Something I've been puzzling my puzzlebox over the last day or so. I have the BigSky, Timeline, and Mobius. They all sound fantastic. But I often don't use them.... and I don't really know why....
For reverb for instance..... more often than not I reach for my MXR Reverb. It has three knobs. It's a piece of piss to use.
For delay.... I tend to reach for my DM2w or Carbon Copy Deluxe lately. Before that, it was DD7's and/or a DD500.
For modulation..... I tend to cut my own head off rather than use any... but pretty much I only use a pattern tremolo on the Mobius..... I haven't really used phaser or flanger for ages, and for those I'd probably go Phase90 and Boss BF2.
So what gives.... got these amazing balls deep boxes that sound fantastic.... but they're not my "go to" pedals.... anyone else feel that way?
Comments
EHX Small Clone - love the pedal, think it sounds great, never want to actually use it. Similarly with envelope filters, and Marshall flavoured amps. Whenever I plug into a Marshall I always think it sounds great but I never actually "want" to play one.
I've also owned a/b
'd wampler terraform, boss md500 , fractal fx8, boss gt1000 and helix. Kicks the arse off all of them imo.
I don't need the Big Sky- I have the Bluesky which I use on one setting most of the time.
I have a Volante that I use on one or two settings most of the time.
I don't use modulation other than trem.
This is live I am talking about- I want fewer options there because it just doesn't come out the front- all the subtlety is lost.
When it comes to recording then all bets are off- I spend most of my time in the H9000 and the Axe FX for that.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
It may seem daft, but I think that it's the endless bending over to tweak knobs. I really want them to have an ipad interface like the H9. I would almost want to swap them for H9s, but then the problem with the H9 is that you can only really use it with the ipad, there are almost no knobs on it.
I get a lot more enjoyment from simpler devices e.g. I've got a way huge supa puss delay which is amazing and inspires me
I've been reflecting a lot lately that a really important dimension of a gear purchase is simplicity of use.
https://www.instagram.com/insta.guitarstuff/
A DD8 stacked with a DM2w stacked with an MXR reverb stacked with a Carbon Copy.... sounds better and more interesting to me than Timeline and Big Sky together. And I'm more creative with the single stomps versus the multi's too.
I also have a helix, but i really only used that for amp models. It's not far away, bit once i have to bend over to tweak I can't be bothered.
I have a Mac linked to the helix, but using that to adjust pedals etc. Is just a bit dull... So I'm probably only using 25% of what the Helix can do... And i have a few pedals i use that or could probably get close enough to the sound of... But then i don't get to buy pedals!
I had pretty much made up my mind to sell my Kemper.
I've built a bass rig around it this week as I have some rehearsals and gigs coming up where I am playing bass and the Powerracks built in amp will be perfect.
If I'd sold the Kemper I'd be scrambling to build a new bass rig now.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
When we play gigs.... the ones I've enjoyed the most are the ones where I compromise on the tones a tiny smidge in order to make my life easier, simpler, and thus.... I can get into the music more and don't have to be thinking about a million things... thus more enjoyable.
Spending less time worrying about small percentage difference in tone in order to concentrate on the performance.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com