On the melody side I tried a Digitech main squeeze, which was amazing. It altered the tone from beginning piano player to expert Stick player. Then for kicks, and b/c it was on deep discount, I tried a T-rex Mean Machine. I am sure there is a better option, but it was exciting to make the Stick distort, feedback and scream.

On the bass side I tried the same main squeeze with less amazement. I also tried a Boss bass chorus pedal for kicks, which had on OK flavoring element. Mainly it cemented in my mind the value of using my Eden WT-400 or alternative as a nice tube pre-amp/eq.

I have my eyes on other prizes, and I can see the dollar signs adding up out of control. Piece by piece, eh?

I have a Boss bass chorus also and I'm a big fan of it with a subtle setting. It can really thickens up the sound without coloring it too drastically. In my mind, chorus and Stick go excellent together, and I'd love to add on another chorus for more extreme settings.

Daniel,
Glad these are working out for you and that you are having fun without breaking the bank!

Not sure of this service, but looks like an interesting alternative to going to Guitar Center on a Saturday morning! ( I used to hear between 12 to 20 people attempting to play Stairway to Heaven, Slash's opening to Sweet Child of Mine and one guy playing some Floyd on an electric 12 string - actually he was good and I complemented him)

For a monthly fee you can rent over 1,400 different pedals
http://pedalgenie.com/new-flex-subscription

hope it helps, and Daniel - stomp on !
Dave B "DBro"

Hey Daniel, is that Digitech a compressor pedal? Im too lazy for the Googles....
I play with chorus on all the time....luv it.

cheers,
kev

The Digitech is a "Compressor/Sustainer".

Andy and I have the same chorus pedal. I saw it in his board pictures. Yes, this is coincidence. It is nice and subtle, but much less important than a good preamp/EQ.

Wow! Pedal rental... proof everything is available on the internet.

Thanks for posting Dan, KC, DBro and Andy. I confess, I have caught the pedal bug and am really enjoying piecing together my board.

Hmm, pedal Genie. That base price of $15 a month is pretty appealing. That's basically $180 annually (probably with some shipping there), which is just about the same cost as a decent boutique pedal. I generally go the route of purchasing used on eBay and then selling for generally what I bought it for (+/-10%).

I will have an update on my pedalboard soon. I am calling in the expertise of Junior over at TruTone Guitars in Santa Monica. I am waiting on the release of the Pigtronix Echolution 2 Filter Pro and still on the fence about the Boomerang 3. I am leaving a space to audit pedals to the core sound with the Boss Super Phaser at the top of my list for my primary melody signal.

And then, there's the possibility of a StepAbout!!!

Daniel, I meant to ask, what did you mean by this statement? Using the Gain and EQ on the amp as opposed to using it in pedal form?

@Gene. In my normal pre-pedal setup, I use the "Recording Output" on my WT-400 amp on the bass side. This means that I am getting use of the pre-amp tube and EQ without engaging the solid-state power amp. So far, this is the most useful aspect at tone shaping for my bass side. I think there may be a pedal alternative to doing this, such as

http://www.edenamps.com/products/pedals/WTDI.html

or, dare I say, StepABout.

For the melody side I have been using a PreSonus BlueTube to get a bit of boost prior to sending to a PA board.

I could still use this monster box and do pedals, or I can try to get pedal equivalents to keep my reference frame all at one level and decrease the weight and volume of overall gear.

Boss Super Overdrive. Most underrated pedal on the planet, I love that thing.

Pedals are super-addictive.

I agree with many of you that using something subtle, like chorus, on the bass side is a great way to go. Stick bass is beautiful that way. If I want something just a little more exotic on the bass side, I stick an Ibanez digital flanger in there and when I want to get freaky, a Boss Auto Wah.

Melody side is where I tend to go overboard. Boss Compressor into Auto Wah into Pitch Shifter into Octaver into Distortion (or Overdrive) into Super Phaser. Set up right you can generate all sorts of pseudo-synth sounds without the GK pickup. Set it up wrong and it is a whooshing noise festival ( not that there is anything wrong with that......).

And for real madness, I have a 1970's era ElectroHarmonix Frequency Analyzer, which is really a primitive and very noisy ring modulator. And when I am feeling loopy, I run it all thru a very old EH 16 Second Digital Delay, the one that lets you mess with delay times and feedback in real time with the sliders and also reverse the delay at the flick of a switch.

Of course, now Roland is coming out with the new Boss SY-300, a guitar synth where you just plug in your 1/4" jack and go. No special pickup and it has MIDI out to boot. Will make my current toys obsolete.

Then when I watch Greg's video, I hear all the flexibility the StepAbout gives to a clean signal and how it reveals the gorgeous sound of the plain old Stick and wonder why even bother with pedals? I should sell them all and just get a StepAbout.....

Anyone else compulsively watch YouTube demos of pedals you wish you had ? Its easy to get hooked.....