My zoom multi stomp is 1/2 and 1/2 (some of the amp models and effects are only useful for guitar.)
Digitech JAMMAN line
Blues Driver
Alot of the Boss delay pedals are used.
Quite a few of the Danelectro pedals ive seen around. Believe it or not.
BBE optical compressor
The Digitech RP line is used alot with the richard hunter patch upload
Idk ... the list goes on and on.
My advice ... look up some respected players pedal boards. You ll find what your looking for. ---------- "Trust Those Who Seek The Truth. Doubt Those Who Say They Have Found It."
Last Edited by Killa_Hertz on Feb 28, 2016 3:38 PM
Ditto Looper x2 pedal is a new favorite it can make you sound cooler than you are with an extra harp lick as a backing track im looking for a decent reverb pedal myself heard about holy grail but a lot of reviewers complain about a hum and pop when they use it coming from the amp have also heard about the SOULPOG just recently but cant vouch for harp friendliness because I haven't tried it yet
Pop. If you want harp friendly reverb. The tc flashback is supposed to be pretty amazing. It has tons of features.
But delay pedals are what i would suggest. You can use it as reverb or delay. But it depends what your going for.
The Lone Wolf Delay v2 MXR Carbon Copy Danelectro has some pretty decent pedals for like $20. I think the pedals your talking about are better for guitar, but i could be wrong.
There's an infinite number of pedals out there.
I just got a jamman looper myself. They are pretty dope. Ive been having lots of fun with it. Check out some of brenden powers looper videos. Amongst other harp players looper vids. Pretty cool. ---------- "Trust Those Who Seek The Truth. Doubt Those Who Say They Have Found It."
TC electronics "hall of fame" is their reverb. It IS pretty amazing for sure. Very harp friendly. Great preset sounds, but my custom setting is even better, it's just spot on for harp, makes everything sound better very naturally and unforced. I posted the custom preset I made for harp in another thread. http://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/board/board_topic/5560960/5489182.htm
Again, like I said about guitar amps for harp. Why use guitar pedals for harp when Lonewolf has a complete line of reasonably priced pedals specifically designed for harp? They all work better than guitar pedals, and Randy ROCKS.
Last Edited by Pluto on Mar 02, 2016 8:52 AM
Why? Because some of us are not interested in the type of sounds most of the LW pedals are designed to produce and find other sounds more interesting. For example, I really like my TC Electronics Helix Phaser and TC Electronics Vortex Flanger. Both very harp friendly and very versatile. I use them both regularly and you'd never realize what type of pedal I was using. You'd be perplexed trying to figure out what was creating the sounds I can get out of them. At one gig, a professional musician asked my keyboard player how he was getting that sound out of his Kurzweil and the keyboard player said it wasn't him and pointed over at my pedal board. LW has nothing comparable and nothing anywhere near as sophisticated. And some of us are not particularly interested in distortion.
And anyway the LW pedals I have tried haven't worked that well for me. The Harp Octave I tried was a wimpy clean boost that could not push my Super Reverb into overdrive, but it may work better with a bullet mic. The Harp Break is a very nice pedal, but nowhere near as useful to me as the MXR Micro Amp Plus. But, again, I don't use bullet mics, so YMMV. If anyone wants to buy my HB you can have it for $125 along with the original box and paper work. Excellent condition, but with Velcro on the bottom for mounting to a pedalboard.
Last Edited by hvyj on Mar 02, 2016 11:57 AM
Joyo American Sound deserves an honorary mention. Nothing if you are into maximum rasp but quite interesting apart from that. You can buy something like seven of those for one LW.
@Dragonbreath: I congratulate you on your success with the TC Hall of Fame, and I understand that the download option is an interesting one. I´ve bought the pedal -- and like the sounds! -- but I understand absolutely zero, nada, rien, nothing about how you get those "customized" settings. How do you find them on the pedal, for starters? No info on homepage. They tend to presuppose that you want to fiddle with some bloody "app", which I don´t. It seems, like most of IT technology, that it´s great if you already know how to go about with it; if you don´t you´re just roadkill.
@Hvyj...we've kicked around the idea of making more "out of the box" type pedals for years, but the market for harp players looking for phaser and the like simply isn't as big as the market of guys looking for Chicago blues style distortion. With our limited resources and manpower, we kind of have to focus on what will do the best for us commercially. It isn't something we've ruled out, though, and it may be something we do in the future. Long story short, most of our pedals, with the exception of the Jason Ricci Flat Cat, are geared toward traditional tones. You never hurt our feelings if it isn't your cup of tea.
