Pedalboard Malaise

Everyone needs a stompbox.
User avatar
shoule79
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1963
Joined: Mon Sep 16, 2013 11:57 am
Location: London....the one in Canada

Re: Pedalboard Malaise

Post by shoule79 » Sun Jun 09, 2019 7:10 am

Back when I was playing out regularly my pedals consisted of a tuner, Boss OD set as a boost and a digital delay. No board, no power supply, just a few pedals on the ground and a cranked tube amp.

Flash forward a couple of years and I’m only playing at home, and have a huge board with 20 pedals on it. As cool as that is, it just starts to feel wrong to indulge like that. I don’t need 3 OD’s, 2 fuzzes and 5 modulation pedals. I started playing out again occasionally and voila, my board went down to 4 or 5 pedals.

Pedal collecting is something I do when I have too much time on my hands, and am not playing enough. I’m back into the too many pedals phase right now. I helped a friend out with some recordings last year, and they called for stacked delays, chorus and use of a VB-2. That started me rabbit holing again.

User avatar
StevenO
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 17768
Joined: Wed Oct 18, 2006 7:06 pm

Re: Pedalboard Malaise

Post by StevenO » Sun Jun 09, 2019 8:34 am

You know how I posted about not really needing pedals? I bought a ring mod yesterday...

:fp:

User avatar
i love sharin foo
Mods
Mods
Posts: 5649
Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2006 8:26 am
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Contact:

Re: Pedalboard Malaise

Post by i love sharin foo » Sun Jun 09, 2019 10:05 am

StevenO wrote:
Sun Jun 09, 2019 8:34 am
You know how I posted about not really needing pedals? I bought a ring mod yesterday...

:fp:
Which one?!

I :-* Ring modulators!
The whispers cut like hard rain, Like sugar in a hurricane

Singlebladepickup
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 2831
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2014 4:12 am
Location: U.S. of fuckin' A.

Re: Pedalboard Malaise

Post by Singlebladepickup » Sun Jun 09, 2019 11:07 am

i love sharin foo wrote:
Sun Jun 09, 2019 10:05 am
StevenO wrote:
Sun Jun 09, 2019 8:34 am
You know how I posted about not really needing pedals? I bought a ring mod yesterday...

:fp:
Which one?!

I :-* Ring modulators!
no one needs pedals, but everyone does need a ring modulator.

User avatar
i love sharin foo
Mods
Mods
Posts: 5649
Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2006 8:26 am
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Contact:

Re: Pedalboard Malaise

Post by i love sharin foo » Sun Jun 09, 2019 11:16 am

Singlebladepickup wrote:
Sun Jun 09, 2019 11:07 am
i love sharin foo wrote:
Sun Jun 09, 2019 10:05 am
StevenO wrote:
Sun Jun 09, 2019 8:34 am
You know how I posted about not really needing pedals? I bought a ring mod yesterday...

:fp:
Which one?!

I :-* Ring modulators!
no one needs pedals, but everyone does need a ring modulator.
I like the way you think!


...but A ring modulator... how about four :shifty:

:fp:
The whispers cut like hard rain, Like sugar in a hurricane

User avatar
Jaguar018
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 8045
Joined: Thu Nov 06, 2008 6:48 am
Location: Burbs of Washington DC

Re: Pedalboard Malaise

Post by Jaguar018 » Sun Jun 09, 2019 6:35 pm

^ I am for the most part a ‘set it and forget it’ pedal person; my experiences with ring mod pedals have kept me from buying one.

I spent the day reconfiguring my #1 board. Took a flanger and a delay off. Added a different delay. I also finally cleaned up and reassembled a Rat clone (built by an OSGer), and I also think I got a misfiring fuzz pedal back in order with some Deoxit.

The #1 board is ready to go back to the band practice space. I will leave it alone until then. Sometimes it’s fun to leave your pedals alone for a while so you can ‘rediscover’ them.

#2 board now needs some attention and rearranging. That will be my next little project.

I also put two pedals up for sale on Reverb. I wonder if they will sell.

