January 2010

“If you mistake for your own merits what are really God’s gifts to you through nature, and if you are contented with simply being nice, you are still a rebel: and all those gifts will only make your fall more terrible, your corruption more complicated, your bad example more disastrous.  The Devil was an archangel once; his natural gifts were as far above yours as yours are above those of a chimpanzee.”

“God became man to turn creatures into sons: not simply to produce better men of the old kind but to produce a new kind of man.”

CS Lewis, Mere Christianity

Delay pedals – Updated to include the entire article!

The second type of pedal I want to focus on is the delay pedal. In my opinion, the two most important types of pedals to have in worship is an overdrive and a delay, so if you’re just starting out, a delay is a good place to start. Delay pedals simply take the original signal from the guitar and delay it so that it sounds like an echo. Sounds simple enough, but like most types of pedals, the choices of delay pedals are almost limitless, and there are several categories of delays as well. We’ll talk about two:

Analog

This includes pedals like the Electro-Harmonix Memory Man, a classic analog delay (one of my favorites) that is probably known best for its prominence in the sound of The Edge from U2, especially the early days. In the simplest terms, an analog delay pedal is a “lo-fi” echo, and are known for their warmth and fullness of sound. This means that they don’t replicate the sound exactly, but distort and trail off like you would expect a natural echo to. Most analog delays don’t incorporate functions like tap tempos or presets, which can make them problematic for players that only want to use one delay pedal and need versatility. They can be relatively expensive (about $315 for a new Memory Man), which represents a problem for the player on a budget. That being said, these pedals can be some of the best sounding pedals you will ever own, as long as you are willing to deal with a little lack of versatility.

Digital

A popular digital delay is the now-discontinued Boss DD-5, or its new counterpart the DD-7. These delays can exactly replicate your signal, which can be a good or bad thing depending on what you’re looking for. One of the biggest complaints about digital delays is the lack of warmth, but can provide much more functionality with tap tempos, presets, and modelers (“modeling” after several types of delays).

When I refer to a “tap tempo”, I am speaking of the ability to “tap” in your tempo to the pedal and therefore change the tempo of the echo.

Some delays to consider (Analog and Digital):
- Electro-Harmonix Memory Man – As stated before, this is one of my favorites in terms of sound, but the lack of a tap tempo is a big minus for me. The modulation on this pedal almost makes the price tag worth it by itself. ($319)
- Boss DD-20 and Line 6 DL4 – These two pedals are very similar and very popular. Both are digital delay modelers, which means they have the ability to model different types of delays, as well as having presets (3 on the DL4, 4 on the DD-20) which makes both of these pedals very versatile. The DL4 comes with an onboard tap tempo, while the DD-20 has the ability for wiring an external tap tempo switch in (The DD-20 has the ability for an onboard tap tempo, but the preset switch has to double as the tap, which lacks in practicality for on-the-fly tapping). (DL4 – $250, DD-20 – $220, Boss FS-5U – $30)
- Boss DD-5 and DD-7 – These are considered an almost necessity amongst many guitar players I know. They have very limited modeling capabilities, don’t have any presets, but they are more compact than the DD-20, also have plug-ins for external tap tempos, and are great for just getting the job done. (The DD-5 has been discontinued but you can still see them on eBay sometimes, DD-7 – $170)
- TC-Electronic Nova Delay – This pedal is the only delay I use right now, because it does everything I need it to do, including acting like two different delays at once! It’s an all-digital delay with up to 9 presets plus a manual mode that can be changed on-the-fly via footswitch, 3 types of modulation, and the ability to stack delays within itself (adding delays together = subdivision). For example, instead of having to choose whether I’m going to run a quarter-note delay or dotted eighth-note delay, I can actually run both at the same time. Worth the price tag to me at exactly the same amount for the DL4 or DD-20 with the footswitch, takes up less room on the board, and has more functionality. ($250)

There’s a ton of delays out there, but as always, take advice from guitar players who have done the homework and spent (wasted) the money already. BUT, that doesn’t mean you have to be like everyone else!

