Pedal Board Basics

WindNoSail

Starting from scratch, how do you build a pedal board?

I have no experience at all with this. I have been playing with a Marshall and Fender amp with some effects for about 5 years, and I have a Blues Driver. Also have a Line6 that can achieve the functionality of a pedal board, but it is all digital and I really don't like the way it sounds. I guess I am outgrowing these effects and want a real setup. Seems to me, and I am limited in knowledge, to get the sounds you want you need to build a board and combine it with a good amp, maybe a pre-amp too. Beyond that, I don't know what else is needed. I don't even know the terminology!

I have seen a lot of great expertise here on pedals, but I need direction to get me started on this project. If anyone wants to contribute a good foundation for a setup and some estimate on total costs, that would be great. Tell me if I am on the right track, that I should pursue this because it is the best way to go.

Thanks all!

harrisonmerwin

so your looking at purchasing pedals im taking it? what you should do is write a list of not brands, but actual effects, this is how i would start. Decide out of these what you like, or think you might need

Wah , delay , chorus , phaser/flanger , overdrive/(distortion) , compressor/gate, volume/pan , and then any specialty effects (univibes, rotary's, weird shit in general)

find out what you like, and then go out and start playing different ones. There are so many different models for each effect. some are good, bad, and some need an aquired taste/tone. So first decide what you need, then dig into brands/budgets. When you get them, we can help you decide what order they would sound best in, and possibly discuss actual "boards" to attach them too. For an estimate budget i would put away $1000, if you want fully powered and with a board, i would put away $1500.

Guitarhero27

funny you should bring this up...i took an old desk drawer and put some holes in it and it seems to work pretty good!

http://www.myspace.com/guitarhero27

there should be a picture when the page loads.

-Seth

SteveMurray

as 'harrisonmerwin' pointed out, you really need to find out the effects you will most likely use. Use your line 6 to figure out the effects you like and then use that as your guide to which pedals to buy.

Most pedal collections will start with a distortion/overdrive pedal & a wah pedal

harrisonmerwin

Wah, overdrive and delay is allways a good start, then add yoru modulations (chorus phaser flanger univibes, etc) and dynamic pedals (compressor, gate, eq, volume, pan) afterwards. assuming you have a well equipped fender, you wont need any sort of reverb unit.

WindNoSail

Thanks for your help!

So, as harrison pointed out, the effects are the key. When I look at pedals, I see several different types (not brands) of overdrive so that is still a question in my mind. NOt sure I really understand what overdrive is compared to distortion. How different pedals work together is part of the research I need to do, undertanding how an overdrive and a delay work together vs distortion and delay. This part I guess is experimentation. I just just don't want to drop the money and find out I wish I had gotten xyz instead of xyw, you know.

On the wah, that effect is both a wah pedal (like a Boss) and a foot pedal to control the effect, right?

If I were setting up some kinda goal, I think I like how Neil Young sounds, very distorted but also with lots of depth, not just typical distortion that I get from my amp when I use the gain control.

Ed's configuration of dirt and soap sounds cool too- to achieve this he probably has several componets set up to get those two effects working, I am guessing of course.

Do the best setups use common pedals such as Boss or is there stuff I should be looking for that isn't at the local shop, but you have to order it?

Thanks again for these first suggestions.

dont_go_on_me

WindNoSail wrote:

Do the best setups use common pedals such as Boss or is there stuff I should be looking for that isn't at the local shop, but you have to order it?

Remember that it's all personal opinion. Certain pedals that some gearheads hate can be found on your favorite guitarists pedalboard.

Mass produced pedals like Boss and Ibanez make some good stuff...and they can be even better when you get them modded. All pedals react differently to the player, the amp, and the guitar that they're sent through.

Then there's also a ton of amazing botique stuff that will cost more but may be exactly what you're looking for. Remember, it's all personal preferance and you can only learn what you like until you give a ton of pedals a try.

helpful sites:

http://www.thegearpage.net/board
http://www.harmony-central.com
http://www.guitargeek.com

read up on reviews, see what you think you may like.

