Pedalboards for guitar

[khanyz]

Nigel,
I'm talking line level FX loops for delay, reverb etc, as discussed with Cordelia earlier in this thread.
I'll post an example of a setup where exactly that was the main headscratcher .
Give me one or two days, I promise some interesting problems and solutions.
Cheers,
susiwong

That would be interesting. I'm having a bit of a problem sorting out my Acoustic setup and FX loops. It's nearly sorted but some alternate solutions would be welcome.

In my guitar setup I treat the Blackstar like the preamp (to distort) and the Blackheart as the Power Amp (to overdrive and thicken). Therefore the Mod and Delay pedals are in a sort of FX loop.

Cheers,
Nigel

[Dean Aka Nekro]

Nigel mate i am also a Blackstar man myself as is susi (well susi has a series one monster whereas i have the HT-5 head and have had the chance to meet one of the guys and play through all they had at the time). Love the HT-5 head and the HT-Series pedals alot, Been thinking of going for a Venue head or combo actually but not for awhile as of cash and other prorities

Nice one

Dean

[ZINO]

My Pedaltrain bass setup:

[khanyz]

Nigel mate i am also a Blackstar man myself as is susi (well susi has a series one monster whereas i have the HT-5 head and have had the chance to meet one of the guys and play through all they had at the time). Love the HT-5 head and the HT-Series pedals alot, Been thinking of going for a Venue head or combo actually but not for awhile as of cash and other prorities

Nice one

Dean

I thought about getting the HT-5C but it was overkill when I had the Dual pedal. I preferred the basic sound of the Blackheart, which I think has a lot to do with the great speaker. It also seems better built.

Combining it with the Dual means I have a lot of sound options.

@ZINO - It's always good to see some Muff in a Bass Chain!!

[Uncle E]

In my guitar setup I treat the Blackstar like the preamp (to distort) and the Blackheart as the Power Amp (to overdrive and thicken). Therefore the Mod and Delay pedals are in a sort of FX loop.

That's what I used to do with my Soldano and Zendrive 2 pedals and Hiwatt amp, it was great because it allowed for a lot of different preamp characters. You might try running a booster or Tube Screamer before your Blackstar to hit it hard just the way you'd do with a real amp.

[khanyz]

That's what I used to do with my Soldano and Zendrive 2 pedals and Hiwatt amp, it was great because it allowed for a lot of different preamp characters. You might try running a booster or Tube Screamer before your Blackstar to hit it hard just the way you'd do with a real amp.

I usually put a Boss OS-2 (Overdrive/Distortion) in front of the Blackstar. You do lose some low end with the Boss but IMO it make the guitar sit better in a mix with the bass. If I'm using the speaker emulated out, I'll use a Double Muff instead as it improves the speaker emulation. I also have a clone of a grey spec DOD 250 which I use mainly for bass but occasionally use for less distorted guitar parts.

And finally there's the EHX LPB-1. It has a great way of making things sound better.

Cheers,
Nigel

[Dean Aka Nekro]

Nigel i would not of bought the combo version as i need more than a 10" for my personal needs plus i have a good few cabs already so the head version was the only option. I am liking the orange dark terror but its way over priced for what it is. Hopefully some spoilt teenager will get one off of thier parents then put it up for sale cheap which is where i just love to step in

Got an amptweaker tightmetal pedal in the cross hairs which is a pre-amp to dime into any of the power amps/FX loop returns i either own or come across. I have the tight boost and drive planned also (for a good while now but due to cash strapping the back log is getting big ). The gate built-in is really good also. My camera is in france atm with my lady friend as her's broke and i ain't flashed any pics of setup(s) in ages. Still not finished my own board either as i have been slacking of late so it will no doubt be a messy disgrace of boxes on the floor than a board. Probably due to the fact the few bands i have been helping out live, in rehersal room and also studio do not use much and in one case a lone DD-5 for the vocal and then just the volume, tone pots plus 3-way toggle to govern the sound. I really like working with that setup alot

[Uncle E]

I am liking the orange dark terror but its way over priced for what it is.

