Pedals vs Songwriting

[npfrs]

So, I rented a Marshall Class 5 for fun over the Canada Day weekend and I've been plugging my guitars direct in (or a single pedal like a Mastotron or Echorec in-between) and came to a realization that, as much as I love pedals (having near 30), I'm not sure they add to my music in a highly significant way. Songs I write and think "Yeah, I'd loop this here and add some POG on top and etc, etc" sound just fine played direct in. Sure, they're a little less flashy but... so?

Adding textures/layers on top of loops and using all my pedals to warp my guitars sound is really fun but, at the end of the day, does the audience really need all that? I can make my electric guitar sound crazy and they nod along but when I take out a cello bow and bow my archtop through a simple delay - 3 sets of applause.

I feel like I'm having a pedal crisis of faith over here.... are you there Nels? It's me, Jon.

[Ghost Hip]

I think pedals are best used while recording. When playing live, as long as you have a dirt pedal and whatever modulation/echo, and it cuts through the mix well, you're set to go. When I am songwriting, I mostly just have one or two tones to mess with. With my band, I play lead guitar so I have a lot more freedom to fuck around with different textures, and people do come up and comment on certain sounds I made as well as my playing.

But yeah, for song writing I stick to simple stuff, then add effects later. Recording though is much more free space where you can try all sorts of neat stuff. Whatever it is, it fuels me to find the right sound for each part, and I love it, and thats why I have fifteen different fuzz boxes at a time,

[9520575]

Yeah, Pedals aren't the meal, they're just the plate dressing.



...plate dressing is the difference between charging 10 dollars for a meal, or 30 bucks for the same dish.

Dig?

[Derelict78]

I get that sometimes but in the end I love weird sonic textures. I love listening to it and making it. Most of the bands I have been in didn't really care about the effects I used and that's cool I just need to find a band of like minded people that dig the textures.

[ryan summit]

ohh no
without pedals its just
dungggggdunggggdundundunggggg
im serious
not ready for that
and john,the drummer
uses a buncha pedals in his other bands
cause he plays bass and guitar
so hes into it all too
i got a sweet situation where i do whatever i want
i find that pedals doubles the enjoyment
cause i remember when there was none,or one
so yeah i pick pedals for everything
totally
i think i should add that a new pedal usually
sends me in a new direction
seeing how i get stuck in riff ruts
without new pedals every once in a while
it might get boring

[npfrs]

I get that sometimes but in the end I love weird sonic textures. I love listening to it and making it. Most of the bands I have been in didn't really care about the effects I used and that's cool I just need to find a band of like minded people that dig the textures.

I love them too but I'm a singer-songwriter/frontman and I'm not sure they're that important to the songwriting process, even though they're super fun to incorporate.

Yeah, Pedals aren't the meal, they're just the plate dressing.



...plate dressing is the difference between charging 10 dollars for a meal, or 30 bucks for the same dish.

Dig?

Plate dressing on a $10 meal is still a $10 meal and, if you charge $30, people will feel ripped off - am i following the analogy? The point is make a $30 meal?

[coldbrightsunlight]

I think pedals are best used while recording. When playing live, as long as you have a dirt pedal and whatever modulation/echo, and it cuts through the mix well, you're set to go. When I am songwriting, I mostly just have one or two tones to mess with. With my band, I play lead guitar so I have a lot more freedom to fuck around with different textures, and people do come up and comment on certain sounds I made as well as my playing.

But yeah, for song writing I stick to simple stuff, then add effects later. Recording though is much more free space where you can try all sorts of neat stuff. Whatever it is, it fuels me to find the right sound for each part, and I love it, and thats why I have fifteen different fuzz boxes at a time,

Definitely agree. I write almost all my songs either unplugged or with just a single dirt pedal, because I think when I'm switching pedals all the time and using like 5 or more I'm not concentrating on the quality of the song as much as the guitar sound, which when recorded is just a part of it.

