I don't own a single effects pedal.

[The EAKLE]

Been playing guitar for a few years. First guitar i got (and still my primary guitar) is an Ibanez AF 75 Hollowbody. I mostly play it acoustic, just for practice and jamming, but i do electric most of the time i preform, like at church every week.

Anyway, due to the fact that i mostly play acoustic, ive never even considered a pedal. But after joining the site, watching some videos and lurking these forums, im interested. But i have no idea where to begin.

Like i said, i play mostly acoustic stuff. A lot of Folk. I wouldn't need anything heavy on distortion or grunge sounding. Maybe something sort of bluesy would be interesting. Anyone got some recomendations of pedals i should check out? Videos would be appreciated.

[Folky_Grunge]

Fuzz works very well with folk music, believe it or not.

Example:

 

[IRG]

You might want to try a decent multi effects pedal to experiment with all of the available sounds that are possible. Something like the Line 6 M5 or M9 might be a good start, or the Zoom G3.

Otherwise I might think a delay pedal like a Boss DD-7 would give you quite a lot to experiment with, or a TC Electronics Flashback X4 which has some nice tones to it and a decent looper too.  

I would also look at reverb pedals, something like the Hardwire Supernatural or TCE Trinity are both very nice sounding reverb pedals. Or maybe some modulation, like a simple MXR Phase 90 or a MicroChorus to get started.

But a multi effects would give you a whole lot of options without costing too much and have less cables and such.

[4nd3h]

I love you. Because neutral milk hotel.

This will feel spammy* but the DTF nails these tones... I made sure before I bought one. This thread is from a year before I got the pedal: http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=914285

*spammy because I have one for sale.

[King Rat]

A used boss dd-3 or Bf-2 could be found on the cheaps.. Lots of fun, lots of sounds.

[Fender&EHX4ever]

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The EAKLE wrote:

i play mostly acoustic stuff. A lot of Folk. I wouldn't need anything heavy on distortion or grunge sounding. Maybe something sort of bluesy would be interesting. Anyone got some recomendations of pedals i should check out? 

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I would recommend some analog vibrato and/or tremolo based on this info. I'm personally a huge fan of the EHX Wiggler for that particular combo.

[Fender&EHX4ever]

 

[maxdbro]

Bluesey folkey but with effects..my favorite song by the Byrds..Born to Follow ..check it has beautiful swirls of delays into phasors and god knows some grit too..Nobels do a great phasor with a boss style silent switch and can get slow with regeneration or not and controls for depth and range and speed and like I said before dosn`t have those horrid boutique style loud clicking metal tit buttons wich are tobe avoided at all costs.Unfortunately my favorite chorus pedal has one of these..Tonerider super lush chorus  if you want to sound like Andy Summers...I can ramble on  but good luck all the best..Boss OD20 great underrated pedal for growl and grit dutys.

[american sinner]

Agree with a Zoom g3 or similar. It has most effects you might use and so you can just go at it an experiment. If then you decide you really like a particular effect you can further expore your options. But you'll still have that Zoom which will remain useful as a recording interface and and amp cab simulator (which there aren't a ton of pedals for). 

I use low gain overdrive on acoustic all the time. If you listened to it, you'd never call it overdrive or distortion, at the level I'm using it, but it improves the richness of the sound long before it sounds like it has effects on it. 

[martha_KH]

Zoom MS-50G

This is my suggestion.  Less than $100 and it will let you try all the different types of effects.

[soapbladder]

To go against the grain a little:

A multi-effect pedal could cause effects overload. Early in my playing, exposure to multi-fx (admitidly the far inferior MFX of years ago) turned me off of effects for over a decade. It's hard to get below the surface and really learn how to use something (and see if it fits) when you have too many options.

It might be better to buy one high quality effect; delay (like Phil suggested) would be a good start. There are really nice delays in the 150ish range both analog and digital. Then keep the pedal turned on for two weeks straight or so, while you really learn how to use it, how it reacts to its guitar and amp, and ultimately incorporate it into your sound.

Good luck.

[SnowViking]

I'd also go with a delay and / or a phaser. The phaser gives you some subtle colour to the sound and the delay gives it some depth and stretches out some new possibilities. Maybe try a DD7 delay (Boss) or a TC Flashback, and an MXR / Boss phaser. Also keep it simple, in reality you only need 2-3 effects in a working setup, don't over-complicate the situation with a multieffect..

[Ancient Mariner]

I think I know where you're coming from, and there are a few effects that you'd find really useful. Before we get into what to look at, let me say that there are plenty of very usable effects around for not much money, like the Behringer delay in that video. The other thing is that for many effects, subtlety is the key, rather than maxing everything and ending up with a mess.

OK, my suggested effects would be:

Delay - that Behringer unit is fine. Also look out for a used Danelectro PB&J - just a really nice pristine sounding digital delay.

Chorus - If set carefully, a good chorus will broaden your sound to give it greater depths and highs, making the soundscape wider and adding sparkle. I've just bought an Arion SCH-Z which retail for $50 new and less used. Also look out for the Rocktron Deep Blue, which is a lush and wonderfully transparent chorus. Boss chorus pedals tend to do a more focussed warble that is much less useful unless you want to play Time After Time.

Chorus demo:

Tremelo - Behringer make a superb trem pedal (UT100) that's cheap, versatile and sounds really good. Had one on my board for a long time now.

Trem demo (slightly nasty, but you get the idea)

That will do to start off. With careful shopping you could pick up all 3 types for

[BAXANDALL]

I would suggest changing things up a bit and get a Devi Ever Truly Beautiful Disaster.