I have been playing around with the idea of covering as much ground as possible from as few pedals as possible. Below is my idea of what would work for me - what would work for you, your dream 5-pedal rig?
The only conditions are there needs to be some modulation and at least one time-based effect (delay, reverb etc). It has to be something you think you could reasonably gig with. You don't need a tuner if you can gig without one!
Mine:
1. TC Electronics Mini Polytune
2. Strymon Compadre - giving me a nice couple of compression options and a clean/dirty boost
3. JHS Sweet Tea - giving me an overdrive and a distortion. Both can be stacked in different orders and boosted by the Compadre.
4. Wampler Terraform - I own this, its a lovely pedal. Other brands' modulation multi-FX get more attention but this works for me - no secret menus, its all on the dials.
5. Source Audio Collider - delay and reverb, a lovely unit and in a small footprint. Both this and the Terraform can run in stereo through my FX loop also.
So, this works for me. I think it covers a lot of ground whilst also remaining relatively simple. For example, I've picked the Terraform over other more complicated units because it is a bit more straightforward to use, with no submenus. For a similar reason I've picked the JHS Sweet Tea as a two-stage overdrive ahead of the Origin Revival Drive Custom, which is probably a better pedal overall, but I wanted to keep things at a level of relative simplicity that works for me.
Comments
I'll just use a clip on tuner...
Zoia
Kingtone Mini Fuzz
MXR Timmy
Ibanez Mini Analogue Delay
JAM Harmonious Monk
Korg pitchblack tuner
Boss SD-1
Thorpyfx Warthog
DOD Rubberneck
Catalinbread talisman
I use an AC15 so I'd use the tremolo on the amp. If I can't do that I'd need to swap the talisman for a trem. I basically just need Tuner, dirt, tremolo, delay and reverb, so should be ok with just 5 pedals. Not that this stops me wanting more pedals mind...
Hudson Broadcast Dual
Browne Protein
Strymon Timeline
Strymon Flint
Keeley compresso
SHO clone
Thorpy Peacekeeper
cheao joyo fuzz
TC Ditto looper.
Origin Cali76 Stacked Edition
Hudson Broadcast AP
Decibelics Golden Royale (Due in early May)
Strymon Deco v2
Surfy Bear Classic Reverb unit
1. Thorpyfx Boneyard
2. Lazyj cruiser
3. Palmer solid metal
4. Lovepedal Les Lius
5. Mojo Vibe
Fairfield Barbershop
Strymon Deco
Keeley Eccos
Strymon Flint
Been uploading old tracks I recorded ages ago and hopefully some new noodles here.
T-Rex Soulmate, containing (in signal order)
- Moller overdrive
- Mudhoney distortion
- effects send/return (just returned a Terraform and a Mobius arrived yesterday)
- Reptile delay
- Room Mate reverb
- clean boost
and a "muting" tuner plus 10 presets for on/off combinations but not the pot settings - WYSIWYG.
Last year I did all my gigs (rock/indy originals) with just the Soulmate. That band (someone else was the main writer/bandleader) didn't need any mod sounds. My current band does, so...
Korg Pitch Black - the original one with Cornish buffer from FuzzDog added
Mad Prof Forest Green OR Lovepedal OD11 - depending on what’s needed
Bluesbreaker - Fuzzdog build
Swamp Vibe - Swamp Thang trem and Magnavibe in one pedal - kit builds
MXR Carbon Copy
Nuthin’ fancy but works for me
1. Origin Cali76 CD Compressor
2. ZVEX Box of Rock
3. Digitech Whammy 5
4. Moog MF104M
5. Meris Mercury7
I’d also want a midi controller and a looper tbh. Fuck it, I’ll stick to a more appropriately sized board
Boss ES-5
Elektron Analog Drive
Line 6 M5
Sonuus Voluum
Boss DD-500
Dirt and delay is the bread and butter. The M5 can cover modulation, reverbs, pitch shifting etc. The Voluum does compression, tremolo and various volume-related stuff, but also transmits MIDI CC data for use as an expression pedal. I'll use the extra loop on the ES-5 for 4CM connection to my amp.
Oh, and both the M5 and the Voluum have built in tuners. I'll see which one I like better.
Don't talk politics and don't throw stones. Your royal highnesses.
Cornish G2
Cornish CC1
Boss CE1
Cornish TES.
*An Official Foo-Approved guitarist since Sept 2023.
Love this but I'm not sure you have space for the jacks in and out of the Cali
1) Duke of Tone
2) Barber Gain Changer
3) DMM
4) El Capistan
5) Boss RV6