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60s/70s – Playing Blues / Rock Guitar (7) – Which Iconic EFX Pedals to Choose?

Hi folks, for those new to my guitar channel – my name’s Stew, and this channel has been for a few years, a record of my guitar gear journey… having been away from performing and recording for over 40 years.

So… if you get time, do check-out my channel videos and equipment reviews on all the gear I’ve been trying-out – you may find some helpful. 

In the previous videos of this series, I’ve been showing popular guitars used in blues / rock in and around the 60s and early 70s era – followed by an overview of various types of amplifier set-ups commonly used – so do check those out if you missed them.

So…. In this video –

Coming up…

1: I have covered the classic guitars and amplifiers used… and now we take look at common EFX choices.

2: A quick look and listen from a number of popular effects pedal types you may want to consider

3: If you can only have a small selection of pedals for your blues/rock, what would you choose?

4: Conclusion – Final remarks

So… Without further ado…

Number 1:

So… In this video we now come to the effects used in this genre of music, and while this topic is of course so subjective and depends on a number of factors – I will be keeping this overview… simple!  However, please feel free to discuss and chat in the comments section below…

Now… this short series is more focused around the tones of typical blues-rock music, as compared to other popular variations – such as psychedelic music or Acid Rock – which utilised many special effects sounds.

So… Generally speaking, there are effects that cover certain areas of effects type…

1: Overdrive or distortion effects

2: Modulation effects such as chorus, flanger and tremolo

3: Time-based effects such as Delay, echo and reverb

And number…

4: EQ control-based effects which could cover pedals from Graphics Equalisers to Wah Wah or Cry-Baby pedals, volume pedals and so on…

So… as this is my own journey and looking at a very general overview of what many youngsters back in the early 70s did to get their sound… that’s where I’ll stay focused.

And that brings us to the first effect pedal type

Number 2:

As with all the efx pedals I’ll illustrate, the tones you can get will depend on how you set the pedal controls, what kind of pick-ups are in the guitar, the amplifier type in use, and not forgetting… your skill levels and particular playing style.

In the early 70s – The first pedal to show up on my radar was “distortion” usually in the form of a Fuzz box – which I thought was great at the time, replacing it with a more subdued version – the overdrive pedal – ColourSound Pedals were cheap and cheerful back in those days..

So… Just about every type of Blues genre has a touch of over-driven amplifier tone, and the general rule of thumb when wanting to get that edge-of-break-up tone, giving your guitar that fabulous rich raunchy drive sound – you needed the right kind of valve amplifier and it needed the volume to be cranked-up to get those rich drive tones. I covered that in my previous video.

Back in those early years there was a whole host of distortion type pedals to choose from, many of which sounded very similar to each other and some – well they just sounded awful.

For me, as time moved on and I was now playing and recording – I settled on an MXR Plus Overdrive pedal when I needed to boost the crunch of my Marshall valve 50 watt head – This particular pedal did have a popular reputation. However, I would also use a distortion pick-up in the bridge position of my SG Standard, helping me to get choices in over-driven tones.

Again, I covered this topic in previous videos…

What do I use today?

Well, as I’ve been going along on my guitar playing journey – I have different needs today…  although I do enjoy playing blues/rock – and to that end… I’ve been trying different pedals over the last few years – and in regard to overdrive effects – here we have the –

– Nobles ODR 1 and some quick sound files… (SOUND FILES)

– And now the MXR Timmy and some quick sound files… (SOUND FILES)

– Here is the classic Ibanez Tube-Screamer and some sound files… (SOUND FILES)

– And this is TC Electronics Spark mini boost pedal and some sound files… (SOUND FILES)

– And here is the larger TC Electronics Spark boost pedal which has more EQ control – here are some short sound files… (SOUND FILES)

– And finally here is the Soldano SLO Plus pedal and some sound files… (SOUND FILES)

Okay… moving onto on to Modulation Pedals –

In the past, I found that when playing both live and recording work, that a guitar track (particularly a quiet one) the track could sound a little empty or thin sounding – and so I got myself a Chorus, a Flanger, and Phaser pedals – and while I used them sparingly, they certainly helped to fill-out the sound. Now, once again, these types of effects are also used in a dramatic way, in certain styles of music.

Today… based on my previous past experiences, modulation effects are not high on my list and so I bought a Phaser pedal, only to be used subtly to help give depth to a music bed that might otherwise sound too thin.

– Here is the classic MXR Phase 95 and some sound files… (SOUND FILES)

Next up is Delay, reverb and echo… Back in the early 70s, those effects would normally be associated with spring-reverb type units built into the amplifier or something like the tape-based machine – a Wem Copycat.

