Guitar Pedals
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My two pots are wired as volume control for each humbucker. The 3-switch mid position splits them. The variety of clean tones I can achieve this way is larger than with the tone pot wiring.
Dick Brucinson
The TRUE Dick Brucinson
I know, this thread is old, but since I did some modifications to my pedal board just today, here it is:
about the board:
it has two parallel effects paths. path 1 runs in serial, right after my guitar and Wah Pedal and still before the amp, path 2 is placed in the effects loop of the amp.
path 1 effects order (line) is: Patchbay (in A), Suhr Buffer #1, Mesa Boogie High Wire Buffer/Booster SND, Keeley Compressor, Wampler Ego Compressor, Maxon AF-9 Auto Filter, Boss SY-1 Guitar Synth, Digitech Whammy DT Harmonizer, Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer Pro, Maxon OD-9 Overdrive, Boss BD-2 Blues Driver, AMT R2 Distortion Preamp, Boss GE-7 Equalizer, ISP Deci Mate Noise Gate, Diamond Tremolo, Neunaber Seraphim Shimmer, Mesa Boogie High Wire Dual Buffer/Booster RTN, Patchbay (out B ) , Amp.
path 2 effects order (loop) is: Patchbay (in C) Suhr Buffer #2, Fortin Zuul Noise Gate, Digitech FreqOut Feedback Creator, MXR Dunlop M134 Stereo Chorus (analog), Boss DC-2w Dimension Chorus (analog), MXR Dunlop EVH117 Flanger, Boss Dm-2w Analog Delay, Boss DD-3T Digital Delay, MXR Dunlop M300 Reverb, Prussian Blue Reverb, Patchbay (out D).
the Boss GE-7 Graphic EQ I use as an upper mids boost for leads and soloing only. and I really like those three Buffers (2x Suhr, 1x Mesa Boogie), cause they avoid any loss of signal integrity due to long cable runs. they actually do no effect by themselves, but without them the signal would just thin out, so they are involved to keep the tone true and get the signal intact to the amp.
the MXR Dunlop EVH117 Flanger has a great tone, but same as the MXR M134 Stereo Chorus they both run 18 Volts which made it a bit difficult at first to get them empowered properly, but with the Cioks Power Station that I use it is possible and works well.
my favourite pedal on the board is the Boss DC-2w Dimension Chorus. it has a wonderful 1980s like type of Chorus tone and it was used on so many famous records of that time.
another interesting device is the Neunaber Stereo Seraphim Shimmer. that one ranges somewhat in a mixture of categories between Reverb, Modulation and Harmonizer and it sounds totally unique. however, it makes sense only for clean sounds and it also can do only one thing - but this thing it does more than great: it adds some kind of "angel's choir" to a clean guitar tone, which actually is impossible to describe, but there's some very good reviews to find on You Tube, just in case anybody is interested.
about the board:
it has two parallel effects paths. path 1 runs in serial, right after my guitar and Wah Pedal and still before the amp, path 2 is placed in the effects loop of the amp.
path 1 effects order (line) is: Patchbay (in A), Suhr Buffer #1, Mesa Boogie High Wire Buffer/Booster SND, Keeley Compressor, Wampler Ego Compressor, Maxon AF-9 Auto Filter, Boss SY-1 Guitar Synth, Digitech Whammy DT Harmonizer, Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer Pro, Maxon OD-9 Overdrive, Boss BD-2 Blues Driver, AMT R2 Distortion Preamp, Boss GE-7 Equalizer, ISP Deci Mate Noise Gate, Diamond Tremolo, Neunaber Seraphim Shimmer, Mesa Boogie High Wire Dual Buffer/Booster RTN, Patchbay (out B ) , Amp.
