The Steel Guitar Forum

I'm looking for "The right sound". My setup doesn't sound quite right. I'm using a Peavey TKO 80 (bass amp, it was given to me so I'm using it), there is no reverb in the amp. I'm thinking I need a reverb pedal, but how does a delay pedal differ and what effect does it have?

Thanks

Try to pickup a pedal that has both delay and reverb such as a used BOSS RV3 then you can have both.

I'll second Jim's suggestion. You really need to hear both to appreciate the difference. In general, the reverb "expands" the note or chord and makes it bigger, like in a large concert hall or in a cave, etc., while a delay adds another strike of the note or chord (or multiple strikes of it) after the first one you hit (so it makes the note repeat itself, not just sustain and seem 'bigger' like the reverb does). But get a pedal with both, as Jim suggests, and you can hear the difference and try mixing them together even.

I played for years with only reverb (Holy Grail), but recently I got a Boss DD-3 digital delay and it really increases the depth & character of the sound--more professional sounding. (I don't think they make the RV-3 anymore.


Derby SD-10 (#316), NV-112, Goodrich, George-L

David...Sent an e-mail concerning the RV3.

Another suggestion is to use a Digitech RP-150. It has Reverb, Delay, Chorus, EQ and a lot more. The price may be even be better than the Boss pedals. There are published sample files here on the forum as well.

I would sell the TKO and buy another amp. I had 2 different TKOs in the early 90s for bass, they did always work, but the tone was uninspiring.

Adding any pedals to the amp might make it sound a little better, but If you have $300 to spend on pedals, nashville 400s and nashville 112 pop up all the time on the forum for around the same price.

Gordon

What Gordon said.

Ditch the TKO.

The single most important thing I bought to put my sound in the ballpark was a Nashville 112. JP