Pedal suggestions to give edge to nylon

[Kalani]

Hi Everybody,

I got a 4-hr wedding-reception gig coming up shortly and was wondering what kind of pedal I could possibly use to give a little edge to my nylon-string Godin when it comes time for dance music? It's a trio with a bass player and percussionist. Of course we'll be playing the classics---Mustang Sally, Ain't Too Proud to Beg, Sweet Home Alabama etc...along with Bruno Mars, Jack Johnson, etc...

Any suggestions for a small, single pedal?

[benderman57]

Best bet I would say is an EQ pedal. You could shape the tone a little more and also give it a little volume bump.

[Paultergeist]

Originally Posted by Kalani

....what kind of pedal I could possibly use to give a little edge to my nylon-string Godin when it comes time for dance music?

I am not sure what exactly you mean by "edge," but it sounds to me that you might want this nylon-string guitar to sound a little more 'electric?' I also play a lot of nylon-strung guitars, and I have been surprised to discover that careful use of a distortion pedal can sometimes work very nicely with an under-saddle transducer-equipped nylon string guitar. If you can find friends who play electric and can loan you a "dirt box" or two, I say give it a try.

[Kalani]

Paultergeist: Yes, that's what I'm looking for. Do you think an Overdrive pedal work just as well as a Distortion pedal?

Benderman57: I have the Fishman Platinum Pro and the boost feature works well enough but I'm looking for a little grittier sound for the solos.

Thanks for the responses!

[krisls]

Given you already have Bass and Percussion I would look more to air/atmosphere. First choice would be a Delay... think Sting.. 'Fragile' sorta sound.

A subtle delay ads a lot of feel to songs if used judiciously.

Kris

[Paultergeist]

Originally Posted by Kalani

Paultergeist: Yes, that's what I'm looking for. Do you think an Overdrive pedal work just as well as a Distortion?

Thanks for the responses!

To a certain degree, these are different names for the same / similar pedal -- often over-lapping functions depending upon specific pedal. My advice is to try a couple -- borrow from friends, go to a music store, etc., and see what your ears tell you.

[Kalani]

Will do! Been reading online that an overdrive pedal is really made to go with an amp (to overdrive it) so it won't sound good going straight from the pedal to the PA. Also, the articles I found on the subject all recommended going to an amp first for an acoustic using distortion or you'll also get feedback problems. The artists I found online using distortion/overdrive with an acoustic all use amps before the PA. But I'm still going to try just a pedal and see for myself as I have a Godin which is a semi-solid body and not a pure acoustic. I emailed TC Electronic for their pedal recommendation and got a quick response---the Mojomojo. I'll report back.

[DenverSteve]

I sometimes use the DigiTech RP50 Digital Amp Modeling Effect Unit. You can add different levels of effects on different pre-set channels. This allows you to have 40 personally set (saved) and 40 factory pre-set "shapes" for different songs. Just pedal up or down to the channel that has the setting that you want for a particular song. You can set it for- amp modeling, delay; reverb; Auto Wah; Chorus; Compressor; Flanger; Phaser; Tremolo; Vibrato; Rotary Speaker; Pitch Shift; Whammy... or none. You can dial up or down any effect to get it where you want it and save it. It has a silencer and tuner on board as well. Unlike many pedals, it is very easy to use.

[lschwart]

I haven't had a lot of success using distortion or overdrive with nylon string, but reverb and delay work beautifully, and I've also enjoyed tremolo. I use the reverbs on my amps and mixers mostly and a Flashback delay. For now, I've been using the tremolo on a little Zoom MS-50G, but I'm about to buy an Empress Tremolo 2 instead for better sound and more flexibility.

Another different sort of thing that works very well is the Electro-Harmonics Mel 9 pedal. It's a Mellotron emulator that takes your guitar signal and triggers some very beautifully rendered Mellotron sounds. The key here for acoustic guitars is the fact that the pedal allows you to mix the Mellotron sound with your pure acoustic signal (rather than just replacing one with the other), and you can also control the attack and the sustain, so its possible to give the effect of being accompanied by the Mellotron (a bank of taped cellos, flutes, strings, even voices, etc.). Tracks very well with a nylon string guitar using an undersaddle pickup. Sounds particularly good with the Tape Delay sound on the Flashback. All of that tape saturation is really nice!

I've been experimenting with Electro-Harmonics' sitar emulator, too (the Ravish Sitar pedal), but so far it works better with my steel string than my nylon.

Louis

[Kalani]

Thanks for your ideas!

PastorSteve: the Digitech looks a little too big. Not much real estate left on my pedalboard!

Louis: Looking for a dirtier sound for solos and rhythm on some songs. I like the size of that Zoom MS-50G. May have to check it out!

[lschwart]

Originally Posted by Kalani

Thanks for your ideas!

PastorSteve: the Digitech looks a little too big. Not much real estate left on my pedalboard!

Louis: Looking for a dirtier sound for solos and rhythm on some songs. I like the size of that Zoom MS-50G. May have to check it out!

It's not bad-sounding, and it has a lot of options, including amp emulations. The only drawback (in addition to the fact that many dedicated pedals do sound better) is that the interface takes some time to get a handle on. I lost patience trying to adjust the distortion and overdrive options to work well with nylon strings. There may be a way to do it better in there somewhere, but I never quite found it! When I want a little extra bite, I use the saxophone setting on the Mel 9 or hit the Ravish Sitar with the lead voice up loud, but it's all a work in progress.....

Louis

[hotroad]

Digitech Polara Reverb Plus. Awesome nylon classical guitar tones. Much more than your fathers reverb.

[lschwart]

Been poking around youtube and came across this. Might be interesting for anyone considering the Digitech Polara for big wet and shimmery reverb, plus delay and chorus on nylon string:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYV6vRFrmzM

Louis

[maxtheaxe]

It also sounds as though you might benefit from some compression to punch up dynamics and add some sustain. I like the old standby Boss CS-3 pedal, and for strictly acoustic stuff I use an ART Tube-Pac, which is a 12ax7 tube mic preamp that also has an optical compressor.