Ah - cool; that makes sense. But what about my push back on your statement that “no guitarist worth their salt uses effects”?
I know that a tech who was interviewed in Vintage Guitar recently said that he did exactly what you are describing. I think it may have been Brad Paisley’s tech. He described doing all kinds of switching and tweaking from the sidelines.
If you read it again, I said they aren’t overly concerned about them, I didn’t say they don’t use them. I just dont think they obsess about them.
One thing I’ve noticed over the years is this: the really good guitarists are interested in jamming first and fiddling with effects second. The guys who spend 45 minutes fussing with with their racks before they can play anything never turn out to be more than mediocre.
Now I’m curious. Do you consider Eric Johnson to be a good player? Are you aware of his somewhat obsessive attention to the components in his rig? Or are you just talking about people you have jammed with in bars or basements?
I saw an interview (in Guitar Player?) with EVH where he said that he didn’t use any effects from the stage, that the sound engineer handled it all. Don’t remember how many there were, however.
Hey, cut me some slack here! I have 8 kids, a full time job (to feed same), and I try to keep up with playing and posting the best I can in my “free” time. 
Welcome back!
Well, I’m certainly mediocre, but I try to do my fussing before rehearsal and WAY before the gig. That way I can just play, and if I feel the need for chorus, or echo, or whatever, I can just stomp or fade, as the case may be, whatever I want for that particular moment. I don’t try to duplicate anything from a recording, but I like a little variety now and again.
I have a rack POD, which is my main module. I run that direct into the board with the speaker simulator on. (I can hear WordMan hitting the floor in a faint even now :)) I also have an old harmonizer that I use for the octaves and an occasional harmonized lead line.
I’m talking about people I’ve jammed with personally. I’m aware of some wel-known guitarists who are effects obsessed. Satriani and Vai both come to mind. I think by and large they tend to be exceptions, though. Among everyday bar bands musicians, though, the guys with the most effects are like the hackers on the golf course with the most expensive clubs and gloves etc. It doesn’t really make them any better, and Tiger Woods could still shoot under par with the cheapest crap out of the bin. Effects are enhancers. They don’t make the difference.
I guess I’m trying to say worry more about playing well, than what you’re playing through. Eric Johnson and Steve Vai and Joe Satriani all got good first and effects driven second.
What!? You mean the fact that he can hear if there are Alkaline batteries in his effects or not? 
I am not sure what to say, **Dio **- of course I agree that either you can play or you can’t - that’s a fundamental. But pro players - who clearly CAN play - can be completely obsessed with effects. How do you reconcile that?
Ah, but I recall reading that **TW **is obsessed with his clubs - they are made with a special grind and are a very, very big deal to him. I read that in Sports Illustrated at a doctor’s office, so can’t provide an easy cite…
Again - can he play? Heck yes. Can he play better than most everyone else using any clubs he picks up? Sure. But is he a gear geek in his world? Yep…
I remember reading an interview with EVH once where he was talking about when Van Halen was first starting ti hit it big and were opening for Ted Nugent. Nugent heard Eddie at a sound check and was blown away (Eddie had not become EDDIE yet). After standing there with a WTF expression on his face for a while, Nugent asked Eddie if he could jam through his gear. Eddie said yes and Ted started jamming. Eddie said he still sounded exactly like Ted Nugent.
The name of this band wouldn’t happen to be Fresh Air would it?
Ahhhhh!!! whomp
Again, I’m drawing somewhat of a distinction between amateurs and pros here. If a relative newbie is asking whether he should buy the $2000 driver or the $200 driver, I’m going to say to buy the cheap one.
For an amateur musician, I’m saying keep it simple with the effects for a while. You don’t want to get too dependent on them, and honestly, at a bar band level you don’t really need them.
I admit to a bias against effects driven playing, though.
And in the bush leagues that’s an important point. How many letters have I read in various guitar magazines where someone writes in and says “I’m going crazy trying to figure out how X gets X sound/tone on song X. I’ve tried every pedal and processor out there and I can’t nail that sound.” and the answer comes back…
Hand strength, technique, and volume.
All good. Noobs should not use effects as a crutch, but reasonably decent players can use them as spice on the entree - and some can even make them central to the flavor of their meal!!
A couple of observations. One, I think we all agree that a great player can make great sounds with mediocre equipment and few or no effects, just like Tiger could par most courses using Wal-Mart clubs. I think we would all probably agree that these great players in fact do not do this. Most people doing anything at a very high level are absolute freaks about the tools they use to do their work, and rightfully so.
Two, when I first joined that cover band I mentioned above, I was convinced that learning the exact chords and notes was the most important thing I had to do as a guitarist in such a band. My band-mates gradually convinced me that most of our audience could not hum or whistle the guitar solo to whatever Disney-movie travesty we were playing, but they knew what the overall tone was supposed to be. I continued to play my parts faithfully, but I began to acquire pedals.
Sorry, Flyhalf, we were called The Night. I never liked the name. We played our last gig on New Year’s Eve, 1999, at Hanover Country Club, and yes, we played the Prince song.
Yep - the drunks want to hear it sound right, man!!!
Nothing like a little road work to learn that lesson…it’s like playing long, indulgent leads at a dance gig…drunks who wanna dance and get lucky don’t like those kinds of leads…