Lets see them pedal boards!

[lungimsam]

Fuzz Face>Crybaby Junior>Big Muff Pi nano>Aguilar Tone Hammer. All great for bass and guitar.

 

[golfnut]

Heres my latest pedal board. Got tired of hauling around big boards and this is me simplifying things.

 

[dubkitty]

OK, you asked for it. the three boards work in concert...at right is what i call the front-end board (FEB), which employs a variety of fidelity- and ambience-altering options. the center board is my main board. at left is the looping board with 3 loopers i can cut in and out.



signal path:

FEB: (optional EHX Octave Multiplexer for bass parts->Mellowtone Hi Five clean boost (for balancing guitar output levels when looping)-> EHX Attack Decay with Dunlop mini expression pedal->AD effects loop: Catalinbread WIIO 2024 reissue->Ibanez LF7 Lo Fi->Stomping Stones Virus->Analog Music Company So High So Low high/low-pass filter pedal->(back to AD output->)Fairfield Circuitry Shallow Water->Demedash T-120 videotape echo->Farm Pedals Expanding Universe reverb.

main board: (Ernie Ball VP Jr. volume pedal->)Peterson StroboStomp tuner->1978 MXR Distortion+->CMC Effects Tone Bender MKIII->FuzzHugger Algal Bloom->CMC Effects Buzzaround->FuzzHugger 3-knob Great Wall->EMMA Discumbobulator v.1 envelope filter->Mojo Hand FX Villanova optical Uni-Vibe->Fairfield Circuitry Randy's Revenge v.1 ring modulator->TC Electronics SCF chorus/flanger (always in flange mode)->(carriage return)->Boss CH-1 chorus->Ibanez PM7 Phase Modulator (phaser)>Menatone Pleasure Trem 3000 tremolo->Zvex Sonar chop vtremolo->EHX Canyon delay->TC Electronics Flashback v.1 delay->Catalinbread Soft Focus reverb->Earthquaker Devices Ghost Echo v.1 reverb.

looping board: Saturnworks active 1-into-4 isolated splitting box->two TC Electronics Ditto x2 loopers and one EHX 1440 looper->Saturnworks 3-into-1 active isolated summing box->Keeley Bassist Limiting Amplifier.

i'm going to replace the EF on the big board with a Mu-Tron Micro-Tron IV using the red Opto-Mod board, which will be placed at the beginning of the chain right after the tuner.

i'm putting together a simpler version of the main board which is waiting on two boxes, mainly using stuff i've collected over the years that didn't quite fit the big board sound:

TC Electronics Polytune v.1->another Micro-Tron IV->Marshall Guv'nor II-> Höfner Fuzz->Danelectro 3699 fuzz->Empress Nebulus multi-modulation->Fender MTG Tube Tremolo->EQD Ghost Echo v.2 reverb (same circuit, small box)(->optional Akai E2 Headrush delay/multi-head tape delay/looper).

 

[krysh]

Wow. And how does it sound?

 

[dubkitty]

it's pretty remarkable. i can get lost just in the sounds from the FEB, which is really intended as a pre-processing board to kind of relic the sound. it can literally sound like a telephone from the 1940s and has distortion options ranging from mild to granular and many ways to creatively degrade fidelity. all kinds of atmosphere. the main board does every relatively normative thing i'd want on a board used for experimental purposes (i don't use guitar synthesizer pedals for my stuff: there's some great ones out there, e.g. the Meris Enzo, but i prefer using traditional guitar effects to create my weird sounds) other than a Leslie/rotary simulator, and has serious depth in fuzz, modulation, tremolo, delay, and reverb. it's not lacking for options, and sometimes i'll run one delay into the other or both tremolos at once for subdivisions. the looping setup is meant to allow me to improvise into the loopers, switching from one to another to do extended sequences in a manner heavily influenced by Robert Fripp. the only problem is that i have to lean over my knees to fade the loopers in and out...i tried several solutions but nothing that fits into a reasonable amount of space worked. i may yet end up getting a small mixer and fitting it to a microphone stand, music stand, or some other support so it's up where my old ass can reach it while seated. if i tried using this array while standing up i'd fall down and injure myself, which is no joke at my age. too much back and forth makes a fellow dizzy.