path 2 effects order (loop) is: Patchbay (in C) Suhr Buffer #2, Fortin Zuul Noise Gate, Digitech FreqOut Feedback Creator, MXR Dunlop M134 Stereo Chorus (analog), Boss DC-2w Dimension Chorus (analog), MXR Dunlop EVH117 Flanger, Boss Dm-2w Analog Delay, Boss DD-3T Digital Delay, MXR Dunlop M300 Reverb, Prussian Blue Reverb, Patchbay (out D).
the Boss GE-7 Graphic EQ I use as an upper mids boost for leads and soloing only. and I really like those three Buffers (2x Suhr, 1x Mesa Boogie), cause they avoid any loss of signal integrity due to long cable runs. they actually do no effect by themselves, but without them the signal would just thin out, so they are involved to keep the tone true and get the signal intact to the amp.
the MXR Dunlop EVH117 Flanger has a great tone, but same as the MXR M134 Stereo Chorus they both run 18 Volts which made it a bit difficult at first to get them empowered properly, but with the Cioks Power Station that I use it is possible and works well.
my favourite pedal on the board is the Boss DC-2w Dimension Chorus. it has a wonderful 1980s like type of Chorus tone and it was used on so many famous records of that time.
another interesting device is the Neunaber Stereo Seraphim Shimmer. that one ranges somewhat in a mixture of categories between Reverb, Modulation and Harmonizer and it sounds totally unique. however, it makes sense only for clean sounds and it also can do only one thing - but this thing it does more than great: it adds some kind of "angel's choir" to a clean guitar tone, which actually is impossible to describe, but there's some very good reviews to find on You Tube, just in case anybody is interested.
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Dick Brucinson
The TRUE Dick Brucinson
bottom view:
Cosmiceddie
Back From The Edge
For dirt sounds: guitar into Wilson Ten Spot II Wah into Boss IR-200.
For clean sounds: guitar into front of Roland JC-40 Jazz Chorus amp. Then Boss MD-500 into Boss DD-7 into JC-40 effects loop.
For clean sounds: guitar into front of Roland JC-40 Jazz Chorus amp. Then Boss MD-500 into Boss DD-7 into JC-40 effects loop.
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Dick Brucinson
The TRUE Dick Brucinson
yesterday I got my long awaited Dunlop Cry Baby JP95 John Petrucci Signature Wah Pedal 
- and it's a true thing of beauty. in every possible aspect. looks great, sounding great.....
- and it's a true thing of beauty. in every possible aspect. looks great, sounding great.....
Maturin
Sköldpadda
I know, this thread is old, but since I did some modifications to my pedal board just today, here it is:
I'm pretty much the opposite of this - I don't like a dry tone at all, but I'm thinking tuner, overdrive, delay and boost for my own board... And maybe a comp-pedal for cleans. Might want a Flanger as well... And a distortion for when I play with a borrowed amp. And of course a wah I'll never use.
In the end I can't be bothered and scale away everything but the bare minimum.
Anyway, I am assuming you stack the overdrives?
Dick Brucinson
The TRUE Dick Brucinson
why you never use your Wah?!I'm pretty much the opposite of this - I don't like a dry tone at all, but I'm thinking tuner, overdrive, delay and boost for my own board... And maybe a comp-pedal for cleans. Might want a Flanger as well... And a distortion for when I play with a borrowed amp. And of course a wah I'll never use.
In the end I can't be bothered and scale away everything but the bare minimum.
Anyway, I am assuming you stack the overdrives?
as to the overdrives, I have three different drives and the drive of the overdriven amp itself of course, and I kinda enjoy combining these options this way or that way round.
see: in Kindergarten one plays and builds with coloured blocks. it's always learning for later in life. one gets back to those competences later on when creating a pedal board.
Maturin
Sköldpadda
why you never use your Wah?!
as to the overdrives, I have three different drives and the drive of the overdriven amp itself of course, and I kinda enjoy combining these options this way or that way round.
see: in Kindergarten one plays and builds with coloured blocks. it's always learning for later in life. one gets back to those competences later on when creating a pedal board.
