Off Topic Building an inexpensive pedalboard

[Jimmyb]

There's lovely!

I think it's more about the boxes that make the noise, rather than the big box to put all of the toys in though.

 

[Astrofreq]

I've been playing guitar long enough to know that my pedalboard looks different than it did last week, and will inevitably look different next week. I definitely go for individual pedals over the multi-units. Scooby Steve pretty much nailed it on his rundown for an affordable board.

I would say check out the Earthquaker Devices Dispatch Master for a GREAT reverb/delay pedal. It seems that great reverb/delay in one are coming out. I just ordered a used MUZA FD-900, so I'll see that goes.

 

[DrKev]

My "pedal board" has developed in it's own way over the years and it's mostly cheap stuff!

There's Danelectro (Daddy-O OD for the vintage Marshall tones, PB&J delay, Cool Cat Transparent Overdrive (v2) and a Cool Cat Vibe).

I've got three Behringers (GDI-21 as a DI backup in case of amp problems, an ADI-21 to EQ the mandolin, and the HBO-1 Hell Babe wah).

The 'expensive' parts of my board are the Radial Texas Bones overdrive (which is AMAZING) and a PolyTune.

I don't use it all and only take what I need to the gigs. Usually, I'll simply use PT->ADI->CTO-2->Bones->Delay
I have a bunch of other OD pedals lying around but I really need to get off my ass and sell 'em. I don't even consider them part of the herd. They're just sitting in a box in a drawer. Next purchase will be a Radial Hollywood Bones, at which point I'll keep the two Radials and retire the Danos the other OD pedals.

I'm on the lookout for a nice reverb pedal but I have yet to find one I'm really happy with. Maybe a used DigiVerb? I don't like Boss gear for no reason other than I have yet to find a Boss pedal that I like. But I'm not averse to anything at all if it sounds good.

 

[Spudmurphy]

Just thought I'd throw my 2c/2d worth into this specific aspect ....

quote .....The only requirements are that you aren't buying the cheapest pedals because they are cheap. You are buying pedals that sound good and are a good/great balance between sound quality and value. end quote

Most boards have tuners - good inexpensive tuner is the Korg pitchblack. Accurate, & the user can cusomise the display. Yup there are other good ones out there albeit slightly more expensive. Another good feature is that the dislay is LARGE and bright.

Overdrive - well this is a whole subject in itself. Good units for the money are the Behringer O/D - a great little booster and will give you plenty of creamy goodness!!

Compressor - like them or loathe them I have found the Electro Harmonix Soul Preacher to be great bang for the bucks. I use it with a minimal amount of compression but have recently experimented with the volume(?) setting (typing this in work) - kind of like a pick up booster in a way and really drives the tubes. I recently asked on the forum about the use of a "Rubber knob" that can go over this control to enable you to alter it on the fly.

TC Electronics Flashback delay - should be on everybody's Xmas list - this is one hell of a pedal and I'd love to have two of them!!

Vibe - value for money has to be the Danny Cool Cat Vibe. Yes it has a volume kick and slight delay but there are mods out there that will rectify this.

The most expensive of the above pedals is the flash back which at £120 is still great value the others are all dirt cheap and IMO will give you a very good balance between sound quality and value.

 

[DrKev]

Vibe - value for money has to be the Danny Cool Cat Vibe. Yes it has a volume kick and slight delay but there are mods out there that will rectify this.

IMO, the volume kick absolutely necessary in a band situation and they dialled it in perfectly!

 

[tommyindelaware]

tc electronic will have a tone print setting for the hall of fame reverb pedal sooner than later that steve and myself have been working on. if all goes to plan..........we will fine tune it next week at the factory. the pedal works really well right out of the box.

 

[Spudmurphy]

tc electronic will have a tone print setting for the hall of fame reverb pedal sooner than later that steve and myself have been working on. if all goes to plan..........we will fine tune it next week at the factory. the pedal works really well right out of the box.

The main reason I got the TC Flashback delay was because of Steve Morse's fantastic demo. In addition to which it has a useable looper although I have a dedicated Boss unit for this.

 

[ScoobySteve]

I was honestly kind of skeptical at first when TC launched the toneprint series because of the sheer oversaturation in the effect/pedal market, but I was pleasantly surprised to see just how good they are out of the box. Not on the low end of the cost scale (TC never is) but they're awesome!

 

[luv]

Since all of the Nova suggestions, I've started looking into all of the TC products. I have to say that the Toneprint series looks and sounds really good to me. Some of the Youtube demos are pretty cool.

