HazBeen

There must have been a million similar topics on a plethora of forums on the subject so my topic is not very original, that said hopefully the responses to it will be more usable than other topics I have seen on the subject. I think this one adds a little twist with that goal in mind and hopefully will help people looking to build a board to zero in on a number of cool pedals that are highly usable in the real world. In an ideal world we would all have roadies to lug magnum sized pedal board solution around for us, but the fact is that most of us are limited to a Pedaltrain 2/3 size board which means you can fit max 15 pedals (assuming they are Boss sized) on your board. With this limitation in mind, what would your ideal board look like? What (and roughly in what order) would you have on your board and why, what would you power it with etc. Really interested to see what people have to say and will provide my own insights. After about 10 years of buying and selling stuff actually I am pretty happy where I am currently but my ideal board would pretty much be (I am about 85-90% there... smile....): Bass > SFX MXR M87 Bass Compressor > Gig Rig Quartermaster 8 (Loop 1 = Sonic Research Turbo Tuner, Loop 2 = MXR Bass Octave Deluxe, Loop 3 = Carl Martin Bass Tube Overdrive, Loop 4 = COG Grand Tarkin, Loop 5 = Darkglass B3K/B7K, Loop 6 = MXR Bass Envelope OR 3 Leaf Groove Regulator (don't know which one I prefer), Loop 7 = Iron Ether Subterranea, Loop 8 = EBS Unichorus OR MXR Bass Chorus Deluxe) > Custom Audio Booster. 11 pedals including the Quartermaster that can do what I need in any setting I can think of. MXR M87: I tend to stick compressors at the front of the chain, it clean and fattens the original signal nicely and I prefer the MXR M87 over all compressor pedals I have tried Quartermaster: is a no brainer, it is light, super quality and prevents signal degradation Sonic Research: have my tuner in a loop as I want ito at least have the option to chose if I want to mute or not whilst tuning, Sonic Research pedal picks up the pitch so quickly it is not funny Bass Octave Deluxe: love the tracking and most importantly the mid switch to cut through the mix (I emulate analogue synths a lot with OD+Octaver+Envelope and the mid button makes a big difference) Carl Martin: not very popular but for me it is the perfect Tube Drive pedal with a very good EQ section and I use it to add a little girth to my tone and to push my tube amp Grand Tarkin: I have a bit of a fuzz fetish, the Grand Tarkin is the best Muff based design for me for 2 reasons, 1. the blend works as an actual blend between dirt and clean instead of layering one on the other and 2. controllable mids baby Darkglass B3K: Up till now the best high gain pedal for bass, full stop. MXR or 3 Leaf: Probably have a slight preference for the MXR, not the best sounding or most original envelope pedal design, but one of the most flexible so I can use 1 pedal to create a lot of different envelope effects. I place it behind the dirt pedals because they change the response and character or the pedal Iron Ether Subterranea: this pedal defies proper description, it is an analogue synth pedal in many ways but is not overly cool when used stand alone. Pair it with an envelope pedal and an OD and it is one of the most musical sounding analogue synths I have played Bass Chorus: probably slight preference for MXR again (they are making some good stuff nowadays aren't they) Custom Audio Booster: I have tried many boost pedals, this one does exactly what I want and is not overly expensive All powered by Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2's. Who's next

Jeff and I traded basses, a pleasure to deal with, very responsive and he sent the bass really quickly. Good experience all around, a true gentleman!

The Ozrics, darn nearly forgot about them, loved them in the nineties.

Bought a SFX custom box from Andy, pleasure as usual. Quick shipment, pleasant comms, really easy going. EXCELLENT!

You've upgraded nicely! Streamliners are excellent even at their old price and the compact (although I still say 212) is a great bit of kit and very re-sellable if you ever want to go bigger.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1383837519' post='2269808'] You've never used a BF Compact have you? I can assure you that lack of volume (or "oomph and clarity") is not an issue. At all. Ever. (Well, as long as your amp is 250 watts or more...). They are phenomenally loud cabs, but still deliver a very clear tone (if that is what you want). [/quote] Point taken and a fair comment, but it is an exception to the rule. There are a few more that potentially could also be counted as exceptions but in general imo you miss a little with just a 15. One cab solution has to be 212 in my book.

Wow...

My 2 pennies, buy a better cab first. Save a bit more and then buy a good D Class head (nice and light) and I agree with the Streamliner comments. A 115 cab is fine, but personally on it's own it will struggle to give enough oomph and clarity. A 2x12 would be a one cab solution, give you the lowend and also enough clarity. On the cheaper end of the scale I think Gallien Krueger 212 is probably your best bet but opinions are like, well you know what.... 212 should also give you more volume from you current head.

Ollie traded some pedals with me, pleasure to deal with, great comms and quick shipping. Deal with full confidence!

Cheers mate, thank you!