Haven't been here in a long time, but I just thought I would let you guys in on some good sounding gear I've stumbled across this last year or so, though most of you probably don't care, some of you looking for really good gear may want to check some of these things out. It is all a little more expensive then your average boss pedal, but I think they're all well worth saving your money for when you get the chance.
First is the Pigtronix EP Phase Shifter. This is hands down the nicest analog phaser I've played, it's not great for rising and falling sounds, but does amazing rotating speaker sounds and warbly vibratos. It does a uni-vibe almost perfectly and can even cover some mutron sounds when the resonance is maxed out. It is the first pedal I've owned that actually makes my guitar sound like it's underwater. It's also an envelope filter and in it's second mode acts as an auto-wah. Really cool for reggae, funk, and jazz.
MXR Phase 90, I personally find the tone of the Phase 90 a little sweeter than the small stone and it takes up considerably less room on your pedalboard.
Fulltone Clyde Mccoy Wah pedal, this is the perfect hendrix wah. I compared it directly with a Teese Picture wah and the Fulltone's sweep was a little larger and smoother with a little more treble. Which I presonally prefer since I like wahs to stick out in the mix. There's also no volume drop when the wah is engaged, and no tone coloration other than the wah's natural effect.
Analogman Clone Chorus, is the warmest chorus I've played, basically a better version of the small clone. No change in volume and a little more depth, with a depth knob instead of a switch. Also constructed a lot better.
TS808 Tubescreamers, mid-hump, yeah well that's what they sound like and it's a sound I personally prefer in an overdrive. It forces your guitar out of the mix and makes it stand out front. I personally couldn't do without this sound, but it's not suited for everyone. If you like blues or hardrock check one out.
Crowther Hot Cake, this is the most TRANSPARENT distortion you can find. Seriously, there is absolutely zero tone coloration, other than added gain. Your guitar still sounds like YOUR guitar when you use this pedal. The distortion itself is fairly warm and fat, works well in front of clean amps like Twin Reverbs.
Zvex Fuzz Factory, yeah a lot of you already use these, but I only recently got wise enough to buy one. It's a pretty complicated little device with a lot of tonal options, but for me there's a place in the kind of music I play for nearly every sound it has to offer, save some of the ring modulated sounds. It goes from buzzy fuzz face territory to big muff and beyond.
Maxon Analog Delays are amazing analog delays, though I don't have one any longer and am in fact using a Boss DD 3, an AD 999 is definitely on my want list. They have a warmth and decay that you just cant get with digital delays, they don't have as long of delay times, but the sounds you get from one I think more then compensate for this.
After a lot of gear swapping I've settled on playing stratocasters almost exclusively. I know most of you here probably tend to shy away from them because they are indeed so generic, but for me they're the best guitars I've yet to find that can give you sparkly and glassy tones that most guitars seem to lack altogether. But this also has largely to do with the pickups I'm using...
Anyone looking for great clean tones to nice loud Mid Rangey distortion should check out Rio Grande pickups. I have two Muy Grande's and a Stelly in a cheap Mexican Strat that I think sounds amazing. It's great for blues and rock but would never really be suitable for metal. Though you could coax some nice heavy metal lead sounds out of one.
I like tube amps (who doesn't), but I think Hot Rod Deville's are pretty amazing workhorses for their price and can get you a whole lot of tone for the price. Though I prefer twin reverbs, they're a little bit more pricey and most people won't be able to afford them.
The reason I post all this is not to brag, most of this equipment has taken me years and years to accumulate, these are simply those little pieces of gear I've seemed to have had the most success with in achieving tones and textures I personally look for when I hear a guitar being played. Of course this is all dependent on preference so I think it would be important to note that I look up to Hendrix, Page, Clapton, Santana, SRV, Jeff Beck, John Frusciante, and Johnny Greenwood when I think about how a guitar should sound. If you're not after those tones yourself then maybe this won't be of any use, but if you are then I hope some of these suggestions will point you in the right direction.
