Well, I'll be that guy with the enormous pedal board. I run through a Vox wah, then a Boss GE-7, an MXR dyna comp, a Boss BD-2 Blues Driver, then an MXR distortion +, then an MXR 78 Badass Custom Distortion, then a real classic, the DS-1, then a Digitech Hot Rod Distortion, to a Boss PH-3 phaser, an EHX Electric Mistress Chorus-Flanger and finally (drum roll), an MXR carbon copy delay. I think thats 11 total, almost have are distortion.
I don't use much at once though. Each distortion is set differently so they all sound different. Eg. the 78 is more vintage rock with a mid boost while the DS-1 sounds more contemporary. Sometimes I use the MXR Dist. + for rythm playing because its output is a bit lower which is actually convenient with a second guitarist who plays a few leads here and there. The compressor is good for letting cleans ring out and sounds great with dead notes and a wah, it brings the funk in with a neck pickup. The GE-7 is seldom used except to cut the highs back on a solo and boost the signal a bit, but usually it sits there, its probably the most unnecessary pedal. The last three are great for cool effects on clean channels, although the delay sounds good with distortion too. As an example, I can create effects and textures like the Police's Walking on the Moon with the Electric Mistress and the delay pedal. Phaser is used in all sorts of thing like The Rooster from Alice and Chains and all over Floyd's The Wall. Delay is used in a bunch of places: Happiest Day's of our Lives (Floyd), Welcome to the Jungle, Come Together, etc. Wah is just common. Really, those are just fun to play with, jam with, and run drone riffs.
Oh, and running through pedals doesn't hide mistakes or what a lousy player you are except for distortion; if you miss picking a note, it will still sound fine as a hammer. You can easily play whole stings without picking a damn thing and it still sounds great. In most cases, using effects incorrectly or to "hide mistakes" makes it even worse. Delay makes the mistake ring out several times, compression makes mistakes like a missed note very prominent, and phasers, chorus, and flange just sound horrible if they're not used right. All they do is make things sound cool which can be a good way to add a different textures. Bad Brains uses Phasers on a lot of their reggae, especially on CBGB '82 and it brings it to a different level. If your really caught up with not hiding mistakes and playing cleanly, practice and learn songs on a dry clean channel. Anything you play should come out cleanly on a clean signal, if it only sounds good with distortion, then your hiding mistakes.
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