Singlebladepickup
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 2831
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2014 4:12 am
Location: U.S. of fuckin' A.

Re: Pedalboard Malaise

Post by Singlebladepickup » Sun Jun 09, 2019 6:45 pm

I just bought my first expression pedal, Moog ep-3, and I can't wait to put it to good use with Randy's Revenge ring mod. It may come in handy with my Mercury 7 as well. I'm gasing for Red Panda Tensor but I'm going to have to wait until my job feels more stable

User avatar
StevenO
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 17768
Joined: Wed Oct 18, 2006 7:06 pm

Re: Pedalboard Malaise

Post by StevenO » Mon Jun 10, 2019 1:44 am

i love sharin foo wrote:
Sun Jun 09, 2019 10:05 am
StevenO wrote:
Sun Jun 09, 2019 8:34 am
You know how I posted about not really needing pedals? I bought a ring mod yesterday...

:fp:
Which one?!

I :-* Ring modulators!
I bought a Fairfield Circuitry Randy's Revenge. :whistle:

User avatar
somanytoys
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 3325
Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2017 1:59 pm
Location: Baton Rouge, LA

Re: Pedalboard Malaise

Post by somanytoys » Mon Jun 10, 2019 5:58 am

Resistance is futile.

I, for one, have done my part. I only ordered an amp during this past week. And new tubes for it. :ph34r: I'll probably be buying a new speaker for it soon, but I can live with it for the moment.

I think my next pedal purchase is going to be a stacked Cali 76 compressor. Once I figure out what I'm going to sell in order to fund it.

Although the Digit looks like it's going to be cool, when it comes out.

It never ends....
-David

It's a boost booster, to boost your boost - it makes your tone much muchier.

User avatar
Shadoweclipse13
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 12435
Joined: Fri Feb 07, 2014 9:22 pm
Location: Stuck in the dimension of imagination

Re: Pedalboard Malaise

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Mon Jun 10, 2019 7:34 pm

Those Origin Effects Cali compressors sound awesome. After seeing a few different variants on That Pedal Show, I really wanted one, but couldn't justify the price for a pedal compressor. I ended up with a Greer Amps Lamplighter, which I'm really happy with.
Pickup Switching Mad Scientist
http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=104282&p=1438384#p1438384

User avatar
shadowplay
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 25930
Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2007 4:30 am
Location: Glasgow. Scotland
Contact:

Re: Pedalboard Malaise

Post by shadowplay » Mon Jun 10, 2019 11:53 pm

cestlamort wrote:
Wed Jun 05, 2019 8:19 am

I have surely said this here before but I find the Ibanez UE racks that I use to solve some of the pedalboard malaise. Having two racks that cover most things, I find that I have limited myself and also freed myself from the perpetual striving for the latest greatest true bypass spaceship in a pedal. I still will buy a pedal now and then, especially older reissues, but the effort and planning to incorporate it in the live setup often means that these stay on the sidelines. I figure that if I cannot do it with a compressor, EQ, chorus, flanger, overdrive, phaser and an analog delay, it is my fault. That said, I have an eventide h9 for reverbs and tuner and whatever else may be needed. Anything more requires mental and signal path gymnastics.
I'm a bit like that but with Boss pedals, it's not malaise, it's contentment.

D
Are you loathsome tonight?

User avatar
Jaguar018
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 8045
Joined: Thu Nov 06, 2008 6:48 am
Location: Burbs of Washington DC

Re: Pedalboard Malaise

Post by Jaguar018 » Tue Jun 11, 2019 6:38 am

shadowplay wrote:
Mon Jun 10, 2019 11:53 pm
cestlamort wrote:
Wed Jun 05, 2019 8:19 am