Yeah, I've got that using several overdrives on top of each other (at a lower setting) can work just as well as stacking compressors for a more complex and nicer sound.
The Wah I have is a VOX V847... Supposed to be good, but low sweep range and a rather mellow tone are drawbacks (a Crybaby is way sharper, no matter what model). I never really found a good wah tone, it always feel like a Wah-effect is like putting a blanket over the notes I want to play. Might be that my pedal isn't actually any good for what I play.
Been thinking of getting a Morley... This is my favourite Wah-solo and it was at least Morley live:
I really want to get into pedals, but I always bought another guitar instead. At 25 at the moment...
Maturin
Sköldpadda
Bought some pedals and a Pedaltrain Classic 2. Current board is Korg Pitchblack > Dunlop GCB-95 > BOSS CS-3 > BOSS SD-1 > BOSS DS-1 > BOSS BF-3 > BOSS DD-3T. All powered by a Cioks DC-7.
Lots of space left and got a BOSS LS-2 on the shelf, so I'm considering making it two channels with a boost added on the dirt channel for solos, and adding a chorus perhaps. The Flanger would be on the clean loop, which is an effect I really like.
Playing on the clean channel and getting all distortion from the SD-1 > DS-1 combo which works really well for me, and it cleans up nicely with volume roll off so I don't really get why people don't like the DS-1.
Lots of space left and got a BOSS LS-2 on the shelf, so I'm considering making it two channels with a boost added on the dirt channel for solos, and adding a chorus perhaps. The Flanger would be on the clean loop, which is an effect I really like.
Playing on the clean channel and getting all distortion from the SD-1 > DS-1 combo which works really well for me, and it cleans up nicely with volume roll off so I don't really get why people don't like the DS-1.
jazz from hell
Ancient Mariner
Do you guys ever record with physical pedals into amp sims?
One effect people shouldn't use is chorus, sounds dated IMO. Much better: flangers and phasers. Also to avoid: reverb, especially live (exception: spring reverb).
One effect people shouldn't use is chorus, sounds dated IMO. Much better: flangers and phasers. Also to avoid: reverb, especially live (exception: spring reverb).
Maturin
Sköldpadda
All effects have their place. I'm mostly chasing 80's sounds anyway.
Reverb is nice to have playing by yourself, but in a live setting delay wins everytime as it can be controlled more.
I've got a Vox wah too. I found it amusing for an hour or so, then thought I don't really like what this does.
Maturin
Sköldpadda
I mean the V847 is based on the spec of the very original wah, and it's good but there are more exciting options. I got a new Dunlop Crybaby GCB-95 which costs the same and the switch doesn't need your whole weight to push down and it's not sucking as much tone. As for the actual wah-effect and sweep I sort of like the V847 better but it's not on my board for the two reasons mentioned.
Maturin
Sköldpadda
Well here it is.
Should note the Distortion + is only temporarily taking the place of my Boss DS-1 to try it out, until I say otherwise.
Saapanael
Ancient Mariner
Dick Brucinson
The TRUE Dick Brucinson
Congrats. Analog delays are not seen very often anymore these days.
Saapanael
Ancient Mariner
If I wanted to build a pedalboard and needed to run a delay through the fx loop and other pedals through the front of the amp, how would this be done? As I realised yesterday while testing the MXR delay, it’s fine in front of the amp for clean sounds but doesn’t work with amp distortion because the delay repeats get distorted and it turns into a mess.
Dick Brucinson
The TRUE Dick Brucinson
Just as you said, the Delay should go to the FX loop. Two parallel effects paths. Did you already buy the board itself? If not, I would recommend you the Rockboard gear, because there is a Patchbay module you can fit in to the pedal board. This gathers several inputs and outputs together in one module to avoid cable chaos. That's the way I built mine. if you have a little time, then I can help you later on tonight with all your questions about constructing a nice pedalboard. Just now I'm almost out for the moment and will be bak home later. So if you want, you can write down all your questions and post them here and I'll help you later tonight.
