Pedalboard nearly done - advice on tweaks?

topdog91

Well, it's more like what don't I have. Sigh. And this doesn't include things like the Guvnor and Jemini which will never see a gig. Yes, I love Allums mods.

Mini Fuzzface silicon
DS-1 Allums Roxx Tri-Gain Plus
MD-2 Allums Plus
MT-2 Allums Sustainia Tri-Gain
OD-3 Plus Allums Dual Gain
Danelectro Daddy O Allums TNT Tri-GainDOD 250
Fulltone Full-Drive 2 MOSFET
Fulltone GT-500
Fulltone OCD v1.7
Fulltone Plimsoul v1
Xotic AC booster comp
Xotic BB preamp comp
Xotic SL drive
Wampler Tumnus Deluxe

topdog91

Here's the latest:

Fiddlesticks_

My advice on tweaks would be to rotate the AC Booster 90 degrees anti-clockwise

topdog91

Fiddlesticks_ said:

My advice on tweaks would be to rotate the AC Booster 90 degrees anti-clockwise

All very well but I find it sounds better with power...

By the way, about it - I'm still getting used to it in my rig but I find that both the volume and gain need to be way below 12:00 to get anywhere near unity or even slightly above unity which is where my drives tend to sit. I don't mind adjusting with my ears not my eyes, just a strange one.

Fez

topdog91 said:

Fiddlesticks_ said:

My advice on tweaks would be to rotate the AC Booster 90 degrees anti-clockwise

All very well but I find it sounds better with power...

By the way, about it - I'm still getting used to it in my rig but I find that both the volume and gain need to be way below 12:00 to get anywhere near unity or even slightly above unity which is where my drives tend to sit. I don't mind adjusting with my ears not my eyes, just a strange one.

Could you get a right angle power plug that would allow turning the AC 90 degrees anti clockwise. Mind you there's no rule that says pedals have to be a particular way round.

topdog91

Fez said:

Could you get a right angle power plug that would allow turning the AC 90 degrees anti clockwise. Mind you there's no rule that says pedals have to be a particular way round.

Actually something must be done, although it's the daisy chain power cable length rather than the plug shape.. We had a gig last night and the AC is relatively difficult to stomp on. Ditto the Spark. Also the wah is close to the A/B switcher and clumsy feet may activate the switcher when trying to use the wah, sigh. So more John Cage than Jimi.

topdog91

After a few more gigs, I'm wondering if it might be an idea to get something like a Line 6 M9 instead of the top row of modulation pedals (reverb / delay / MS70CDR / chorus). I'm motivated by the fact that some songs require a bit too much tap dancing (Dakota) and some require effects that I don't have e.g. Van Halen phaser stuff, the phaser in the MS70CDR is quite pants.

I find myself quite often stomping on say 2-3 pedals between songs to set up for the next song, then realize that I haven't stomped accurately and one might still be on (usually not dirt, that is blindingly obvious).

I can live with what I have but it's becoming a lot to think about whilst I'm trying to, you know, play the guitar? On the other hand,
I also have a POD GO in my gig rucksack in case my amp blows up. Perhaps I could set up some presets for modulation only.

Reasons to keep calm and carry on:

I do still love the simplicity of it being obvious what I'm stomping on and easy to tweak knobs (oo-er) on the fly.
As I learn the songs more it might become easier. I can even practice the tap-dancing rather than thinking about it a bar or two before. And just make sure that I 

Anyone else vacillated between such choices and if so, what did you do in the end?

JJ72

As you seem to like the Boss sound, i would ditch the delay, chorus, compressor  and zoom ( which I've had btw and sounds great but not very gig user friendly) and look for an old Boss BE-5 ( there's a few on ebay atm)  for about £100.
Has a great compressor ( sounds better than a CS3 to my ears even though they're supposedly the same), chorus and delay ( ce3 and dd3 respectively) and from memory has very low power consumption.
It also has an effects loop post distortion should you want to put any other modulation pedals in

topdog91

Thanks for the tip, I don't think the BE-5 has enough flexibility. It's not that I like (or don't like) the Boss sound, I think they're well built, sound good, and in a mix / room nobody cares that they aren't Strymon, me included.

I know what you mean about the Zoom, it's fantastic given its logistical limitations. I'm not ditching the Ego at this time, it sounds great, finally usable, musical compression unlike the CS-3 which I never get on with (although I was using humbuckers at the time).

