Effects Pedals with Steel??

Grant Johnson · From: Nashville TN

I have been playing with a group on Lower Broadway that rocks up their country and throws some stones and Chuck Berry covers as well. Last night I used effects pedals in my signal path to mixed results... My overdrive on some c6 bluesy leads sounded good, but my MXR Phase 90 Organ sound was not so hot. Its matter of me learning some organ pads etc, but my main question is:
What works better: effects pedals before or after the volume pedal?

Thanks Bro's!

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www.bigsmokey.com

[This message was edited by Grant Johnson on 16 July 2006 at 10:35 AM.]

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

It depends on the effect. Try it both ways (that's easy enough, right?), and use what sounds best to your ears and with your material. Personally, I use a fuzz before the pedal, and everything else after.

The Phase 90 just doesn't cut it for organ sounds, IMHO, the Phase 100 is far better. I use it on steel for organ, heavy metal, and funk sounds. It's biggest asset is - no wall wart, and a battery lasts for a year!

Cliff Kane · From: the late great golden state

The rule of thumb is to put distortion, eq, wah, etc., in front of the amp. If it's in front, your volume pedal will change the tone of your distotion pedal depending on how much signal hits the front of the distortion pedal. Time effects and modulation effects, like delays and phase shifters, go in the effects loop (if your amp has one) after the preamp and before the power amp sections of your amplifier. Of course, these are just generic guidelines: you should experiment and find what sounds best with your particular set-up.

Greg Cutshaw · From: Corry, PA, USA

Put the analog stuff like distortion between the steel and the volume pedal. This gives the effect a full strength signal for maximum overload and sustain effect that can still be chopped off with the pedal. Put reverb and delay etc. after the volume pedal so that the volume pedal can't cut the tail off the echoes and reverberation, giving an unnatural sound. Try it with reverb before the pedal, hit a note, kill the pedal and see how the reverb tail is cut off even though the initial sound gets through. Sounds unnatural.

One of the problems with an all in one box, like the GX-700 is that you can't split the analog and digital effects and put them before and after the volume pedal.

Greg

Cliff Kane · From: the late great golden state

Good advice, but you should put ANY delay, whether it's digital or analog, after the volume pedal. I don't think it's so much whether it's analog or digital as much as what the effect does, e.g., is it distortion or delay?

Joe A. Camacho · Posted 16 Jul 2006 12:14 pm

Hey Grant,
Good to hear that you're gigging after your move. I usually use tremelo for organ sounds on a 6-string, never tried it on steel.

Larry Robbins · From: Fort Edward, New York

Some good advice can be found here: http://www.robertkeeley.com/faq.php#Effect%20Order
Check it out.

Scroll down to #11 on the list and "click"

[This message was edited by Larry Robbins on 16 July 2006 at 02:06 PM.]

Chris Tarrow · From: Maplewood, NJ

The Fulltone Deja-Vibe is the most convincing Leslie Simulator I've heard, haven't tried it with steel, but gets a bunch of great sounds for guitar.

Jim Sliff · From: Lawndale California, USA

The korg G4 is by far THE Leslie simulator - that's exactly WHAT it is, down to rotor/horn individual speed ajustments, simulated mic'ing, etc. The H&K Rotosphere is also a good one. the Korg is expensive and discontinued, but I'd either look for one ior buy a Fender Vibratone/Leslie 16 and go for the real thing. I have the korg and the Leslie 16, and they ARE close, but the Leslie has a spaciousness the simulators don't.

Phasers don't get close, but have their own sound that is very cool - I ove using my Phase 90, but I don't use it as a faux-Leslie.

"vibe" pedals or most chorus units don't cut it either (the Fulltone sounds nothing like a Vibratone or rotor/horn Leslie - it's a great unit for its OWN sound, but not as an emulator)...although the cheap Arion SCH-1 (NOT the SCZ-1) does well at the slow-speed sound.

Your volume pedal can go either at the end or in front. If you use an overdrive or booster, put it at the end for sure - otherwise you completely negate the usefulness of the overdrive or boost unit.

Chris Tarrow · From: Maplewood, NJ

Sorry meant to say UniVibe not leslie sim. Agree the Rotosphere is very cool.

Thomas Bancroft · From: Matawan, New Jersey, USA

Check out Motion Sound Products. Real Rotating Speakers that are not to big to move around.

David Wren · From: Placerville, California, USA

As far as leslie simulation... I've found using stero amps really help add "space" to the effect. I use a Lexicon MPX 110, which is OK, but I would like to be able slow/speed the rotation speed (I suppose would have to be a foot pedal)... if that exists?

For overdrive/distortion, I agree with the above folks, after my SGBB, but before my VP.

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Dave Wren
'96 Carter S12-E9/B6,7X7; Twin Session 500s; Hilton Pedal; Black Box
www.ameechapman.com

Twayn Williams · From: Portland, OR

I find one of the keys to copping a B3 tone on guitar is to throw it on the front pickup, roll down the tone knob, use a fast warbly chorus, a little bit of dirt, and most importantly, use close voicings that are stabbed, not sustained.

I don't know how to do any of that on steel

Len Amaral · From: Rehoboth,MA 02769

I have the Rotoshere and it does a good job emulating a leslie. The rotating speaker cab is cool but do you really want to carry that around to use it on 1 or 2 songs a gig?

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