[SINCE YOU ASKED]
I am constantly asked about what to choose for a basic Pedal Board. It changes over time as I find the new and better and the old, available but forgotten.
I also need to know what style a guy plays in ...so the list gets long.
I thought I would come up with a board of the minimal must haves that I could use.
So in the end I have picked what works out 'live' for 'me' :-)
I decided to list the pedals in an order that I would lay them out in
THE OUCH FACTOR
I have chosen about $3000.00 USD in pedals. I would soon want a switcher & even if tacked to a plywood board the pedals need power.
I have always made my gear a priority. I do not have fancy phones, TV, cars etc. I do not go to movies or even buy fast food. Skip McDonalds twice and Starbucks once and you can have a nice compressor!
You can shop world wide too. I have bought mint pedals made in the States but bought from Germany or Poland etc.for 30% off. Japanese pedals from Russia or German pedals from China half price!
It takes hours to search for them.There are tricks. Google eBay UK or even ebay Germany etc. But be prepared for long waits with shipping.
NOTE: all these pedals have a full review and prices so check out their Posts later.
KEELEY COMPRESSOR PLUS
I will get right to the point. No matter what comp you got after pissing around for hours getting it to happen in the end it would end up sounding like this. You may have spent a lot more money, read the manual a dozen times but is the result better? Let me qualify just one thing the expensive Origin Effects Cali76 Compact sounds better. BUT only when compared side by side. The response and general EQ of the sound is the same. The '76' is a bit cleaner. Not different ...but the same only better!
CUSACK SCREAMER v.2
First you get 'as good as any' Tube Screamer sound. Big but ...with one click of the voicing switch and you get a killer SRV sound. I rest my case!!!
You can also use the 3rd setting which gives you very high headroom as a boost or set it very low for when your clean sound is just too damn clean. It is a 'must have tone ' for a semi.
MEDIUM GAIN OVERDRIVE
FRIEDMAN SMALL BOX OD
This is a new pedal with a 50 watt Plexi sound. It is fat, chunky and balzy. Almost forgot ...it is also killer.
MEDIUM/HIGH GAIN OVERDRIVE
TECH n TONE TURBO NONNA
This pedal is just flat out killer. It goes from a near low gain up to high gain with a sweet spot in whatever range you leave it. I never tire of it. It breaks the rules. ALL other drives that try to give more than one perfect sound give you maybe a couple of passable sound.
It is an 'in case of fire' rescue this pedal.
LPD PEDALS EIGHTY 7
It is basically a Marshall JCM 800 but with the mods that all the hero shredders of the time had done to their amps. Lawrence faithfully and painstakingly nailed them. If you need even more to move into early Metal territory you do what those guys did and put a Tube Screamer in front. In short stack the Cusack on the your '87.
KLIRRTON OH MY GOAT!
This sweet little box covers everything from pre 'chug' to 'chug' and does a good stand in for Doom and related genres.
FUZZ
Surprised?
I was ...big time surprised. Even the king of heavy dirt Billy Corgan is using this new version.
It is in effect a cross between a classic Muff and Rat pedal and subs for a Muff, a Rat and a Metal pedal.
Stack it with the Klirrton if you need to take your sound to 'Never Everland.
Trust me this is the hugest sounding dirt box on the planet.
The low end cuts thru any bass player, drummer etc. without
having to play louder then them! You can dial in any genre
of Metal from classic Sabbath to Doom it is that versatile.
It has been available for 11 years already. Others come and go. Why? because the Okko works in a band ...not just in
the bedroom.
SMART GATE
If you have not tried the best you do not know anything about them. Period!!!
They not only get rid of noise they can tighten you sound and even fatten it by changing the 'release' time on your dirt sounds. I use four Smart gates and two single end gates.
By doing this I do exactly what happens in Post production at a studio. BUT I get it all live.
