Off Topic Pedal Board

[Sweat]

OK, I kow this has been done before and I have done my lovely internet browsing, and well opinions are like Azzh__les, so I am going to ask my fourm members

Chitty guitar player building a small pedal board, first I have a distortion pedal, phase pedal, chorus pedal and a WAH on the way.

Only want to add one or two more to it so first what pedals and second what would be the proper chain for the effects.

Thanks for serious replies

 

[peterd79]

email sent

 

[browndog]

A must have is a Delay pedal. ProGuitarShop.com for all your demo vids.

Never sure of the order. I will leave that for the guys that know.

 

[TonyEVH5150]

Gator Cases is the manufacturer of musical instrument and audio visual cases - Bone Pedal Board; w/ Carry Bag & Power Supply; NEW (G-BONE)

Powered Pedalboard by SKB Cases

For a small board with no frills, Id go with one of the two above. I've used the Gator board, and it's great. Just about the right size for 5-6 pedals. The SKB holds 8 pedals. Both boards have the power supply included.

You could also look into a Pedaltrain PT Jr. Room for about 8 pedals. You would need a power supply, like a Dunlop DC Brick, BBE Supa Charger, Voodoo Labs Pedal Power.

As far as a chain order, I go this way, from first to last:

Tuner
Wah
Distortion/Overdrive/ Fuzz
Modulation/pitch effects (Phaser, Flanger, Chorus)
Delay

 

[ShaneV]

Gator Cases is the manufacturer of musical instrument and audio visual cases - Bone Pedal Board; w/ Carry Bag & Power Supply; NEW (G-BONE)

Powered Pedalboard by SKB Cases

For a small board with no frills, Id go with one of the two above. I've used the Gator board, and it's great. Just about the right size for 5-6 pedals. The SKB holds 8 pedals. Both boards have the power supply included.

You could also look into a Pedaltrain PT Jr. Room for about 8 pedals. You would need a power supply, like a Dunlop DC Brick, BBE Supa Charger, Voodoo Labs Pedal Power.

As far as a chain order, I go this way, from first to last:

Tuner
Wah
Distortion/Overdrive/ Fuzz
Modulation/pitch effects (Phaser, Flanger, Chorus)
Delay

I have that same tuner, great value.

Fing, are you using amp distortion or an effects loop? That influences the order.

 

[TonyEVH5150]

I've heard mixed reviews about the 1-Spot power supplies also. Some love them, others report alot of noise in their signal chain.

 

[ShaneV]

I've heard mixed reviews about the 1-Spot power supplies also. Some love them, others report alot of noise in their signal chain.

If you use a single 1 spot type supply to power effects both in front of the amp and in the loop (along with some other combination of certain pedals) you will get ground loop noise. Godlyke is coming out with a new mini transformer that you can use between a pedal and the supply to isolate the ground, but that ads more cost to the setup and more cables to the board.

 

[peterd79]

I've had about a dozen different pedalboards... and none of them fit what i was looking for and at one point i had a dozen or so pedals that i would run at any given time... so i started making my own boards and havent been any happier... i run everything through a VooDoo Labs Pedal Power 2.... they've made a smaller one for those who just run a few pedals... and they are just as grand... i'll post a few pics here in a minute of the top and bottom of my current board...

 

[blackrebel]

+1 on voodoo lab pedal power plus 2

would seriously look at buying a delay and compressor

here's my pedalboard: chain is

wah - compressor - pedal switcher (for various od, fuzz and distortion colours) - chorus - delay - preamp - amp



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[peterd79]

I plug into the side of my board and run my chain left to right... just so i don't trip...
This is my power in and line out... i have it setup to run to two amps but i only use one right now...
This is how i've mounted my VDL PP2 & run it to the power plug & run my cables under the board
Close up of the connection... i use quick connect and have no problems with noise
The top of my current board

Old Board with some pedals left... most pedals were sold off at this point in preparation for the new one

 

[peterd79]

Keith-
as far as suggested pedals...
tuners are a must for me- i actually run two one as my main and one on the nova system as a backup...
i've also really been digging the delay... as to not boast one brand by name shoot me an email and i can give you my thoughts on a few different delays...

