Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 27

Thread: Pedals and effects

  1. #1
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Springfield, Ohio
    Posts
    2

    Default

    I own an epiphone 8 string mando-bird electric mandolin. i like to experiment around with it when jamming with friends. i find that most distortions that i put on it make it sound out of tune. the few distortions that i do like tend to be lighter ones.

    what kinds of pedals and effects do you find works well on the electric mando?

  2. #2
    Registered User jmkatcher's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Puget Sound, Washington
    Posts
    676

    Default

    I was using a Diamond Compressor with mine for a long time. I only stopped using it when I switched mostly to electric guitar.

  3. #3
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Knoxville, TN
    Posts
    199

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by (NateRising @ July 18 2007, 21:47)
    I own an epiphone 8 string mando-bird electric mandolin. i like to experiment around with it when jamming with friends. i find that most distortions that i put on it make it sound out of tune. the few distortions that i do like tend to be lighter ones.

    what kinds of pedals and effects do you find works well on the electric mando?
    In my experience, if the distortion is making the instrument sound like it's out of tune, then it may very well be out of tune. The distortion is just making it a little easier to hear what might otherwise sound in tune but isn't, really.

    Of course, it probably doesn't help that it's a Mandobird - the 8 strings (aren't those 8 string) would be pretty hard to keep in tune for an overdriven/distorted sound, since it's so easy to hear.

    Both of my 5-strings are a bit sensitive on the C string - the relatively short "sweet spot" for that string being in tune - and I often use an overdrive when I'm tuning the C from the G string. It helps me to get it just right.

    As far as effects/pedals go, I've got a Boss SD-1 (overdrive), a Little Big Muff (crunch), a delay, and a reverb in my pedal chain. I'm going to add a chorus/flanger soon, because I'm trying for that Andy Summers tone a little bit, but my pedal board tends to be pretty simple.



    Schwab 5-string No.29 (1982)
    Old Wave C# No.311 (2003)
    Mann SEM-5 No. 60 (2007)

  4. #4
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Wichita, KS
    Posts
    180

    Default

    I use a Boss Chorus, Boss Blues Driver, Boss OS-2 Overdrive/Distortion, and I'm currently borrowing a Danelectro Danecho delay pedal to play around with.

  5. #5
    Registered User Perry's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Rockland Cty, NY
    Posts
    2,145

    Default

    Recently acquired an Analog Man King of Tone; sweet pedal. Also have the now classic Fulltone Fulldrive II.

    I don't like double courses on electric mandolins.

  6. #6
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    RI
    Posts
    286

    Default

    When I think of mandolin(acoustic)effects, Willie P. Bennent recently of Fred Eaglesmith's band immediately comes to mind. Unfortunately, as I visited Fred's official website, I discovered Willie recently suffered a heart attack and can't be on tour for a few months. A benefit concert is planned. Please visit Fred's site for more information and help if you can. Willie is a treasure, for any of you that have seen him you know what I mean. It would be neat to know Willie's effects as he does amazing things on mando and plays an incredible harmonica.

  7. #7
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Denver, CO
    Posts
    380

    Default

    Hey Perry - I use an analog man chorus pedal. What is the King Of Tone pedal like?

  8. #8
    Registered User Perry's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Rockland Cty, NY
    Posts
    2,145

    Default

    Really nice; it's like having two of the good Ibanez Tube Screamers in one box. Best way to describe it is that it is kind of transparent (not boatloads of distortion) and not overly compressory like some distortion boxes. It's very versatile.

    more info here




  9. #9

    Default

    i've got a diamond compressor that i run into a Vox V847 Wah pedal.

    dude, get a wah, they are the best pedal on earth.

    i think i'm gonna get a phaser soon (MXR Phase 90), and also am looking into a delay pedal.

    what kind of amp do you have? get a tube amp asap, it makes the electric mando sound a million times better.

    are the mandobirds semihollow, hollow, or solidbody? i have a solidbody OldTown with an humbucker, and i play through a fender blues jr. amp.
    Ice Cold

  10. #10
    Is there a "talent" knob? Christian McKee's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Portland, Oregon
    Posts
    704

    Default

    5 string ->
    Boss TU2 Tuner ->
    Boss OD ->
    Moog MuRF -> Amp (Laney 15w, all tube.)

    In the effects loop:

    Boss OC3 (octave pedal) ->
    Q-Tron ->
    Budda Budwah ->
    Digitech Digidelay

    I agree with Kid C., if it sounds out, it probably is. Distortion really does tend to bring out the tuning issues. Even though it's expensive, the MuRF is one of the coolest things that's come my way in a while, a HUGE range of sounds, and there's nothing quite so psychedelic as crazy phased percussive sounds plus delay!