At that time, delay effects came with a heavy price tag and were not always easy to control…

Today, the guitar player is spoiled for choices and there are some very nice pedals to choose from. In my own search I tried the following –

– Here is the classic MXR Carbon Copy mini Delay pedal and some sound files. (SOUND FILES)

– And now – Here is the Andy Timmons Dual Echo pedal and some sound files… (SOUND FILES)

– In regard to reverbs – Here is the Electro Harmonix Holy Grail NEO pedal and some sound files… (SOUND FILES)

And finally, some other pedals used in blues rock… again, back in the early 70s I would use a compressor pedal which helped to reduce the twang on a Stratocaster and also bring out more sustain and give a slightly thicker tone.

– Here is the classic MXR Dyna Comp Compressor and some sound files… (SOUND FILES)

An often-overlooked pedal is the humble – Volume pedal – and while that might seem a little boring, it is good for taming noisy guitar pick-ups between songs or for use in violin-swell type effects to name but a couple of ways they get used.

– Here is the Dunlop DVP5 X8 Volume pedal and some sound files… (SOUND FILES)

Now… I could have added more pedals to this list, – such as, a uni-vibe, Wah Wah or Cry Baby pedals which were, and are still popular within the blues/rock genre – but I have no personal interest in them.

So onto number 3

Number 3:

In regard to overdrive tones, I look to specific amplifiers to give me that valve crunch tone – and so, that tends to be my foundational point of reference. That is where I begin… I do not use a clean sounding amplifier as my base – many people do… Fender Amplifiers are popular choices and are generally very good pedal effects platforms…

Incidentally – most of the sound files you heard were played through a Fender Tone Master – a very clean amplifier.

So… that’s a personal decision we all need to come to depending on what we are looking to achieve.

When I need more overdrive, above the valve-crunch tone of my amplifier settings – I will often just give it a boost with the TC Spark Boost pedal or The Ibanez Tube Screamer – or I may use those pedals both together – setting the pedals carefully so as not to muddy the tone too much…

I use the duel Soldano pedal either on its more limited overdrive setting or it’s more Fuzz based tones – depending on what guitar I’m using and the type of sound I’m after.

A quick note regarding overdrive/distortion – you really do need to take time to get to grips with how any of these pedal types react with your amplifiers and guitars and our own disciplined playing style – sloppy guitar work is magnified when using distortion – so, it really is about just taking time to really get to know your equipment and how it can be blended together to work for you.

So often the mistake is made thinking we just need to buy another pedal because it might sound better…

I sold the Nobles ODR1 pedal, which is a really good pedal but it just became surplus and I’m not a pedal collector. I sold the TC Spark Boost mini pedal – a great little pedal, but I replaced it with its larger sibling which has more EQ control – something I needed to work with the various amplifiers I have in my amp rack.

In regard to delay pedals, I sold my MXR Carbon Copy Delay – a great little delay pedal – but it did not work so well with every amplifier I owned and so I replaced it with the Keeley Halo pedal – more expensive yes, but feature rich giving me many options regardless of which amplifier I use it with.

However, A small note here, these feature rich pedals do require you to take time to understand how they work to get the best out of them… this is not something I normally would go for… simple is for me and for most people…is good! So take care when looking at pedals that are complex in their make-up.

4: Conclusion – Final remarks

I’ll be brief… because this is a topic that you could discuss for hours. So…

Generally speaking,… for that classic early blues/rock sound you need to overdrive the amplifier and you either do that with a suitable valve amplifier at high volume or use an amplifier with Gain and Master volume control.

And or – you need to add a drive pedal. And there are so many to choose from, and the best thing to do is to go to a shop, and with the shop assistants help – try out a few – preferably with your own guitar – and if possible – try to play through a similar amplifier that you use – if you want to make sure you are getting the right pedal.

In regard to guitars… if drive and sustain are your goal, then hum-bucking pick-ups as opposed to single coils, will certainly make that easier – but not absolutely necessary.

Modulation such as Phase, Flange or Chorus are all very useful and you really need to try all 3 effects types to hear which fits with what you’re looking for… for me the Phase pedal used sparingly is just enough to give some colour and tone fill.

Reverb and delay are lovely effects and if your amplifier does not come with that, then take a good look at both reverb and delay pedals as they really do add depth to a guitar sound. To get really authentic sounding reverb and delay – you do tend to need to spend the money here.

And finally – when it comes to powering your pedals you may want to use a pedal board and dedicated power supply and I have done a couple of videos on that. Both a small pedalboard set-up and a larger board set-up – so do check those out.

The next video to come – all being well, I’m going to take a look at how I and many youngsters of my day, learned to play blues/rock guitar. And while I’m certainly no guitar teacher – while education and learning chord and scale structures is important – for me, allowing the instrument to become a part of you – simply just discovering the sounds of the instrument is so important to discovering your own sound, rather than just sounding like someone else. How do you do that? Perhaps I might be able to give you some pointers or things to think about…

Do check-out my channel play-lists where you will find many videos regarding my journey back to playing and recording guitar, after a 40 year break, lots of stuff on guitars, amplifiers, pedals and my on-going recording journey.

As always… A big thank you to those who do take time to comment or chat… I always take time to engage with folks, who take time to comment. So…

Until next time… take care…