 

[DaPatrooch]

Delay is pretty much essential as metioned before. I have the TC Electronic Nova Delay, which is really awesome, but if you're looking to go really simple and only a few pedals the MXR Carbon Copy is worth looking at too, if you're not planning on going stereo, because as far as I know, it's a mono pedal. You also want to run it at the end of your FX chain in the loop if possible.

A tuner is also pretty necessary to me, it's really easy to just step on it and tune right away. I have the Boss TU-2. but then I got a Korg Pitchblack, which is a little more accurate, but the difference is definitely noticeable. It's also smaller and cheaper, so I would look at that. I hear the new TC Electronic Polytune is great and has some really cool features. You'll want to run a tuner at the beginning of your FX chain (which I do), or you could put it at the end, so it would silence the delay trail if you wanted to. I don't know if the placement of the tuner causes any tonal differences, maybe someone else can chime in here. I guess it could really go anywhere in the chain.

As for the stuff you already have, I would run the wah up front, then into the phaser. I would put the chorus in the loop, but it could also work up front depending on what kind of tone you want. The phaser could also work in the loop, but I prefer it up front. Not sure about distortion, I forget if it's supposed to go before or after the wah. Actually it's probably after because the amp distortion comes after the wah anyway.

 

[peterd79]

dirt has to go in front...
and typically can be ran before or after the wah... i used to run one before and after (identical pedals) to pick up the dirt all the way though... i had one set lower than the other (output wise) so when they were both on it was where i wanted it to be volume wise

 

[mr.b]

+1 on voodoo lab pedal power plus 2

would seriously look at buying a delay and compressor

here's my pedalboard: chain is

wah - compressor - pedal switcher (for various od, fuzz and distortion colours) - chorus - delay - preamp - amp



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Nice work on the tube driver. how do you rate them?

 

[Spudmurphy]

Fing get yourself a vibe pedal - get the Danelectro one - I paid 28 quid for it, rather than 250 quid for a univibe. I also recommend a compressor - one that doesn't squash everything up - the one I have on my board cost 60 quid and is very transparant.
I wish I had a delay, and may get rid of my overdrive to accommodate one and replace it with a separate Blackstar dual.

Build your own board like I did (see here) - it was fun !!!

 

[catdaddy]

Here's an article Keith:
Guitar Effects: A Guide to Guitar Effects | Harmony Central

 

[bazxkr]

I would not have the need for one but if I did I like the transparent clear LED lit with integrated ppower supply (runs off 110 or 240 V) that they do at Monkeydream.com . Look sturdy enouogh and different.

Anyone seen/used/come across these ?

Would seem great for gigging in poor light conditiojns with the snap brief illuminating switch you can hit

Cheers
Baz

 

[bkrumme]

Keith,

Mine is much simpler than yours will be, but I stick to just a couple guidelines:

1. Overdrive, distortion, wah, and compression go in front of the amp
2. Modulation (phase, flange, chorus) and delay go in the effects loop.

That being said, my effects chain is super simple.

My guitar goes to a Peterson Stroborack with the expander using a stereo cable. This acts as the buffer for my signal chain as well as an amazing tuner. From there, it gets split between piezo and magnetic signals. The piezo signal goes directly to my AC-90. The magnetic signal goes through the following chain:

Front of amp: Decimator ProRack G Ch. 1 to VP Jr. to EB Wah to OCD Overdrive to Mark V.

FX Loop: FX Send to Decimator ProRack G Ch. 2 to Nova Delay then back to the FX Return

Pretty simple, but it gives me everything I use regularly. If I were to add anything, it would probably be a phaser, flanger, and chorus. Those would likely go after the Nova Delay in the FX loop.

 

[blackrebel]

mr b. - the tube driver is a great od, i use it to boost a slightly overdriven marshall to get a smooth violin like distortion tone. It is not a transparent OD, it will colour your tone in a good way (if you like the eric johnson)

 

[Sweat]

Thanks for the replies and advice and links,like I said only wanting a small one with effects I like 6 or 7 total and BTW no effects loop on my amp so this is going to be straight forward.

Right now it is a tonebone classic distortion pedal, a hand wired MXR Phase 90,a MXR Black Label Chourus and EB WAH.

From the replies looks like I will add a delay pedal of some sort and something else, but not a tuner, no need on the board for me, plus I have a very good Korg tuner, hopefully by the time my Luke arrives this will be done as well