As for the Harp Octave feeling like a wimpy clean boost, that is very odd. We actually test/set up everything in the shop with SM57's, not bullets, and they are very dirty. How long ago did you try one? We've greatly increased the level of the effect over the last three or so years. ---------- --Nathan Heck Lead Technician, Lone Wolf Blues Co. customerservice@lonewolfblues.com
I've had a harp octave since 2010 and I wouldn't describe it as a wimpy clean boost. It's certainly not clean if you move the effect setting higher than 11 o clock. Rather too dirty for my taste. And the volume setting certainly is capable of providing a boost. Somewhere from 1 o clock on. I mainly used it because it seemed to provide a degree of feedback resistance at higher volume. I remember a night in a Newcastle hotel, with pedals plugged into the PA...volume was insanely loud, and the harp break was unable to cope. I swapped in the octave and could play without feedback. i don't remember what the mic was.
@Nathan: the HO I tried 2 or 3 years ago was borrowed and I have no idea how old it was. Other people seem to like it. There must be something wrong with me because I couldn't figure out how to get it to do anything musically useful. Frankly, I have only one regular gig where the bandleader wants that raw distorted sound and I get it using the mic straight into the tube amp thru a Squeal Killer. I can also do it through an MXR 10 band EQ straight into a tube amp. Either method gives me more distortion (and warmer distortion) before feedback than the HB. Of course I'm stuck with distortion all night long if I set up like that, but that's what the bandleader wants even though the music we play is not at all traditional Chicago blues. Go figure...
The HB is a nice pedal and the bass boost is a well thought out feature but it does not function well for me on a pedalboard with other effects because it produces more feedback than it does usable distortion. And while distortion can be very cool on the right tune, it's never been a big part of my sound anyway, and I can live without it on all of my gigs but that one. It seems like every other harp player, their brothers and their second cousins all lust for distortion so I cannot fault you guys for pandering to that market.
Last Edited by hvyj on Mar 03, 2016 8:46 PM
I picked up a used Hughes and Kettner RotoSphere (after ignoring financial reason) and tested it yesterday. So sweet sounding. I was surprised, though, that I couldn't control the speed ramp up/down other than with a screwdriver. The two-speed option may take time for me to get used to, as I'm spoiled by Richard Hunter's rotary patch on the Digitech RP350. Will be testing more this weekend to see whether almost $300 is acceptable for the comping sound I'm after... ---------- www.thebluesprofessors.com
Ok, I spent some solid time with the aforementioned setup (and a jt30 with a CR99h86 element). I'm fairly floored. So, so warm. Also, as just a pre-amp without the rotors on, it just really kicks ass. It honks. I don't even know what to say, I'm just gonna play.
If anyone has any experience or tips with this pedal or set-up, please let me know. Heath ---------- www.thebluesprofessors.com
Never tried the Roto Sphere. I use a Strymon Lex on one board and a Hammond Leslie G Pedal on another board. To get a convincing organ sound put a MicroPog in front of the H&K and put a delay last in chain. Now, the MP is NOT true bypass. If this causes problems by pushing the H&K preamp too hard, ANALOGMAN offers a TB mod for the MP for $40.
@Pluto: Well I actually use my Peavey Delta Blues more than my Super Reverb these days, but I like them both and gig with both. I'm curious why using is Super Reverb would be cosidered a mistake? What would you recommend?
I'm not quite sure which side of the Mississippi I'm on. But why would anyone be on a side of the Mississippi these days? There are harmonica-specific geographical features which harp players can practice adjacency to, all of which are much more location specific than a river.
True story: I was at a Jason Richie gig several years ago. As Jason and I were talking Jason noticed that Madcat Ruth was in the audience sitting a few tables away. His eyes got wide as he said with great reverence "Do you see who's here?" Jason was enormously flattered that Madcat had come to his show, and went over to greet him. We all wound up walking over to the stage to look at JR's pedal board on which there was a Boss dd3 delay. Madcat and Jason agreed that the dd3 was the best delay for harp ever made and Madcat lamented that he used to have one but it died and couldn't be repaired. JR had a spare wrapped in bubble wrap in a road case with some other spare equipment. He fished it out and handed to Madcat as a gift in a very generous gesture of admiration and respect. Btw, having taken a few lessons from Madcat, I am in a position to tell you that he is more than a great harmonica player-- he is an absolute MONSTER MUSICIAN. And he sincerely appreciated JR's generosity.
Hey 1847...it was all just a crazy dream... I'm a mad-cat fan too.
Hey Pluto. I guess the real thing, that the OP specifically asks for info about pedals other than Lone Wolf. And just like there are plenty good reasons to play harp through a guitar amp, there are plenty good reasons to use a pedal that isn't a harp-specific pedal. As Hvyj already pointed out. And as for the super reverb...it's been used by a bunch of great players down the years. it's almost 'traditional'.
@martin - regarding the tc reverb, I haven't used the app, just downloaded the toneprint editor for PC from their webpage and although I also hate programs and downloading stuff, my curiosity made it bearable. However it turned out to be very easy. Download program to pc, connect pedal with supplied cable, set knobs to 12 and reverb setting to "toneprint", start program and either play around with the settings or just look at the screenshot I posted in the other thread and set all settings and parameter values on your editor so they're the same as on the screenshot. I didn't really know what half the stuff I was changing around was gonna do, I just listened and tried to find the sweet spot on every parameter.