 

[chazmo]

OK, you asked for it. the three boards work in concert...at right is what i call the front-end board (FEB), which employs a variety of fidelity- and ambience-altering options. the center board is my main board. at left is the looping board with 3 loopers i can cut in and out.



signal path:

FEB: (optional EHX Octave Multiplexer for bass parts->Mellowtone Hi Five clean boost (for balancing guitar output levels when looping)-> EHX Attack Decay with Dunlop mini expression pedal->AD effects loop: Catalinbread WIIO 2024 reissue->Ibanez LF7 Lo Fi->Stomping Stones Virus->Analog Music Company So High So Low high/low-pass filter pedal->(back to AD output->)Fairfield Circuitry Shallow Water->Demedash T-120 videotape echo->Farm Pedals Expanding Universe reverb.

main board: (Ernie Ball VP Jr. volume pedal->)Peterson StroboStomp tuner->1978 MXR Distortion+->CMC Effects Tone Bender MKIII->FuzzHugger Algal Bloom->CMC Effects Buzzaround->FuzzHugger 3-knob Great Wall->EMMA Discumbobulator v.1 envelope filter->Mojo Hand FX Villanova optical Uni-Vibe->Fairfield Circuitry Randy's Revenge v.1 ring modulator->TC Electronics SCF chorus/flanger (always in flange mode)->(carriage return)->Boss CH-1 chorus->Ibanez PM7 Phase Modulator (phaser)>Menatone Pleasure Trem 3000 tremolo->Zvex Sonar chop vtremolo->EHX Canyon delay->TC Electronics Flashback v.1 delay->Catalinbread Soft Focus reverb->Earthquaker Devices Ghost Echo v.1 reverb.

looping board: Saturnworks active 1-into-4 isolated splitting box->two TC Electronics Ditto x2 loopers and one EHX 1440 looper->Saturnworks 3-into-1 active isolated summing box->Keeley Bassist Limiting Amplifier.

i'm going to replace the EF on the big board with a Mu-Tron Micro-Tron IV using the red Opto-Mod board, which will be placed at the beginning of the chain right after the tuner.

i'm putting together a simpler version of the main board which is waiting on two boxes, mainly using stuff i've collected over the years that didn't quite fit the big board sound:

TC Electronics Polytune v.1->another Micro-Tron IV->Marshall Guv'nor II-> Höfner Fuzz->Danelectro 3699 fuzz->Empress Nebulus multi-modulation->Fender MTG Tube Tremolo->EQD Ghost Echo v.2 reverb (same circuit, small box)(->optional Akai E2 Headrush delay/multi-head tape delay/looper).

Holy moly, dubkitty. That’s wild! Do you use this three pedal board setup for gigging, or is this your home setup? Do you have a roadie(s)?

Also, were you serious about needing to be seated to use this? What you were talking about almost sounds like vertigo.

 

[dubkitty]

it was developed for home use with the aim of being able to take it out if i can drum up interest. i've been developing a bi-amped stack to use with the looping setup because it generates more sub-bass content than a guitar amp is comfortable with, splitting the signal with a crossover between a guitar amp and an Ampeg B2R bass amp driving a JBL D-130. eventually i'll have multiple bass cabinets and some kind of 2x12 for the guitar amp unless i buy the old Standell that's on Marketplace here. if it was good enough for Chet and Cipollina, it's probably good enough for me. but playing out isn't really a necessity for me at this point in my life...i just think taking this sort of thing out would be interesting. i'm hoping it would be more like my experience DJing than playing in a rock band. i deliberately constructed everything to be reliable and dummy-proof and it took over 2 years to assemble, winnow, reconfigure, and try again. i have a ton of effects boxes to unload that were potential board candidates who missed the cut.

yes, i'm serious about sitting down. i've improved, but i had a long COVID problem which among other things screwed up my sense of balance for 2 years. i suppose i could operate things standing up and arguably that would make it quicker to get from one side of the setup to the other, but it was developed for seated use.

i have played out with the big board, but it's a bit much for rock band settings which is why i'm doing the Normie Board, which can still get fairly psycho when running the 3699 through modulation with the octave switch on. it's almost like a ring modulator with the treble pickup. in normal settings i seldom use more than 1/3 of the stuff on the big board.

 

[krysh]

Any audio files?

 

[dubkitty]

not yet...i haven't really taken time to dig into the completed system because i've been very busy, and i need to work out a modality for recording. my only computer is the work laptop, and i can't put recording software or anything like that on. i'm going to try running the output from the system straight into my Tascam DR-07 digital recorder, which is how i recorded my old loops on my Mac Mini. which reminds me to redo my signature with the link to the Soundcloud playlist.

 

[D_Lee]

Current rig. The Starfire Jet 90 is a great driver here,, and not sure about other peeps but I am pretty impressed some of the UA pedals out there now. Remember the Alamo!!