As of right now, I'm leaning on pedals instead of a multi unit. It might go something like this (not quite in order).

Fulltone OCD
TC Flashback Dely
TC Hall of Fame Reverb
TC Corona Chorus
EB Volume Pedal
Korg Pitchblack Tuner

The o/d is still a little up in the air. I'm thinking that the OCD will be able to push my head hard enough to get some heavier sounds out of it. The volume pedal will be the last addition. I'm also considering a Sonic Stomp. Some of these pedals are showing up used, but even at new prices they are not even close to approaching boutique money.

On a side note: The Nova System goes for $349 USD new on the Ebay right now. Pretty cheap.

 

[luv]

Well here's one, talk about inexpensive!.....

http://forums.ernieball.com/showthread.php?t=43548

Awesome Spud! Definately within my budget. I may be fabricating my own board for this project, but I can also see myself just buying a prefab one.....especially with the Holidays here. I barely have time to play, let alone build anything.

 

[JMD]

I use the OCD in my board - good unit.....reacts effectivly to the volume knob.....lots of 'right' choices here, but only one will probably knock you off yer feet.

 

[spkirby]

I thought that the TC Flashback sounded really unnatural and "metallic"... it went back to the store fast even though it had a few fun features! I have two great delays, a T-Rex Replica (expensive!) and a MXR Carbon Copy (cheap).

 

[ScoobySteve]

The OCD can get you into pretty heavy territory. Especially if your tube amp breaks up a bit as well.

 

[Gio_Force_One]

i have the srb 808 single pedal , been using for years best one i have found so far

 

[Gio_Force_One]

heres another video of the pedals

 

[Random Hero]

I use a small pedalboard with a Nova System as the main fx and it does everything I need, and more actually! I run everything in front of the amp - the wah is a Wah/Volume (Mister Crybaby Super), Sparkle Drive is my tubescreamer and the Pinnacle my main distortion and lead tone with the boost enabled. All FX come from the Nova as well as other occasional drives.

 

[ScreaminFloyd]

You will spend more in the long run if you go cheap. I have bought the same pedal twice in some cases. Get a good power supply. I use the Dunlop brick. The battery thing that Eric Johnson was quoted on was a Joke! Some people still really believe he was serious ! There are some good Digital pedals on the market. Analog is the way to go if possible. Buy quality instrument 6" 12" and even 18" cable. Quality makes a huge difference in tone. The reason I like the Dunlop Brick is that there are 3 imputs for 18V and 7 imputs for 12V. Some of the Fulltone drive pedals like the OCD and the PlimSoul can run on 12V or 18V !! Huge difference !! I love the Ernie Ball Volume Pedals!! get 2 or 3 even !! I cannot use the Ernie Ball Wah thought because of the Popping. The quietest trantitional Wah is the Fulltone Clyde. Thats where Quality wins in the argument. There are so many options available the tone possibitlies are endless !! My pedalboard is the best board for me. And wont be the best for someone else. Anyone can cover all the pedal bases for under $500, But there is no way a $500. pedalboard is going to sound as good as a $2000 pedalboard, In anyones hands. The $500 board will be noisy, Suck your tone. With so much information available now compared to 20 years ago, It's way easier to do it right the first time compared to before. Qualitly though.....there is no substitution.

 

[luv]

I use the OCD in my board - good unit.....reacts effectivly to the volume knob.....lots of 'right' choices here, but only one will probably knock you off yer feet.

the ocd? (curious what you meant)

Floyd....I hear you. I'm not wanting to buy pedals that I'm going to want to replace all within 6 months. I'm hopeful that I'll buy some that I'll hang on to for awhile (1 year, 2 years, more?). I realize that I'll change preferences over time, but I'd like to start with a good quality, good sounding, basic set up that isn't going to cost me $1k. I'm coming from a Vox Tonelab and before that a Zoom, so my guess is that if I were to buy the pedals I mentioned in my earlier post I'd be taking a step up in sound quality....or that's my goal anyway. Of course I'm going to change out some pedals down the road, I'm ok with that.

By the way....thanks for all the input everyone.

 

[Roubster]

One thing that I seemed to have missed. What amp will you be running all this through?

I still cant say enough about the Suhr Riot pedal for the distortion tones. Check this demo out by Pete Thorn, and Mark Day:
Suhr Riot Distortion demo, by Pete Thorn - YouTube
Suhr Riot Distortion Pedal Demo by Mark Day - YouTube

 

[luv]

Blackheart Handsome Devil Head with Avatar 212 cab.