I have surely said this here before but I find the Ibanez UE racks that I use to solve some of the pedalboard malaise. Having two racks that cover most things, I find that I have limited myself and also freed myself from the perpetual striving for the latest greatest true bypass spaceship in a pedal. I still will buy a pedal now and then, especially older reissues, but the effort and planning to incorporate it in the live setup often means that these stay on the sidelines. I figure that if I cannot do it with a compressor, EQ, chorus, flanger, overdrive, phaser and an analog delay, it is my fault. That said, I have an eventide h9 for reverbs and tuner and whatever else may be needed. Anything more requires mental and signal path gymnastics.
I'm a bit like that but with Boss pedals, it's not malaise, it's contentment.
I know that the combination of functionality and aesthetics weigh heavily in the life of Shadowplay and others. The 'one brand only' approach can be really effective and rewarding-- Boss pedals cover all the bases. Sometimes I wish I could turn off the part of my brain that is always sort of wondering what is around the next bend with certain things. There are just so many cool pedal brands, new and old, and I really like all of the different ways pedals have looked through the years. Like I said earlier, it's essentially my last personal frontier of gear questing and flipping, some of the magic is gone, but venting a little here and getting some different perspectives have helped me pare down a few extra pedals, reshuffle things, and hopefully reinvigorate my playing.

User avatar
shadowplay
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 25930
Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2007 4:30 am
Location: Glasgow. Scotland
Contact:

Re: Pedalboard Malaise

Post by shadowplay » Tue Jun 11, 2019 7:01 am

Jaguar018 wrote:
Tue Jun 11, 2019 6:38 am
shadowplay wrote:
Mon Jun 10, 2019 11:53 pm
cestlamort wrote:
Wed Jun 05, 2019 8:19 am

I have surely said this here before but I find the Ibanez UE racks that I use to solve some of the pedalboard malaise. Having two racks that cover most things, I find that I have limited myself and also freed myself from the perpetual striving for the latest greatest true bypass spaceship in a pedal. I still will buy a pedal now and then, especially older reissues, but the effort and planning to incorporate it in the live setup often means that these stay on the sidelines. I figure that if I cannot do it with a compressor, EQ, chorus, flanger, overdrive, phaser and an analog delay, it is my fault. That said, I have an eventide h9 for reverbs and tuner and whatever else may be needed. Anything more requires mental and signal path gymnastics.
I'm a bit like that but with Boss pedals, it's not malaise, it's contentment.
I know that the combination of functionality and aesthetics weigh heavily in the life of Shadowplay and others. The 'one brand only' approach can be really effective and rewarding-- Boss pedals cover all the bases. Sometimes I wish I could turn off the part of my brain that is always sort of wondering what is around the next bend with certain things. There are just so many cool pedal brands, new and old, and I really like all of the different ways pedals have looked through the years. Like I said earlier, it's essentially my last personal frontier of gear questing and flipping, some of the magic is gone, but venting a little here and getting some different perspectives have helped me pare down a few extra pedals, reshuffle things, and hopefully reinvigorate my playing.

I totally get that, I had a hotchpotch of other flea market pedals before I could afford Boss but once I got them I was pretty happy. I’ve bought modern pedals but I find a combination of disliking music shops finding pedal demos pure torture and not enjoying selling stuff I’ve found I don’t like keeps me happy with my little coloured bricks.

D
Are you loathsome tonight?

User avatar
Maggieo
Expat
Expat
Posts: 13446
Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2006 10:36 am
Location: Nebraska, USA
Contact:

Re: Pedalboard Malaise

Post by Maggieo » Tue Jun 11, 2019 7:04 am

I need to actually use a pedalboard.

Image
“Now I am quietly waiting for/ the catastrophe of my personality/ to seem beautiful again.”- Frank O'Hara
I am not an attorney and this post is for entertainment purposes only. Please consult a licensed attorney in your state for legal advice.

User avatar
somanytoys
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 3325
Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2017 1:59 pm
Location: Baton Rouge, LA

Re: Pedalboard Malaise

Post by somanytoys » Tue Jun 11, 2019 7:45 am

Maggieo wrote:
Tue Jun 11, 2019 7:04 am
I need to actually use a pedalboard.

Image
Nice stuff. That reminds me (again) that I need to pull my Colourbox back out and plug it up. That thing really is cool.
-David

It's a boost booster, to boost your boost - it makes your tone much muchier.

Post Reply