The Greatest Pedals Of All Time
ALLEN HINDS
IBANEZ TS9 TUBE SCREAMER
“I’ve used one since the early 80s. Even the pedals I use now are a version of that pedal, such as the Xotic AC Comp. The Tube Screamer just works at all levels, in any position. It helped mellow out all the varieties of pickups and amps back in the 80s. In front of a Marshall it’s magic.
“My second choice if I could have one would be an old Buddha wah from the 90s, purple colour. It’s also magic.”
ANDY TIMMONS
KEELEY HALO ANDY TIMMONS DUAL ECHO
“I have to answer this one generally first, then specifically! Echo devices have been a big part of my tone since the early 80s: I’ve used everything from the Maestro EP-3, Roland Space Echo, Deluxe Memory Man, Strymon TimeLine and endless stompboxes and rack units looking for the ultimate echo sound. But now (shameless but very proud plug alert!) I now have my ultimate dual echo signature pedal, the Keeley Halo.
ANDY TIMMONS
“The Halo isn’t specifically replicating any of these vintage units but rather combining all the things I love about them individually into what my ultimate vision of what great echo tone can be. I rely heavily upon on this ‘Halo’ effect – a very tape-like modulated dual echo that diffuses into a reverb-like aura around the note – and I leave it on all the time. It allows me to have a singing, vocal-like quality to my melodies and also acts as kind of a sustain pedal on a piano for my chord solos.”
ANDY WOOD
SUHR WOODSHED COMP
“It really depends on the amp I’m using and the style I’m playing. If it’s country Tele chicken pickin’ stuff into an old Deluxe then it has to be a compressor. Lately, I worked with Kevin Suhr to design a custom compressor called the Woodshed Comp; it’s my favourite.
“If I was needing blues up to hard-rock gain levels into a clean amp then it has to be the Wampler Gearbox. That pedal is a two-in-one overdrive with a Klon-style circuit on one side and a ‘Marshall in a box’ on the other. There is an internal noise gate to get rid of the idle hum, so it’s incredibly versatile.
“If I’m using a big half-stack where the amplifier provides all of the gain, then a killer delay pedal like the UA and Strymon pedals are my favourite delay. However, I can get the job done with a little Boss DD if need be.”
BILL NELSON
LINE 6 POD 2.0
“I haven’t used an analogue pedal or an amplifier for many years, being an early adopter of digital modelling technology. I have digital processors from Zoom, Line 6, DigiTech and Fractal, all of which I use. But despite it being ‘old tech’ now, my favourite is