Dick Brucinson
The TRUE Dick Brucinson
@Saapanael :
The board itself is actually nothing but a device that holds all the effects in the end. No more no less. You'll get very good quality boards from many different manufacturer companies - in the end I myself went with the Rockboard system since they have the Patchbay module option I mentioned ealier. Especially when you plan to build a larger pedal board this makes sense. As far as I know, Pedaltrain e.g. doesn't offer this, which is a big minus IMHO. Also I like the fact that there are very good flight cases available for all the different Rockboard board sizes as I think a poor quality case is very risky because a pedal board is not only sensitive by itself but also can be very expensive, depending on how you'll have yours in the end.
But first you should think about the final result: What will you have set up on your board in the end? You should really start with it all in your mind and in theory then creating it all on a sheet of paper first. After I was really sure what devices I would have set up and attached to my board I started my research in the internet to find out the following data for each of the devices: Device measures (width x depth) and power usage (most effects run 9 Volts, but some pedals might require even 18 Volts. You also should research on the current draw in mA of each of your devices - you'll need this information much later when it comes to empowering them in the end).
After cutting out paper matrixes of all your devices sized 1:1 you'll know what size your board should have. Then you can buy the board itself and all the effects one by one you plan to put on. Allow at least 2 cm space to each side of each effect for cable plugs etc., and just don't calculate all spaces too tight. You'll be glad if you have some spaces left when it comes to connecting your effects with all the patch cables. Mark my words.
Next step: Fix your devices to the board. This will take time, but one advice: Be profound about this. If they're not really fastened that'll cause trouble in the end. There is some special loop and hook tape available for that occasion. I can tell you later more on the topic of how to fasten them when it comes to the time doing so.
The placing of the effects on your board has nothing to do with the signal path in the end. You just place them under aspects such as saving space and having your pedals in comfortable use. So it's helpful to place such pedals to the bottom row you will use more often than others.
We'll take a closer look at the signal path in the next step:
There are patch cables available in almost any lenght. Try to figure out which cable lenghts you really need and don't use cables longer than nescessary, long cable runs might effect your sound in a negative way in the end. When you have 24 effects on your board like I do, it makes a significant difference to the sound if all your cables sum up to lets say 15 meters or to 30 meters. Always try to keep the cable connections as short as possible.
The following effects should always be used IN FRONT of the amp:
Compressors, Wahs, Overdrives, Distortions, Tremolos, Leslies, Vibratos etc., and Harmonizers or Octave shifters should also be placed in front of the amp. Wahs and Compressors should come early in chain, followed by Overdrives and EQs,
while all modulation effects (Chorus, Phaser, Flanger etc.) and timing effects (especially Delays and Reverbs) should be placed in the FX loop. Here your signal should first run through modulations, then after should pass the Delays, while any kinds of Reverbs should be placed at the very end.
Equalizers generally can be used as well infront of the amp as in the FX loop, depending on what you want to use an EQ for. I have one in front of the amp right after the Tube Screamers in my signal chain to boost some mids.
After that all is done you should think of a good quality power bank. Make sure to get a good one that won't cause issues in terms of buzzing or humming. You definitely will be unhappy if you'll have spent a lot of money on good quality effects and gear but in the end screw up your sound by poor quality cables or even a poor quality power supplement. When it comes to empower your devices, it's most important never to connect analogue effects together with digital effects combined to one and the same power output. Digital devices only to their own outs, analogue devices only to their own outs. Each output normally is given a value of maximum current draw written to it, so make sure never to overgo its maximum mA draw. I'll try to stay a bit below and make sure that way there's some unused space of current draw, so the fuse won't break. The power bank I use is Cioks Ciokolate, it's the most professional available. It has its price, but I am really happy with that one. I'll keep empowering 24 guitar effects with this one and there have never been any issues yet.
Well, this is a summary of the most important things that should give you somewhat a direction. There's much more to speak about in detail and you can ask me whenever you want. Any questions at this point?
