What are your four ‘must-have’ pedals? That is what we ask our guests to share with you in our Four On the Floor podcast segment.
Oz has been an experienced amp tech, designer, and builder for more than 20 years. Has designed and built amps for bands such as Goo Goo Dolls, Blind Melon, Aerosmith, Green Day, etc. Not to mention he helped create one of the best amplifier brands out there and has carried that thinking over to their line of pedalboard cables. Needless to say, he knows great gear. If you are not familiar with 3 Monkeys do yourself a favor and check it out. He gave us a fantastic interview too! You can hear the episode for yourself right here. Oz has several boards he uses for different occasions, but these pedals are his standard go-to’s. In this case, it’s his EVH 1970s board. Check out Oz’s choices for his Four On The Floor.
1. Boss GE-10 EQ Vintage 1970’s
“I love having an EQ up front. It can be a clean boost, or you can set yourself up with a nice shape and blast the hell out of the amp. I’m my case this case I just boost mids and not too much, just enough. This Boss pedal is about the size of a Kleenex box, so you can really see where you are at. Being so large, the sliders are easy to see and move precisely. The funny thing is how quiet an old MXR flanger is with this in front of it. It just kills the noise– impedance matching-who knew?” Check out the Boss GE-10 EQ Vintage 1970’s
2. MXR – M-117 Flanger
“A milkshake for your mind. These can really be addictive so try not to step on it too often. Mine is a vintage unit that I fitted with a 2.1mm dc supply input. I ripped out the little transformer and the AC cord and run the unit off external batteries. It’s worth it just for the hum reduction but I think it sounds better on batteries. These MXR units are classic and the sound great clean or dirty. ” Check out the MXR – M-117 Flanger
3. DIY pedal – EP3 Boost
“This is the boost circuit that was derived from the old Echoplex units, lots of companies make these but I made this one myself. Its a simple one transistor boost with a couple of filters on the output to shape the sound a little. It’s kind of low output as boosts go. Running one into another is where it starts to get interesting so if you have two you know; if not find a friend with another and try it. I run mine on 27 VDC with a 2n5088 transistor inside. A tis58 is the preferred, but I use the lowly 2n5088. Odd note- both of these transistor types were used in the preamp of the old Randall amps used by George Lynch and Dimebag.”
4.MXR-Phase 90 Vintage
“My ear is just so used to this sound–Offensive. Do yourself a favor and get a mix control done by Analog Mike. I have mine in a parallel loop pedal I made for just this reason- why make it easy :). Actually, these sound so different depending upon where you put them and under David Gilmour’s foot is always a good place. I’ve been told he used one on Shine On You Crazy Diamond.” Check out the MXR-Phase 90 Vintage
Huge thanks to Oz and 3 Monkeys for being a guest on our show and please check out 3 Monkeys. We wish him continued success!