I really think no matter how inexperienced one is with the stuff, it won't take more than 5 minutes from download to start program, connect pedal,set the settings like on the screenshot, press save and it's done.
Last Edited by Dragonbreath on Mar 05, 2016 1:45 AM
seems i would have to disagree with both madcat and jason. the best delay for harp ever made would be a genuine tape echo.
at one time that is what everyone used, the creme de la creme. at some point an analog delay pedal was introduced, and most everyone jumped on board, for a short time at least.
an analog delay does not sound or act like a tape,
"neither does a digital delay for that matter"
so it was back to the tape delay, until the advent of an affordable digital delay was introduced. you would see william clarke... well in to the eighties toting his echoplex to gigs.
the dd3 is still a good choice, it can be had for 50.00 dollars at times.
but this is 2016, there are perhaps better devices suited for harmonica ":and guitar"
i bought a chandler delay years ago, in my humble opinion it far out classes all others. it is simple to use and has 4 outputs. the only draw back is it is rackmount.
lonewolf makes a great delay, and if i am not mistaken even jason has made the leap to the darkside.
i have a bella ep which is a little temperamental, just like a real echoplex. lol. another personal favorite is the akai headrush. it has 5 outputs and a looper. and the best part is, it was only $60.00 brand new. $400.00 dollars list. one of the best bargains anywhere
Last Edited by 1847 on Mar 05, 2016 8:27 AM
The Boss DM-2 is hands down the best delay pedal I've ever used for harmonica. Still regret selling mine.
I don't use delay at all that much anymore. Much prefer to go straight into the amp. On the rare occasion I do use one though, these days I just use a cheap Avivi Time Traveller delay. As I don't use one often, I just can't justify spending good money on one.
Arion SAD-1 stereo analog delay. This pedal is the reason I sometimes run two amps. Lush smooth delay with a bit of low mid boost. Not a tone sucker. Very quiet. Still getting 80-120 bucks on Ebay. There is a reason for that. Mid '80 MIJ. Get the black or gray case, both are equally good.
BTW, I have a 76 Super Reverb that I would sell, not UL. I use the Bassman more often.
I am E. of the Mississippi. Always liked spelling Mississippi. LOL
Last Edited by Barley Nectar on Mar 05, 2016 10:43 AM
the lone wolf terminator pedal splits the signal in two very useful, you can run one side wet and the other side dry. creating a somewhat stereo effect.
Nope, I have tried a few others, they pale in comparison to the Arion. That does not mean there are not good stereo delays out there. I have been locked into this one for a long time. I actually have three of them. The Arion is the only pedal I use!
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xarion+sad-1.TRS0&_nkw=arion+sad-1&_sacat=0
Last Edited by Barley Nectar on Mar 06, 2016 11:47 AM
i'm curious if anyone has used a vibe pedal...like MXR Uni Vibe or TC Viscous Vibe...i notice hvyj mention the TC Helix and Vortex...and i can see one could get some weird sounds going there...but then i started watching pedal demo video and these vibe pedals caught my attention...and am i gonna want a clean amp and mic to use this sort of thing i wonder...
I used to use a RetroSonic Chous Ensemble set to vibrato with my Super and it worked well and will work well with a not so clean amp. It also has a chorus setting that (unlike most chorus pedals) is very harp friendly. Unfortunately it is out of production. But Roto-Vibe type of pedals work pretty well with not so clean amps and much better than Leslie simulaters usually do. The DLS Versa Vibe works well with not so clean amps, but I would be inclined to try the TC Viscous Vibe unit first.
Btw, I don't dial in "weird" sounds from my phaser and flanger. The phaser is feedback prone with my Super but with my Delta Blues is just fine, but it won't sound good with a dirty amp. It can create a tube compression sound if used with a clean amp. The Vortex Flanger is awesome--very flexible and versatile. Might cause feedback with a high gain set up. But it is fine with both my SRRI and my DB. Both the Helix and the Vortex used by themselves or in conjunction with other pedals give me what I would characterize as contemporary sounds but not weird or outer spacey sounding stuff (although they CAN be dialed in to do that sort of thing too). The way I use them most listeners would not readily identify them as being a phaser or a flanger.
Fwiw, I started using pedals long before I found out that Lee Oskar was doing it.
Last Edited by hvyj on Mar 06, 2016 8:01 PM
Sure, no the 'weird' comment was throwaway, just the demo of the flanger I saw took things to the extreme, not where I'm looking to go either... I have a MXR Uni Vibe here...I will try it with a few amps and mics. I still have a 58 here if the older mics don't work out. the other pedal they were keen to point me to was the pitchfork...
Personally, I'd be leary of the Pitchfork. Too easy to sound out of tune. I like my octave divider (MicroPOG) . But octave intervals are pretty easy to work with musically without screwing things up. Other increments of electronically generated intervals present much more significant challenges to make them work well musically, as well as mechanically/electronically. But YMMV.