 

[dubkitty]

i decided to rework the main board somewhat. i needed to swap the EMMA envelope filter for the Micro-tron IV i got recently and one thing led to another. my first move was to put the MT IV at the front of the chain right after the tuner. i don't know why such an obvious thing never occurred to me before other than that i take pains to keep my fuzz's output at or close to unity gain with the unaffected signal. next i decided to take off the Tone Bender Mk II...other than the EQD i used to have i've never found a TB variant that works for me and that one was too gainy to use. all this moving around on the near tier created space, which i mostly used to give the pedals on the front tier some breathing room.

then i thought about the top tier, and decided that it would be better to have both tremolos side-by-side in the center quasi-tier, making a little tremolo section that's away from everything else and easy to actuate. moving the Pleasure Trem 5000 down made space to re-space the upper tier as well. with the more crowded upper tier i had to stagger the Canyon to fit it next to the Flashback because their jacks were exactly parallel, but now everything can sit evenly. and taking the TB II off opened up a power supply spot so i could take the Distortion+ off of the tuner's DC line out. now that slot will be available for outboard equipment, e.g. a wah-wah pedal or the Headrush E2 as a stunt delay/looper. i put the Great Wall in the third middle-tier spot because it's kind of my Nuclear Option. i could have put the smaller Ghost Echo v.2 on, but the bigger box would make the layout for the upcoming Normie Board too long for a Pedaltrain Nano Max which is what i'd like to use...since the stuff on either end (tuner and reverb) never get turned on/off while actually playing (i use the always-on option on the Strobostomp) that effectively makes the space i'd have to cover only about 20-22 inches which isn't too far to reach from a stationary position at a microphone stand.

i'm happy with the result. it'll be way easier to pick out the switches that i want, and having the tremolos together just makes sense though it made the signal path a bit circuitous. i'm also happy because now that i have the EMMA off the board i can figure out just how much space i'll need for the Normie Board.

signal path: Peterson StroboStomp HD tuner->Mu-Tron Micro-Tron IV envelope filter->1978 MXR Distortion+->Fuzzhugger Algal Bloom->CMC Effects Buzzaround->Fuzzhugger 3-knob Great Wall (second left, middle tier->Mojo Hand FX Villanova optical Uni-Vibe->Fairfield Circuitry Randy's Revenge v.1->TC Electronics SCF chorus/vibrato/flanger (always in flanger mode)(far left, middle tier)->Boss CH-1 chorus->Ibanez PM7 Phase Modulator (wonky phaser)->Menatone Pleasure Trem 5000 (far right, center tier)->Zvex Sonar squarewave tremolo (center tier to left of PT5000)->EHX Canyon delay (top tier, center right)->TC Electronics Flashback delay v.1->Catalinbread Soft Focus reverb->EQD Ghost Echo v.1.

the lineup for the Normie Board is now set. there's quite a bit of stuff recycled from previous iterations of my boards.

TC Electronics Polytune v.1->EMMA Discumbobulator envelope filter->Marshall Guv'nor Plus->Höfner Fuzz->Danelectro 3699 fuzz->Empress Nebulus multi-modulation->Fender MTG Tube Tremolo->EQD Ghost Echo v.2.

i'm going to have to get a high-current power supply because the tremolo wants 200 mA and the Empress' manual claims 280 mA while the web page says 300.

 

[lungimsam]

Update! Added a Bluesbreaker!

 

[golfnut]

My new pedalboard

 

[Walter Broes]

Here's what I've been using this past festival season.
Signal chain is Korg tuner, truetone delay, Crazy Tube Circuits magnatone style vibrato, Supro clean boost, friend-built overdrive,surfybear compact spring reverb.
The "stereomaker" is a buffered ABY box for the rare occasion I use two amps.
Truetone CS7 under the board powers the whole thing.

Edit : for the slightly OCD folks - the pedals are not as crooked on the board as it looks - that's the slight fisheye effect of my phone camera..

 

[guitarlover]

So tremolo before boost and OD !

 

[Walter Broes]

So tremolo before boost and OD !

well, no! It's decidedly not tremolo - it's pitch vibrato. I'm running tremolo too, but it's in the amp. I like my tremolo post-reverb, so the reverb gets tremolo'd too - much more dramatic.

As for the boost and OD - the boost gets used very sparingly, and it's set for a very, very small boost - just enough for a small lift. The OD is there, but I hardly ever use it. It's more of a safety pedal for if/when I find myself on a stage where I can't turn up the amp to the grit I like (I have no master-volume amps only)

 

[lungimsam]

Guitar>Fuzz Face>Polytune3>Crybaby>Big Muff>Aguilar Tonehammer