I recently bought myself a cheap £100 electrict (acoustic) guitar to learn to play on. It all works fine but it sounds exactly like my woodend acoustic guitar. Im guessing that you actually need something called "an FX pedal" to get that sound. As far as im aware you plug the guitar into the FX pedal then the pedal into the AMP. But the question is, what type of pedal do I need? Ive seen loads on web sites, http://www.dv247.com/icat/33 Ive been looking at the cheap Behringer modles, but will any of these work with my behringer guitar? Is it a Distort Pedal or a Waa Waa pedal I need to get that authenic rock / metal sound? is this the one I want? http://www.dv247.com/invt/29371
Hmm, sounds like your amp only has a clean setting. If you want distortion you'll either need a new amp or a pedal like you suggested. I'd say get a better amp
I only want it for practice, so Ill just go for the cheap pedal option. So is it a Distortion pedal I need and which type?
Yup, any distortion pedal really, might be easier trying some out in a shop. The only one I've really used is a Boss DS1 - sounded good
It really depends on what you're after. If you want more of the classic rock sound, you're more likely to prefer an overdrive pedal to a distortion, which is the more modern-ish rock sound. IMO, the best distortion pedal is the Boss MetalZone. DOD also make good, and fairly cheap, pedals.
Boss MT-2 Metal Zone or ProCo Rat 2 for single distortion effect or the Zoom 505II for a budget multi effects pedal. The MT2 and Rat2 are so solid I'm sure you could kick them around for a month gigging with Motorhead and they would still work. They offer a pretty good distorted sound for all modern grungy hard rock. The Zoom is more of a fun pedal, and being made of plastic could break if gigged with, has a fair number of effects and built in tuner though, so for the price it's quite a steal. I have all three and to be honest only really use the Zoom for phaser effects and as a tuner. Edit: Boss MT-2 £60 Rat 2 £70 Zoom £40 at http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/
Why not invest in a multi-FX unit like the boss ME-50 I love mine to bits, its great for practicing and even use it from time to time when im gigging. Think there going for less than £200 these days and for that you get a lot! The whole thing is broken down into 4 parts, the overdrive/distortion unit from that you can pick a whole load of options ranging from 50's rock and roll right up to korn style metal. Next is your modulation effects like, chorus, phasing, flanger, harmonising function all that stuff. To be honest I only really use the chorus and harmony modes. The comes your delay effects, with anything up to 2s delay which is plenty. You also get a few good effects like the reverse and pan functions are pretty nifty. And like all boss pedals this thing is build like a tank! Then last comes your expression pedal. On that you get a wah wah , resonator, voice effect, ring modulator and two whammy effects one octave up and one down. You also get your standard things like your compressor, noise gate, reverb and built in tuner all as standard. Sure its not as versatile as the GT-6 and no where near as individual units on a pedal board or rack mount system. But for 200 quid you get everything ya need to get going if ya just starting out.
As suggested, your best option is to get a digital multi-fx. You can get a fair few acoustic multi-fx pedals (Zoom 504II Acoustic), although they sound fairly good through a standard electric guitar one (such as the Korg AX10G). The three best makes to go for are Boss, Korg and Zoom, although Digitech and Danelectro are fairly good. If you don't like the sound your amps putting out, try going for either a Line6 POD or a Behringer V-amp. Both have different amp models built in as well as fx options, although they don't come with expression pedals (although I think Line6 do a seperate one for the POD). <A88>
I've got a Line6 Crunchtone, sounds awsome through a huge 4x12 amp! You REALLY need the power adaptor though, pedals really eat up batteries (most take 9v ones) which are kinda expencive.
My bro has a Boss MT-2 and I think it sounds too weak. You have a nice EQ range on it, along with plenty of gain, but it just sounds so bassless, even when the bass is cranked. I saw some modded MT-2 on the net like this one http://www.robertkeeley.com/product.php?id=16. It's a brand new MT-2 but modded so you have a way better tone. Anyway, i'm a fx pedal noob, I only use my amp dist which is pretty awesome (Roland Cube). Your best bet would be to go to the guitar shop and try the stompboxes and just get the one you like. Be sure to mess alot with the EQ so you don't get home with a one-trick poney or something.
I had a Rat 1 or 2, but never cared for the sound (it glew in the dark!) My favorite pedal is the Dallas-Arbiter Fuzzface. Others I've gone through are a phase and flange from DOD. My little 10watt Fender amp did have an overderive, but I don't remember much about it. I sold my electric a while ago, but want a Telecaster someday (soon). I have a Martin Acoustic for the present though, and a Strumstick (screwy 3 stringed weirdness).
The zoom ones are good, I once spent £70 on a chorus pedal and then a few months later bought a Zoom multi for £100 (this is 6-7 years ago), anyway it was wicked, zillions of effects omg pedals for £10-£13?? Boss used to make good ones, better than the Dod ones anyway. Heh, I remember spending many an 'A' level music class with one of these bad things
