Ultimate Board? Or Endless Revolving Door?

[stewblack]

I'm a couple of years in to this whole effect mularky and had assumed it was just a gas driven obsession like everything else. 

However, I have come to realise that I'm not hoarding effects, boards and psu's but actually get rid of stuff when  it doesn't work out. 

I began to wonder if I could be heading towards my ultimate ideal board. 

Yesterday I took delivery of a Source Audio envelope filter. It's exactly what I have searched for. Perfect bubbling, liquid envelopes and a ton of variables. 

Even including this new one I only have 3 dedicated wah/envelope type pedals. I literally can't remember all the different ones I've had, there have been loads. Similarly distortion pedals. Down to 2.

Octave pedals? Just 2.

GEQ? 1.

Compressor? 1.

Chorus? 1.

Pitch shift? 1.

Multi effects merit a discussion all of their own, and yes, insanity creeps in here. Once used a board made up entirely of multi fx - all the same model. A surreal experience for all concerned, not least of all me. 

I'm a restless creative by nature. My instinct when I am satisfied with anything is to immediately ask, what more can I do with this? So to see my board settling into a recognisable set up is unusual to say the least. 

In a curious way though it validates my two years of fettling, fiddling, buying, selling and pi ssing off my band mates with, at times, some truly horrific noises. 

As Paul Heaton once sang, how do you know you can't swim until you've drowned? 

[stewblack]

Mind you, old Ben Franklin said "Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other, and scarce in that" 

 

[AxelF]

Good to hear you've found a lot you're happy with, I'd be interested in what you've chosen in each category.

[Dosi Y'Anarchy]

For me, it's a constantly rotating board. There isn't anything that I couldn't swap out for something else in future. 

Having said that there are often staple types of effects that will remain, a Fuzz, modulation, some sort of preamp with cab sim, a tuner and increasingly some sort of reverb /delay and pog-like octave /pitch pedal but what Pedal fills those needs depends on my bank account or what I have at home. 

This is tonights board:

It might not be next week's board. 

[stewblack]

3 hours ago, Dosi Y'Anarchy said:

It might not be next week's board. 

So glad I'm not alone! I was beginning to think that I was doing something wrong when I kept seeing others with their boards built to fit specific pedals! 

Although as I say I'm inching closer to something that feels right for me. 

[stewblack]

4 hours ago, AxelF said:

Good to hear you've found a lot you're happy with, I'd be interested in what you've chosen in each category.

At the moment this is the system:

My own homemade isolated power supply. In other words a multi socket extension lead with multiple power supplies! Big, ugly, easy to fix totally noise free. 

Effects loop send or bass > Zoom MS-60B. This is my HPF, compressor and tuner. I use both outputs. Output 1 goes into Sweet Baby low gain distortion which colours the sound when I'm not using a valve amp. Not much but just roughs up the edges. 

Sweet Baby > Tri Parallel Mixer (TPM) main input. 

Zoom MS-60B 2nd output > Joyo XVI octave pedal > Big Muff distortion > Mooer Pitch Shift (used as a chorus). This chain into channel 1 of the TPM.

Source Audio Soundblox Bass Envelope > channel 2 TPM

EHX Mini Tron > channel 3 TPM 

TPM main output > amp

The Zoom and Sweet Baby always on. 

The short chain can be all on / all off using the TPM, or used individually as needed. Usually 1 octave up with some distortion kind of mixed into the background when the other guy takes a solo. 

The two envelopes is a bit of an experiment. I'm not keen on an envelope taking over the whole sound so the TPM allows me to keep my clean signal and blend them to my taste. Having both isolated in their own loops on the TPM means neither is affected by any other pedals and opens the door to some interesting double envelope sounds. I may decide in time this is ott and ditch the Tron but right now I am enjoying myself. 

When I do a quick set up/pack down gig I take either the Valeton Dapper or Zoom B1-Four. The B1-Four set up as individual stomps not as patches: HPF, Distortion, Chorus, Octave, Tron. This gives me similar to my main board in a small battery powered package.