NUX ANALOG CHORUS
Are there better? Yes but not enough to justify the price.The Nux is an excellent take on the old BOSS CH-2. So if price is no object or you use one as part of your basic sound than get a Boss Waza Craft or the Jam Pedals Waterfall. Both are killer. But be aware they too started life with the Boss CH-2 blueprints too. LOL
PHASER
You get a Phase 45, a Phase 90 and a the modern upgrade Phase that all the gourmet guys put in their pedals. This is a little gem and has a list miles long of big name guys who use this. There are even name guys that use it to replace there antique Uni-Vibe because the Phase 45 setting does a killer impression. Dave Friedman has one on his board and he ONLY uses what is the best no matter the price!
Yes guys that is where I got the heads up.
FLANGER
This is a dead perfect clone of Andy Summers Electro Harmonix '78 Flanger minus the scary noise floor. lol I thought the v.1 was perfect on video but some reviewers compared them side by each and the EHX had a teeny tiny bit more highs. Not now!!! The 9.9 rating just went to a 10.
Flangers are very hard to get right. If you check on a lot brands that sell a Chorus and Phaser they do not offer you a Flanger.
So a good Flanger is often pricey. There are others that are not only good but have a million bells and whistles. Mostly unusable lol. Ol' Andy used his a lot. Things I thought were his Jazz Chorus amp were actually
done on the EHX Flanger.
DELAY
This little mini pedal has only 3 voices. Digital Delay, Analog Delay and Tape Delay.
You simply do not need more!!! It covers everything but a U2 tune.. lol The specs are better than a Strymon! It is well made, looks great and $40.
I forget ...did I say $40? ...I did ...I said $40.
OR ?
DUNLOP/MXR EP103 ECHO-PLEX
This pedal gets mixed reviews as many reviewers find other versions better
In actual use a bullet proof way to see just how good this is set up a rig that
is a clone of EVH's gear when he used the original tape one and compared.
Another tip from Dave Friedman. He has several high end delays but when he
goes for that classic 'brown sound' this is IT.
I do what Eddy did. Leave it on my all the time ...just pull it back when it too much effect for a particular tune.
Yes ...I thought like many that this pedal was hype and a pedal for guys that listened with there eyes. WRONG!!!
REVERB
FLAMMA FS02 REVERB
It covers the basic noises and a few of the hot ambience sounds. My Neunaber Immerse is NOT better sounding! This thing is $70!!! It is probable that FLAMMA will bring out a mini. If so I will be back here to delete this choice and put it here. All you need is a good Spring, Plate and Hall.
In fact I expect I will leave it on Plate (says Dave Gilmour)
CAB SIMULATOR
SHIFT LINE A+ CABZONE LE
There are two statements that should never be said together "I do NOT NEED a Cab Simulator" with "Why yes! I do use a Combo Amp."
What is an ir? In plain language it is one dimensional sound of speaker cab. It fools the ear though it is one dimensional. It is no more real than a digital delay is real echo.
Now let me tell you a well kept secret. Put a Marshall Stack ir at the end of your pedals going into your 'whatever' Combo Amp and listen to the sound you hear where the audience is standing. Please bring a change of underwear ...you will need it!
This little miracle is $100 and sits in the palm of your hand. It has 8 of the worlds best cabs. I use the MESA 4x12 Recto Standard. It is the biggest and deepest 4x12 that you can buy! If you get get a bigger gig with a sound guy coming up to stick a mic on your rig just get him to tap off from the CabZone.
SINCE YOU ASKED
All these pedals will fit on a board 2'x1'.
MY BIG RIG
I would hate to go this small. It requires a switcher that you can plug in 15 pedals. It would than need a lot of programming. Gig Rig G3 at $1400.00 USD does 14 I have yet to see more.
I run my whole rig from 4 loops on my Boss ES 5 switcher. I could use the Joyo PLX 4. the Boss is overkill but it is both dependable and can be repaired or replaced word wide but it is $435.00 USD. The Joyo is $150.00 USD but at this price you could keep a spare.
It is simple to use, easy to set up your sounds and you will not need a high end switcher. Even they have a limited number of loops. You
still end up with more than one pedal in a loop.
