Hey everyone, I’m a bit out of the loop with these pedals, and I’m trying to understand the ways people are using them.
I understand what they do, I’m just wondering why someone would use a pedal instead of just setting on an amp that has the gain or tone shaping characteristics that they’re looking for.
In particular, because the pedal then (presumably) gets plugged into the amps preamp section anyway, which is going to colour the sound again. So then, would the optimum use be to plug into a really transparent, clean amp?
To be clear, I’m talking about pedals like the UA Ruby, Zvex box of rock, Benson Preamp. Not so much about Helix, ToneX, etc. I know the latter are more like an all-in-one recording solution, so you can DI and still get great sounds at home, but the former? I’m not so sure what they’re best used for!
The major factors are price, size/weight, a flexibility. You would only need to plug them into a poweramp and CAB if the pedal doesn’t have CAB sim internally. You could plug in headphones (you’re in an apartment and/or it’s late and/or there are infants sleeping), or FRFR/PA speakers/monitors (I have plugged my Mustang Micro into my computer speakers and it sounds fine). A lot of them have different cab simulations or support loading custom IRs, so you can essentially change out speakers on the fly. So both cheaper and easier than lugging an equivalent set of real amps and cabs to a gig, or even recording at home. You mention DI as a differentiator between AIAB pedals and Helix/ToneX. But pedals like Strymon Iridium, Walrus ACS-1, and the new TC Electronic Ampworx lines all do DI too.
