swbo101 said:
Been playing for almost 40 years and was never really into effects. I own a wah, phaser, vibrato effect. Used to have a chorus and a delay. To me, and it's just me, it detracts from the sound of the guitar and playing. Used in moderation its great, but I couldn't always have something running. I spend too much time trying to get just a guitar and amp to sound right, to me the raw guitar sound is too good to cover up. If I have to spend all that energy trying to get a whole bunch of effects going and figuring the settings, it would make playing secondary, but that's just me.
Whatever gets you to that sound in your head is what its all about.
That's the beauty of a w/d/w rig. The core guitar amp tone is always present, unmolested, and accessible. The wet part of the rig is in parallel w/ the dry amp, so it doesn't screw up your pure amp tone.
Re: the effects detracting from your playing
I never looked at it that way. To me, the production side of the equation isn't a distraction from playing, nor does it take away from my playing time. I make time for that, because I have always been adventurous when it comes to getting my guitar to sound it's best.
Besides, it NEVER hurts-- knowing the tools of the trade, how to use them, and how to use them efficiently and effectively. At least that's the way I see it. At some point, the knowledge and skill is very useful, in a studio environment, both as an Engineering facet as well as a Production facet.
Bottom line ALL gear, are mere tools available to get a job done. Obviously, not all jobs have the same requirements, so it's best to know what one intends to do, so one can best determine what one needs.
Having Great gear doesn't guarantee Great results, only the promise of a potential for a variety of results-- reliant upon the users ability to know the tools of the trade, so they can select them appropriately, know how to use them, and how to use them efficiently and effectively, and to have access to them (usually the quest of the tone chaser).