Grateful Dead Music Forum

Wondering what pedals Jerry was primarily using during '73-'74 wall of sound era? Hoping to dial in my chain a bit and wanting to keep things as simplified as possible. '73-'74 is far and away my fav. era so figured I'd shoot to approximate the pedals he used during this era.

As always, thanks in advance for help/suggestions...

Cheers and be healthy,
Zach

Colorsound Wah
https://reverb.com/p/colorsound-wah-wah

Yup. Pedal (singular), not Pedals (plural) in those days.

For a short while in the summer of '74 he used the Morley Power Wah Fuzz. Had a cool feature of being able to use the pedal to mix straight and fuzz sounds. Used on things like China Doll (6/20/74), Scarlet Begonias (7/19/74), and Spanish Jam.

https://reverb.com/p/morley-power-wah-f ... rce=google

tdcrjeff wrote: ↑Thu Apr 09, 2020 2:48 pm For a short while in the summer of '74 he used the Morley Power Wah Fuzz. Had a cool feature of being able to use the pedal to mix straight and fuzz sounds. Used on things like China Doll (6/20/74), Scarlet Begonias (7/19/74), and Spanish Jam.

https://reverb.com/p/morley-power-wah-f ... rce=google

nice, always wondered where those fuzz tones came from

Ohh wow, so the consensus is that he was really only using two pedals during '73-'74---Color wah & the Morley fuzz? Wow, this is surprising to me. No distortion at all?

The Morley is a wah plus a "fuzz". And yes, he didn't use the Distortion+ until after the '75 break. Pedals weren't really that common back then.

zkinard wrote: ↑Thu Apr 09, 2020 9:23 amHoping to dial in my chain a bit and wanting to keep things as simplified as possible.

Best of luck with your tone search, Zack. What follows doesn't directly answer your question but FWIW I'm curious have you already dug as deeply as you can into the functionalities of the gear you already own to A-B them with "the real deal" in an effort to reproduce the tones you're seeking that way? Like many here, over the decades, I've spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars chasing the dragon. I have no regrets but, these days, I'll first try dialing in every possible piece of gear I already own/have first before seeking to acquire yet another material object. Sometimes it works and I realize I don't need more guitars/amps/pedals, sometimes not and I'll cop something new.

Jon S. wrote: ↑Mon Apr 13, 2020 10:01 am

zkinard wrote: ↑Thu Apr 09, 2020 9:23 amHoping to dial in my chain a bit and wanting to keep things as simplified as possible.

Best of luck with your tone search, Zack. What follows doesn't directly answer your question but FWIW I'm curious have you already dug as deeply as you can into the functionalities of the gear you already own to A-B them with "the real deal" in an effort to reproduce the tones you're seeking that way? Like many here, over the decades, I've spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars chasing the dragon. I have no regrets but, these days, I'll first try dialing in every possible piece of gear I already own/have first before seeking to acquire yet another material object. Sometimes it works and I realize I don't need more guitars/amps/pedals, sometimes not and I'll cop something new.

Yes, I fully agree. I actually have a POD effects unit at the moment. Not planning to invest in any pedals at this point. Just hoping to approximate for Jerry tones using what this unit has too offer.

That's a good distinction: approximate vs capture. And wise to know what your goals are!!!

IMO higher end units (Fractal, Helix, etc) are just starting to move from approximate to capture. Will be there one day for sure!!

As you explore your POD (which version??) I'd invest most time dialing in your clean tone and get it sounding great and properly responsive to your guitars volume and tone BEFORE adding effects. Also important, I'm guessing the POD has a Lexicon or Studio reverb. Try that!!

It's a POD 500 HDX . It has a ton of effects and reverbs. I'll look into this. Thanks for suggestion.

Here's the link to the Model Gallery for the unit. Gives a nice rundown and description of the effects, amps, etc. being replicated, if you care to take a look.
https://line6.com/support/manuals/podhd500x/

Zach