Let's see your PEDAL BOARD!

[alexsga]

signal chain: (lower right) Mellowtone Hi Five clean boost->EHX Octave Multiplexer for bass notes->EHX Attack Decay w/Moog expression pedal (not shown)->Ibanez LF7 Lo Fi->Catalinbread WIIO reissue->Stomping Stones Virus->Analog Music Co. So High So Low HP/LP filter->Chase Bliss/Cooper fx Generation Loss v2->Demedash T-120 videotape delay->Fjord Fuzz MIMI reverb->Farm Pedals Expanding Universe reverb.

where's the shallowWater in the chain?

[dubkitty]

oops. between the SHSL and Generation Loss.

i realize the routing/placement is a bit weird, but the idea is to have the things i’m more likely to adjust in front where they’re easy to reach. the LF7, WIIO, and Shallow Water are more or less single-setting pedals for me though anything can get tweaked, while the Virus covers a very broad spectrum from OD to fuzz, the SHSL settings are entirely context-dependent, the Gen Loss has a huge number of sounds, and as a delay the T-120 time varies greatly. the Attack Decay is in the upper right-hand corner because that’s the only place it’d fit given that the boost used to match guitar input levels and the octave divider have to be all the way in front.

perhaps it’d be more accurate to say that the pedals in the back will probably only get set once per session, while the front could get tweaked at any time. the Attack Decay is OK on the outside because it gets adjusted with the expression pedal.

i have to say that laying this board out was much easier using flat cables with small rectangular heads. the entire sequence from the LF7 to the Generation Loss would have been much trickier with standard plugs, particularly the space between the WIIO and Shallow Water which had to accommodate three plugs and two 9V cables.

[dubkitty]

the only frustrating thing is that though the T-120 is much quieter than before, it starts picking up clock noise when the time is greater than ~600ms which is a bummer because that’s about the shortest delay time i usually even use.

[dubkitty]

having sorted the FEB, the next thing that needed attention was the Normie Board. i wasn't happy with the fuzz selection and wanted to try the Electric Monkstress flanger/chorus. i got the fuzz sorted by replacing the Danelectro 3699, which is great but not exactly well-suited for a "Normie Board," with my Wren & Cuff Tall Font Russian. i don't know why i quit using this, because it's fucking wonderful. the TFR and Höfner Fuzz go well together, having a similar sort of sonic texture. the HF is very versatile, going from light OD to pretty heckin' mean.

i really felt like it needed a delay as well, but couldn't fit another box on without swapping the DiscumBOBulator for the MicroTron IV on the big board. i'm actually OK with this because though the MT IV is "better," i like the sound of the DiscumBOBulator more. this created enough room for one more pedal but i had to really get out the ol' shoehorn to make everything fit. the choice was between my trusty RV-3 and the DemonFX clone of the Keeley Mag Echo i got as an ILFSS gift last year, and though the RV-3 does more things and has the kind of delay time i like, the Tape Echo just sounds better and its adjustable modulation is a big plus. i can live with 600ms if i'm not going wild with repeats.

haven't plugged it in yet, but am especially curious to see what the flanger sounds like with more power...it's great on 9V, but is labeled 18V which the Cioks is happy to provide. the tough part was driving 9 boxes off a CS7 without spending $150 on an expander module. i drive the MicroTron off the tuner's 9V outlet, and use a 2-node daisy chain for the boost and Höfner Fuzz.

TC Polytune v1->MuTron Microtron IV->Animals Pedal Vintage Van Driving Is Very Fun->Höfner Fuzz->Wren & Cuff Tall Font Russian->Big Monk Electric Monkstress flanger/chorus->Fender MTG Tube Tremolo->DemonFX Tape Echo->Earthquaker Ghost Echo v2.

it struck me while working on stuff how much the ILFSS pedals i've received and ILF stuff in general have affected my setup. the FEB's Attack Decay and Virus are Secret Santa items, as is the Tape Echo on the Normie Board; the Electric Monkstress was a trade+cash thing; and the main board would be less wonderful without the Algal Bloom and 3-knob Great Wall.

it strikes me now that i should reverse the echo and tremolo.

next i need to mildly revise the big board by rotating the Randy's Revenge 90 degrees again so the DiscumBOBulator fits in its old spot, and then see if any of the velcro on the loop board needs to be replaced. and then i'm done messing with board layouts.

[dubkitty]

it was interesting to compare the Distortion+, Höfner Fuzz, and Land HP-2 Harmonic Percolator. the D+ has seen better days and isn't as tight and snappy as it was, and thus all three could get into similar territory. that's not really what the HP excels at, though, as its texture is noticeably grainier even with the switch to the left and the gain way down. the Perc and the Velcroar i just got off Reverb are a match made in heaven, like older brother/younger brother. they have the same crunchier vibe, and at some point they'll get used together for loops or other recording. i've been thinking about a new D+ for awhile now, and maybe i'll get off my butt since they're hella cheap. if i ever wanted to do a Neil Young board those 3 would be the fuzz section, probably with a MuTron-style octave divider for the "Into The Black" effect. actually, that'd probably be the whole thing other than reverb, clangy digital reverb, and some kind of amp sim that'd have to capture his tweed Deluxe->Watkins Dominator. but i'm not likely to want all that unless someone offered me a spot in a CSNY cover band. in which case that Crazy Horse setup wouldn't work anyway and i'd need more like a stacked tweed Bassman heads sound.

thinking back, the D+ started losing its mojo sometime in the 00s...i would suppose that the electronic components wore out. it used to bite my head off with Output at 9 o'clock and Distortion at 3 o'clock, but now has to be cranked to get mean and is much more grainy.

[Zork]

Here's my new portable alternative in front of my actual pedalboard:



I moved to the countryside, so band practice involves traveling by train. I don't want to carry the heavy board, so I use the new to me Centavo and the M9 to cover basic functions of the big board.

[alexsga]

whats the green/red "one-two"?
and you got one of them chinese DOD copies? which ones that?

[Zork]

The One-Two is a green russian Big Muff with added mids and gate controls and a Wooly Mammoth. The pedal has also an anti-buffer circuit in front and a clean blend. It doesn't have single footswitches for the circuits but one general bypass switch and a switch to toggle between the Muff and the Mammoth. I have the Ginean version of the Bifet Boost. It's great.

[alexsga]

i have the Ginean Boneshaker on the way!