The board itself is actually nothing but a device that holds all the effects in the end. No more no less. You'll get very good quality boards from many different manufacturer companies - in the end I myself went with the Rockboard system since they have the Patchbay module option I mentioned ealier. Especially when you plan to build a larger pedal board this makes sense. As far as I know, Pedaltrain e.g. doesn't offer this, which is a big minus IMHO. Also I like the fact that there are very good flight cases available for all the different Rockboard board sizes as I think a poor quality case is very risky because a pedal board is not only sensitive by itself but also can be very expensive, depending on how you'll have yours in the end.
But first you should think about the final result: What will you have set up on your board in the end? You should really start with it all in your mind and in theory then creating it all on a sheet of paper first. After I was really sure what devices I would have set up and attached to my board I started my research in the internet to find out the following data for each of the devices: Device measures (width x depth) and power usage (most effects run 9 Volts, but some pedals might require even 18 Volts. You also should research on the current draw in mA of each of your devices - you'll need this information much later when it comes to empowering them in the end).
After cutting out paper matrixes of all your devices sized 1:1 you'll know what size your board should have. Then you can buy the board itself and all the effects one by one you plan to put on. Allow at least 2 cm space to each side of each effect for cable plugs etc., and just don't calculate all spaces too tight. You'll be glad if you have some spaces left when it comes to connecting your effects with all the patch cables. Mark my words.
Next step: Fix your devices to the board. This will take time, but one advice: Be profound about this. If they're not really fastened that'll cause trouble in the end. There is some special loop and hook tape available for that occasion. I can tell you later more on the topic of how to fasten them when it comes to the time doing so.
The placing of the effects on your board has nothing to do with the signal path in the end. You just place them under aspects such as saving space and having your pedals in comfortable use. So it's helpful to place such pedals to the bottom row you will use more often than others.
We'll take a closer look at the signal path in the next step:
There are patch cables available in almost any lenght. Try to figure out which cable lenghts you really need and don't use cables longer than nescessary, long cable runs might effect your sound in a negative way in the end. When you have 24 effects on your board like I do, it makes a significant difference to the sound if all your cables sum up to lets say 15 meters or to 30 meters. Always try to keep the cable connections as short as possible.
The following effects should always be used IN FRONT of the amp:
Compressors, Wahs, Overdrives, Distortions, Tremolos, Leslies, Vibratos etc., and Harmonizers or Octave shifters should also be placed in front of the amp. Wahs and Compressors should come early in chain, followed by Overdrives and EQs,
while all modulation effects (Chorus, Phaser, Flanger etc.) and timing effects (especially Delays and Reverbs) should be placed in the FX loop. Here your signal should first run through modulations, then after should pass the Delays, while any kinds of Reverbs should be placed at the very end.
Equalizers generally can be used as well infront of the amp as in the FX loop, depending on what you want to use an EQ for. I have one in front of the amp right after the Tube Screamers in my signal chain to boost some mids.
After that all is done you should think of a good quality power bank. Make sure to get a good one that won't cause issues in terms of buzzing or humming. You definitely will be unhappy if you'll have spent a lot of money on good quality effects and gear but in the end screw up your sound by poor quality cables or even a poor quality power supplement. When it comes to empower your devices, it's most important never to connect analogue effects together with digital effects combined to one and the same power output. Digital devices only to their own outs, analogue devices only to their own outs. Each output normally is given a value of maximum current draw written to it, so make sure never to overgo its maximum mA draw. I'll try to stay a bit below and make sure that way there's some unused space of current draw, so the fuse won't break. The power bank I use is Cioks Ciokolate, it's the most professional available. It has its price, but I am really happy with that one. I'll keep empowering 24 guitar effects with this one and there have never been any issues yet.
Well, this is a summary of the most important things that should give you somewhat a direction. There's much more to speak about in detail and you can ask me whenever you want. Any questions at this point?
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