Yes you could just settle on a digital multi FX board with all the bells and whistles. BUT if I have a pedal go down I do not lose my whole rig. I do not have to go without it for weeks while it is repaired. I can cherry pick every pedal for that perfect sound.
I only need to upgrade a single pedal if I change my mind a certain
sound. Furthermore
reverb.
I have yet to see a guy with even a Fractal Audio Axe fX 3 without a few analog pedals in front of it ...WTF!!!
I may need 4 of some things but I can choose different brands. For example one of my 4 loops is for low gain and clean sounds and I like a optic comp so for that so I use the Pigtronix Philosopher's Tone. Another one is primarily medium gain drives and they sound killer thru a Dunlop Echoplex instead of the Flamma Delay. I now use 82 pedals. But I get a killer live sound.
I also use 9 guitars live. All are different looking in shape and color. Most have a PAF at the bridge except for one with a Tele and another with a P 90. My semi & SG have two PAF's. Others use a P90, PAF, Ric, Gretsch, Gold Foil and another has an old Magnatone 50's PU although I see a Firebird PU in it's future.
MY GUITARS
Most of my guitars are heavily modded by a luthier who I have known for years who is known worldwide for his restoration of pre war Martin, Gibson, D'angelico, etc. guitars. He has more work than he can keep up with so he only takes references from a handful of clients from the past. Like Clapton and Dave Gilmour.
He said years ago he got a guitar sent not in a box but in a heavy wood crate and it was delivered by an armoured truck just like they use for shipping large amounts of cash or gold etc. On another occasion Clapton sent a roadie with a round trip airline ticket to fly thousands of miles just to deliver a guitar than get back in the cab and go to airport and fly back.lol
About 30 years ago he worked in a small store and anyone could walk in. I went in and said what I needed my guitar to do. I told him if he found anything that needed to be done to just do it. Do not phone me to discuss options ...just do it. He never forgot. He also knows I like my guitars to look cool. I will also wait months to get just the right part.
A good example is the neck PU on my Silvertone. It has a cover over it to disguise it to look like an early 50's DeArmond. If it had a Strat cover it would destroy the ascetic. The cover is made in Germany by some small place and I had to wait months. The bridge on my Airline is bent metal and adjustable The original was a rosewood acoustic style. Once again it is upgraded but does not look like it.
The pickguard on my Duo Sonic is made from a piece of plastic that is about 50 years old. The new tortoise shell plastics use digital photography for the look. When you get a magnify glass you can see the pixels.
Bottom line I only pay for parts not the labour. We both have great fun with my guitars.
Trust me I can't make this sh@t up. He is a about 80 years old very reclusive and eccentric character :-) If he needs to get online he uses the PC at the public library. He lives in an old Victorian house with very neat rows of busted up guitars that are in long rows stacked to the ceiling. He buys this stuff up for their parts.
So my point is there is lot of work done to my guitars that you can only see but do not notice because he makes the mods look like the guitar is not modded but came the way you see it from the factory.
I owe the guy a lot so I help him find more busted up old gems and parts. Some beyond garbage old Japanese guitars have unique parts like switch plates heavily chromed etc. Even the knobs are often really cool.
