Orange Amps Forum

I am not a great one for asking advice on here about what to buy, but when it comes to pedals, there are so many out there who knows where to start!
Looking to get back to basics and run with a cut back pedal board loaded with simple, tiny footprint pedals that require little or no adjustment during a gig.

I use a Rocker 30 with PPC OB which I love to bits. USA Strat, an LP Classic and a Gordon Smith Galaxy. Play mainly Rock and Blues. Of course no FX loop on the R30 so everything has to be out front.

I have started with an MXR Micro Amp which is a stoosh to use and gives me some nice options used with the channel switch to crunch up the natural channel or pile on some more gain on the dirty channel. This pretty much replaces my Tube Screamer which never filled me with much joy anyway!

Next I am thinking a Holy Grail Nano for 'verb. Tiny, very simple, three position switch and a reverb level pot. This will replace my Boss RV5 which is just too fiddly for gigging. Any opinions on this little fella?

I could use some suggestions for delay and modulation and maybe a good distortion for those shredding moments , smallest footprint possible and sounds good with a Rocker 30. Once I have a shortlist, I can then go try!!

Thanks

On the delay, the mxr carbon copy is a classic and not too big.

I prefer tap tempo though, and have vox time machine which I love. Incredibly flexible, and you can get pretty long delays, ans not particularly expensive. The pedal I use the most. Bigger than the carbon copy of course, but it's a small price to pay for the tap tempo function.

My board is by no means small, but I consider if quite simple (Check my signature). I tried lots of OD/Fuzz/Dist pedals and the just didn't get along with my Oranges. I too play a Rocker 30, and have learned to use my volume knob to cleanup to various gain settings. Delay and modulation I would be biased to Strymon. They are actually quite affordable if you factor in the individual costs of each effect they offer. That being said, they are all digital, so if you concerned with that sort of thing then look elsewhere I suppose. I will say I had a BlueSky before my BigSky and actually regret selling it. That pedal was glorious. Might be something to look into. Works great in the studio as well, as it has full range inputs for all sorts of instruments.

otherwise...

MXR Carbon copy = very popular
Modulation = what kind are you looking for?
Distortion = Perhaps one of the offerings from Fulltone?

Like I said I've never had good luck with od/fuzz/dist with my Oranges, so I would suggest setting the dirty channel to your "shredding setting" and then back off the guitar volume to clean up for rhythms.

Good luck! Pedals are very dangerous

Vox Time Machine is a great pedal, wish I didn't sell mine. After a number of delays I'm quite happy with my Boss DD-7, does lots and sounds great. Cutting back on pedals can be tough because you might find you end up adding once you cut back so it's important to find exactly what you can live with while keeping it small. For modulation, if you think you're going to end up getting 2 or 3 pedals, I say grab a Strymon Mobius. Great sounding pedal, has all the modulation your ever going to need and then some in the size of 2 pedals for the price of 3 pedals. I sold about 5 pedals (chorus, phase, vibe, tremelo and flange) which paid for it and saved all that space, power connections and cables.

ha.. you're on the path i am thinking of going.. tiny board, with mini pedals.. and r30.. I think i can hold it to 6.. tuner, boost, od/dist, chorus, delay, reverb

for a tiny delay the most versatile has to be the flashback mini .it has a "tap tempo".. hold the button down and strum on 1/4 notes.. its a single toneprint slot so analog, 2290/mod, digital delay whatever you want is a smartphone download away

how is the mxr micro?.. does it have a flat response?.. fat?.. peaky?.. ideally i would like a warm/fat sound to use with the strat, and off with the LP.

I've tried the mini pedals. Outside of a simple boost like the EP boost or similar I don't like them. Too small, maybe I just have big feet.

Mystic38 wrote:ha.. you're on the path i am thinking of going.. tiny board, with mini pedals.. and r30.. I think i can hold it to 6.. tuner, boost, od/dist, chorus, delay, reverb

for a tiny delay the most versatile has to be the flashback mini .it has a "tap tempo".. hold the button down and strum on 1/4 notes.. its a single toneprint slot so analog, 2290/mod, digital delay whatever you want is a smartphone download away

how is the mxr micro?.. does it have a flat response?.. fat?.. peaky?.. ideally i would like a warm/fat sound to use with the strat, and off with the LP.

The zvex SHO does that really well.

Jondog wrote:I've tried the mini pedals. Outside of a simple boost like the EP boost or similar I don't like them. Too small, maybe I just have big feet.

Don't flatter yourself

My number 1 pedal of choice for the style you mention running in front of an amp like this would be an analog delay of some kind. Something with a lot of warmth that will run ok with the amp gained up a bit.

EHX Deluxe Memory Boy works as great as a delay pedal out front can do. I used mine with the Rocker and that analog, dark tone of the MB was nice. The pedal also have modulation which fattens the repeats up a bit. The Carbon Copy also works great. I'd avoid digital delays in general.

Mind you it's not optimal driving delays and 'verbs out front of an overdriven amp. The more saturation the trickier it gets...

OrangePaul wrote:

Jondog wrote:I've tried the mini pedals. Outside of a simple boost like the EP boost or similar I don't like them. Too small, maybe I just have big feet.

Don't flatter yourself

My number 1 pedal of choice for the style you mention running in front of an amp like this would be an analog delay of some kind. Something with a lot of warmth that will run ok with the amp gained up a bit.

I actually do have wide feet. EE

I've been gassing for an Eventide H9... Small footprint, handles delay and modulation and whatever other weird sounds you want. It even has a tuner, so that covers even less space. Price is up in the strymonsphere though

Thanks for the responses guys. Much appreciated. YouTubed some of them last night and I am liking the look of the Carbon Copy. Will do the same with the later suggestions then go try them out this weekend.
Interestingly, during the process I came across a Cry Baby Mini which looks awesome as the standard Cry Baby is currently the bulkiest item on my board! That one is a cert for my new board!

Enjoy trying them all out! Carbon copy does sound nice, was offered one from a band mate but really needed the tap tempo so went with the flashback (which is strum tempo not tap but works well) so don't discount the flashback or flashback mini.
I saw the cry baby mini, looks cool - I'd try before buying though, May be a bit different in use to the full sized one. I also saw they're doing a mini tubescreamer if you want to down size.

joeminer wrote:I've been gassing for an Eventide H9... Small footprint, handles delay and modulation and whatever other weird sounds you want. It even has a tuner, so that covers even less space. Price is up in the strymonsphere though

I'm also itching for an H9. I guess you can't get much more cut down than them but maybe too cut down for the price

Seriously check out a Zoom MS70-CDR. It should be able to cover all of your modulation, delay and reverb needs. It even has a model of the Carbon Copy. The only thing it lacks is a tap tempo so if that is important, you might need a different delay. However, for me, whilst I thought I needed tap tempo, I've never used it.

For reference, I also have a TC HOF, TC Flashback and a Boss DD7 but it's the Zoom that is on my board. It is a fantastic unit and has saved me a load of space. Can't speak of it highly enough.