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What pedals do bands use for post-rock music?
Tons of bands have simillar sound of guitar I want to know how this sound is produced (pedal configuration) and which pedals are used.
I know some basic background like: Boss Digital reverb, Boss Digital Delay, Electro Harmonix Memory Man...what else? what's most common configuration of them?
Example bands: Caspian, Mono, Godspeed, Russian Circles.
Pedals won't get you 100% there. Lots of people obsess over gear thinking that "this badass Zvex pedal will make me sound like Matt Bellamy." While artists tend to have a standard arsenal for particular genre's of music, your technique is really what makes your music shine. I spent years trying to nail down "my sound" and I ended up disappointed with nearly every pedal I purchased in an effort to get there. But enough banter, I can give you some basic ideas.
Most Post-Rock sounds have lots of gain. A pedal won't get you lots, and lots, of gain in the context that you want it to without sounding artificial or blatty. You need a badass amp (triple Rec or better), active pickups, a compressor, and mad power chord chugging skills. That's about it. Sick post-rock rigs are relatively easy to build with a couple thousand dollars. If you want an econo-rig, well you can get there too. Visit your local guitar center and go find the Blackstar section and grab a Schecter or something comparable. DISCLAIMER: Blackstar fans don't hate. I know they have some higher end stuff too.
As for delays, you listed basic industry standards that work across genres. For post-rock you probably don't want anything too analog (although you did list a Memory Man), so you could go with the Replica (T-Rex), DD-7 (Boss), or any decent digital delay.
Modulation is a great way to add a little colour to your tone. Stone Temple Pilots used this religiously and pulled it off pretty well. Jerry Cantrell snuck a pre-gain phaser into some of his guitar work to fatten up the tone--and that worked really well too. I know these bands aren't really post rock, but I don't think anyone can argue that they don't have influence--and these are all industry strategies that tend to span genres.
Compression is nice, but not entirely needed. Most heavy gain amps will compress themselves when dimed, and it's highly likely that any serious compression occurs post-production. Still might be a good thing to consider, but make sure you know how to use one. Lots of people get frustrated with compressors because they don't entirely understand what they do and consequently how to use them.
In closing I'd suspect that a Post-Rock band's trademark sound is achieved via a standard pattern of pedals, their guitar/amplifier combination, and however the production house EQ's them--which honestly tends to be true for most genres these days.
Not sure about the above answers...
What you need is not an amp with huge gain, but instead an amp with lovely cleans. Most post rock bands use heavy reverb and delay, anything from the Boss RV3 (two in one used by Explosions in the Sky at some point) to Eventide's Space/Timefactor or Strymon's seriously high end boxes which can give you an infinite abyss of ambient sound. Modulation effects such as reverb and delay should always be used at the end of a signal chain though, if not through the effects loop, or even in stereo into a separate amp if you're that way inclined to give your sound room to breath.
As has been mentioned, compression is good and should go in your chain where you wish; if you'd like the signal from the guitar to be compressed before it reaches any modulation effects then put it first, or if you want the whole sound compressed, put it at the end.
In response to the comments above about gain, most post rock bands actually rely on fuzz pedals for the huge sounds. Look at This Will Destroy You pedalboard - they use Proco Rats, also Zvex Fuzz Factory. You'll find that a lot fuzz sounds, when put through reverb and delay can become absolutely huge. Where you put it is up to you but I normally put fuzz/drive etc. before the modulation.
This is my set-up when I go live with my post rock band. Since I don't have the money to get the all exclusive strymon pedals, I try creating sounds similar to hammock or Caspian with the pedals I have and it has been helping so far. The chain in which my pedals are, are as follows,
As far as pedals go: Line 6 DL4, Loop stations such as BOSS RC-30 or RC-50 (russian circles use this a lot as they're a trio), Boss digital Delay (DD3 or DD6), and shit tones of reverb.
I hear lots of guys using expression pedals, like digitech whammy, and on the guitar side of things there are a lot of tele's out there; my Thinline Deluxe has a pretty amazing clean tone, and the partial hollow body definitely gives it a warmer more expansive sound.
Yes, peoples playing styles shine through whatever gear they're using but for genres like post-rock where many times the instruments are creating soundscapes rather than steely-dan licks, pedals and effects are going to help produce the types of sounds that are going to expand the sonic possibilities of the instrument beyond just a guitar and amp set up.
Pedal placement really comes into play, if you run a fuzz put that first then wah (if you use that) then a reverb. I get some awesome tone from running a big muff->holy grail->dano flange->daddy o-> ibanez de7->boss dd7. Different dirt pedals, multiple delays. if you can find the ibanez de7 grab one put it on a low delay on the longest setting and crank repeats on echo mode. really lush sounds for cheap money. also tube amp or a tube preamp.
You're looking for an answer that doesn't exist. Post-rock guitarists typically try every pedal and pick the twelve that most help them craft their tone :)
As someone who plays this style, I would mention that having an amp with a high dynamic range is incredibly important. Specifically, when you're hitting the front end of your amp with a wall of smash-mouth, distorted delays and reverbs (that is, if you're not running your modulations/delays through your fx loop), you will quickly be able to tell if your amp is up to the task.
So this is coming from a post-rock bassist:
I use each of these in moderation at times, heavily at times. I run a MXR Carbon Copy for straight delay as it has beautifully dark trails.
For reverb, I use a Nuenabar WET that can be subtle or can create whale songs
For Reverb/Delay I use and Earthquake Devices Dispatch Master. This type of pedal is killer if you want to achieve a post-rock sound. It is very similar to a Boss RV-3. These types of pedals should just be called post-rock-in-a-box.
I run an MXR Bass Fuzz Deluxe for static walls
A Catlainbread SFT Overdrive is great for digging and works really well with the Carbon Copy.
A ditto Looper makes it easier to work as a trio.
I use a script MXR Phase 90 to create breathing swells with my Fuzz pedal
And yes, Post-Rock may be an awful name, but what an amazing genre!
