[jmfranc]

Lets say you are just starting to build your early 80's Jer sounding rig and you can only buy one pedal for the most use possible. What would it by? Lets rule out the Mutron. Speaking of Mutron - is there a similar sounding pedal to the Mutron out there? Not spending $500 for a Mutron if at all possible.

# Boss Octave Divider
# Boss Turbo overdrive
# Boss Super Overdrive
# Boss Equalizer
# Vox wah-wah pedal
# ColorSound Wah
# Octave Divider
# MXR analog delay
# MXR Distortion Plus
# MXR Phase 100

[Kennay]

The best 55 dollars I`ve ever spent in the search for the tone was for tne Electro-Harmonix LPB-1 (linear power booster). As for envelope filters, the Q-tron plus is my favorite right now. I was using an Emma Discumbobulator (recently discontiued by Emma?) but was having trouble copping the Dancin tone with the reverse sweep. I would`nt recommend any of the MXR pedals unless you can score a pre-Dunlop (70`s early 80`s). The Boss OC-3 is a fine pedal and has a distortion feature that I think is pretty cool. Boss generally makes some good quality pedals. Oh! For a distortion pedal I think Brad mentioned that Jerry would have probably dug the Fulltone OCD. Hope this helps.

[playingdead]

Q-Tron = Mutron for the most part.

I would buy either a Boss OD-2r or MXR Distortion + overdrive. That's your second most-used tone playing Dead music.

[Capt Rosebuddy]

Q-Tron = Mutron for the most part.

I would buy either a Boss OD-2r or MXR Distortion + overdrive. That's your second most-used tone playing Dead music.

+1
EH makes the best sounding and the most straight forward to dial in envelope filter on the market today. the Emma version is a
very nice box but it's really a bit expensive and kind of a boutique piece in my opinion.

That said I recently bought the Vox Wah for non Garcia applications and it's a fantastic pedal, I had a dunlop years ago and never really liked it all that much. The vox is really great, it's very warm and is fitting right in with my other rig.

If you can track down a old MXR distortion (just the mustard color box, not necessarily a script logo) get it. It's a great sounding distortion pedal. The new ones are ok too but they are a different circuit and don't quite have the same bite.

[jackr]

[quote="jmfranc"]Speaking of Mutron - is there a similar sounding pedal to the Mutron out there? Not spending $500 for a Mutron if at all possible.

You can try the Emma Discombobulator or the Pigtronix Envelope phaser. ( i own the pigtronix)

[JonnyBoy]

That Envelope phaser is COOL!! But the Qtron + is the best envelope filter I have used yet. The Emma is quite similar, except for the higher gain you can get with the Qtron+. The "+" Has the extra gain stage added to have it sound similar to the mutron, from what I understand.

If you want a suitable distortion for a good price I have a byaing MXR dist+ clone that is great. Its true bypass and cheap too. I put it side by side with the good stuff and you are splitting hairs....

The next distortion pedal in my sights is the Voodoo Labs SPARKLE DRIVE!!!!!

[jefkahn]

The Q-tron+ is definitely cool. Out of the box it gave me Garcia-like sounds. A head at the factory must have known to set it up for me!

[SarnoMusicSolutions]

I guess an older MXR Distortion+ is the obvious pedal with the most use. That's pretty necessary, I'd say. Delay is always nice to have. Phase 100 is cool, but doesn't get tons of use.

This here is probably the best path to a GOOD MXR Distortion+. Easy and fun to build. Much better quality than a new MXR.

http://www.buildyourownclone.com/250.html

And for a cheap MuTron III sound, I still have to give a nod to the Line 6 Otto Filter pedal. It's a digital model of a real Mutron III. It's not perfect, but quite good, and I find it sounds much better than the Micro Q-Tron which I tried and sold. You can find them used for $50 and there's really no better way to get a Mutron III sound for that cheap.

Brad

[keirweir]

MXR Distortion Plus - mixed in with a tube screamer (3-knob) nails that mid 80's distortion tone for me.

[Chuckles]

Something not accounted for is what kind of amp this first pedal would be paired with. If the amp has deep reverb and an overdrive channel that can get a decent 80's crunch, I'd think one would want to go with one of the afore-mentioned envelopes or the Boss OC-2.

Just my $.02...

[jackr]

I have an old mxr distortion plus but replaced it with a Fulltone OCD.

Also not a big fan of the boss octave pedal. Give the Electro harmonix micro pog a test drive if you can.

WHEN WILL THE CONSTANT SEARCH FOR THE ULTIMATE TONE END?!!!!

By the way, I am not going for the Jerry tone. I am going for the Jackr tone.

[jefkahn]

By the way, I am not going for the Jerry tone. I am going for the Jackr tone.

Good for you! But if you stumbled on the Jerry tone somehow, wouldn't you want to keep it?

BTW, the Fulltone Full-Drive 2 is also a sweet overdrive. I haven't played an OCD, but I think they're similar.

[jackr]

Good for you! But if you stumbled on the Jerry tone somehow, wouldn't you want to keep it?

Good point and I surely do love Jerry's tone but as far as tone goes it is not my favorite. I prefer more SRV, Hendrix or Gary Moore as far as pure tone goes.

Nothing beats Jerry's playing though and if he used any of the tones (except for brief moments) of the above mentioned guitarists he would have diminished it. So I think his tone was absolutely perfect for his playing.

[Arnold's Carnival]

To start building an early 80s Jerry Rig, you could do well with a Distoriton+ or the carbon copy, seeing that both of these pedals would get some good use in a multitude of songs/jams.

The other fx would probably see less use IMO and should probably be acquired after a good drive pedal and some delay.

I will say that the Qtron+ is great. I can get useful Dead tones on my LP (without a OBEL) and great tones with the strat (OBEL/UGB)!

Good luck hunting!

[Pete B.]

Lets say you are just starting to build your early 80's Jer sounding rig and you can only buy one pedal for the most use possible. What would it by? Lets rule out the Mutron. Speaking of Mutron - is there a similar sounding pedal to the Mutron out there? Not spending $500 for a Mutron if at all possible.

# Boss Octave Divider
# Boss Turbo overdrive
# Boss Super Overdrive
# Boss Equalizer
# Vox wah-wah pedal
# ColorSound Wah
# Octave Divider
# MXR analog delay
# MXR Distortion Plus
# MXR Phase 100

I would get a Multi-effects unit like a Roland GP-8 (with the FC-100 foot pedal and EV-5 expression pedal). I see them on Craigslist for $50-$100 bucks. You get 8 of the effects you've listed, including an Auto-Wha. It has an effects loop for an Octave pedal.
TS used to use a Toneworks multi effects unit. What was that one?