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| Airline H-44 DLX converted to an Airline H-88 Stratotone Doublet w/ mods + to look like a snowflake but sound like an avalanche |
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| 2009 Ibanez Jet King JTK-30 A re-issue of the first Ibanez. It started life as a Guyatone LG30T in the 50's Then some new upstart company that did not make guitars got Guyatone to put their Ibanez name on it. Retro looking yes but those P90's remove walls pushing my Marshall. |
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| 1999 Godin Radiator This was Godin's take on a late 50's MAGNATONE MkIII even down to the PU's I put in a Duncan Pegasus Prog Metal PU A Ric style PU cover hides it and keeps the 50's look. The quality of build makes even American Fenders look bad! |
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| Lace Cybercaster Designed by Grover Jackson and modded by Billy Gibbons himself (long story) |
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| Silvertone 1449 re-issue In 63 Dano made the original for Sears...this limited 2 year run re-issue has a solid mahogany neck and body. my mods? ...PAF & '64 Strat PU ...sounds killer! |
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Washurn HB 35 S MIJ 1989 retailed for $2400.00 USD ...for serious Jazz Playersthe quality is Gibson Custom Shop! I bought it mint for $275.000 USD It got killer reviews but no buyers. It was immediately discontinued, ...resurrected years later from China...but the quality dumbed down ...better than my old 1959 Gibson ES335 Keep in mind the old Gibson PAF's were scatter wound hand made and if a few were crap ...they were checked that they worked but nothing more My 335 sounded crap. When I got it in '67 no one made gourmet PU's.  I ordered the guitar and without playing it took it straight to my luthier buddy he removed the original pickguard & everything on it and started from scratch. a new pickguard cut to fit a Duncan '55 Tele and a '66 Ric pickup. The best Tele I ever owned ...lol |
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A Ltd. Ed. of a '74 with a NOS set of Classic 57 PU's With this thru my Plexi it nails the sound of the 70's I bought it used but it was new. A 'found under the bed' story I paid $800 ...a total steal!!! |
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| 1990 Fernandes Native Pro The Edge & Radiohead made it famous. Duncan Pearly Gates PAF & TV Jones Gretsch Filter'Tron the whammy holds tune!!! used $235.00 USD |
LENARD F-4G
My prototype. I expected to already have it manufactured and available for sale by now. C19 put a lid on that. It was scheduled in Nov. 2019 for an early 2020 introduction. But ready or not I can l bring it to a gig to show it off.
In 1951 Leo Fender had notes and rough sketches on a new guitar for 1952. I found by threading together a lot info from different sources it could have looked like this. If you want the whole story.
Go to the Blog ...The Second Best Guitar on the Planet.
BUT the real purpose of this guitar is to give a Gibson guy the perfect Fender.
The scale and feel of the neck is from a Les Paul. With a Tele PU at the bridge and a Strat PU for the neck and middle both a Tele and Strat are covered.
BUT the real purpose of this guitar is to give a Gibson guy the perfect Fender.
The scale and feel of the neck is from a Les Paul. With a Tele PU at the bridge and a Strat PU for the neck and middle both a Tele and Strat are covered.
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THE WAY I SEE IT ...is that all my guitars are set up to perform and deliver. None EVER need to be discarded for the hot new and better for issues of performance. I am 74 and not once has an really old guitar not been cool. They cannot get dated. They already are. lol. They are literally 'keepers' for life. The hot new models will be dated in a couple of years and who wants to wait 20 years before they may become cool again. LAST THOUGHTS If nothing else one thing every famous player has done is pick instruments and gear that no one thought were cool and made their unique character, sound and look their own. There are a lot of cool old guitars that can be found for around $350 or less that may require as much or more to make a serious guitar. Yes they have terrible resale value. But are you in the retail business or are you an artist. If guitars are a hobby then follow the leader. I have a Fender Custom Shop Strat up for sale that I bought in 2006. Sure I was proud to own it but I hardly ever played it. On the other I just look at my 'crazy' guitars and want to pick one up. FOR THE DREAMERS ONLY If you are a virtuosos or brilliant entertainer or maybe Mr. Gorgeous then ignore all this and get a Strat or an LP. But you are not going anywhere if you do not stand out. These days there are so many guys that are born with talent coming out of the pores of their skin. You can work hard and even surpass them. I did! BUT I am not a natural. When I was young I new Geddy Lee. He was already as good then!!! He may have got more creative over the years BUT not better ...he was already that good! If you see yourself as being a 'somebody' as an artist if nothing else you can pick the paint and canvas that others do not. In the end the audience judge the band and the music not by how it was constructive but by the impact of what is delivered. I could accomplish being an Andy Warhol but never a Leonardo Da Vinci if painting were my craft. Both have equal esteem! Just do it different but do it well! |
Great post
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