So you got a pedal board - but which pedals are you currently using

[Tone2TheBone]

Robert suggested I start this thread and I'll try not to confuse you marnold.

Basically the gist of this post is...if you've got a pedal board, how many pedals are you actually using. Which ones are "in" and which ones are "out"? Or are they all in?

I emailed him a little diagram earlier of a mock pedal board that I want to recreate from my existing setup. Here's the image first of all...

View attachment 1476

I cut out the pedal images off a photo I had of my pedal board for this mock up. What I want to do is isolate 2 pedals (the Bad Monkey and the Fuzz Face) within my pedal chain using a homemade AB Looper switch as shown in the diagram. Voodoo was nice enough to email me an electrical layout of the switch so I think I'm going to make one. The reason I want to isolate those 2 pedals in a switchable loop is because both of those pedals tend to suck tone from my signal. If I create a loop just for those 2 pedals I can turn them on or off yet still go through my original pedal chain anytime I want to play clean or semi dirty (see the Zonkin' pedal for sweet OD tones). This way I get a much brighter sound with the Bad Monkey and Fuzz bypassed. I don't want brightness with a fuzz pedal so having all of them hooked up at once is not a problem.

I emailed Voodooman the image asking him if he thought this was feasible with the AB looper but he's not "home" at the moment so I emailed it to Robert for his thoughts. In my email to Robert I told him I was thinking of taking out the tuner pedal because I don't even use it and I know it probably takes some of the tone away too. I have 5 other pedals that won't even fit on my pedal board and those are the ones that are currently omitted. Which pedals are you using on your pedal boards and which ones aren't you using...and why?

 

[Algonquin]

I've got a small Boss BCB-6 pedal case that I'd like to rearrange as well. Currently it's setup as follows... Guitar -> Power Supply -> Compression -> Octaver -> Overdrive -> to Distortion -> Delay -> Amp.

First Pedal I'd like to add is a Tuner. Maybe the Boss which will replace the Power Supply. I understand it will power 5 units downline of it. From there I'd like to pick up a Looper, probably the RC-2 which will fit nicely into this little case. The Distortion doesn't interest me anymore, so it would be the one tossed overboard (sorry old friend).

I'm sure there are tonnes of opinions on pedal placement, but what are your thoughts on where the looper should go in this chain?

I've always left the Delay last, with the Overdrive/Distortion just before it.

 

[Tone2TheBone]

I've got a small Boss BCB-6 pedal case that I'd like to rearrange as well. Currently it's setup as follows... Guitar -> Power Supply -> Compression -> Octaver -> Overdrive -> to Distortion -> Delay -> Amp.

First Pedal I'd like to add is a Tuner. Maybe the Boss which will replace the Power Supply. I understand it will power 5 units downline of it. From there I'd like to pick up a Looper, probably the RC-2 which will fit nicely into this little case. The Distortion doesn't interest me anymore, so it would be the one tossed overboard (sorry old friend).

I'm sure there are tonnes of opinions on pedal placement, but what are your thoughts on where the looper should go in this chain?

I've always left the Delay last, with the Overdrive/Distortion just before it.

I think the looper should go very last that way it will "record" every effect you have. I have the RC-2 looper pedal and even that puppy isn't on this board. I ran out of space putting that big ole Fuzz Face on it!

 

[Algonquin]

That's the problem with buying a proprietary unit (Like the one I'm using)... you are limited on what will fit. I've seen much better cases now on the market that will fit a wide variety of shapes and sizes, and some homemade units that are well designed for this.

Thanks for the Looper tip.

David :beer:

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Currently I use regularly my DS-1 > Bad Monkey > PB 100 > L.B. Muff > (these are in a loop from my NS-2, which I use regularly also, and they are the ones I use the most. I use the Muff alone with the NS-2 when it is on), From the NS-2 Loop I go to my Chorus, which I use sometimes, and my Tuner, which I use regularly. Those are the regulars. Sometimes I put my Wah in ahead of it all, and sometimes I hook the looper on the very end. I have been using the looper less lately, because I have spent more time with backing tracks, etc. in my computer. I plan to start using it more again as I start to work on some new songs. The other thing I do is skip all the pedals and go from my guitar, to the Toneport, to my iMac Duo and back, then to my amph.

