Pedalboards
and Amps
Updated June 2009
Pedalboard Effects - In Front of the Amp
This pedalboard has always been a work in progress, but now I think I've got it the way I want it (of course, I've said that before!). Current configuration began in 1999 with the purchase of the NGM Pedalboard System, which is a flight case unit for housing all the pedals. I have customized NGM's standard board many times to meet my needs, but this time I rebuilt the board from the ground up. Still, credit to where it's due. All pedals are bolted to the board with the bicycle chain link method.
Point to any item in the picture to see a description of it.
From the guitar, the signal stops at my new invention, the Pedalboard Junction! It's a junction box that allows for in-out cable connections as well as silent tuning. The first output goes to the pedals, and the second output feeds the Boss TU-12H tuner. A stomp switch turns the red LED on, and then it's muted for tuning (Red light - stop and tune!). Want me to build one for you? Click here for full details.
A Voodoo Lab Pedal Power power supply (which is hidden under the second level of effects) serves as the power source for the whole board. All the effects are true bypass.
One effect that is almost always on is my compressor, the JangleBox. It really sounds great with both clean and distorted amps.
Next up on the board is the HomeBrew Electronics Power Screamer. It's a multi-voiced overdrive that helps me get the amp to crunch at any volume. Mine Has the Fat Boost option too.
Point to any item in the picture to see a description of it.
I'm driving two different fuzz boxes. First, there's The Sweet from Frantone (thanks for everything, Mia!). Talk about maniac fuzz - this little monster is one of the most out of control pedals I have ever heard! Then I have a UFO (Ultimate Fuzz Octave) by HomeBrew Electronics. (Joel at HBE knows his stuff!) Its fuzz tone is different enough from the Frantone unit to warrant having both. And with the switchable octave up effect and two different modes, the UFO is one of the most versatile fuzzes available.
Point to any item in the picture to see a description of it.
My wah-wah is a Fulltone Clyde. What an awesome pedal! Anybody who needs a wah should check out this unit.
For a third fuzz, I have another HBE device, the Lorba Fuzz. It is very responsive to where the guitar's volume knob is set. It can be deep and woolly, or bright and splatty. Perfect for just giving the guitar a little teeth when you want it!
Here are a couple of rarities: the Shannon Phaser and UniPhase vibrato. Eric Shannon stopped making his own pedals recently, but before he did I snapped up one each of the last Phaser and UniPhase units. (Both no longer manufactured) The Phaser is like the best vintage MXR script phaser, and the UniPhase gets the deep warble and lush tones of the best old Univibes.
Between the two Shannons, there's the Germacide multi-frequency booster by HomeBrew Electronics. The Germacide can boost highs or mids, and really delivers a sparkling array of tones to the amp.
Here's a new model Germania, from HBE, a treble booster. It has high and low gain treble settings. The low gain side has an extra tone switch for normal treble boost, extra treble boost and low boost. All modes are usable.
For high gain distortion, it's the HomeBrew Electronics Big D. It has five different gain settings and lots of power. Want a JCM in a pedal? Here it is!
Finally, I use a Rocktron Banshee talk box. It's really great when pumped by the Power Screamer or the Big D.
The pedalboard layout is a little misleading, but this is the way that everything fits. (From left to right) the signal path really flows like this:
Rack Effects - In the Effects Loop of the Amp
I handle program changes with a Rolls RFX Midibuddy. Four more pedals are in the effects loop of my amp. These are buffered with a Vox Valve Effects Loop Buffer (another rare find - Vox made these in the early 1990s and discontinued them quickly). I replaced its stock tube with an Electro-Harmonix 12AX7EH.
Point to any item in the picture to see a description of it.
The pedals in the Vox amp loop are from the Ibanez Power Series:
Ibanez GE10 Graphic Equalizer
Ibanez SF10 Swell Flanger
Ibanez DDL20 Digital Delay
Ibanez PC10 Prime Dual Chorus
Also in the effects loop is a t.c. electronic G-Major digital multi-effects unit, which features chorus, delay, reverb, flanger, phaser, pitch shifting and noise reduction. Its latest firmware includes a harmonizer, and I have presets for bass, third, fourth, fifth, seventh and ninth harmonies.
I use a tremolo pedal in the rack, but it's actually in line to the front of the amp. However, it's switched in and out via midi like the other rack effects - a Voodoo Lab Tremolo.
When outboard EQ is needed, I use a dbx 215 Graphic Equalizer. One side is for the effects loop, the other side I use with the Banshee.
The Carvin TS100 power amp is used for the rack effects. The main amp is dry, and I send the wet sound to the Carvin for stereo reproduction.
All midi functions are directed through Axess Electronics devices. Switching functions for my Stiletto Ace amp are controlled by a CFX4 switch, and effects devices are brought in and out of the loop with two GRX4 switches. I keep these in the back of the rack.
My amp is a Mesa/Boogie Stiletto Ace head.
I use a THD Hot Plate power attenuator to maximize the output of this amp at reasonable volumes. I output the Ace to a closed back 412 extension cab, dry. Two Basson 112 cabs are powered by the Carvin and are used for the wet sound.
   |