WindNoSail

don't_go_on_me wrote:

Remember that it's all personal opinion. Certain pedals that some gearheads hate can be found on your favorite guitarists pedalboard.

Mass produced pedals like Boss and Ibanez make some good stuff...and they can be even better when you get them modded. All pedals react differently to the player, the amp, and the guitar that they're sent through.

Then there's also a ton of amazing botique stuff that will cost more but may be exactly what you're looking for. Remember, it's all personal preferance and you can only learn what you like until you give a ton of pedals a try.

helpful sites:

http://www.thegearpage.net/board
http://www.harmony-central.com
http://www.guitargeek.com

read up on reviews, see what you think you may like.

thanks for the links, I will check them out...

I saw the modded vs unmodded earlier. What is the dif? Is this an attribute to the pedal, or another piece that applies to the whole board if you set it up that way?

harrisonmerwin

Hey sails,

I'm gonna take a few minutes and answer yoru questions, you seem really into this, so i figure ill throw some time into helping you out.

1. The wah question
- the answer to the effect and expression has two answers. In typica wah's they have a decent bypass system when turned off and have no effect. To engage them you click all the way forward then as you sweep your foot it sweeps the "octaves" behidn yoru notes and gives you a cool sound. This can be found in most wahs. Some companies make stompbox wah's that you turn on and you dont need to sweep, the problem with these is that you need to preset your sweep rate, and it can sound bad if you play out of time to your wah. If youc an play teh notes and tap your foot, then your better off with just an on/off sweeping wah. Obviously the most sought after is the Dunlop Crybaby. It has 6 settings for your "octave/sweep" selection and is very easy to use. I would suggest getting a 535 simply because you can adjust the gain on it (how thick it will run through your mix) and the indicator lights just let you know its workign correctly.

2. Overdrive vs. Distortion
- many new guitarists dont know the difference, and just assume its all the same. ITS NOT. Most distortions are cheaper, and the player usually grabs it up for a quick way to increase your gain. I'm not saying its a bad option, but its shoudl be looked at. Let me give you the run down on how each one works in general.

Distortion: the word distortion (in audio context) means the "permanent corruption of an electronic signal". the way a distortion pedal works is that it takes your signal (sound) from the guitar and pumps it past the level of a clean signal. This then creates distortion, which is the corruption of you sound. this is similar to if you yelled into a cellular phone,t he person on the other side is goign to hear nothing but crude fuzz because you are overdriving the transducers (microphone/speaker/and the processing unit). Having said all of this to put it simple, distortion pedals sacrifice top audio quality to make the allusion of a hot signal. Now to overdrive

note: im runnign otu of space, please read next post.

harrisonmerwin

Overdrive:
- this effect gives you the hot signal like distortion, but without causing physical distortion to you audio signal. Its harder to explain but ill try my best. An overdrive pedal takes your signal (sound from instrument) and brings the level of it up thuis saturating the pedal's output signal. the more drive you set the pedal too, the more it will increase this level and saturate it more. Much like turning your tube amp all the way up, it "break up" and gives you some crunch. the pedal then converts this "saturated/loud" sound back into a workable level then sends it along the flow of your pedals into your amp. The pedals usually have a level control which allows your to control the output volume. This method does little damage to your original sound. Most new overdrives dont carry tubes anymore, but technology that sound like it. It works alot like distortion but generally does a better job.

in summary. Overdrive beefs up your sound by increasing levels, saturating the signal and then converts it back to a workable level for your gear. Distortions corrupts your signal by using insane gain techniques, and then brings it back to a workable level. both effects are commonly used, it depends on what you want to sound like. For clarity use overdrive, for insanity use gain.

your last comment was neil young. He used to use ALOT of overdrive plus his amps were generally set on the dirty/crunch/drive channe to begin with. Using lots of reverb and delay, he controlled his feedback (cause of the overdriven system, and the semi-hollow lespaul) and thus created his spacial rock sound. another tip for his sound, is playing loud. To get the fullness, loud, reverbed, and overdriven systems are the way to go.