 

[mark wein]

Here is an article from my blog about my pedalboard....the truth is that I use the Barber Direct Drive, LTD and Xotic RC Booster 95% of the time...I really need to downsize...and also get a voodoo labs powersupply...

This is my pedal board. I get teased (or worse) about this monstrosity regularly. Let me explain why I have such a large assortment of pedals...

I like vintage amplifiers that are not "Channel Switching". This means that I am typically using a cleaner or undistorted sound as my "base" tone. I get all of my overdrive and distortion sounds from pedals, instead of having an amplifier with a built in distortion channel as well as a clean sound. Channel switching amps usually have a foot switch that allows you to go from clean to distorted sounds while you are playing. To my ears, the clean sounds on most of those amplifiers is usually kind of thin or sterile. Everyone has a preference, and mine is to not play through amps with multiple channels.

At the moment, my favorite amp is a 1971 Fender Deluxe Reverb that has been modified with a Celestion 25 watt Greenback speaker. I have several other amps, but this one just starts out with the best clean tone for me. I use the pedals on my pedal board to get all of the sounds that I need to get through the Blues, Rock or Top 40 gigs that I typically play. Even though the amp is only 22 wattts, with the Celestion speaker it is loud enough to play just about any gig (and I can get some pretty huge sounds from this little amp!)

Here is my signal path from the guitar:

1. Ernie Ball Volume Pedal - I mainly use this to turn the volume off so that I can tune my guitar on stage. The pedal has a jack that goes to the tuner, and works even when the volume is off. There is nothing worse than listening to a guitarist (or bassist) try to tune on stage at full volume. Occasionally I'll use the pedal to "swell" chords, but tuning and turning the volume off is it primary duty. One thing to remember is that many of your pedals are sensitive to the amount of signal (or volume) coming in to them. If you run a volume pedal first in your signal chain and run it halfway, you won't have very much signal to push or distort the pedals. Smarter people than me usually run them last on their pedal board so that they don't run into that problem, but this seems to work for me.

2. Vox Clyde McCoy Wah Pedal - I am not a big wah pedal user, but it is pretty much a requirement for any cover band gig. I like having this pedal before the distortion pedals so that you are distorting the "wah" sound and not "wahing" the distortion sound. This pedal is due for replacement because it is wearing out and I will probably try some other pedals. I like how "clear" the pedal sounds to me, but I don't care for how the foot movement works. It seems like most of the effect is at the top of the pedal movement and it is hard to play "Funky Disco" wah guitar in time and sing...I'd rather have something that is more consistent as you move the foot pedal up and down...

3. Barber Direct Drive SS - This is what I call a "Desert Island" pedal. If I could only take one pedal to play gigs on a deserted island, this would be it. I can get GREAT high gain distortion sounds out of it that sound more like a high-gain amplifier and less like the tone is coming from out of a pedal. If I needed to, I can turn the gain down and get a passable blues tone. If you can only buy one pedal, this is my recommendation. Handmade, super sturdy, True Bypass so it doesn't color your sound when it is turned off....

4. Xotic BB Preamp - Sometimes I use this as a less smooth sounding version of the Direct Drive pedal

5. Keeley Compressor - The best pedal compressor I have heard on the market. I am not a huge compressor user, but when I do use it I hate to hear the compressor "pumping" the volume. This pedal is super smooth sounding. I have it after my high gain distortions in case I want to fake a 1980's compressed hard rock tone. It is before my lower gain overdrives so I can get more of a country lead tone if I need it.

6. Barber LTD - This has replaced my Ibanez Tube Screamer. After many years of trying modded Tube Screamers I realized that what I did not like was the mid-range honk sound. This pedal has a similar amount of gain (not very much) but it is a little more balanced...it has lows, highs AND mids! Great for blues and lightly overdriven rhythm guitar.

