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I think for shows I could totally get away with a gain (Magnetic Effects White Atom or Arc Effects Soothsayer), tremolo (EQD Hummingbird), and delay or two (Caroline Kilobyte). I can create most of the sounds I get with those.

At home, I still like mixing things up with weird sounds, and I don't think I'd want a small board at home. I keep trying to trim my board down, but my favorite sounds end up being 3 delays and 4 gain pedals, so what's the point? Beyond that, the only things I always have on there are my EQD Organizer, EQD Grand Orbiter, volume pedal, and reverb (Red Panda Context).

I've retired my pedalboard entirely. I did buy an MF Drive recently to mess around with, but right now I'm straight to the Kemper. Of course, the Kemper has a bunch of effects built in, but I find I rarely touch them. Verb/EQ/gain/compression type stuff, sometimes. Rarely a touch of delay or a modulation effect.

Having everything onboard actually led to my using less effects...after the pedalboard became redundant, I started using my ears instead of my eyes (finding cool pedals was like a game in itself), and I realized that I rarely enjoy my tone more when it's wet. Made me realize I was using a lot of pedals just because it was fun finding them, twisting knobs, experimenting with signal chain...but ultimately they weren't serving much musical purpose.

I'm basically down to an overdrive into a zoom CDR. I'll work out a controller scheme at some point, maybe add a stereo looper at the end, but... I tend to play pretty clean. Probably from all the time I've spent plunking on unplugged electrics, but I don't wanna change that sound much. Add a little here and there, but... yeah.

My preferred setup is:

Tuner>light OD>clean boost>delay>tremolo>reverb

Sometimes with a volume pedal if I'm feeling fancy.

I don't like tap dancing or carting a bunch of shit around, and I don't think it really matters to the listener to have a half dozen subtle shades of overdrive, etc..., at least not for what I do.

mackerelmint wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 09, 2018 11:16 pm

I'm basically down to an overdrive into a zoom CDR. I'll work out a controller scheme at some point, maybe add a stereo looper at the end, but... I tend to play pretty clean. Probably from all the time I've spent plunking on unplugged electrics, but I don't wanna change that sound much. Add a little here and there, but... yeah.

You could probably rock some serious ass with a two-button loop switcher (one for overdrive, one for Zoom CDR). Set the Zoom to where you want, and toggle it with the loop switcher.

marqueemoon wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 09, 2018 11:46 pm

I don't like tap dancing or carting a bunch of shit around, and I don't think it really matters to the listener to have a half dozen subtle shades of overdrive, etc..., at least not for what I do.

Completely agree. Most of my overdrive sounds are VASTLY different, and that's the way I use them. Tap dancing sucks.

Nah, I wanna use the zoom with an external controller to change patches from time to time, and just step on the dirt when I want dirt. The only reason maybe more than one dirt would be good is so I wouldn't have to adjust the knobs on one overdrive pedal. But it's also not a huge issue since I don't actually play out.

A few years back I played a solo gig with just a Tube Screamer and a Boss PS-3 and found I was able to cover a lot of sonic territory with just those two effects. Admittedly the PS-3 is kind of a multi-FX unit and I had to do a lot of bending down to adjust it between songs.

Wow I remember this thread... fucking photobucket.

I HATE big pedalboards.

Gtr -> TC Polytune -> OD/Dist* -> Klon KTR -> JHV3 modded Line6 M9 -> '76 Deluxe Reverb

* could be one of the following: '86 Rat, Ibanez TS10, DOD 250, '73 RH Muff, etc.

How about pedals that are minimal? One knobbers?

A one knob fuzz is easy, as is a one knob phaser. A wah is basically one knob, toss that in the mix, and there is a one knob spring reverb pedal that's pretty decent. That might be enough?

A single knob tremolo pedal should be a possibility, but I can't think of one off hand. I like analog or tape delay, but don't think I could find a one knobber there. Would an EP-3 Echoplex ruin the aesthetic?

OffYourFace wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 12, 2018 5:46 pm

I HATE big pedalboards.

Me too. I’ve tried and I find it stressful and weirdly limiting.

Current minimal set-up:

^ YES Maxon!


Also love the idea of simple layout per pedal. I like as few knobs as possible. That Maxon is my fave layout for an analog delay. So simple and functional. Look at how much room is between knobs. Nice and spread out.

Into a lightly broken up OR50

I currently have 9 pedals on my board. Which is definitely more than necessary. But as an exercise I do enjoy plugging straight into a small (usually cranked) amp. It can be somewhat liberating to limit yourself that way.

fuzzjunkie wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 13, 2018 4:45 pm

How about pedals that are minimal? One knobbers?

A one knob fuzz is easy, as is a one knob phaser. A wah is basically one knob, toss that in the mix, and there is a one knob spring reverb pedal that's pretty decent. That might be enough?

A single knob tremolo pedal should be a possibility, but I can't think of one off hand. I like analog or tape delay, but don't think I could find a one knobber there. Would an EP-3 Echoplex ruin the aesthetic?

I also prefer pedals to be simple.
This is my pedal rule: No more than three knobs.
I do have one exception... Scarab Deluxe... I’m sure I could find a nice two knob tonebender but it would probably be difficult without breaking the bank. Plus it seems to be much less temperamental than most.
I find too many functions to be distracting. This was the main reason I choose to sell the Strymon El Cap I had. I’d end up unknowingly changing sub-functions and wouldn’t be able to figure out why the delays were suddenly drenched in reverb or something.

I do know of a single knob temolo... the Lovepedal Baby Face trem. I had one briefly and iirc, it had one rate knob and two internal trem pots for depth and volume.
I suppose you could make just about any common circuit one knob if you just hide enough parameters up inside the enclosure.

fuzzjunkie wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 13, 2018 4:45 pm

How about pedals that are minimal? One knobbers?

I don't mind if they're more than 1 knob, but I hate hidden features (banks of menus a la digitally controlled pedals), but too complicated is definitely a turn off. I love when a pedal has a couple knobs, and then instead of more knobs, they have an option be a toggle switch. One or the other.

JazzBlaster wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 21, 2014 8:23 am

I used to have this job where I just had to be there on the night shift to answer the phone (which rarely rang). I used to sit at my desk with an unplugged Jaguar and write songs.

This post makes me smile. My effects setup right now is just...
Homemade guitar > Fender Champion 40
In an ideal world this would be...
Jazzmaster>some fuzz pedal>MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay> Fender 65RI Twin Reverb.

I always write with acoustic or unplugged electric. My sound comes from my hands.

I love the simplicity of Rowland S Howard's rig. Amazing to think he only used one guitar through his entire career.