Todays Project - Rebuild my Pedalboard

Mark Wein

Mark Wein

Grand Poobah
Staff member
IMG_0807.jpg


Now looks like this:


1203081335.jpg


I have this to work with:

1203081335a.jpg


Besides the pedals I had on there I have a true bypass loop switcher I just got and some other things I might decide to bring back...we'll see how it goes smi
 
OK...so here is what I've got so far....

Photo_120308_001.jpg


For right now the guitar goes in at the volume pedal to the right.  When the pedal is off I can use the tuner quietly.

From the Volume pedal I go into the Keeley Compressor and then into the big 3 button box that is actually a loop switcher.

Button 1 sends the signal to the Direct Drive, BB Preamp and LTD and back.

Button 2 sends the signal to the Arion Chorus and Small Stone

Button 3 sends the signal to the RC Booster (it has a burnt out LED and I like having it set up for a clean boost anyway)

From the loop switcher it goes to my Boss DD6 Delay and out to the amp.


I'll mess with it more tomorrow and if I dig it I'll clean up the wiring and label to buttons... smi
 
telecaster911 said:
One other option that I would give a whirl would be to put the compressor before the volume pedal.
Click to expand...

I probably would except for the fact that I only use the volume pedal right now to turn everything off so I can tune quietly...it'll probably be replaced with a small a/b box in the near future and when I fix or replace my wah it will go in that area and possibly the compressor before it in the signal path...

still messing with it smi
 
Prages said:
I thought you were 'downsizing'?
Click to expand...

So did I :embarrassed:

Actually I don't want to spend the money on a new pedalboard right now and a student gave me that switcher for $40 so I thought I would "renovate" first.

I really like the idea of grouping my effects like this but the I think the looper must have some sort of buffer or something in it that is making everything sound different. Not sure if I dig it or not...
 
the looper may have a buffer, but its not likely. most likely what's happening is that you've gotten used to your sound attenuated 6 ways from Sunday and now you're hearing it with certain things out of the signal chain.

there are only three bypasses i've ever heard in 17 years of guitar playing that i know were loading the signal. these were in my BOSS CE-2 chorus, Danelectro PB&J delay, and my Ernie Ball Volume pedal. the volume pedal was loading the signal because i had my tuner hooked up to it and it splits the signal like a crybaby wah does. this loads the entire chain. it can be hidden with a crybaby, but doesn't work so well for a supposedly transparent volume pedal.

my suggestion is to get a tuner pedal like the Korg PitchBlack.

also, that board is begging you for all new George L's cables.
 
helpimarock said:
the looper may have a buffer, but its not likely. most likely what's happening is that you've gotten used to your sound attenuated 6 ways from Sunday and now you're hearing it with certain things out of the signal chain.

there are only three bypasses i've ever heard in 17 years of guitar playing that i know were loading the signal. these were in my BOSS CE-2 chorus, Danelectro PB&J delay, and my Ernie Ball Volume pedal. the volume pedal was loading the signal because i had my tuner hooked up to it and it splits the signal like a crybaby wah does. this loads the entire chain. it can be hidden with a crybaby, but doesn't work so well for a supposedly transparent volume pedal.

my suggestion is to get a tuner pedal like the Korg PitchBlack.

also, that board is begging you for all new George L's cables.
Click to expand...

It sounds different from both the "straight into the amp" and "through the pedalboard the old way" sounds. I have rehearsal tonight so I'll get a better read on it then...

Actually all but 2 cables are George L's....that was one thing that made a HUGE difference when I made the change. The mess you see between pedals is actually from the power distribution... :facepalm:
 
markwein said:
helpimarock said:
the looper may have a buffer, but its not likely. most likely what's happening is that you've gotten used to your sound attenuated 6 ways from Sunday and now you're hearing it with certain things out of the signal chain.

there are only three bypasses i've ever heard in 17 years of guitar playing that i know were loading the signal. these were in my BOSS CE-2 chorus, Danelectro PB&J delay, and my Ernie Ball Volume pedal. the volume pedal was loading the signal because i had my tuner hooked up to it and it splits the signal like a crybaby wah does. this loads the entire chain. it can be hidden with a crybaby, but doesn't work so well for a supposedly transparent volume pedal.

my suggestion is to get a tuner pedal like the Korg PitchBlack.

also, that board is begging you for all new George L's cables.
Click to expand...

It sounds different from both the "straight into the amp" and "through the pedalboard the old way" sounds. I have rehearsal tonight so I'll get a better read on it then...

Actually all but 2 cables are George L's....that was one thing that made a HUGE difference when I made the change. The mess you see between pedals is actually from the power distribution... :facepalm:
Click to expand...

right, because some pedals that were loading are now only loading at certain times. exactly the right way to do it. get that tuner out of the volume out and it should get better. its a great volume pedal otherwise.

as for the power supply, i don't wanna get all corksniffy on you, but you may want to consider a Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2. personally, i run everything from a One Spot, but i don't have EHX pedals either.
 
The Voodoo labs is part of the master plan...our other guitarist has one and they are great.

The Godlyke power distributor is really good, but not super practical for a board of this size.

The Volume will be gone. I don't use it for anything but diverting signal quietly to the tuner. I might get a Peterson Strobostomp eventually but I'll probably just put an A/B box for a tuner bypass for the time being.
 
markwein said:
The Voodoo labs is part of the master plan...our other guitarist has one and they are great.

The Godlyke power distributor is really good, but not super practical for a board of this size.

The Volume will be gone. I don't use it for anything but diverting signal quietly to the tuner. I might get a Peterson Strobostomp eventually but I'll probably just put an A/B box for a tuner bypass for the time being.
Click to expand...

i found the Strobostomp a little too corksniffy for my tastes. its a regular electronic tuner with an extremely accurate display. the downside of this is that i spent all my time tuning and not any time playing, especially on vibrato equipped guitars. get a Korg and be done with it.
 
I need a tuner with teh Feiten offsets programmed into it, which as far as I know are the korg I have now or the peterson..using a TU12 and trying to get the B string 2 cents sharp during a gig is too much of a pain in the ass..
 
i still like the stonebender better than the GGG distortion.

i'll be rebuilding my big board soon. as songs start to get fleshed out, i hear guitar harmonies in my head in spots that require the Pitchfactor. it won't fit onto the Mini, so out comes the Jr.
 
Help!I'maRock! said:
i still like the stonebender better than the GGG distortion.

i'll be rebuilding my big board soon. as songs start to get fleshed out, i hear guitar harmonies in my head in spots that require the Pitchfactor. it won't fit onto the Mini, so out comes the Jr.
Click to expand...


If I had room I'd try and shoehorn the Stonbender back on. My Mark II clone would be perfect if I could dial the amount of fuzz back a bit more. I'll probably keep one of them in my bag and just put it on the floor in front of my wah on SUnday just to try...
 
Modern Saint said:
Forgive my ignorance Mark but:

1) are these two completely separate boards?
2) if so, what are your applications for each respective board?
3) if not - no worries...
Click to expand...


Actually it's the same board about a year apart. The top picture is my current setup:



The bottom picture is from a show I did at Cerritos college last summer...
 
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