thewoodenman

This was the first pedal I ever bought. It's like a "greatest hits" of Overdrive/Distortion pedals. All the Boss faves are there, OD1/2, Blues Driver, DS1/2, HM2/MT2 and a load of other fuzz/distortions from other manufacturers, big muff pi, RAT, fuzz face. Best thing about it is the range of choices, the biggest limitation is that it's digital/modulated and you can't chain the pedals together. For a first pedal it has given me a good primer on the other pedals which has helped me work out what I needed to buy next.

I believe it's a clone of the Boss CE-2. Simple and effective analogue pedal which works perfectly for producing the sounds of the cure, the police, depeche mode etc. Nothing amazing going on here, but half the price of it's Boss brother and with analogue circuitry and true bypass, this is as good as it gets for under <£50 to be honest.

This one is a mixed bag for me, on one hand it's an authentic take on the Boss HM-2 - turn all the dials up to 11 and you have an instant swedish chainsaw. On the other, it's noisy as all heck (hissing/static) sometimes it can be hard to make out the tones through the distortion (unless thats what you want..!) I found it most useful as a clean boost/equaliser with distortion off actually. The equaliser has high, low and 2 mids. You will have to fiddle with it a bit to get the tone you want out of it, but it's a solid <£20 addition to your board.

Perfectly pitched as a starter or intermediate instrument, the epiphone les paul studio features open alnico humbucker pickups which crunch and feel great for standard play, but which also hold up to heavier rock/metal stuff. Feels good, but a little lighter than a regular les paul. Retails for around £250-300 (cheaper on ebay/reverb) I doubt I'll need to upgrade for some time to be honest.

I think this one is a clone of the Boss CS-3 gives both compression and sustain. This is a simple effect and when "on" you notice the difference to your tone immediately. I got mine for around £25 so a complete bargain given that the boss equivalent goes for around £70-£90. Compressors work by making loud noises softer and quiet noises harder. Can also be used as a clean boost. Only real downpoints are that I *think* it's neither true-bypass nor analogue - Given that a compressor usually goes first in your chain - who cares really?!

The Boss ME-20 sports 14 different effects and a memory bank of 30 slots. On the boss site they present it as "the same as three Boss pedals side by side" and to be honest that's not far wrong. The pedal allows Overdrive/distortion + Modulation + Delay/Reverb in order and as a standalone it's pretty good. A great "one size fits all" starter pack for guitarists, or if you just can't be bothered buying separate Phaser/Tremolo/Flanger/Chorus pedals for convenience. Personally I have my own Overdrive/Distortion pedals and really use the modulation and delay at the end of my pedal chain. The unit is chunky and feels like lego, not plasticy at all should be able to take a knock.

Picked up this amp second hand, it has a few interesting features. 2 channels, one clean one driven, built in FX. I have to be honest, I'm not too into the driven setting (it's a bit like an OD-1) or the effects which are basic at best. I use the clean channel and get all my dirt and modulation from pedals. For home use or jam sessions it's perfectly fine. Would not really hold up too well live or gigging though.