So recently a teacher asked me what i knew about pedals. I had to answer that i didn’t know much about them, but that i knew there were echo pedals, delay pedals etc…
That was a first mistake. Echo and delay are the same. Which got me thinking.
What else do i think, or what other pieces of “knowledge” did i gather that aren’t correct…
After some digging, it seems that some things i’ve read on the net, are just wrong.
Now after some study and going down the rabbithole Alice like, i found this:
As a pedal beginner, this was an eyeopener. Since then, i’ve watched several video’s of this guy and other pedalbuilders to see what’s what.
It’s going to be an interresting, yet expensive Christmas…
Yes, I know this guy’s videos, too. As he himself is an effect pedal builder, there are reasons to believe he knows what he’s talking about.
As for the different pedal myths, the pedals themselves, their functions, usability, properties etc. there are as many opinions as there are people expressing them. I think that it’s of paramount importance to find such effect pedals that suit your playing needs and please your ear with the sound they produce/modify.
Yeah he’s one of the good guys out there. Pedals are his business but he’s quick to praise other pedal builders rather than just promoting his own stuff. Going to watch this now
….
After watching I’d say that I’m not really familiar with any of those myths. I suppose I get a lot of my knowledge of pedals from places like the Andertons YouTube channel - and yes they are in the selling business but their videos are generally factual and they’ll tell you about the pro’s and cons of things, because they make a sale whether the pedal you buy has a buffer or not
I wasn’t even aware that there were myths to begin with. Little did i know.
Now i’m having my eye on some pedals i’d like to buy (all within a certain budget, because there are pedals around that are way to expensive for me).
I think it’s safe to say that, regarding pedals, if it sounds good, it is good.
It was also really interresting to see that the order of different pedals on the board, has an influence on the sound that eventually comes out of the amp.
I have found the guitar world full of incorrectly used words that can add confusion. If you kind of know something but not well enough to question then you can go down the wrong path quickly if lots of folks are doing so.
A good example is Fender’s use of the “tremolo bar” or “tremolo bridge”. Whomever named that botched it badly since the bridge changes pitch which is vibrato. We’d expect an instrument manufacturer to get it correct, so we the public keep perpetuating this incorrect use of the term.
What I found interesting is when Josh talks about a room full of musicians listening to 2 effects pedals being manipulated by changing op-amp chips without them knowing what’s actually happening. The group generally hearing very small or no differences at all. If you watch this on YouTube, there’s a link to the Myth Busters video. It’s pretty interesting!
Josh Scott’s videos have been described as “Bill Nye the Science Guy meets Mr. Rogers”!!!
He’s very informative without being pushy about any particular brand - including his own, JHS.
Definitely a rabbit hole but my take is to find what you like - no pedals, one pedal or 50… to paraphrase Justin, If it works for you, it’s good!
Also, I noticed that Josh also said almost the same thing at about 16:20 “If it sounds good to you, IT’S GOOD, just move on!”
Keep it fun, keep making music & Happy Holidays to you!
I know next to nothing about pedals and haven’t really researched or shopped them much to this point. I may end up with something eventually, but at this point, I don’t really even understand how most of them will affect the sound so I don’t know what to look for.
videos like this are helpful, though, because it’s good to know if I see some claims somewhere if they’re BS or not.
JHS make some nice pedals, but they’re not budget they’re good ones. He is making a good case for his own pedals in this but if you can justify the cost you can’t go wrong really.
Wait… it’s a klon clone? A cloned Klon? How’s that even possible? (According to the myth, it’s not… )
Haven’t seen this one yet, so thank you for the video. Again, i learned something. If you can choose between 8000$ or 99$ for the same pedal, the choice is made.
I’m not sure if the sounds the pedal gives are things i’m going to need on my board, at least not for now…
But i’m keeping it on the list of gear i’m going to give a try. You never know untill you tried…
I think you can call it whatever you like, since people are doing just that.
Wag bar, magic stick, string shaker… whatever…
It just makes a sound when i do this… (shakes stick mounted on the bridge)
How’s that even possible? (According to the myth, it’s not… 
)