Pedalboard Advice

cobascis · Post by **cobascis** » Mon Feb 11, 2013 10:48 pm

Can you ever really be done? This is a close as I've ever come to being satisfied. It sorely lacks modulation but I can't see myself using modulation except for noisemaking. Maybe I could fit in a nano size pedal on here somewhere or swap a fuzz out. What would you change? I've got my favorite digital delay sound (Boss DD-2), favorite dark analog delay (AD9), and a super functional combo of those two sounds (MLJr). The only pedal on here I don't really like is the Rat... haven't been able to get a good sound out of it in ages. Whaddja think?

chemistforhire · Post by **chemistforhire** » Tue Feb 12, 2013 12:26 am

Get rid of the Rat and a fuzz and add an expression pedal most likely a volume pedal and a looper. But those are big pedals that will most likely occupy more space than you are willing to give up.

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Tue Feb 12, 2013 12:44 am

the e.c. thunder was one of my fav pedals of all time! good choice!

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Tue Feb 12, 2013 12:47 am

I am not sure you can ever really be done, but I definitely go through phases. My home board is done for the most part except for a POG2 and maybe a Rams Head Muff. Constantly taking 2 steps forward and 1 step back.

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Tue Feb 12, 2013 11:03 am

I go through phases with regards to what's on my board but somewhere between using 5 pedals anytime I plugged in and using no pedals 99% of the time I did indeed come to the conclusion that you can never really be "done", unless you just buckle down and force yourself to pull sounds out of your ass instead of hundreds of dollars of boxes mounted to an expensive board with an expensive power supply and an annoying amount of patch cable maintenance/replacement on the brain. I know this minimalism attitude carries plenty of cliches, but let's face it: nothing is/isn't a cliche on an internet forum.
I like having a lot of pedals around the house or in a recording environment, but when I look at my pedalboard now I just envision what a pain in the ass it would be to force all 5 boxes into a single set of material, and wonder how they all got on there in the first place... pure decadence! I have a pedalboard because it felt cooler at one point in my life, like I was flying a space shuttle or hunkered over a mixing desk (which incidentally I actually DO now, the mixing desks anyway).

Switching to single-channel valve amps started this (goodbye distortion pedals), and switching to single-pickup hardtail guitars finished it (hello onboard volume and tone knobs/bending your neck around like a madman). I really feel that left to your own devices without relying on gear-specific quirks, your music will ALWAYS be more raw and interesting than if you've relied on some modulation effect for "inspiration". I still do that, but it's a cop-out in my case nowadays. I need another riff idea, maybe I'll base one off this wobby sound or my Jaguar's trem, etc...

I'll probably always keep a booster and/or dirt pedal handy live, naturally. Can't twiddle with the volume knob EVERY time, plus I like the way my Marshall sounds boosted, or the character of certain fuzz pedals.

avj · Post by **avj** » Fri Feb 15, 2013 10:37 pm

I think of my own set of gear as ever-evolving. To call a setup "complete" or "finished" is a fool's errand. I was reading the "oldest/newest pedalboard" thread and wondering if I could find a photo of my very first setup, but it occurred to me one doesn't exist, because I didn't give a shit about what I was using for the first few years of playing.

I was also just searching shortscale for a post that contained a recent shot of my pedalboard for different thread, and I found an old post with a pedalboard, amp, and guitar setup that's not drastically different from what I use at this moment. I said something like, "I've never been more happy with my setup," which I clearly said to provide future-me with megalols.

I've given up on riding the decadence/minimalism rollercoaster, as both are equally unsatisfying for everyone at some point. My main focus right now is trying to make my live setup as manageable as possible by whatever means necessary. Although it may have been inevitable, stupid paul_ here bears some blame for planting a seed with a throwaway line that resonated heavily with me some years ago. (My post slightly earlier in that discussion.) It's a completely different band and role for me now, but my setup has grown from a guitar, pedalboard, and combo amp to guitar, pedalboard, head, cabinet, monophonic analog synth in giant flight case, polyphonic hybrid synth in giant flight case, two-tier keyboard stand, briefcase for cables/small mixer/pedals for synth, and powered speaker for synths (which I leave behind when playing venues with decent sound support).

I have no idea what point I was trying to make here, but I guess it's to use whatever the hell makes sense for whatever set of constraints you're operating within. "Pragmatism, not idealism", as a famous Macintosh computer once said.

At some point, like everyone here, I became extremely interested in/obsessed with certain sounds and how to obtain them, which of course led to becoming interested in/obsessed with gear. The only true completeness lies in total ignorance.

sholkham · Post by **sholkham** » Sat Feb 16, 2013 12:04 am

What is the blue/grey pedal between the Hawk and Diamond jr Cobascis? Looks interesting

theshadowofseattle · Post by **theshadowofseattle** » Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:28 am

I'll post my RAT setting when I get home to look at it. I get a great COUPLETONES out of it.

izodiak · Post by **izodiak** » Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:47 am

Well this is my pedal board, dont have a picture, so I mashed one up.

What do You think about the order (starts with the polytune, ends-amps with freezer) ? What do You think the Danelectro Echo is really big, because all I need is a short slapback kind of sound. Im trying to get a bit like Talking heads guitarplayers sound.So maybe I can get a smaller/simpler echo pedal.
I liked the Danelectro spring reverb, but then I got this Fender Boss pedal and its so good. And maybe someone has this Freezer pedal, and has some suggestions tips'n'tricks for new sounds ?

(Today I had a gig and all my pedalboard died, it didnt get power,I think from the spider-cable problem,but it was so sad...humiliation..)