    Christian
    Christian McKee

    Member, The Big North Duo
    Musical Director, The Oregon Mandolin Orchestra

  11. #11
    Grimm Pickins Dave Caulkins's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Springfield, VT.
    Posts
    159

    Default

    When using my tranducerized Flatiron, I found the natural sound to be thin and fairly lifeless (admittedly the fact my transducer is a horribly out of date Fishman installed in 1993 doesn't help). I use a Tubester tube overdrive unit with most of the gain rolled off for a clean tone, actually cutting the output volume to some amount (gain adjusted for dirtier stuff). This reduces my feedback and gives me the desired "umph" to compete with electric guitars and drums.

    I run this into my Carvin amp, clean channel mostly, with about half the reverb (it's really a different spring reverb in these amps, more subtle than Fender's "Baby Jessica" tone). In the effects loop I have an antiquated Ibanez rackmount delay-harmonics processor, which I absolutely adore. A little delay (or a lot if that's what I'm going for) is perfect to restore the "double string" nature. I occasionally run a volume pedal in my chain, usually first, but I find that I don't need or use it much and worrying about a battery drives me crazy (none of the other effects require 9v, or even take them for that matter).

    I can't be bothered to use much else, as I got sick of lugging a pedal chain around me everywhere I went when I used to play guitar primarily with jam/prog bands.

    When I first started playing mandolin, I used to experiment with heavier distortions (H&K Tube Factor, Perscription Electronics Experience, Ibanez Tubescreamer) and phase shifting (MXR 90). Not to mention running mandolin through a Mesa Tremoverb Double Rectifier (it's amazing that guitarist think of Mesa's as a Holy Grail, as it was muddier and more prone to problems than any other amp I have owned, especially for Metal - at twice the price. I preferred my Marshall Bluesbreaker to be honest). None of it really stuck or amused me for long, as feedback would plague my poor acoustic mandolin... If I had a 5 string... Hmmm.. Different Story

    Dave
    1984 Flatiron A5-2
    1930 (?) Regal Tenor

    Toil without song is like a weary journey without an end.
    H. P. Lovecraft

  12. #12
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Hull, UK
    Posts
    116

    Default

    Line6 Pod2 with pedal board. If I live that long I may finally work my way through all the options.

    All the best

    Steve

  13. #13

    Default

    Anybody ever use octave shifters (or pitch shifters, etc) to lower the pitch of the mando down to guitar range?

    Don

  14. #14
    Registered User Perry's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Rockland Cty, NY
    Posts
    2,145

    Default

    My experience with octave shifters is that they don't track as well on the higher pitched mandolin as it does on the guitar BUT it's a cool effect and does work OK

    try the danelectro chili dog (chili dawg) pedal; it's not much money

  15. #15
    Registered User jmkatcher's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Puget Sound, Washington
    Posts
    676

    Default

    I thought about using a pitch shifter or getting an electric octave, but it was far simpler to just learn the guitar. The mandolin is still my first love, but electric guitar is a wonderful thing.

  16. #16

    Default

    Thanks guys,

    Though I don't see how learning the guitar can be easier than buying a $30 pitch shifter

    The guitar is a completely illogical instrument. What's with that B string? Jeez.
    Don

  17. #17
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Wichita, KS
    Posts
    180

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by
    The guitar is a completely illogical instrument. What's with that B string? Jeez.
    Don
    I started learning guitar about a year and a half ago, and still haven't stopped commenting on the B string...

    I tried the Dive Bomb effect on the Dunlop tremolo(?) pedal. That was cool hearing the mando dive down really low. Tried a double octave pedal in a store once. I thought it just sounded weird.

  18. #18

    Default

    I play my acoustic in many blues jams around and I use the Marshall Blues Breaker Two, i had to play around with it for a while, but got it to a point where i just use it for solos and gives me just enough distorion and a kick in volume when I need it. It also helps I use a tube amp(Pignose G40V), helps fatten up the higher register of the Mandolin.

  19. #19
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Knoxville, TN
    Posts
    199

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by (Perry @ July 26 2007, 10:04)
    My experience with octave shifters is that they don't track as well on the higher pitched mandolin as it does on the guitar BUT it's a cool effect and does work OK
    I have a rack processor - the Digitech DHP-55 - that's really got some great harmonizing potential. Its chipset was put together by IVL Labs out of Canada, and they really know what they're doing. That said, I've tried many times to get an octaved tone out of my emandos, to limited success. I agree, the tracking seems to not work quite as well as with a guitar. Then of course, it's digital.

