Looking for a basic blues pedal

Tube amp.

Maybe a Tube Screamer (by Ibanez) for more overdrive.

If you have a tube amp, try the Behringer TO800. Some people compare it to the Ibanez Tube Screamer. I've never tried a Tube Screamer myself, but I really like my TO800 with my Epiphone Valve Standard. And for $30, it's worth a shot.
http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-Vintage-Tube-Sound-Overdrive-Effects/dp/B000KJZX8A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=musical-instruments&qid=1199905678&sr=8-1

a tube amp and the inexpensive Boss OD1 will get you there too.

I bought the Behringer T0800 after Wes Inman recommended it and really like it. Very inexpensive too!
Robbie

Thanks for the info guys.

Yep, I would recommend the TO800 to anybody, it is a great pedal, really my favorite. It is not a distortion pedal, it is overdrive. At lowest settings you get a nice mild breakup, at higher settings you get a very vintage Marshall-like crunch. It has a very smooth tone.

Here is a recording I posted in Hear Here using the TO800 and Les Paul Studio. There are two tracks of rhythm guitar with gain about half up using the bridge pickup. For the lead guitar I used the neck pickup, added a short delay and simply turned up the volume a little. But you can hear how fluid and smooth this pedal sounds.

http://forums.guitarnoise.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=37048

The more you play this pedal, the more you like it. :D

The one I like over the Beringer, the Boss, or the Tube Screamer is the Rocktron Austin Gold. Absolutely killer overdrive pedal. Dirt cheap, too. This is the pedal I use in my blues band.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Rocktron-Austin-Gold-Overdrive-Pedal?sku=154226

Cheers!

Strat

Wow. Looks like people like the tube screamer for blues. I'm almost sorry I got the Boss BD-2. Would it be worth it to switch from the boss to the tube screamer?? I use a Fender Blues Jr. right now.

Would it be worth it to switch from the boss to the tube screamer??

Here's a good comparison of a Tube Screamer clone vs. a BD2 vs. a Marshall Bluesbreaker clone:

Let your ears decide. :)

Wow. Looks like people like the tube screamer for blues. I'm almost sorry I got the Boss BD-2. Would it be worth it to switch from the boss to the tube screamer?? I use a Fender Blues Jr. right now.

dont be sorry. keep them both.
for fun my buddy hooked up two overdrive pedals. wow.

I have/continue to build a collection of distortion/overdrive pedals for different uses.

The Tubescreamer TS808 is a great pedal (used extensively by SRV, so check any of his live stuff for that through a Fender amp). The Tubescreamer TS9 is a more modern versh of that, but a lot of blues-heads would forgo the TS9 and look for second hand (and v. expensive) TS808s back before Ibanez rereleased the TS808s, so try both models if you're looking to buy and go with your ears not with whatever spiel the salesman tries to sell you with.

But, as I've said on other threads on here, I really love the Marshall Bluesbreaker, which is a cracking pedal for a very ow price. I have the Marshall JTM45 combo amp it is modelled on, and use the pedal to help dial-in that kind of tone when I'm using solid state amps or tube amps I'm unfamiliar with for gigs/jams. The JTM45 combo was used by Clapton on the Bluesbreakers Beano album, with a Les Paul guitar and the amp cranked way up. The Bluesbreaker pedal has two options. One is a clean volume boost, great for solos or for use on quiet amps. The 'blues' mode gives you the overdriven tone,a nd you can dial-in how much overdrive you want. Its probably the easiest and most reliable pedal I've used, and a definite manstay of my collection.

I also have other distortion/overdrive pedals for tones that move away from the classic blues/tube sound.

I've heard some very good stuff about the Blackstar range of pedals, which use tubes to generate 'natural' overdrive and should therefore give you good blues tones. I think the 'recommended'' pedal in their range for blues would be the Blackstar H-Distx if memory serves me well.

hope this helps.

I also have the Marshall Bluesbreaker over-drive pedal. i bought it from a friend of mine that had several other over drive pedals and didn't want it anymore. I think I prefer the BD2 over the marshall but I'll give it another shot.

i don't like behringer equipment. i bought a beringer hell babe wah used for 10 bucks, and for 10 bucks, it's not bad, but honestly, it's not that good, and i wouldn't want to gig or record with it.

I usually just use my lil marshall, but Bad Monkey sounds pretty chirpy to me.

I love Bad monkey!