Pedalboard nearly done - advice on tweaks?

topdog91

Below is my board for a 60s-current cover band. Plan is to run my Peavey Classic 50 clean and use the pedals for dirt, sometimes stacked. Guitar is an HSH Brian Moore with Duncans, Custom in bridge, Custom single in middle, Jazz in neck. Most of the Bosses are Allums mods, as is the RAT. Wah has true bypass and quack mods. Pedals aren't in final positions as I might foolishly spill onto third row. Few points to raise, grateful for any advice.

1. I think I want to engage the compressor for those funk stabs, but somehow the sound disappears a bit, it's too squishy maybe. Settings issue or try a different comp? Compressor has Allums Ultra Plus mod.

2. I have a Tumnus that I'd be interested to try as my low-gain drive in the stack. I guess(?) it would replace either the BD-2 or the SD-1.

Reasons to replace the BD-2: I think amp is a little scooped like a HRD, so SD-1 mid hump useful.

Reasons to replace the SD-1: BD-2 has a little more gain on tap (although this is hardly a metal band so probably enough).

Any thoughts?

3. I'd like to add a Zoom MS-CDR70 as a utility mod pedal. For example I need a ring mod for the intro of Dakota and tremelo for bridge of Pretty Woman but can't justify board space. I thought instead of the TR-2 which isn't yet modded so has a volume drop.

4. Any other general comments for improvement or obvious issues?

Yes, I need to play around some more but my amp is in storage (currently playing through Pod GO at home and Hiwatt Crunch 150R in rehearsal) so I'd be happy for any tips until I get it out.

Cirrus

No particular thoughts on layout/ pedal choice, other than point 3 - the Zoom cdr-70 is a very cool little swiss army knife pedal, but they are prone to inducing whine in the signal chain, which can be a bit annoying.

Oh, and re; compressor... it has a volume control, right? If it is giving you the tone/ dynamic control you need, but the sound is getting lost, just make it louder. A kick is just a kick, a punch is just a punch etc.

stickyfiddle

Personally I'd consider losing a gain stage (or 2), only having 1 mod pedal and only having 1 of delay & reverb. But it should be led by the material you're playing imo.

I always try and keep my boards as simple as possible to achieve what I want to do, so it's entirely possible that this is the genuine minimum you need in which case no issues. 

sgosden

whats the rational on loads of pedals vs using the PODgo as a multifx?

NickB

I recommend putting the compressor after the drives and putting a boost after the drives and compressor to give a volume lift. You can then use the volume control on your guitar to clean up without losing too much volume and the boost for solos, louder parts.

ElectricXII

I think you've got too many gain stages and I'd lose the BD-2. You'll get all the dirt you need from the OD-1 and the RAT.,, plus you already have a boost on top with the Spark. You could also use the compressor as a front-end boost to kick the drive pedals up a notch.

As @Cirrus says, use the volume control on the compressor to negate the volume drop. 

sgosden

edit: double post

prowla

Ah - how many times have I said my pedalboard is nearly done (or even done!)?

Dan_Halen

sgosden said:

whats the rational on loads of pedals vs using the PODgo as a multifx?

A multi is nice and tidy but personally I've always preferred pedals for live, especially if the room changes and therefore the amp settings might change. I always end up tweaking when setting up, during sound check and then maybe a bit again after a couple of songs to get it just right. Nice to just be able to add/take away a bit here and there without buggering about with menus/patches and that sort of stuff. Although appreciate that others feel comfortable doing it.

Also would rather have a bunch of gain stages ready to go with different pedals than use less but have to adjust. Clean, clean boosted, crunch but same volume, solo sound, fuzz, other gain flavour, that sort of thing but one stomp for each. Makes life easy if playing covers of a range of stuff and, if you've got space on the board, makes no odds really having a bit of overlap especially if you're still finding out what works for you with a new setup. Often have enough to think about with singing, playing, moving about and trying to engage with the crowd (rather than just stare at the fretboard) so prefer to keep it simple.

Each to their own though, and understand that a well set up multi with patches can also do the same thing.

CaseOfAce

ElectricXII said:

I think you've got too many gain stages and I'd lose the BD-2. You'll get all the dirt you need from the OD-1 and the RAT.,, plus you already have a boost on top with the Spark. You could also use the compressor as a front-end boost to kick the drive pedals up a notch.

