Let's see those pedalboards!

[SamXTherapy]

Here's mine. I also use a Dunlop GCB-95 wah and a Whammy DT, which are off the board and go into the TU-3.

Top row, except the Rubberneck, go in front of the amp, all the others go in the effects loop.

Wanting to replace the phaser with a Boo PH-1r clone, add a digi delay, reverb and compressor.

PedalboardS2.jpg (76.48 KiB) Viewed 2569 times

[bigtone23]

This is the big one I built up in the mid/late 90s, when having a 2x4', 60 pound board made sense to my mid 20s self vs dragging a bunch of individual pedals around in a duffle bag. All are original pedals, no reissues, including a '76 TO Crybaby. All were much easier to find and afford in the early to mid 90s! I added the loop bypass switch a couple years ago. It takes the modulation pedals out. I might move it upstream to remove the AD9 and Bluebox. It only leaves the house for gigs where I have a large stage area and I feel like moving it around. It requires a hand truck!

This is the small board to do the greatest hits of the big board. Much easier to move around, does a great job. The RV2 is sometimes replaced with a phaser or flanger.

The 'big' bass board. Also built in the mid/late 90s. The DD5 came off the big guitar board when I got the DL4 in 1999. Original '76 BassBalls.

The CAN tribute bass board. Sometimes a CE2B replaces the BF2B.

The 80s board, often used for Bass VI or guitar.

The Synth board. Easily added to either bass board or just freestanding.

[Dirk]

Your boards are cool Bigtone23. I love the old bass pedals.

@SamXTherapy, why 3 flangers?

[bigtone23]

Your boards are cool Bigtone23. I love the old bass pedals.

Thank you! Those old metallic brown bass pedals are my favorite. I do have the CE2B and PQ3B, too. The GE7B replaced the GEB7 on the CAN board. I only really use it for a little low cut and volume boost, mainly for when the looper is going and I'm off banging some big drums over the top of the loop. Might as well have another brown metallic pedal do the work. I just noticed that I should switch the TU12H tuners from the 80s board and the CAN board. The CAN board would look darker with the black TU12H.

The PQ3B goes on the smaller guitar board in lieu of the OS2 when I do acoustic guitar gigs. I used to use the GEB7 with acoustic guitar, as it's frequencies worked well for the instrument. I was initially looking for a PQ4, but they don't come up often and are wildly high priced. The PQ3B came up locally for $80. No brainer buy-great pedal! It's ideal for any and every instrument. It's funny that it's a "bass" pedal, being that it has 3 fully sweepable bands that cover a wide bandwidth. IMHO, in hindsight, I find the PQ3B more flexible and useful than the 2 fixed/2 sweepable bands of the PQ4. The only reason I would get a PQ4 is primarily for the collectable nature (the number 4 in Japanese culture) and secondly to put it to use for it's EQ, though the PQ3B is my preference.

[laurie]

Slight rearrangement of my main board.

Wah:

• Crybaby - true-bypass mod

Dirt - something for all occasions:

• 32TB - heavy, gating fuzz

• 32FZ - smoother Ge fuzz

• DingoTone CSF - silicon fuzz

• HZD for post-fuzz EQ

• 32-OD - light overdrive

• MIJ SD-1 - heavier overdrive

• DingoTone FDD - smooth distortion (my personal favorite dirt pedal)

• Boss DS-1 with SEM - "regular" distortion

• Boss ML-2 - for the days when heavy is the only option

Modulation:

• Yamaha FL-01 flanger

• DingoTone LGP

• SG-1 clone

• Supa-Trem

• Boss CE-2B

• Boss DD-7 with external tempo footswitch - pretty much permanently set to "analog"

• DingoTone custom-shop HZD (vintage 4558DD chip) for final EQ and boost into the amp

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2022-04-15 pedalboard.jpg (231.76 KiB) Viewed 2362 times

[fuzzbuzzfuzz]

This is the big one I built up in the mid/late 90s, when having a 2x4', 60 pound board made sense to my mid 20s self vs dragging a bunch of individual pedals around in a duffle bag. All are original pedals, no reissues, including a '76 TO Crybaby. All were much easier to find and afford in the early to mid 90s! I added the loop bypass switch a couple years ago. It takes the modulation pedals out. I might move it upstream to remove the AD9 and Bluebox. It only leaves the house for gigs where I have a large stage area and I feel like moving it around. It requires a hand truck!

This is the small board to do the greatest hits of the big board. Much easier to move around, does a great job. The RV2 is sometimes replaced with a phaser or flanger.

The 'big' bass board. Also built in the mid/late 90s. The DD5 came off the big guitar board when I got the DL4 in 1999. Original '76 BassBalls.

The CAN tribute bass board. Sometimes a CE2B replaces the BF2B.

The 80s board, often used for Bass VI or guitar.

The Synth board. Easily added to either bass board or just freestanding.

Ha! These are nice, love the mix of boards and pedal brands/types. I should post here a few!

[fuzzbuzzfuzz]

OK well I have spent almost every evening this week wrestling with a floor full of pedals trying to get something together (if only so I could clear up the mess!).

