Your three must have pedals.

For playing in a band: Archer, Black Zendrive, and a Reverb (Digitech Polaris is on the board, atm).

Playing alone / practicing, I would add a looper (Boss RC-2) and loose the Zendrive.

I switch around all the time, though. I try to keep no more than 5-6 pedals on the board, including here the tuner and the looper. BJFE Honey Bee is another one is often stacked with the Archer and works exceptionally well with SGs.

 

Polytune, dod looking glass, ehx 720 looper.

 

Tuner, channel switcher and a clean boost for solos (Using a Marshall 2525H Mini Jubilee and matching 2x12 cab).

I'll swap the channel switcher for an Xotic SL drive if I'm using my Fender '64 Custom Deluxe reverb.

 

I guess it would have to be my Harley Benton American Sound, which is really just a relabeled Joyo, their clone of the Tech 21 Blonde Fender like preamp, and my Artec SE-EQ8, which is an 8 band graphic equalizer.

And then the plate reverb in my Zoom G1Xon, since it works as my main reverb.

What helps shape my clean tone, which is what I use most, and the pedals that are always on, though I would have a hard time being without my Behringer UT100 Ultra Tremolo, Boss TR-2 clone, and my Berhringer UT300 Ultra Tremolo, Boss TR-2 clone, which I have hooked up to a Boss LS-2, for blending in some cleans and turning it into a deep lush chorus effect.

The tremolo and vibrato, that I use as a chorus with blended in cleans, gives a really lush modulation, that in some aspects sounds a bit like a harmonic tremolo, just with a bit more deep chorushish flavor, and the tremolo alone I use a lot too.

 

My electric pedal board now:

It's pretty simple: Tuner, EQ, Overdrive, Reverb, DI box which sends the signal to the P.A. and the
amp, so the amp is just a stage monitor. These four are essential to my tone, but I could pare them
down to three... Tuner stays, overdrive stays, now what... Chorus might be nice, or delay.
I don't use both at the same time.

Since one of my amps has a good reverb unit, I could get rid of the TC electronics HOF (hall of fame)
reverb pedal, but I hate to, because it's the best reverb I've ever used.

I could replace the EQ pedal with a MXR Dyna Comp on the end of the signal chain... they do
different things, but I know how to make that function. Sometimes I use either of those as a clean
boost. The EQ pedal is useful as a clean boost and also when playing two different guitars through
the same amp and pedal board. I could remove the EQ pedal, and use the Blues Driver as a dirty boost
and that is fine

So maybe that's it: Tuner, Overdrive, Delay... I could play with that minimal board.

 

Here's my acoustic pedal board:

Once again, this is a lot simpler than it looks... Tuner, Body Rez, Reverb, Chorus, Pre-amp D.I...
Does the pre-amp D.I.count as a pedal? It's actually technology from the early oughts, but it's still
useful. My newest instrument could probably play without the pre-amp, and the Body Rez is so new
that I'm not totally sure how to use it. yet, so if I was faced with sudden death if I came onstage with
more than three pedals, I'd keep Tuner, Reverb and the Afterglow Chorus.

If the judges ruled that my Fishman Pro-EQ pre-amp D.I. counts as a "pedal" (even though I don't stomp
it), I'd give up the chorus but not the reverb. So that's my 'backed into a corner" acoustic-electric rig:
Tuner, Reverb, EQ...

Let's go on with the show...

 

Since the amp has reverb I'd say delay and fuzz (if the SG has P90's) . To bump the pedal count to three I'd add a wah-wah.

 

Great question as I usually try to keep the pedals down to 3 for gigs . The two 'must-haves' are -

OD - currently a Voodoo Lab Sparkledrive
Echo - currently TC Electronics Flashback II (but thinking of getting back to the Danelectro DanEcho, the Flashback has way more bells and whistles than what I need, which is just a nice crisp slapback.)

Also sometimes add in -

Wah - Dunlop Crybaby
Compressor - Keeley
Fuzz - Fulltone '70
Chorus - Ibanez, used pretty much only for the dual outputs to two amps, if needed.

Wondering if anyone here has experience with the Dunlop EP103 Echoplex pedal? and with the Wampler Tumnus or clones? Both are pricey, but have been curious about both.

 

With just three pedals it is all down to shape / to get the desired tone. My take would be:

1. Small Sound Big Sound Team Awesome Fuzz Machine
2. Revv G3
3. Boss Heavy Metal HM 2

 

1. Friedman Dirty Shirley
2. Rumble FX Marvel Drive
2. ISP Decimator G-string II

 

Phaser, delay, boost.

 

Wah, tube screamer ish, tuner.

My current is Dunlop Kirk Hammett wah, Ibanez TS9 nodded to 808, Boss TU-2.