Pedal Setups

dawng106

hey guys, so as a player who tends to stay within acoustics, ive recently started to get into electric properly and all the effects that come with it. what are peoples pedal set ups and can you please explain how they work? using multiple pedals at once, how its all rigged up etc. Thank you in advance x 

antifash

Did you just sign off with a kiss?

tone1

I like the ‘x’ thing at the end of text messages...On to the Op’s question (welcome to the Forum btw) I go from guitar lead into first pedal input, usually tuner or an overdrive/fuzz etc then if you have a modulation pedal like a Chorus, put that next followed by delay and Reverb towards the end of the chain..There is no hard and fast rule as some people like a Phaser before a distortion for example....Also if you amp has an effects loop, things like delay and Reverb sometimes sound better connected up through the loop...x

DesVegas

That is an epic question!

i have 13 pedals on my board, powered by 2 daisy chains / one spots. i have them set so i can have all 12 on at once and it stills sound dreamy / epic (one is a tuner and mutes the chain so no bloody good having that on if i want to be heard) 

NelsonP

A typical setup would be

Guitar > tuner > compressor > boost / overdrive > amp input > effects send > modulation > delay > reverb > effects return > power amp > speaker.

Of you can get a multieffects unit. Some of them are available second hand for relatively little money (e.g. Line 6 pod, Zoom G3/5) . It's still possible to wire some of them up as above using something called the 4 cable method. http://guitargearfinder.com/guides/use-four-cable-method/

EricTheWeary

http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/120/show-us-your-pedalboard/p1

That might start you off. 

If you can find the Premier Guitar rig run downs on YouTube and look for any players you like and get an idea of what their set ups are like ( not that you would necessarily want to replicate them exactly) that might help as well.  

At the moment you are asking quite a general question ( not that there's anything wrong with that) but you'll get closer to what you are looking for the more specific you can be about what sounds/ artists, budget, for gig/ home use,etc. 

 

dawng106

antifash said:

Did you just sign off with a kiss?

that i did pal

Slimbert

It might help if you ask more specific questions rather than ask something so global. I'd be writing an essay to answer all your questions in detail!

Some random facts about me and my pedals...

I have some pedals that I would never change and some that are forever being swapped. The ones I swap are the ones I use the least...I guess that sounds obvious but what I mean is that I only "need" about 9 of 12 pedals to play the songs that I play. The other 3 can be whatever I want and these are the ones that I buy, sell and trade quite often.

I never use batteries in my pedals, I only use power supplies. This is so I don't run the risk of forgetting to have batteries with me at all times and also because I'm lazy. And of course some pedals can't be powered by batteries at all. Power supplies are just all round easier.

I'm quite happy using multi effect pedals as well as individual stomp boxes although I seldom use them together. I either use one type of pedal or the other.

The most pedals I have switched on at the same time is 5 although one of those is switched on 100% of the time I'm playing!

stickyfiddle

Before we get into super-duper multi-pedal setups and complex power routing options, it's probably worth finding out what each type of effect does. 

Our own @Sporky wrote some excellent monkey-based explanations a while back, which are still absolutely as valid today as ever:  www.monkeyfx.co.uk/guides.html

The key thing to note is you don't have to have loads of pedals, or even loads of different types of pedals. 

A good place to start is with overdrive or distortion, plus maybe wah and delay, depending on what sort of music you play. 

e.g. if you want to sound like Slash you'll want a wah and a chorus more than anything. If ACDC, you might just want a distortion or overdrive, if U2 you'll want a delay pedal more than anything, if John Mayer then you'll probably want a couple of overdrives and maybe an envelope filter.

dawng106

EricTheWeary said:

http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/120/show-us-your-pedalboard/p1

That might start you off. 

If you can find the Premier Guitar rig run downs on YouTube and look for any players you like and get an idea of what their set ups are like ( not that you would necessarily want to replicate them exactly) that might help as well.  

At the moment you are asking quite a general question ( not that there's anything wrong with that) but you'll get closer to what you are looking for the more specific you can be about what sounds/ artists, budget, for gig/ home use,etc. 

big fan of rig rundown! i understand how set ups work im just interested in how people feel is best to set up, im looking to buy a marshall CODE amp soon anyways and see how presets go for me, and if im even going to go out of my way to look for pedals after that. just genuine interest

Winny_Pooh

3 types of setups with individual pedals :

1- pedals connected one into each other and you switch them on and off as you need them.

2- pedals are all or part connected to a "loop/pedal switcher" basic ones just switch pedals in and out for each single switch eg disaster area.

More complex ones have presets that will switch in combinations of pedals with one click and have banks of presets. Basic types are the Carl Martin & Joyo and more sophisticated like the Boss ES-8, Musicomlab & Gigrig that can also change presets on midi equipped digital pedals.

Pros take this further and have rigs built by blokes like Bradshaw that incorporate pedals into racks & boards with switchers that often control rackmount effects (commonly used in studios) and multiple amplifiers.

3 - Pedals (usually drives) are used in the "loops" of a multi effects/amp modelling unit from basic: Boss MS-3 to fancier like the Line 6 Helix.

HAL9000

antifash said:

Did you just sign off with a kiss?

Word of warning - don't sign off with an 'x' if your name happens to be Andre.

Lestratcaster

I don't use many effects, just the essentials for a relatively simple set up. Tuner (Boss TU-2) into a TS9, and then a NS-2 noisegate. Oh and if my wireless receiver counts as a pedal that's first in the chain.

Usually I put wah's (if I use one) first, overdrives, choruses/flangers etc then time based (delay) effects last or in the effects loop. Experiment though and see what you like best as there's no "rules" to how it should be done.

Teetonetal

There is a 4th option to @Winny_Pooh's post. 
Guitar - pedal - amp - pedal in fx loop.

I do this as I like amp distortion, so my reverb, delay and tremolo come after the amp.

There are standard pedal orders, but don't be a slave to rules, there is no correct order.

Fuengi

You'll need a whole load of Patch Cables to connect your pedals together, these are short instrument cables about 6 inches long specifically design for this job. 

Power supply to your pedals can create noise in your amp if you don't use the right type, or if you connect digital and analog pedals together off the same supply.

Whatever else you buy, you will definitely need a reverb... x 

HAL9000

Fuengi said:

Power supply to your pedals can create noise in your amp if you don't use the right type, or if you connect digital and analog pedals together off the same supply.

If you are going to use a power supply (rather than batteries) for your pedals then make absolutely certain it actually has (not just claims to have) isolated outputs or you will get noise - and possibly quite a lot of it. Not cheap to buy initially, but actually a bargain in the long run due to the savings on PP3 batteries.