Draft of pedalboard v2 article

Author: chrisglein

_drafts/2024-08-08-Pedalboard-Version-2.md

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+---
+layout: post
+title: "Pedalboard Version 2"
+tags: guitar
+---
+[![My first pedalboard](/media/posts/thumbnails/pedalboard-v2.png)](/media/posts/pedalboard-v2.png)
+I had [creating my first pedalboard](../../../2024/07/28/My-First-Pedalboard.html), then [learned some lessons](../../../2024/08/08/Pedalboard-Lessons.html) and set up a second board. Let me go over the contents of this board, in signal chain order.
+<!--more-->
+
+[TC Electronic Polytune3 Mini](https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=TC%20Electronic%20Polytune%203%20Mini%20Polyphonic%20Tuning%20Pedal%202019)
+
+I resisted having a tuning pedal for a while. You've gotta understand, when I started playing guitar I would tune myself off the radio (don't recommend), or a pitch pipe (better, still not good). In later years I started using a phone to tune, but I hated it every time. I don't want to interact with my phone while I'm trying to play; it is the anti-vibe. Just this last year I got my first headstock clip tuner, and it's a revelation. With that around I didn't have as strong of a need for an on-board pedal tuner, but I'm glad I got one.
+
+The Polytune is one of the most popular tuning pedals available. It’s main claim to fame is that it can tell you the tuning accuracy of all your strings at once with an open strum. This lets you quickly identify which string is off, which is neat, but not something I have strong need for. What I find more useful is the live readout of it trying to clock the tune of whatever I'm playing. Which can reinforce knowing the note names to match what you're playing… or be used to figure out unfamiliar instruments by piping a microphone into my board.
+
+At first I had the tuner set up to go out of a fork in my [Ernie Ball VP JR](https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=VP%20JR) volume pedal. This meant that when I quieted via the volume pedal the tuner would still function for silent tuning (without needing the foot switch). I’m currently not opting for this configuration because it just means one extra cable to disconnect and connect when I pack the pedal board.
+
+[EHX Attack Decay](https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=Electro-Harmonix%20Attack%20Decay%20Reverse%20Tape%20Simulator%202019)
+
+I was sold on the Attack Decay after watching [this demo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcfg-Blhepo&t=42t5s) from The JHS Show. But I hedged by getting the smaller "pico" version of the pedal, worrying that it was too nuanced of an effect not worth of board space. This was a mistake. One of the highlights of the demo was sending the threshold triggered signal through another set of effects in a separate send/receive loop. That feature is only present on the larger version of the pedal. Additionally the larger pedal has a fuzz effect built into it. As this is an EHX pedal, as far as I can tell that a Big Muff style fuzz. So the pedal doesn't need to a quirky toy, it can be a fuzz pedal that can also do fun quirky stuff. Once I realize that, I got the larger version of the pedal and bumped my Big Muff off my board.
+
+The bigger pedal also has 3 programmable favorites. Mine are:
+  1. A basic fuzz setting
+  2. A trigger for a low growl of fuzz on stronger notes, which is very satisfying when playing a lead line
+  3. A bow sounding effect with late attack and quick decay
+  
+I have the send/receive going through an EQ pedal ([Behringer Graphic EQ](https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=Behringer%20EQ700%207-Band%20Graphic%20Equalizer)), set to create a kind of AM radio vibe that makes the fuzz feel more distant from the dry signal. I’ve also tried putting in a multi mod pedal ([Flamma FC05 Mod](https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=Flamma%20FC05%20Mod%202021)
+so I can experiment with ways to make the effect signal unique. But as far as board space goes, I don’t want to dedicate a whole second stream of petals just for this occasional effect.
+
+[EHX Q-Tron Nano](https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=Electro-Harmonix%20Nano%20Q-Tron%202021)
+
+I got the Q-Tron because it’s on John Mayer‘s board and appears prominently in a couple of his songs. It’s an envelope filter, effectively an auto wah. It creates truly funky tones that have a vocal quacking vowel sound to them. It’s very sensitive to signal levels, thus why it's so early in the signal chain. It’s one of my least used pedals, but when the song is right for that vibe this is a super fun sound to play with.
+
+[EHX Pitch Fork Polyphonic Pitch Shifter](https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=Electro-Harmonix%20Pitch%20Fork%20Polyphonic%20Pitch%20Shifter%20%2F%20Harmony%20Pedal%202014)
+
+The Pitch Fork is one of my most used petals. Primarily because it's quicker to downshift my guitar one octave with this pedal then to swap in a proper bass guitar. When I’m laying down a loop, I’m gonna need some bass, and this gets me there fast. Mind you, the pedal does a ton more than that. It’s also super fun to use to thicken your sound by adding octaves above and/or below with or without your the dry signal. Or you can do the same thing with fifths (power chords all day), fourths, thirds, or even a warbly detune. I haven't yet become regular with using an expression pedal, but this is one of the few of my pedals where I've done that.
+
+[JHS Morning Glory](https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=JHS%20Morning%20Glory%20V4%202016)
+
+When I went down this pedal rabbit hole, I looked at a lot of peoples boards on Reddit. And you see the Morning Glory on a ton of them, often described as an "always on" pedal. I don’t leave mine always on, but it is definitely a common add of special sauce that makes everything sound a bit nicer. It’s some subtle boost and crunch that's easy to switch on without losing anything, or to stack grit into my drives which come afterwards.
+
+[Wampler Triumph Overdrive](https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=Wampler%20Triumph%20Overdrive%202022)
+
+I got the Triumph as a flexible overdrive pedal. Something that I could sculpt to a variety of sounds with the built-in EQ knobs. As with many pedals, I was directed to it by The JHS Show where it was described as [a better Bad Monkey](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VclOC-r-hE). It saves me space over something I had done before which is putting an EQ pedal directly after a drive pedal to shape it. But then I went and stacked four drive pedals on my board and that leaves me less interested in adjusting the sound. Instead I leave it somewhere that sounds different from the other three drive pedals and call it good.
+
+[JHS PG-14](https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=JHS%20PG-14%20Paul%20Gilbert%20Signature%202020)
+
+I was charmed into the PG 14 pedal by the infectious energy of Paul Gilbert‘s [multiple](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtffSwbDK8I) [videos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmvoAQUQzTk) done in partnership with JHS to promote the pedal. I had never heard Paul Gilbert play before, which makes it weird that I have his signature pedal (named for his shoe size) on my board. But this thing sounds freaking awesome, and is probably my favorite drive sound. It gets to this crunchy almost glitchy space that sounds so raw and cool to me. So that’s where I leave it by default, but I also know from prior experimentation that I can turn it into a number of different sounds if I need to.
+
+[BOSS DS-1 Distortion](https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=Boss%20DS-1%20Distortion%20%28Silver%20Label%29%201994)
+
+I regretted not buying a DS1 in the 90s when I should have. I probably would’ve played my electric guitar a whole lot more. This pedal sold 1.5 million units for a reason. It sounds great. Bright and crunchy, good for lead lines or for rhythm. I squeezed this off my board for a bit because I had fancy new pedals… but when I tried hooking it up again I realized it really did earn it slot. It's a classic.
+
+[Walrus Audio Lillian Phaser](https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=Walrus%20Audio%20Lillian%20Multi-Stage%20Analog%20Phaser%202018)
+
+I've never been ecstatic about my [EHX Small Stone](https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=Electro-Harmonix%20Nano%20Small%20Stone%20EH4800%20Phase%20Shifter%20V2%202021). It's in "all in" phaser effect that I could never get to be subtle. The Lillian fixes that handily by having a mix knob, but also so many other knobs that let me dial in a variety of gentle (or not gentle) phaser effects. That makes me a lot more likely to stomp this switch. Additionally, as one of my later acquired pedals I felt like I could choose one that I vibed with aesthetically, and the art on this pedal is great.
+
+[Walrus Audio Julia Chorus](https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=Walrus%20Audio%20Julia%20Chorus%20%2F%20Vibrato%20V2%202019)
+
+When I saw the art on the [Julianna](https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=Walrus%20Audio%20Julianna%20Deluxe%20Chorus%2FVibrato&product_type=effects-and-pedals), I stopped in my tracks. Such a fetching pedal. But chorus hasn't been an effect that I had felt like prioritizing. So why not a chorus pedal that's for people that aren't so into chorus pedals? The [demo video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iasHNSg4cJ4) from Walrus Audio sold me on this being a tone I was interested in… but the Julianna is the more advanced stereo version of the Julia, with a higher price to boot. So I opted for the Julia instead.
+  
+[JHS Tidewater Tremolo](https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=JHS%20Tidewater%20Tremolo%20V2%202020)
+
+I love the sounds of tremolo. Technically my amp has it built in. But it's lacking additional controls, and using the amp's tremolo has the drawback that I might want different levels of tremolo on different overdubs within my loops. So I got a standalone tremolo pedal. The Tidewater meets my needs tidily. I can control the rate and it has an indicator light for that. Plus I can adjust the mix to give a more subtle volume modulation. 
+
+[Keeley Parallax Spatial Generator](https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=Keeley%20Parallax%20Spatial%20Generator%202023)
+
+As mentioned in my [lessons learned](../../../2024/08/08/Pedalboard-Lessons.html), I was interested in a combo reverb/delay to cut down on wiring complexity. An option that certainly comes up for that is the [Keeley Caverns](https://reverb.com/marketplace?product_type=effects-and-pedals&query=Keeley%20Caverns%20Reverb%20%2F%20Delay%20V2). In researching that I found the Parallax as a similar pedal with different options on the reverb side. It has a "shimmer" hall option and a "soft focus", both of which would give me something my previous reverb ([EHX Holy Grail](https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=Electro-Harmonix%20Holy%20Grail%20Nano%20Reverb%202009
+) didn't have. There are an intimidating number of knobs on the Parallax. Or at least at first. This is one pedal where I've most engaged with its various settings. I can dial it in for a light reverb and a short "slap back" delay, or I can crank everything up and take it to the moon.
+
+[Boss RC-10R Loop Station](https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=Boss%20RC-10R%20Rhythm%20Loop%20Station%202019)
+
+My experience with looping warrants its own post. But I'll summarize by saying that upgrading my loop pedal was one of my most researched and most impactful decisions. Specifically I opted to grow to something that had rhythm and had 2 loops so I could engage in verse/chorus alternating improvisation. I use this constantly and I absolutely love it. The only thing lacking is that I want to get an [external foot switch](https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=Boss+FS-7+Footswitch) to add tap tempo.