stand it 
    Formerly Stu_Tate
    Tate FX
    www.TateFX.co.uk
    Instagram 
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  • fandangofandango Frets: 2204
    Many thanks to the OP. I thought this was a helpful brief take on the pedals mentioned.

    Love delay, but what would one have in place of the Flashback 2? Have to say I haven't bothered (yet) with toneprint on mine. And agree with the mash feature is a gimmick too far. I won't say pointless, because someone somewhere might have been able to make it work in a song, but for me it's just rather superfluous.
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  • TheMarlinTheMarlin Frets: 7744
    brooom said:
    I could never get along with tubescreamers, so I guess that one would be high on my list. It definitely does something to the sound that has become too cliche for my tastes.

    Can't really understand the tim/timmy pedals either, I know they're supposed to be good "transparent overdrives" but something about them seems flat.


    I have recently become quite big on JFET preamp type pedals, like the Benson preamps, or catalinbread's 5F6. They have a different kind of response/sonic signature and are super dynamic and responsive to your guitar's volume.
    Sounds up my street. Added to the GAS list
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71960
    Any pedal with a metal click switch. Dinosaur technology that was superceded by proper noiseless electronic switching as long ago as the late 1970s and has now returned like a bad smell.

    Even if you want “true” bypass - and really that’s a flawed concept anyway - there are better, more reliable, less noise-prone methods of doing it.

    I’ve now got rid of all my pedals with them, and won’t be buying another. I even gave my old IC Big Muff to the singer in my band in permanent loan.

    I can just about live with soft-action metal switches like the one on the Whammy, but it’s pushing it. It’s not just the technical problems - I often play at home without shoes on and the nasty metal things get stuck between your toes if you aren’t careful...

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • TheMarlinTheMarlin Frets: 7744
    fandango said:
    Many thanks to the OP. I thought this was a helpful brief take on the pedals mentioned.

    Love delay, but what would one have in place of the Flashback 2? Have to say I haven't bothered (yet) with toneprint on mine. And agree with the mash feature is a gimmick too far. I won't say pointless, because someone somewhere might have been able to make it work in a song, but for me it's just rather superfluous.
    I recommend the Boss DD500. It’s an incredible delay pedal, one of three currently on my board. It does everything, sound is magnificent, very easy and intuitive to use, lots of fun too. 

    Only criticism is it’s probably a bit too complex for me, but I love it. Don’t think i’ll ever get bored of it.   

    I have two other delays, one is a cheapy mini pedal just set for slapback, something I use a lot. 
    The other is the OBNE Black Fountain, a beautiful dark warbly smushy reverb. Pure joy. 
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  • TheMarlinTheMarlin Frets: 7744
    edited April 2019
    ICBM said:
    Any pedal with a metal click switch. Dinosaur technology that was superceded by proper noiseless electronic switching as long ago as the late 1970s and has now returned like a bad smell.

    Even if you want “true” bypass - and really that’s a flawed concept anyway - there are better, more reliable, less noise-prone methods of doing it.

    I’ve now got rid of all my pedals with them, and won’t be buying another. I even gave my old IC Big Muff to the singer in my band in permanent loan.

    I can just about live with soft-action metal switches like the one on the Whammy, but it’s pushing it. It’s not just the technical problems - I often play at home without shoes on and the nasty metal things get stuck between your toes if you aren’t careful...
    Have you tried pedal toppers? They make playing (in socks or bare foot) much more comfortable. You just slip them over the top of the foot switch, and you have a foot friendly contact point. I’ve only recently tried them, and am delighted!

    Tumnus Deluxe is the only pedal on my board they won’t fit. 

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07MYY9V4P/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_1IzTCbM7E1CZZ
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  • SassafrasSassafras Frets: 30273
    Chorus pedals.
    A disgusting sound that's ruined countless recordings.
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  • TheMarlinTheMarlin Frets: 7744
    Sassafras said:
    Chorus pedals.
    A disgusting sound that's ruined countless recordings.
    Ageed. They can be ok if set to almost undetectable levels, like an artefact hiding in the back of the tone.

    Like Tubescreamers and saxophone solos, they scream 80’s.   
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  • Mark1960Mark1960 Frets: 326
    Nothing wrong with Saxophone solos. I play in a 50s / 60s covers band and the sax goes down a storm, particularly with ladies "of a certain age"! ;)
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  • Mark1960 said:
    Nothing wrong with Saxophone solos. I play in a 50s / 60s covers band and the sax goes down a storm, particularly with ladies "of a certain age"! ;)
    Sax works very well in ska/2Tone, and as a saxophonist in a ska/2Tone covers band I can obviously attest to that in a non-biased way....ahem.
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  • joetelejoetele Frets: 947
    Hate is indeed a strong word - I've not really hated any but there are some I didn't like considering the level of acclaim they receive: 

    - Boss RV-5 - had one for a long time and liked a few of the sounds, but still had that nasty digital sound to it. I tried a Fender Marine Layer Reverb and for me, the modulation setting knocked the much-vaunted equivalent on the RV-5 into a cocked hat. No comparison to my ears. RV5 has more options but Marine Layer nails the sounds. 

    - Strymon BlueSky - tried one after watching some demos and hearing good things about them from pretty much everyone. Found it a bit sterile, thought the Keeley Caverns V2 was better, and preferred the reverb sounds on the Fender Marine Layer again to both. 

    There's too many to list out of the ones I love 
    MUSIC: Pale Blurs
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  • TimmyOTimmyO Frets: 7350
    RAT - feck orf 
    Red ones are better. 
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  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16253
    I had an MXR Phase 100 that I hated at the time and sold it for £5 I think. I'd probably love it now. Unless it's faulty or not fit for purpose it's all about context. 
    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
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  • brooombrooom Frets: 1170
    edited April 2019
    I actually just started paying more attention to the RAT, and I really like it. There's nothing subtle about it, but I just like the sound and how it isn't stupidly loud, perfectly simple to control and sound good even at home settings. I think it's a great pedal.
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  • TheMarlinTheMarlin Frets: 7744
    The best use for a RAT I found, was to hit the front end of a valve reverb tank, makes it more focused, and sound less washed out. 

    Didn’t like it much as an OD. 
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  • solarsolar Frets: 166
    The interesting thing about the RAT is that it unifies two very different types of music that I enjoy - drone metal (the RAT is key to the Sunn O))) sound) and jazz (Scofield, Frisell etc). I've just got a Big Ear Woodcutter and I'm enjoying it a lot.

    In terms of "things I hate that most people like" - shimmer reverb (ie reverb with a pitchshifted element). Cheese.
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  • brooombrooom Frets: 1170
    Haven't tried that... will do it today. Thanks
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  • Xotic EP Booster- just seemed to make everything muddy for me

    OCD- not a massive fan of how it transforms your sound instead of "adding" to it

    strangely  I like both of these pedals modelled in Helix

    Also can't work Big Muffs
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