@Rokket
I'll check out the names on YouTube but I'm really not trying to sound like anyone inparticualr, not even ABBA, it's just that the tone they often have is one I wanted to be sure I could at least have a fighting chance at getting.  Their sound isn't just the guitars and amps, it's what the recording engineer did, but it's really just the guitar and amp part I'm clueless about.

@RorrKonn
Yes, exactly, Death Metal is the extreme opposite of ABBA, that's why I'm trying to limit myself to two pedals which, when used together, would give me the widest, most versatile amount of tweakability so that hopefully I can do anything inbetween as well.  I might want to do a DeathMetal style thing that has more of a regular guitar tone to it, or I might want to play something along the styles of ABBA but give it a more full-on Death Metal tone.  I just want to have the minimal amount of external gear I can get away with while still having a good capable setup.

@unbroke-fighter
Thanks for the heads-up on the pedal but it's digital, so I can't use that.  The whole idea of me making changes to my setup is so that I can avoid AD/DA converters in the audio path.  If were to stick that thing among it I might as well just stick to the DAW.  I love my DAW, but when I compare the overall output to analogue setups it's just not the same.  Digital is perfectly good at capturing analogue, but it's no good at being analogue.

The only digital part allowed will be the source (the instrument), but once the signal exits the instrument I want it to stay analogue as it goes through compressors, EQ, Delay, Distortion etc (all must be analogue), until finally it reaches the mixer and tape, which again, ensures it stays analogue until and during it getting recorded.

That's the only way I can get an true analogue master.  To get it into the digital domain, I have a fancy Yamaha AudioMaster CD Recorder to record from analogue direct to CD.  That's the only time it get's converted into digital form, directly from an analogue master once it's been completed  No further processing is done after the transfer, digital is kept out of it.  It's actually quite a cheap but very powerful setup, but I want some guitar processing this time, such as real analogue distortion etc, that's what's missing from my setup and I always appreciate music where, even if it's not a guitar track, a guitar helps it along.

I'm a synth guy but I do love guitars and will learn to play one once I can sit back and relax.

@Helos
That was a good video, I wish more of them would just tell you what's what and get on with it like he does, I enjoyed that!

I'll never be like that where the amount of gear is concerned though, there's no way I'm going to find myself with heaps of amps and pedals.  As far as I'm concerned it's like choosing a compressor, just get the right one that is all-round capable enough and learn it well.  That's the attitude I'll have to take with this guitar stuff.  Can't afford tons of stuff and even if I could, I wouldn't want heaps of pedals and amps.