Agreed on the price, especially in the US, but the sound on the Premier Guitar video is fantastic. Same goes for the Tiny Terror, I don't know a cheaper way to get that gnarly JCM800 bite.

[Hink]

I am liking the orange dark terror but its way over priced for what it is.

Agreed on the price, especially in the US, but the sound on the Premier Guitar video is fantastic. Same goes for the Tiny Terror, I don't know a cheaper way to get that gnarly JCM800 bite.

I do, that Frenzel with the two watt power tube...I tried the TT when I bought my egnater but it's really only good for that one tone imo...I truly do not lust for it now...the frenzel with shipping was 315 dollars

[khanyz]

Nigel i would not of bought the combo version as i need more than a 10" for my personal needs plus i have a good few cabs already so the head version was the only option. I am liking the orange dark terror but its way over priced for what it is. Hopefully some spoilt teenager will get one off of thier parents then put it up for sale cheap which is where i just love to step in

Got an amptweaker tightmetal pedal in the cross hairs which is a pre-amp to dime into any of the power amps/FX loop returns i either own or come across. I have the tight boost and drive planned also (for a good while now but due to cash strapping the back log is getting big ). The gate built-in is really good also. My camera is in france atm with my lady friend as her's broke and i ain't flashed any pics of setup(s) in ages. Still not finished my own board either as i have been slacking of late so it will no doubt be a messy disgrace of boxes on the floor than a board. Probably due to the fact the few bands i have been helping out live, in rehersal room and also studio do not use much and in one case a lone DD-5 for the vocal and then just the volume, tone pots plus 3-way toggle to govern the sound. I really like working with that setup alot

The Blackheart has a 12" speaker (by Eminence) so getting the combo makes life a bit easier (mobility wise). They also do a 10" cab which is voiced differently so I'll probably end up getting that for an alternate. It even comes with a 1W head, for not much more than the cab alone. That should cut a few complaints .

I'm less of an Orange fan than I should be, given my musical leanings. I've always found them having a great clean sound but needing external drive to get a good anything else.

The Amptweaker stuff looks interesting, I'll have to give them I try. I haven't strayed much from the mainstream path when it comes to effects. I'll be changing that pretty quickly. I have experience in electronics so I may even do my own.

However I do like to keep my setup simple, even if I do have too many alternate pedals, which I can switch in & out. This effects stuff can get dangerously addictive, or is it obsessive?

Cheers,
Nigel

[Dean Aka Nekro]

Oh i did not realize the HT-5 Combo was a 1x12" so that is good news and yes the HT-1/HT-1R is a blast and pretty good for the cash, Sounds pretty damned huge than what would be expected upon first look and handled my down-tuned needs just fine. I have not had an opertunity to give any of the Blackheart amps a try (yet). I too am not a fan of orange amps as they are overpriced as far as i am concerned but if i see the one i mentioned cheap/second-hand then i will have it as it will take care of just two sounds which is all i need and it differs to any of the amps i have. It has alot more dirt on tap than both the tiny terror and dual terror. The amptweaker boxes i would say are well worth a look as they work in-front of an amp or equally well in a (series only of course) FX Loop and just open it up or tighten it up giving it many different characteristics (mainly the tightboost i would say would be the candidate to use in the FX Loop, tightdrive to hit the front and tightmetal as a dedicated pre-amp but they do overlap for sure FWIW/IMHO) and James Brown is the man behind them and well he certainly knows a thing or two about amplification!

I would say addictive, obcessive and then some. If you are capable in the electronics department then building your own clones, modding stuff you have but think could be different (subjectively improved to taste...etc.) is well worth it as it can save a fortune. Plenty of decent resources on the internet also if you do get into it

Regarding having a simple setup but various options to switch in and out - Just call it a "rotation system" if you like. That is but one way i justify all the stuff that is just a variation on the same theme as do fellow pedal heads or again something similar no matter what the style, sounds or tones we individually seek

Nice one and all the best to all

Dean

[khanyz]

Indeed, it does looks like I'll be dusting off my soldering iron. I also still have some lead solder I need to dispose of properly.