When I get to recording I start to think "well, it might be cool if I put x sound here" but for the most part all my songs are written without loads of crazy sounds. I think if I was in a band where other people wrote songs I'd find it easier to come in and use lots of interesting effects because I'd just be writing my part to complement the song, which is completely different to writing a whole song.

[9520575]

Yes, exactly. If the prime roast is good enough, nobody notices the sprig of parsley missing.

The foodie will feel ripped off, with the ten dollar plate. The average dinner won't.

[backwardsvoyager]

I don't think there's a universal answer to this question, it's pretty clear that everybody here has different ideas about how they'd like their music to sound and what they feel that they 'need' to achieve that.

Also, I wouldn't get worried about what the audience needs, if they're really there to see your music then they'll be satisfied with the sounds that make you feel most fulfilled, whatever those may be.

As for me personally, I aim to use every pedal/sound that was incorporated into the composition process live (some pieces none, others dozens).
It's not easy to concentrate on the entire piece when there's so much tapdancing going on but it can be done, I try not to get discouraged and just focus as hard as possible.

[AngryGoldfish]

This is such a 'TGP' thread. "Someone please reaffirm that I haven't spent thousands on soulless boxes of metal."

I'm just kidding.

In all seriousness, there is nothing wrong with having pedals. They are great at adding to what you already have and rarely take away. There are a ton of pedals demoed on YouTube where the guitarist sounds pretty shit. Many of them aren't that good on guitar—they bend over pitch, can't keep time, etc.—and don't know how to use pedals, but playing them still makes them smile, and that makes me smile in return. Collecting cool gear, posting pictures for your friends, tidying up your music room, selling and trading old pieces you've had for years, this is all part of the fun of being a musician. Just go with, even if it seems a bit counter-productive after a while. I had a jam today with my gear for the first time in about a week. I've just been playing around in the house unplugged. It reminded me of how sick I sound. I really do sound awesome, and I've worked hard to get there. I feel no shame in wanting pedals, but I'm learning to not rely on them/

[MEC]

A huge part of this depends on what type of music you are writing.

Willie Nelson has written some great songs.
Trent Reznor has also written some great songs.

[rustywire]

A huge part of this depends on what type of music you are writing.

Willie Nelson has written some great songs.
Trent Reznor has also written some great songs.

And there you have it. Plugging direct is well suited for straight-forward rock, blues, jazz, country & yes, even P&W.
But it is extremely boring for noise rock, shoegaze, post-rock/hardcore/punk, ambient etc.

THERE IS NO DELAY OR PHASING AND THAT SIMPLY WILL NOT DO.

Certain pedal combinations have been more sonically inspiring, creative catalysts than any amp I've tried by itself.
Tall Font muff > DMM > Small Stone, for example.

Recently, that above combination has directly lead to multiple riffs and blooming, melodic, rhythmic washes to spring from my fingers and imagination.

Furthermore I would never give credence to a paradox of "pedals vs songwriting" because the 2 are anything but mutually exclusive.

But I will stop short of telling someone else what works best for them or what they *should* be doing.

[Casavettes]

the pedals i end up sticking with are ones i end up seeing more as instruments than just effects.

[friendship]

As for me, of course I love effects and textures, but I need to write something on an acoustic/uneffected electric or a piano, or else I get distracted by all the cool sounds I can make. Using all the effects I want comes in the arrangement stage.

Everyone works in a different way, and you should find the one that works best for you. That's just how I do it.

[Holy Schnikes]

i find that pedals doubles the enjoyment
cause i remember when there was none,or one
so yeah i pick pedals for everything
totally
i think i should add that a new pedal usually
sends me in a new direction
seeing how i get stuck in riff ruts
without new pedals every once in a while
it might get boring

Totally agree.

Only time in my life I've questioned pedals is when I had so many around I had to pick and choose. Then I'd whip up a small board and be like, "Yeah, this is so great! And simple." Then I'll think back to the days of owning very few pedal options and I don't miss those days one bit. Songwriting is obviously the most important thing, bottom line, but pedals inspire me to write in different ways cuz getting stuck in the dreaded "rut" is commonplace for me.