Hello! This is my first post so please go easy on me if I should have searched harder for the (likely) 10,000 other people who have asked this question in the same way!
I’m a beginner guitarist who is ready to start experimenting with effects and pedals. I’ve tried finding recommendations all over the internet, but most forum threads elsewhere will devolve into people just saying things like “learn your guitar before effects” or “just use your laptop for effects” or “just buy this $25 one from 1996” or “buy this $500 one!” I get the arguments for all those things. But I also believe in having fun and just splurging on something dumb, even if it’s useless to me now or ten years from now. I don’t want to spend more than $350, but preferably under $200.
With that said! I’m hoping all you experts can recommend a great all-in-one style pedal for a beginner looking to have fun, explore the purpose of different pedals, emulate my favorite bands (reasonably well), and experiment with sound. I won’t be playing live, and I probably won’t ever even play with anyone else. I don’t want anything too complex, but I also don’t want something that only does one or two things. Preferably, I would like some sort of middle ground between a “pro” multi-effects pedal and a cheaper multi effects pedal. I also don’t want something I have to program on a computer. I want something I can just lay beside me on the couch while I goof around.
At first I narrowed my search to three: the Zoom G1 Four ($60-80), Line 6 Pod Express ($180), or the Boss GT-1 ($180-200). Those fit my budget of, “I suck and just want to play around with something!” However, I started wondering if there are better options, or if you guys recommend any of those three based on the wall of words this post will turn into. I started heavily leaning toward the Pod Express at one point because it seems to capture a lot of what I want, but I’m afraid it might be too limited in some of the goofier aspects of the other two options. Or maybe I’m totally wrong! I love the fact it is much simpler and just has knobs without a screen. It does a lot, but not too much. It has most of the basic guitar pedal options covered and seems like it would be a good jumping off point. The Boss seems very complicated and may be overkill for me (also the most expensive). The Zoom sounds like it has the worst sound, and is the most toy-like of all of them. It seems a bit hokey, but I also see why it would be great for a beginner like me because it does so much for so little money…but all the things it does may be a novelty that wears quickly and I’ll wish I got something a little better quality. Someone I know mentioned the Boss IR2 would be great as well. That one seems like it may be way too limited in what I’m looking for. But again…I may be totally wrong. I’ve also looked at the Boss ME-90. I like the fact it’s “knob based”…not the technical term I imagine, but it’s also at the upper end of what I’m willing to pay…and I really, really would prefer less money involved for this first foray into pedal-land.
Some random bands/genres I love, or are currently playing sloppily along to (sloppily), are 70s/80s punk (The Ramones, Television, X, Discharge, GBH, etc.), 80s thrash/extreme metal (Sodom, Celtic Frost, early Bathory, Venom, along with a lot of black/death/trad/NWOBHM bands), post punk/80s indie (Magazine, Bauhaus, The Sisters of Mercy, The Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen, Sonic Youth, Meat Puppets), and random other things like The Velvet Underground, The Feelies, and T Rex (these last three might be my greatest guitar loves…so even if that’s all it allows me to play, I’ll probably buy it, though I’d like to get some metal and Bauhaus tones as well, if possible!). I would love to be able to experiment and try to capture the tones of as many of those bands as possible with a single device. I know that may be impossible due to recording techniques and advanced trickery, but I would like to get as close as possible!
I prefer something new as well. Can anyone please decide for me!? I’m going crazy with all the options! Thank you to all who post even if it’s to tell me off for wanting too much out of one thing!
I’m a beginner guitarist who is ready to start experimenting with effects and pedals. I’ve tried finding recommendations all over the internet, but most forum threads elsewhere will devolve into people just saying things like “learn your guitar before effects” or “just use your laptop for effects” or “just buy this $25 one from 1996” or “buy this $500 one!” I get the arguments for all those things. But I also believe in having fun and just splurging on something dumb, even if it’s useless to me now or ten years from now. I don’t want to spend more than $350, but preferably under $200.
With that said! I’m hoping all you experts can recommend a great all-in-one style pedal for a beginner looking to have fun, explore the purpose of different pedals, emulate my favorite bands (reasonably well), and experiment with sound. I won’t be playing live, and I probably won’t ever even play with anyone else. I don’t want anything too complex, but I also don’t want something that only does one or two things. Preferably, I would like some sort of middle ground between a “pro” multi-effects pedal and a cheaper multi effects pedal. I also don’t want something I have to program on a computer. I want something I can just lay beside me on the couch while I goof around.
At first I narrowed my search to three: the Zoom G1 Four ($60-80), Line 6 Pod Express ($180), or the Boss GT-1 ($180-200). Those fit my budget of, “I suck and just want to play around with something!” However, I started wondering if there are better options, or if you guys recommend any of those three based on the wall of words this post will turn into. I started heavily leaning toward the Pod Express at one point because it seems to capture a lot of what I want, but I’m afraid it might be too limited in some of the goofier aspects of the other two options. Or maybe I’m totally wrong! I love the fact it is much simpler and just has knobs without a screen. It does a lot, but not too much. It has most of the basic guitar pedal options covered and seems like it would be a good jumping off point. The Boss seems very complicated and may be overkill for me (also the most expensive). The Zoom sounds like it has the worst sound, and is the most toy-like of all of them. It seems a bit hokey, but I also see why it would be great for a beginner like me because it does so much for so little money…but all the things it does may be a novelty that wears quickly and I’ll wish I got something a little better quality. Someone I know mentioned the Boss IR2 would be great as well. That one seems like it may be way too limited in what I’m looking for. But again…I may be totally wrong. I’ve also looked at the Boss ME-90. I like the fact it’s “knob based”…not the technical term I imagine, but it’s also at the upper end of what I’m willing to pay…and I really, really would prefer less money involved for this first foray into pedal-land.
Some random bands/genres I love, or are currently playing sloppily along to (sloppily), are 70s/80s punk (The Ramones, Television, X, Discharge, GBH, etc.), 80s thrash/extreme metal (Sodom, Celtic Frost, early Bathory, Venom, along with a lot of black/death/trad/NWOBHM bands), post punk/80s indie (Magazine, Bauhaus, The Sisters of Mercy, The Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen, Sonic Youth, Meat Puppets), and random other things like The Velvet Underground, The Feelies, and T Rex (these last three might be my greatest guitar loves…so even if that’s all it allows me to play, I’ll probably buy it, though I’d like to get some metal and Bauhaus tones as well, if possible!). I would love to be able to experiment and try to capture the tones of as many of those bands as possible with a single device. I know that may be impossible due to recording techniques and advanced trickery, but I would like to get as close as possible!
I prefer something new as well. Can anyone please decide for me!? I’m going crazy with all the options! Thank you to all who post even if it’s to tell me off for wanting too much out of one thing!
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