I agree. If it were me I'd ditch the BD-2 and RAT and keep the SD-1 - and use my volume know on guitar for variation - and if I really wanted fuzz for Spirit In The Sky type stuff get a dedicated pedal for it -  or use the RAT for fuzz type stuff if you max out the distortion on it?

I had the CS-3 compressor and just couldn't see the point for me - and I'm not a fan of one -use only "stunt" pedals...nobody's really going to notice the absence of something in the intro to Dakota or in the middle of Pretty Woman when they're on their 5th Bacardi Breezer at the Dog and Duck.

Lestratcaster

Any more than 3 pedals on a board make me nervous playing live, any technical issues is usually related to the pedalboard and I don't wanna be that guy on their hands and knees mid-song trying to figure out which one it is that's faulty. Having said that its a nice collection of pedals and I do miss playing with an actual board (I'm a Kemper Profiler user now).

What are they being powered by? A good reliable power supply is important if you're using a lot of pedals. 

I like the Xotic SP Compressor myself, and its small too so quite neat on the board space wise. And I can't live without my Ibanez tubescreamer if I ever get to use a tube amp. You can use as a clean boost or to drive an amp on the edge of breakup.

LionAquaLooper

Normally i wouldn't recommend sticking a big heavy wah onto a pedalboard, but since you have some spare real estate then I can see why you did it. 

rhinofeet

LionAquaLooper said:

Normally i wouldn't recommend sticking a big heavy wah onto a pedalboard, but since you have some spare real estate then I can see why you did it. 

Having it on the board makes setting up and packing away a lot easier.

topdog91

Cirrus said:

No particular thoughts on layout/ pedal choice, other than point 3 - the Zoom cdr-70 is a very cool little swiss army knife pedal, but they are prone to inducing whine in the signal chain, which can be a bit annoying.

Oh, and re; compressor... it has a volume control, right? If it is giving you the tone/ dynamic control you need, but the sound is getting lost, just make it louder. A kick is just a kick, a punch is just a punch etc

Yep. I tried turning up the level, but still... To your point, perhaps I don't yet have the tone / dynamic control I need. I think I might to turn the Attack up as well as the level. I might even book an hour in a rehearsal room to try all of this at gig volume, because last rehearsal I was also scuppered by a dodgy wah foot switch causing volume drops so who really knows...

stickyfiddle said:

Personally I'd consider losing a gain stage (or 2), only having 1 mod pedal and only having 1 of delay & reverb. But it should be led by the material you're playing imo.

I always try and keep my boards as simple as possible to achieve what I want to do, so it's entirely possible that this is the genuine minimum you need in which case no issues.

Well I haven't stomped on the RAT yet in our setlist, it's kind of there as a heavy distortion going to fuzz (saving me adding a fuzz pedal). The reverb is there in case the amp reverb packs up, so it could probably go.

sgosden said:

whats the rational on loads of pedals vs using the PODgo as a multifx?

If there is a need to tweak something in a gig, I don't want to go through menus, I prefer obvious markings which I can immediately change. As user friendly as the POD GO is.

NickB said:

I recommend putting the compressor after the drives and putting a boost after the drives and compressor to give a volume lift. You can then use the volume control on your guitar to clean up without losing too much volume and the boost for solos, louder parts.

I already have a boost for this (the Spark), but why compressor after drive? This way I can also use it as a subtle "goosing" of my drives.

ElectricXII said:

I think you've got too many gain stages and I'd lose the BD-2. You'll get all the dirt you need from the OD-1 and the RAT.,, plus you already have a boost on top with the Spark. You could also use the compressor as a front-end boost to kick the drive pedals up a notch.

As @Cirrus says, use the volume control on the compressor to negate the volume drop. 

I guess you mean the SD-1. The RAT is there to go fuzz-ish if needed, although I haven't needed it yet. Perhaps we need to play some more rocking tunes.

That was the secondary plan for the compressor, to act as part of the drive stack. But I'd like to get the primary plan working!

CaseOfAce said:

I agree. If it were me I'd ditch the BD-2 and RAT and keep the SD-1 - and use my volume know on guitar for variation - and if I really wanted fuzz for Spirit In The Sky type stuff get a dedicated pedal for it -  or use the RAT for fuzz type stuff if you max out the distortion on it?

I had the CS-3 compressor and just couldn't see the point for me - and I'm not a fan of one -use only "stunt" pedals...nobody's really going to notice the absence of something in the intro to Dakota or in the middle of Pretty Woman when they're on their 5th Bacardi Breezer at the Dog and Duck.