7. Xotic RC Booster - Another "Desert Island" pedal. I usually have this set with just a small amount of gain, a little extra bass and enough volume to serve as a "lead boost" This pedal is super transparent...if you set it just right and turn it off and on you can not hear the difference. You can set it to just boost your volume with no coloration of you tone, or you can add Bass, Treble or Gain. Sometimes, if I am playing a very low volume gig I can set the pedal to just make the amp sound like it being driven at a higher volume. Many times I will kick this pedal on on top of another pedal (usually the Direct Drive) to make the sound bigger and more "over the top"

8. Arion Stereo Chorus - This is an old one from the 1980's. I had always thought that Arion was one of those companies that made cheap, crummy sounding effects pedals. Then I started reading about how this pedal was the secret weapon of many studio musicians not only for its great fat sounding chorus, but if you turn the rate control up it will double as a Leslie rotating speaker simulator. I got mine for $29.00, but I think that the music store I bought it from had no idea that these pedals sometimes go for as much as $200.00 on Ebay (if they are original - Arion makes a new version that does not sound like this!). Xotic also makes a True Bypass version that I haven't heard yet, but sounds interesting.

9. Electro-Harmonix Small Stone USA Reissue - There aren't too many phaser pedals out there, and this just happens to be the one I like the most...

10. Boss DD-6 Digital Delay - Everyone needs a little delay, and when I bought it this pedal fit the bill. In the near future I would like to try the Line 6 DL-4 Delay Modeler...



I have seen smaller pedal boards with more pedals, but I like everything facing the right direction. Many of the more corwded pedal boards that I have seen try to cram pedals in so close that my big foot wouldn't be able to hit one pedal at a time!

A couple of things that are on my pedalboard that are not in my signal path:

Power supplies - I like the Godlyke Distributing Powerall....much quieter than the Boss Power supplies that I have used in the past - there are better options out there, but this works for me.

Power Strip - You would be suprised how often an extra outlet at the front of the stage can get you out of a jam!

Digital Clock - not that I "clock watch" on stage, but you have to know what time it is to know how many songs are left in a set.

 

[Spudman]

These are the items that I plan to have on the new board. I may include a digital delay of some kind as well. I also need to figure out a few logistics as to how and where to use the AB200.

 

[markb]

I seem to have outgrown my board too!

That's a pretty self explanatory batch. Heavier drives come from the amp although the Blues Driver plus the compressor give me all I use for most purposes. The TR-2 has had the C4 capacitor chopped out to lessen the volume drop, it seems to have worked really well on this one. The little cheapo Belcat (or Crossfire) delay is great and bounced a Boss DD-3 off the board. I'll have to do some digging for my a/b box as well when I get this all wired up properly.

Tone, the looper gives you a handy clean/dirty switching system. You should have no problems at all with that.

 

[oldguy]

Right now it's----- guitar> Plexitube > PB&J delay > amph.......
I'll stick the ZYS and/or Bad Monkey in there for a cleaner boost sometimes...
but I've been dialing the amphs in to just barely get a fat breakup on the OD channel and using the guitar volume to control it..... not too exciting or elaborate, but it works, and doesn't suck tone out of the chain.
The Jamman, when I'm using it, gets run through a seperate amph (the Musicman), usually. That amph's LOUD, and it's like having a clean rhythm section beside me. Plus, whatever I do effects-wise, it doesn't change the Jamman's sound. I should mention I'm running BT's through it, not doing live loops.

 

[Robert]

I used Maxon SD-9, Boss BD-2 or ZYS, Das Fuzz, Arion Chorus (for leslie effect), 19 Sixty 9 clean boost, Ibanez TL-5 tremolo, PB & J delay, Fulltone Clyde.

I sometimes add the Chicken Salad, Octave Fuzz for more Hendrix tones, or a volume pedal for versatility, or an Arion octave pedal, Danelectro FAB Distortion, Bad Monkey, or anything else I have, depending on my mood. The pedals I leave out are the ones I need the least, but they sometimes go in because I want to experiment.

I gave my Rocktron tuner to one of my guitar students. He needed it more than me! I have ordered a Korg Pitch Black tuner, but it will take a few weeks for it to arrive. I will likely put that tuner last in my chain.

 

[Katastrophe]

I used to use my Digitech RP80 for all my effects. It went south on me, and lately I've been running completely pedal free, just setting the channels on my amph for a twangy clean sound, the rhythm channel for some bluesy crunch, and the lead channel for a more over the top distorted lead sound. It works fine so far, but I really need a new amph for those screamin' solos.

I really need to get a good tube amph. Ultimately, I'd like to have a pedalboard with a good overdrive unit, a chorus, a good wah and a delay, and that's it.