thats all ill say for now, if you have anymore questions drop them. ill try to answer them if i cant someone will.

jpleonard

I am about to build another one, as my needs have changed.
I have one I bulilt that is kinda L shaped. I am about to take some pics so I could sell it.
I can show you what it looks like & explain how I did it if needed.
Just email me

WindNoSail

jpleonard wrote:

I am about to build another one, as my needs have changed.
I have one I bulilt that is kinda L shaped. I am about to take some pics so I could sell it.
I can show you what it looks like & explain how I did it if needed.
Just email me

jp, I would be interested in seeing your board just to get ideas, still probably will make my own though . What type of setup do you have and why are you changing?

WindNoSail

Here is what I have been playing around with....

Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9 and TS9DX
Phase 90
Boss BD-2 (already have it)
Dunlop Crybaby
Bad Monkey
Boss DD-6 Delay
Boss CE-5 Chorus
Boss Overdrives

Have an A+B switch to connect to 2 30 watt (Marshall and a Fender) to the chain. Tested this out, sounds pretty good.

So, I am leaning towards the Ibanez Tube TS9DX, the Phase 90, Crybaby, and DD-6. Not sure about chorus, want to see a Dunlop chorus pedal but can't find one. Also, saw a Tube 808 in a catalogue which I guess is a reissue that I am interested in as well. All this plus the BD-2 should be a pretty decent start set.

Pricing the connection cables, especially the little .75 ft Monster cables for the chain was astounding. I can see that with the cables, AC connectors, the A+B splitter plus the pedals, I am going to be out some funds!!

As for the board itself, just thinking about a piece of wood about 2 x 3ft, covered in some type of material, with velcro to hold the pedals.

Anyone have anythoughts, much appreciated.

harrisonmerwin

io sent you a pm, check it out

Guitarhero27

If you're looking for a dunlop chorus then go for the uni-vibe! you won't regret it...especially with that pedal chain you've got going!

-Seth

Pacomc79

you should check out the Line 6 Echo Park in addition to the DD-6.

Nice read Harrison.


check out http://www.lavacable.com for your cable needs, he has a variety of cables all the way up to some of the best in the world, that and you know you're getting a solid product with a bit less markup than Monster. The warrenty is the same, and you can have them cut to custom lengths in addition to adding special Items, like a neutrik silent plug near your guitar end, that kind of thing. Good luck.

http://namm.harmony-central.com/WNAMM06/Content/Neutrik/PR/SilentPlug.html

JofZ

First thing you should do is get over to a store, and make sure you have lots of time to spare. Check out as many pedals as you can. Bring your guitar and try to get your amp or something similar to play through. Then start making decisions based on what you are hearing. There is no right or wrong. Some stuff will sound better in certain places but part of the fun is finding the sweet spots.
I would start with 1, 2 or maybe 3 pedals and then build from there. If you add too many at once you will run into problems. You need to do some research on pedals and what the difference is between them and how they are made, how this affects your tone, etc.
There is no better place to learn from the http://www.theguitarhub.com, just ask for some help with a new board and the guys will explain it all and then some to confuse you some more
Do your self a favor and make sure you are very happy with your amp and guitar before you go off and spend money on pedals. Many people do this and in my opinion, you are better off buying a better amp that produces the foundation tone you are looking for then trying to get a pedal to turn your turd into gold
Assuming your amp and guitar are perfect for you, then go ahead and begin the madness as it will take over your life!
Don't buy a board until you have settled on a few things, you need to make sure you have enough space. Also, make sure you understand how you will power them, you have tons of options. Remember, everything that goes between your guitar and amp will affect your signal (cables, power, pedals), take your time and have fun!

jpleonard

I am clearing out some stuff on ebay, but I wanted to shar ethose pics of my pedal baord that might give you some ideas. Mine is a big one, pedal board that is.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=005&item=150008958865&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&rd=1