Quick question to all: Has anyone tried a BBE Crusher? They've started selling them cheap.

[Uncle E]

Quick question to all: Has anyone tried a BBE Crusher?

It isn't good. BBE's cloned pedals, such as the Benchpress and Wah, are absolutely fantastic but they didn't do nearly as good a job with the Crusher.

[khanyz]

It isn't good. BBE's cloned pedals, such as the Benchpress and Wah, are absolutely fantastic but they didn't do nearly as good a job with the Crusher.

Thanks, I'll give it a miss then.

[susiwong]

OK, here we go, sorry for the delay.
The whole shebang (minus phaser) was on a totally cramped little board before that, fitting in a photo suitcase, I decided to relocate it to a slightly bigger case.
That's why it took a few days longer, but it was worth the trouble.
No more accidentally switching to "direct mute" on the delay ...

Board #2
My small setup, mostly used for modern country gigs and the occasional blues jam, but it's quite versatile in fact.
This one is pretty unique, but some of the concepts could probably be handy in other combinations, trying won't hurt.


Here's how and why :
-- the core of it all is my active EC style Strat (with very flexible boost options) into the Peavey Classic 50 212, one of the rare gems that give you shimmering country cleans, warm blues and classic crunch somewhere between tweed Bassman and '70s JMP.
-- the guitar can easily pull these tones out of the amp, but obviously not at the same volume.
OK, volume pedal needed.
In front of the amp - certainly not, I want to use it as a master volume of sorts.
Guitar controls set the tone and go seamlessly from clean to fat rock rhythm and beyond.
The pedal controls the volume, not influencing overdrive and tone.
-- My amp only has a custom added insert point (rather high level) between pre- and poweramp, not buffered. Later models came with a half decent loop.
That's why the volume pedal, an Ernie Ball modded with a 25k pot, didn't work out too well, loading the preamp output and resulting in considerable tone- and volume loss.
-- So it needed a buffer, ideally pre- and post pedal.
-- Post was easy, my TC Nova Repeater takes these high levels gracefully, most other stomp delays would wave the white flag. Bonus: since it's located after the volume it can spill over and enhances violin- or pedal steel- style swells, and it doesn't muddy up overdriven sounds like it would in front of the amp.
-- Now for the (even more important) other half ...
By chance I read about the TC Nova Dynamics - just what the doctor ordered !
Two separate fantastic compressors in one box, and you can calibrate them individually, line- or guitar level !
One half lives between preamp out and volume pedal now, bingo, no more tone loss, solved.
Here non-true bypass actually is an advantage as the buffering works all the time, just as needed.
-- The rest was easy - the vintage TC SC-F Chorus is the benchmark for transparent, subtle chorus like I need it here, the other half of the NovaDyn is the main comp for snappy country tones, and my tried and true Fulldrive II clone adds two levels of lead boost.
The Boss PH-3 is not the best but it was cheap, I'm not a phaser fan myself, but some older cover tunes call for it - so what


-- Signal flow is as follows :
---- FD II
---- 1/2 of NovaDyn - set for chicken picking
---- Boss Phaser
---- SC-F
>>>> Classic 50 preamp
>>>> 1/2 of NovaDyn - set for very light attack smoothing
---- EB volume pedal
---- Nova Repeater set for 3 or 4 repeats @ 450 ms, analog delay style
>>>> Classic 50 poweramp and speakers

(>>>> = external cable to/from amp)

Thanks to the high quality of the TCs I get away without true bypass just fine.
Once the signal arrives at the Boss it's already buffered.
In fact, with the EC Strat the signal already hits the board buffered.
Only the FD II is true bypass, obviously.

Note the cool velcroed "cable bag" with zipper, easy way to hide the excess length of the inevitable power cables.
Wall warts are secured on the powerstrip with hot glue spots.
I've yet to tidy up the cables (need to solder a few custom length cables first) and fix them on the board with velcro strips.

Hope somebody will find useful bits in this report, all in all it's certainly too specific to my personal needs to serve as "painting by numbers" template.
So hey, feel free to ignore it !

Cheers,
susiwong