    Maybe an analog octaver (do those exist, I thought they did) might work better. I'm not sure...
    Schwab 5-string No.29 (1982)
    Old Wave C# No.311 (2003)
    Mann SEM-5 No. 60 (2007)

  20. #20
    Registered User Elliot Luber's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Long Island, NY, USA
    Posts
    4,157

    Default

    What do you think of those pre-wired guitar pedal board packages on Mando? (I could also use them with my guitar and my sons' guitars.)

  21. #21
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    Boston MA
    Posts
    2,036

    Default

    Quote
    The guitar is a completely illogical instrument. What's with that B string? Jeez.
    Don

    Don't worry, that B string is going to ruin the instrument's popularity, like the dinosaur, and then...

    GIANT MANDOS WILL RULE THE WORLD!!!
    John McGann, Associate Professor, Berklee College of Music
    johnmcgann.com
    myspace page
    Youtube live mando

  22. #22
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Netherlands
    Posts
    6

    Default

    @ Mace

    This I found on his website:

    On the floor: 6 Boss floor pedals chained/configured left to right starting with: PSM-5 Power Supply and Master Switch, TR-2 Tremolo, RV-2 Digital Reverb, DD-5 Digital Delay, PS-3 Pitch Shifter/Delay, BD-2 Blues Driver. These are all at least a couple of years old and I bought all of them used from pawnshops. All of this runs mono to an Ernie Ball volume pedal which in turn runs to a BSS (Brooke Siren Systems) AR 116 Direct Box which has the AR 117 phantom power update. This D.I. was bought used at least 5 years ago from a pawnshop.

    My on stage amplifier of choice is 1970 Fender Princeton Reverb. It's 12 watts and I love the tube crush and it mike's very well. I run the amp approximately in this way: volume 4 1/2 to 6, treble no higher than 5, bass at least 5 but no higher than 7.

    A full list of his gear can be found on his website:

    http://www.williepbennett.com/gear.html

  23. #23
    Is there a "talent" knob? Christian McKee's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Portland, Oregon
    Posts
    704

    Default

    I think the issue with tracking of octave pedals has as much to do with output level as the range in which the instrument is played. I get *much* better tracking from my OC-3 by using the neck pickup instead of the bridge, and if I want a real strong octave sound, I flip on the overdrive. That way I get a much stronger signal going to the octave pedal, and usually the edgier sound from adding the OD is appropriate in the music. Even doing those things though, I don't get real good octave sound from about the open E string on up.

    Christian
    Christian McKee

    Member, The Big North Duo
    Musical Director, The Oregon Mandolin Orchestra

  24. #24
    Registered User Perry's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Rockland Cty, NY
    Posts
    2,145

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by
    has as much to do with output level as the range in which the instrument is played
    Yeah...a lot of guitar effects need to see a certain output. I have a Schwab that has a Bartolini pick-up with very low output. I bought a Bad Bob Boost to throw first in my effects chain and it really helps all the effects.

    If I had the time and energy I'd try and get a better pick-up retro fitted into my Schwab but I'm not sure who makes one.

    I once owned an EM-200 and that the 'badest' pick-up I ever owned; a mid 50's P-90. That pick-up rocked in a very musical way.




  25. #25
    Registered User groveland's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Minnesota
    Posts
    1,535

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by (ducati08 @ July 26 2007, 10:23)
    The guitar is a completely illogical instrument. What's with that B string? Jeez.
    Don
    Tune it in fifths and you're into something.




Similar Threads

  1. Pedals!
    By gmando in forum Four, Five and Eight-String Electrics
    Replies: 20
    Last: Nov-26-2006, 1:17pm
  2. Effects Pedals
    By mmukav in forum Four, Five and Eight-String Electrics
    Replies: 6
    Last: Dec-08-2005, 8:51pm
  3. pedals for electric mandos
    By Mandolin_Mayhem in forum Equipment
    Replies: 14
    Last: Dec-05-2005, 1:57pm
  4. effects
    By ira in forum Equipment
    Replies: 12
    Last: Jun-28-2005, 3:43pm
  5. 'verb and drive pedals?
    By Christian McKee in forum Four, Five and Eight-String Electrics
    Replies: 5
    Last: Mar-16-2004, 3:48pm

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •