Iāve been though a lot of iterations but hereās my current set up. Thereās a few interesting ideas here, so I thought Iād share my thinking.
My boards had been getting bigger and bigger, and got to a head with a 28x14" board on which I had the QC and a whole heap of other stuff that wasnāt getting much use and was a real pain to transport, and to be honest was a bit cumbersome in small places . Most of my playing is either through a tube amp at home or through a PA live (although I do use a spark2 for jam sessions).
I wanted a set up that was small and could be used with either real amps or direct into a PA. I really donāt use much in the way of effects - just some drive and reverb for live.
This is what we have ā¦
Shure GLDX Wireless (with an excellent tuner built in) - This is a fantastic wireless system, albeit expensive.
Tube screamer and Wampler tumnus which I use either individually or stacked with fairly low gain settings.
Boss Blues Driver, this often gets used as a clean boost, but I also like the drive sometimes.
Boss IR2 - great modeller - this is used when I go into a PA, and is on pass-though mode when Iām using my ārealā amps.
Hall of fame reverb - this is in the effects loop of the IR2 but still works when the former is on pass-though, so I can use it for reverb on my amps if I want.
Finally I go to a Harley Benton Magnum DI box, thereās a 1/4" out if Iām using it at home with my amps or a balanced XLR if Iām plugging into a PA.
Itās all powered with a Voodoo Labs PSU, and connected mostly with REAN flat connectors that I solder myself.
The whole board is 18x7.5" so pretty small and easy to carry around.
Iām pretty happy with this set up right now.
You also mention the Boss IR2 as being a great modeller. What are the aspects of it that brought you to that conclusion?
I also find it curious how many different drive options you have. What lead you to decide to include 3 on your board, and any particular reasons for those 3?
I play live directly though a PA a couple of times a month at least. Either gigs or open mics.
It sounds great, itās simple, easy to switch between two settings - say clean and dirty, it has an effects loop and itās small and reliable. Oh, and I can pass though really easily.
Iāll often use the BD as a clean boost - so just a bit of extra volume for a solo for example. Using the others gives me all the options I need to drive my valve amps or the modeller with a variety of different guitars. Those three pedals offer different sounding overdrive and give me a lot of options.
Good on you! Thereās no right or wrong when it comes to pedal choices and dialing in your own tone. I do find that using a smaller board works well for portability, simplicity and the ease of making changes. A big honking āset and forgetā board would be something to avoid (IMHO).
This is the eternal dilemma isnāt it, pedal board size. I have a fairly large board but I wouldnāt want to have to carry it aroundā¦ the other side of this is it was a one-off expense rather than keeping buying slightly bigger boards with slightly bigger power supplies
yeah, I bought bigger first time around. nowhere near filling up the space right now, but I could see doing so at some point. But as for now, that board stays at home. The only pedal Iāve taken anywhere is a small multifx pedal that can do amp sim stuff.
Always room for different opinions, and no one right answer or universal application. Funny, when I played some gigs at the bar (pre-pandamndemic), I just plugged my tele (or acoustic) into the venueās Sound system and played clean (using guitar controls). The barās sound engineer provided some EQ. Drinks were drunk, Fancy-pants appetizers were eaten and applause was had.
Well Iām quite likely to have a little grit (likely the tube screamer) even on the clean sound, although unless I dig in you wonāt really hear it. The IR2 has an āambienceā which give a little reverb (although I donāt use it) but thatās it for modulation. Iāve had the QC and various modulation pedals on my boards over time - I almost never use them. I only use the HOF playing live, and then only lightly.
I think I am a simple guy who just wants a good tone.
This is a good question! I have the looper off the board. It gets daily use, but I donāt use it live.
Sweet effective rig. I like the DI boxes. I am going to need one soon.
Smart, I have not built my own yet but I have cut down and repaired a couple of regular instrument cables. I was looking at the cost of the different (per foot cost) Mogami cables and thought I need to buy a bunch and then the flat right angle ends hardware (plus the others) and make a ton of patch cables. And other stuff too. That would be a cool project. It would be cool to have a full set of different sized cables. Is that how you did it?
How cool to just have a couple of spools unter your work bench. One of instrument cable and another for XLR cables. Just whip one out any time you need a custom length.
Every time I build a board or make changes I put any unused cables into āstockā. They get reused if they are the right length, but often Iāll make up some new ones as I donāt like untidy cabling. I buy cable and connectors in bulk, and I make cables for friends too. Havenāt had a cable fail on me yet!