That's kind of the point of the RAT, it can go fuzz-ish and I can leave the Fuzz Factory at home. Again, haven't needed it yet which is surprising given it's a loooooong song list.

I'd rather not play Dakota at all, but people love it. That intro is a super-specific sound. As for Pretty Woman, it's for me, not the crowd. I think if it sounds authentic I'll enjoy it more.

Lestratcaster said:

Any more than 3 pedals on a board make me nervous playing live, any technical issues is usually related to the pedalboard and I don't wanna be that guy on their hands and knees mid-song trying to figure out which one it is that's faulty. Having said that its a nice collection of pedals and I do miss playing with an actual board (I'm a Kemper Profiler user now).

What are they being powered by? A good reliable power supply is important if you're using a lot of pedals. 

I like the Xotic SP Compressor myself, and its small too so quite neat on the board space wise. And I can't live without my Ibanez tubescreamer if I ever get to use a tube amp. You can use as a clean boost or to drive an amp on the edge of breakup.

If there are significant technical issues, I can plug straight into the amp. Good patch leads should mitigate most problems. I'm currently using a daisy chain but investigating more appropriate options. I used to have an Xotic SP on a mini board of mine and actually rather liked it. As for the TS, my Allums SD-1 is close enough. The amp will be clean because I don't want to have to roll back volume (the right amount) every time I need a clean tone.

menamestom

I can’t help thinking a Strymon Deco would be perfect for a 60’s cover band.  Replace a gain stage and the chorus and gain tape saturation, slap, chorus and flange.

stickyfiddle

menamestom said:

I can’t help thinking a Strymon Deco would be perfect for a 60’s cover band.  Replace a gain stage and the chorus and gain tape saturation, slap, chorus and flange.

The Deco is just an all-round great pedal. I'm currently covering stuff from mid/late-60s to 2005-ish and I use it all over the place

Fez

I use a phaser on a slow sweep for Dakota intro and the bridge. I don't tend to use a compressor on humbuckers I prefer to use it on single coil pick ups and before drives. 3 drives seems like a lot but gives you some different flavours.

topdog91

menamestom said:

I can’t help thinking a Strymon Deco would be perfect for a 60’s cover band.  Replace a gain stage and the chorus and gain tape saturation, slap, chorus and flange.

60s to current... Anyway I'm sure you're right but I'm trying to avoid expensive pedals because beer etc. This lot are mostly not too expensive. The Zoom MS-70CDR will have much of the stuff you refer to.

Fez said:

I use a phaser on a slow sweep for Dakota intro and the bridge. I don't tend to use a compressor on humbuckers I prefer to use it on single coil pick ups and before drives. 3 drives seems like a lot but gives you some different flavours.

Interesting, I used a wah for the bridge. We have a keyboard player who will probably want to play the intro, good luck to him I say.

Interesting point about humbuckers and compressors, maybe the input is too hot for the compressor to handle. I'll arrive half an hour early next rehearsal and try some things out.

topdog91

Mods please delete - tried to write the update post below on mobile and after trying to paste the image all the text disappeared and I had to start again on my computer where I found out the text had posted with no image.

topdog91

Coming back a few months later. The board's done me proud. I changed the TR-2 for a Zoom MS-70CDR early on, it's just more useful all round. I use it for the ring mod at the start of Dakota and tremolo in Pretty Woman.

Tonight I changed the CS-3 for the new-to-me Ego and added the Donner ABY line switcher (Amazon "Black Friday" and it's built well!) so I can switch between Peavey Predator in standard tuning and a CV Tele in open E. I also moved the wah to the top because it was getting in the way of the Spark button.

I never really bonded with the CS-3, I was hoping it would tighten up the funk stabs but actually I feel if anything I disappeared a bit in the mix.  I was using a humbucker guitar so maybe it was that, but I'm confident that the Ego will be more adjustable and do the job better.

I think in the next few weeks I might try a different drive instead of the SD-1 or BD-2. Not that they're bad in any way, if anything they're underrated, but you know dirt; it's nice to switch it up. I honestly think that our ears get a bit tired of the same thing and that's why we tend to look for something new every so often. Plus I've got a few in the cupboard as you do.

Anyway just wanted to share for a roast / feedback.

Neilybob

Loving the update thanks. Glad things are working out for you. What dirt pedals do you have in the cupboard?! 

I’ve just bought the Nobels ODR-1 (in gold finish, ooooh so shiny) and can highly recommend it if you are looking for an alternative dirt pedal.