This is the first in a series of three posts written by Andy on electric guitar pedals for worship.<\/p>\n
Actually you don\u2019t need a huge amount of pedals to get going. I\u2019d say that with a good Tube Screamer overdrive type pedal and a decent delay you should be able to reproduce most of what\u2019s required by an electric player in a modern worship band.\u00a0 So in this first post I\u2019ll look at the overdrive, then delay in the next and finally just a few tips on other bits to get you up and running like power supplies etc.<\/p>\n
\n
A tube what?<\/strong> The Tube Screamer pedal has come in a range of models \u2013 TS7, TS8, TS808, TS9, TS10\u00a0plus many other variants with the most highly prized being the vintage 808 models which are now reassuringly expensive!<\/p>\n In fact so many people love the 808 that there are now a myriad of boutique companies producing some of the nicest overdrives in the world based on that original Tube Screamer circuit. With so many to choose from its worth checking out demos on YouTube and reviews on Harmony Central before you buy, but ultimately if there is some way you can try one out in a live band situation then more the better. Some have even have options like a second footswitch for more overdrive or a clean boost. However, even if you can\u2019t you should be on fairly safe territory with most of the options here.<\/p>\n So here are some tubescreamer type pedals to try out. I\u2019ve listed them roughly in ascending price order. Whilst anything not made by Ibanez is technically a copy, anything listed below the genuine ones are cheaper and mass produced and above them are considered hand made and of better tone or with more options. The rule always applies. You get what you pay for! However these are all pretty rugged so buying used shouldn\u2019t be a problem and could save you lots of cash.<\/p>\n BTW this is not by any means an exhaustive list so if you have other alternatives that you\u2019ve tried please do comment for the benefit of everyone.<\/p>\n Behringer Vintage tube Overdrive TO800<\/strong> \u2013 cheap way to get started<\/p>\n Digitech Bad Monkey<\/strong> \u2013 good value copy<\/p>\n Danelectro Cool Cat Overdrive<\/strong> \u2013 good value copy<\/p>\n Boss OD3\/SD1<\/strong> \u2013 good value boss flavoured alternatives. Modded versions(below) very good!<\/p>\n Ibanez TS9<\/strong> \u2013 good standard production pedal<\/p>\n Ibanez TS 808 reissue<\/strong> \u2013 nearly the price of a boutique job but if you want the orginal\u2026.<\/p>\n Maxon OD808<\/strong> \u2013 well regarded alternative to original<\/p>\n Visual Sound v2 808\/Route 66\/Jekyl & Hyde \u2013<\/strong> these are great! And Bob from Visual Sound presents a section on pedals in our Intermediate Worship Guitar DVDs<\/p>\n Fulltone Fulldrive 2<\/strong> \u2013 dual overdrive pedal – choice of many working pros for years<\/p>\n Build Your Own Clone<\/strong> \u2013 if you are hady with a soldering iron, build yourself a very high quality clone with this kit.<\/p>\n Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive<\/strong> \u2013 cool peadl that lets you add some clean sound for a bit o \u2018sparkle\u2019<\/p>\n Keeley Modified TS9<\/strong> \u2013 people speak very highly of these modified pedals<\/p>\n Analogueman Modified TS808\/TS9<\/strong><\/p>\n Monte Allums.com<\/strong> \u2013 do some mods yourself!<\/p>\n Homebrew Electronics Powerscreamer<\/strong> \u2013 well priced hand made pedal with tone switching options and a boost switch<\/p>\n Lovepedal <\/strong>\u2013 very highly regarded boutique pedal<\/p>\n Klon Centuar<\/strong> \u2013 supposedly the \u2018Holy Grail\u2019 of tone \u2013 with a price to match!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you’ve found this article helpful we know there will be loads you will love on our worship guitar DVDs and downloads<\/a>. Check them out:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Which pedals do I need to start playing in a worship band?\u00a0Part 1<\/a>,\u00a0part 2<\/a>\u00a0&\u00a0part 3<\/a><\/p>\n Gear confessional- guitars<\/a><\/p>\n Andy\u2019s Squire Telecaster<\/a><\/p>\n Flow chart \u2013 Do you have too many guitars?<\/a><\/p>\n Small amp, great sound \u2013 \u00a0part 1<\/a>,\u00a0part 2<\/a>,\u00a0part 3<\/a>,\u00a0part 4<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0part 5<\/a><\/p>\n
\nThe Ibanez Tube Screamer is probably the most popular overdrive pedal on the planet, with good reason. It produces a range of usable valve amp like tones from mild to heavy, can make a really bad amp sound passable and a good one great. You can use it for blues, country, rock – to be honest most styles that modern worship songs are based on. Most models have a characteristic of a slight mid range boost or \u2018hump\u2019 which helps cut through the mix in a live situation, which is part of the secret that makes it so usable.<\/p>\nCheck out Musicademy’s Worship Guitar DVDs<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
Other posts you might like:<\/strong><\/h2>\n