Love my pedal board. Exactly what I need now, until Your suggestions come.

DasBeef · Post by **DasBeef** » Sat Feb 16, 2013 3:16 am

This is my 'done' pedal board. I swap the MBM Dream Box out for a Fredric Klone, but that aside.

I built this with the intention of 'if I could have everything I ever could need' on a board. It's in no way practical. I'd never gig with it, I can barely lift it when it's in its hard case.
I'd say if I were to gig again, these are the boxes I would need to tick.....

Tuner (Polytune Mini)
Overdrive (Prob Klone)
Distortion (Either MIJ DS-1 or Dingotone FDD)
Balls to the wall Fuzz (Dingotone VFZ - If I wanted to have it powered I'd get a MBM IC Muff on it's own)
Boost/volume pedal (For me, Dingotone HZD. It is immense)
Delay (either DM-2 for short or DD-2 for longer. Possibly both)
Compressor (CS-1, it's super squishy)
Reverb (FRV-1)

Concretebadger · Post by **Concretebadger** » Sat Feb 16, 2013 10:44 am

I dunno what to suggest Re: the RAT either. Some days mine sounds like the best dirtbox I've ever owned and on others it sounds like I've chucked a blanket over the front of my amp. I've found it's a pretty decent bass distortion too, so I find myself swapping it between my guitar and bass boards and never really making a final decision about it.

Since I started tweaking around on my F-50 I've found that the distortion channel's really quite good. Which might sound obvious to others, but I've been a pedal distortion guy since forever so it's only now that I'm thinking "why not have just a fuzz and an OD/boost and leave the rest of the board space for other things?"

I've never made up my mind about modulation either. To me they all sound like a cliche when over-used, so if I were to make my chorus or a phaser a permanent fixture I'd just be using each for a couple of tracks and that's it...hardly worth justifying the board space. The thing is, I'm a reverb and delay nut so half my board is dedicated to just them. Heck, I'm already saving up for a Cathedral to replace the RV-3, and add a tape emulator like an RE-20 or El Capistan. So no, it never ends. It's an evolution thing as opposed to a journey with a defined beginning, middle and end.

I sometimes wonder if I should start from scratch, adding what's *necessary* for my sound and leaving off those fun toys that I can't always be bothered with. If I was in a band it would be a different matter, but right now I'm a one-man recording project so I'm having to do everything on my own. This means using more than one amp, and effectively having two guitarists' worth of effects boxes on hand in an effort to create the illusion of a two-guitar band when I'm really just one bloke in his living room.

To make it more complicated, I discovered how some effects sound fine when recording but shite live, and vice versa. It took a few frustrating - and occasionally embarrassing - experiences in both settings for me to learn that.

johnnyseven · Post by **johnnyseven** » Sat Feb 16, 2013 7:46 pm

cobascis wrote:

What size Pedaltrain is this?

Post by **Doog** » Sat Feb 16, 2013 9:09 pm

Do an M5.

luciguci · Post by **luciguci** » Sat Feb 16, 2013 9:53 pm

I can't really say much regarding you not getting a good sound of your big box RAT, but I switch out my TurboRAT for a different pedal or completely omit it for a while, then come back to it with a fresh battery, and I like it once again.

izodiak · Post by **izodiak** » Sat Feb 16, 2013 9:56 pm

really like the nano clone (the simplicity is great, just the right sound), and the problem why the pedal board broke off before show..it turns out the Nano Clone needs separate power adapter..because the current or something (it cant be powered by an special/unbalanced 'spider' adapter) maybe its the same with the RAT,the bad sounds?My EHX Germanium OD had a shit sound,it turned out because of the power adapter..

Now I need to get that smaller echo.. and the polytune mini is just great !

And I am a bit jealous of the boards You guys have, sooo nice !

luciguci · Post by **luciguci** » Sat Feb 16, 2013 10:27 pm

izodiak wrote:Now I need to get that smaller echo.. and the polytune mini is just great !

And I am a bit jealous of the boards You guys have, sooo nice !

Maybe the smaller Dan Echo pedal could work for you? It doesn't have sound on sound or modulation(the "solid state/tube" switch I effectively replaced by the hi-cut knob), but it sounds great. Alternatively, there's the TC Electronic Nova Repeater that also sounds amazing (I want it so bad), very versatile, and with the infinite repeats and trails on bypass, it could work similarly to the sound on sound function on the Reel Echo. A bit smaller than the Reel Echo and it sells for around 100 - 130 used online in some places.

As well, I'm also jealous of these boards everyone else has. My set up looks shit in comparison

luciguci · Post by **luciguci** » Sat Feb 16, 2013 10:43 pm

In fact, while we're sharing pedal boards, Here's what I've currently got in my arsenal (sans pedal board, of course)
I do like the sounds I get though. Ideally, I'd have a different delay (such as the TC Electronics Nova Repeater) to replace the PB&J.

Guitar --> Turbo RAT --> Cool Cat Chorus --> Cool Cat Tremolo --> PB & J Delay --> RV-7 Stereo Reverb --> Amp

izodiak · Post by **izodiak** » Sat Feb 16, 2013 11:43 pm

@ daftsupernova our boards are just a piece of shit in comparison. (thanks for Your advice, will check those out)

luciguci · Post by **luciguci** » Sat Feb 16, 2013 11:59 pm

izodiak wrote:@ daftsupernova our boards are just a piece of shit in comparison. (thanks for Your advice, will check those out)

But hey, as long as we like the sounds we get from them, what does it matter?

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