Ditto the dirt on the bottom row. I'm just looking for more flexibility with my modulation which I tend to use relatively sparingly but when I need it I need it. I always have at least one bottom row pedal on. I might try my Allums OD-3 instead of the AC Booster as still not liking my mid-gain as much as I'd like.

Current set list uses that come to mind:
Chorus: with dirt for Disco 2000 to thicken it up a bit, Valerie bridge.
Tremolo (Zoom): Pretty Woman bridge
Ring Mod (Zoom): Dakota intro
Delay: Let's Dance (would have two delays ideally), thicken up Dakota (different preset ideally), various other place to thicken up solos of muted single notes, Mr Brightside.
Reverb: add a little extra to the always-on amp reverb for 60s / some Motown rhythm parts, The Last Time, Dakota (would have a more aggressive preset for this ideally)

There are more but these are some.

I can see many more modern songs in our future so trying to get ready for that as well.

I'm also trying to avoid going Helix or whatever because then I'll (probably?) be programming a preset per song and it might be hard to be spontaneous. I reckon some high-level cover band players might even do this but I am trying to keep some of my jamming DNA.

I figured I could have a few song presets on the M9 or similar for the songs that have specific modulation requirements. Then a generic preset for most simple stomping.

It's interesting actually, the wide-ranging cover band guitarist faces challenges that guitars in original bands are less likely to face, just by needing more flexibility. I know not everything needs to sound 100% like the record but sometimes going the extra mile can make the song.

Not that I'm OCD but this weekend I'll map out which effects are needed in which songs in a spreadsheet and see what things look like in black and white.

Neilybob

From what you have said in your most recent post I would suggest sticking with the pedals you already like the sound of and use a programmable pedal switcher so it's one foot press for the mix of pedals you want at one time. 

I use a Boss ES-5 switcher. You could run the dirt pedals before the switcher and the modulation loops of the switcher.  It has 200 patches. 

prowla

You've got an extra row there, so you could add a Gigrig Quartermaster to allow you to separate pedals into individually switchable loops.

topdog91

Neilybob said:

From what you have said in your most recent post I would suggest sticking with the pedals you already like the sound of and use a programmable pedal switcher so it's one foot press for the mix of pedals you want at one time. 

I use a Boss ES-5 switcher. You could run the dirt pedals before the switcher and the modulation loops of the switcher.  It has 200 patches. 

Thanks, it's a nice idea but I don't see how it lets me have a couple of different settings for e.g. delay / reverb.

prowla said:

You've got an extra row there, so you could add a Gigrig Quartermaster to allow you to separate pedals into individually switchable loops.

Thanks but how exactly does that help me? (It's been a long few days.)

Neilybob

topdog91 said:

Neilybob said:

From what you have said in your most recent post I would suggest sticking with the pedals you already like the sound of and use a programmable pedal switcher so it's one foot press for the mix of pedals you want at one time. 

I use a Boss ES-5 switcher. You could run the dirt pedals before the switcher and the modulation loops of the switcher.  It has 200 patches. 

Thanks, it's a nice idea but I don't see how it lets me have a couple of different settings for e.g. delay / reverb.

prowla said:

You've got an extra row there, so you could add a Gigrig Quartermaster to allow you to separate pedals into individually switchable loops.

Thanks but how exactly does that help me? (It's been a long few days.)

To have different settings from pedals on the fly you would have to dive into the world of midi. 

Reverend

I always run chorus before drive and wah at the end of the chain

topdog91

Neilybob said:

topdog91 said:

Neilybob said:

From what you have said in your most recent post I would suggest sticking with the pedals you already like the sound of and use a programmable pedal switcher so it's one foot press for the mix of pedals you want at one time. 

I use a Boss ES-5 switcher. You could run the dirt pedals before the switcher and the modulation loops of the switcher.  It has 200 patches. 

Thanks, it's a nice idea but I don't see how it lets me have a couple of different settings for e.g. delay / reverb.

prowla said:

You've got an extra row there, so you could add a Gigrig Quartermaster to allow you to separate pedals into individually switchable loops.

Thanks but how exactly does that help me? (It's been a long few days.)

To have different settings from pedals on the fly you would have to dive into the world of midi. 

Well, I don't need different settings from pedals in the same song, rather per-song (and only for a few songs, otherwise each "pedal" would be on a "standard" setting). Like, for my delay I'd like "bog-standard 400ms to thicken out soaring solos" to "specific settings for Let's Dance". For reverb I'd like "old rock and roll reverb" and "more ambient modern reverb that sounds big but makes the sound disappear if you overdo it".

Reverend said:

I always run chorus before drive and wah at the end of the chain

You're the anti-me.