Always remember why/what/who you’re playing for,

Tyler
tyler@fqworship.com

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Overdrive/distortion pedals – Updated to include the entire article!
Effect pedals can be used to get almost any type of sound out of an electric guitar.  Anything from a clean country twang, to distorted thrash metal, to a synthesizer and orchestral strings; effects can be used to either get the most out of your creativity, or to generally make your playing sound better than it really is (you know you’ve done it).  However, when it comes to effects pedals, some electric guitar players don’t know what kind they need, what brands to buy, or why they need them, so I’ll try my best to shed some light on the subject.

First, overdrive/distortion pedals.  The term “overdrive” or “distortion” is used to describe the tone of the guitar when the original clean signal begins to break up; the signal is essentially pushing the amp or pedal over the clean amplification levels, or over their “limit”, thus causing the signal to distort.  The two terms are generally interchangeable, but overdrive is usually describing a lower gain pedal, while distortion describes higher gain pedals.  Overdrive pedals are NOT the same as overdriving an amplifier, and are used to create more energy, strength, and volume (or just to ROCK OUT).  Most of the time, these pedals are essential in getting a good guitar tone, and finding the right one can be a costly and time-consuming venture.  Luckily, there are some chumps like me that have spent enough money to hopefully have some decent advice!  Most of the time, I try to stick with the self-labeled “overdrive”, or lower-gain pedals, and chain them together if I need a very distorted signal.

1. My absolute favorite (today, that is), is the Paul Cochrane Tim, a two-stage overdrive that doesn’t change the essence of your guitar (the mark of a great pedal), but adds all the harmonics and tasty overdrive you could want.  Con – Right now the Tim is on a 4 – 7 month waiting list, or you can go to eBay to pay $50-$100 more to have it now.  ($169)
2. One of my favorites is the OCD overdrive, made by Fulltone (a great brand to stick with for pretty much anything), which has a very non-compressed, raw quality that can push a good Fender amp into Marshall-type grind without breaking a sweat.  Has a switch for lower gain British-type crunch or higher gain American crunch.  ($150)
3. My other love is a Robert Keeley-modded Ibanez TS-808.  If you’ve been around guitar players very much, you have seen the 808 (or its counterparts, the TS-9 or 10).  This pedal is famous for its classic bluesy/classic rock sound (and how could a SRV fan not have one of these?), however, the midrange on this pedal gets a little too powerful for me, so I sent it in to Robert Keeley (robertkeeley.com) to mod it for me, which was worth every penny.  Keeley did his more/less mod, giving the pedal the ability for both more gain and less gain, which made it a great volume boost alternative for me.  ($180-reg pedal; $50-Keeley non-true bypass mod; $250-new from Keeley w/True Bypass)
4. Another great pedal is the Fulltone Fulldrive 2, which has become the standard overdrive in many respects.  Another two-stage overdrive, this pedal is based off of the original TS-808s.  Many say that the older versions (black knobs instead of white) sound better, but I suppose that’s mostly preference, and the new ones come with a MOSFET boost option. ($170)

So those are some of my favorites.  Some other great brands are Lovepedal, Keeley, Diamond, and Xotic Effects, among many others.  The great thing about all of these effects pedals is that there are so many available, everyone can find something they like.  However, because there are so many available, I hope this gives you some point of reference for where to start.  In a lot of ways, you can’t replace a good guitar and a good amp, but at least these pedals can be a cheaper alternative for the time being, or an addition to the setup.

Humility first, and always for His glory,

Tyler
tyler@fqworship.com

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For Aaron Ivey (song writer and pastor of worship at Austin Stone Community Church in Austin, Texas), Haiti’s earthquake hit closer to home than any other disaster. Amos, the Ivey’s four-year-old adopted son, was in Haiti when the earthquake hit. He is the fourth child of the Ivey’s and the second child adopted from Haiti. By God’s amazing grace and sovereign hand, Amos is safe. He now is forced to sleep outside along with thousands of others whose homes have been destroyed. On his blog, Aaron Ivey expresses the difficulty of being a father away from his son in a disastrous time. Read his blog and pray for the people of Haiti today. Pray that the Great Comforter would be quick to rescue his people. Come Lord Jesus, come!