Weird, Modern, Boutique Pedals

[Justin Shaw]

I don't like traditional guitar pedal effects, except for delay, reverb, and compression. This means that I don't really look around at pedals much. However recently I have noticed that some companies like Chase Bliss and Hologram have been coming out with pedals that apply algorithms to long buffers. The effects involve putting what you play in a buffer and then chopping it up, reordering it, etc. These sounds are like algorithmic multi-delays of some sort, with reverbs, so I'm interested in them. However they are expensive and complicated, and I'm really not sure what they would be like with steel sounds. There are some demos of some of them with steel playing, but I was very underwhelmed by the steel demos because of the low quality of the playing and/or the effect being mixed much too high. Has anyone tried any of these with pedal steel?

• Hologram Microcosm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esczZplJmKg
  Chase Bliss Mood https://youtu.be/aflvwVS_rXE?t=239
  Chase Bliss Dark World https://youtu.be/gB85mb-nwho?t=577

I think they probably do too much, and I'd end up turning them down until they were basically a light delay or reverb or whatever haha.

[Nick Fryer]

Hey Justin -

Chase Bliss and other new companies are definitely making some really wild stuff. I don’t use a lot of crazy pedals w steel but I bet Cody Farwell could shed some light on this topic. I’ve heard him doing some really creative and musical stuff with some pretty wild sounds. I’ll point Cody over to this thread and see if he can add some of his expertise here.

- NF

[Justin Shaw]

Thanks Nick I appreciate it!

[Tal Herbsman]

Check out O'Rourke with a boss synth pedal. The last few are with steel guitar:


https://youtu.be/oTDDdnKWxDc?si=OqU1d044uHVy63up

It's a fun pedal but, unlike orourke, I'm not creative enough to figure out a musical use for it.

Another chase bliss type manufacturer that I think is a little less overwhelming, but in the same vein, is drolo

I've got this guy:

https://drolofx.com/product/stammen/

It makes for really excellent drones if you're into that kind of thing.

[Rick Heins]

I've been using Chase Bliss Mood and Generation Loss pedals on my new ambient pedalboard and I'm having so much fun. My playing is simplified while playing them but you can't really be too busy when the pedals are doing their thing.

Anyways, I plan on doing an ambient steel album using these pedals, they give me such inspiration to break out of the traditional things I would do on my Emmons and I welcome it. Apologies for the side video, didn't realize that live videos don't autocorrect the camera.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyrOe6ZS63I/

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzkAWGHPq1E/

[Justin Shaw]

Thanks Tal & Rick, this is the exact kind of info I was hoping for!

It seems to me that volume swells go very well with these types of pedals, but I don't love the sound of sliding with them. It seems like there's all kinds of cool sound design, drone, and ambient options they give you, but there's so much effect being produced that I can understand why you'd have to really pull back on how much you are playing.

And cool playing Rick!

[Cody Farwell]

I use a lot of pedals with my steel for recording and performing live. I have quite a few from Chase Bliss- Condor, Mood mk2, Warped Vinyl, Blooper, & have the Reverse Mode C arriving in a few days. They're very cool pedals that allow you to get really otherworldly sounds, but using them with steel kinda creates a whole extra layer of difficulty.
It's important to spend a lot of time listening to what the pedal is doing so you can know how to use it. Also helps to get a midi controller so you can save presets and keep track of sounds that work together with pedals.
It is nice to make droney ambient stuff with steel, but there's a lot more you can do with those pedals. One of the bands I perform with was wanting combo organ sounds. After a spending some time tweaking & plugging in some expression pedals, I got some very convincing organ sound with my steel that was a lot more fun for me than lugging around an extra keyboard.

Here's a short clip of the Mood Mk2 & Blooper with my Clinesmith frypan: https://www.instagram.com/p/CxEj6wgJUwZ/?img_index=6
Here's one from 2020, can't remember what I was using at the time: https://youtu.be/z2U8ltjC-4g

[Jim Fogarty]

I picked up a Mood 2 and really like it., but am having a hard time imagining how I'll use it live. I guess getting a midi controller and using presets would be my best bet? Otherwise, it feels overwhelming.......although a great idea-maker in the studio.

[Justin Shaw]

Thanks Cody & Jim, I really appreciate the feedback!

I agree these pedals seem to do a lot per note you play. After your videos, Cody, I think for myself I'd have a pretty narrow use case for these, but ones I'd really like. I mean that I'd have to carefully marry the pedal settings to what I was playing so that the effect wasn't too much or too little for what I was trying to do. It does seem like there's a tremendous amount you can do with these things, especially in combination. I think I might buy one every few months so I have some time to decide what I like about them, and only have to worry about combinations with one new addition at a time.

Normally I stick to reverb, delay, compression, but these are interesting.

[Mike Neer]

I’ve been through a ton of pedals and some of my favorites are the Moogerfooger Ring Mod and the Low Pass Filter as well Mutron Phase II, Pladask Elektrisk Fabrikat, Whammy V, jeez, too many to list.

What I’ve found though is that I dig MIDI steel guitar using software and the many different effects and instruments available as plugins. The sky is the limit. Of course, it’s also expensive because you need a good laptop and maybe even a separate amp/powered speaker. But having been on both ends of the spectrum, I really enjoy the unlimited possibilities of midi.

[Gordon Hartin]

Hey Justin,

I had the Hologram Infinite Jets pedal a few years ago and sold it, was a lot of fun, but hard to get it to be consistent. I might dial in a sound, and never be able to get it back. Here is an example of me noodling around with it. The pulsing sound was coming from my Trem on my Strymon Flint.
https://soundcloud.com/gordeaux-1/good-morning-hologram

The Moog Murf Pedal is a fun one for steel..here is another noodle, they don't make them anymore so you'd have to pick up a used one.
https://soundcloud.com/gordeaux-1/moog- ... edal-steel

Some stuff i was using in the past.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzEhsS-2EBU&t=1s

Gordon

[Justin Shaw]

Mike MIDI with steel sounds really interesting, but how do you set that up? I have a midi controller keyboard that I use for piano parts, but do you need some kind of special pickup or something for steel? Also ring mods with slide can sound pretty neat. I saw Joey Landreth using one.

Thanks for the response and clips Gordon, sounds good! I'm continually intrigued by all these different sounds. However I still haven't pulled the trigger. Every time I look at putting together a board it adds up to enough that I would be a significant way to saving up to just buy another steel, haha.

[James Collett]

An EHX Q-tron is a fun effect with steel. Combined with the volume pedal (run volume pedal first into the Q-tron) you can get a range of vowel textures. I see you didn't list overdrive/distortion in your list of preferred effects, but using the volume pedal to push an overdrive can be fun too--you can push into it a little harder to get some breakup, or ack off to keep it clean. Takes some practice and finesse, though (of which I have little, lol).