Building a board for me is a conflicting set of priorities, which often leads to me yo-yoing back and forth between huge size and something more compact.

My - often competing - aims:

1) Maintain the original guitar tone as much as possible. Age has brought perhaps a better ear and a better guitar so first and foremost.
Best = Guitar > Reverb unit > Amp 
The nuances of picking, the dynamics and the original tone of the guitar (not the signal strength or EQ) I want to maintain. So True Bypass, minimal buffers (that alter tone/dynamics) etc.
Usually Strat > Spring Reverb Unit (100v mains) > Orange 30 watt tube head just breaking up. 

2) A killer fuzz that cleans up - that spangly sparkle of a fuzz face backed off is my current go to, with a dynamic touch sensitive attack and a nice roar and crackle at full tilt.
-  needs to be 1st in chain (battery power / impedance / Where to put wah / buffers down the line affect performance)- Ideally 3 or 4 fuzzes better! (Muff/F.Face/"sixites buzz")

3) Essential tonal colors

[ Tremolo/ Reverb/ Delay ]
Jack placement /True bypass / size considerations. Options of control vs just the pure basic essential sound...

4) ....vs paints in the paintbox/inspiration/cover all bases:

[ Filter/Rotary/Vibrato/multiple delay types/Phaser/Flanger etc ]
+ Sometimes I need to be inspired by the unfamiliar...
-  Complication! If I sing, lots of units all over the place =  chaos.
-  Multiple buffers detrimental to tone. (I can hear the difference after say 3 BOSS buffers in the chain)
-  Loop switchers visually complicated / take space/wires etc

- wah in or off board?

5) size practicality -

Weight - walking distances / taking the train not much fun
Width - I can only stretch a leg so far L or R! Or indeed spot/tap a pedal quickly looking down during singing!

6) Old "non-standard" mojo equipment vs new practical often no "mojo" smaller units

+ Fantastic sounds, no compromise, tonally happy place (H&K Rotosphere/AD-80/Whammy WH-1/ EHX big box etc.)
-  Multiple differing power supplies (AC vs DC, positive vs negative ground, 12v/18v. 24v. 36v!)
- Space hogs / weigh a ton.
- Odd reverse jack placement sometimes.
- finickity pedal order placement.
- Bad tone suck in bypass or tone altering.

SO with all that in mind(!) I finally arrived at this board last night (size dictated by the purchase of a solid used case). The construction was surprisingly complicated.

There's the essentials, some favorites and the spot at the front is a battery fuzz spot that can be whipped in/out. In fact after a test run I popped in a BYOC Tonebender I made years back, which is still absolutely immense (when OC75 transistors were in the kit). It actually cleans up nicely for that sparkly tone, and the BIAS gets the gated tones, or more burly fuzz when full up.

Those pedal boards/cases can be frustrating due to the raised lip of the edge interfering with guitar jack/cable inserting. One more riser probably required there. The velcro floor areas are not always sufficiently grippy too, and the base "wood" can flex.

G > Fuzz > Tuner > Tremolo (2 speed) > Wah (TB) > Rotary (Chorus/Vibrato/Rotary> Boost/Drive > Reverse Delay > Delay > Reverb > Amp

Benefits of one compact board with enough "colors", only one PSU unit, mostly true bypass, most of the sounds I need and like! Generally, I set everything and leave it there, occasionally tweaks. Big buttons spaced apart so I can sing and tap with not too much toe gazing. Several pedals "double up", so the yellow Mojohand though set for a Leslie speed usually, could do a nice Magnatone style vibrato too. Likewise the Power Boost can add actual overdrive tones on a clean amp if pushed. Finally, though usually in reverse mode the DD-7 can do multiple delays if needs be.

side note: differing cable length and type is audibly a tone changer, so I stick to my standard two cables when comparing, the first being a coil cable, which lops of a lot of Strat high end. With those variables fixed its easier to make choices.

[Luke Drifter]

I'm just putting together a board for home (its too big to take out). I'm tired of tearing my main board apart between gigs to play with other pedals. I'll use this one to muck around on and to compare - fuzzes mainly. Its all working and almost finished/tidied up

I've got my 'reference' tone bender and fuzz faces inputting on the right, and an overdrive and delay set up at the end. (I'm starting to really get into this 32OD as a foundation overdrive, especially as I've now started gigging my little Pro Junior)

In between I can compare pedals, set-up in this case - first comparison - my two Fuzzrite clones (The Fredric Effects and the Pierce Electronics Ennio). I'm sure there will be plenty more photos of this board to come in future ..

[laurie]

Too much dirt. Waaaaay too much dirt.

Starting to get to the point where the variations are too subtle. Time to remove some dirt pedals.
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[Luke Drifter]

I've just put A DSM/Humboldt Simplifier on the end of my home/practice/testing pedal board

for silent playing, especially in the evening

It may even do hanging off my main board for rehearsals or maybe even for fly dates where I don't want to put my amps in the hands of airport baggage handlers

if you are interested the signal chain I'm playing with at the moment is DPE Buzz Tone -> 32OD -> tuner -> Simplifier -> delay and reverb in the effects loop of the Simplifier