Guitar Pedal Porn

I had this idea back in the late Spring or so. Rather than truck my guitar gear back and forth between home and rehearsal, I would set things up at the rehearsal space the way I want them for gigs, and then make a back up set up to keep at home for both practicing and recording.

Here is the rehearsal space pedal board as it was used at the last gig, and as it exists now…

The signal path is tuner->Wah->Uni-vibe->Phaser->Overdrive (used almost like a clean boost with just the tiniest bit of gain. I want my amp to sound a little broken up when I play clean, but not really too distorted)->Bass Big Muff (for fuzzy rhythm guitar)->Big Muff with Tone Wicker (for fuzzier leads)->Delay.

Before the next show I want to move the delay to between the Phaser and the Overdrive. I want all the dirt at the end of the chain, just before the amp. That’s contrary to most people’s preference but I don’t care.

Tonight I finally set up the home pedals. I’d been piecing them together a couple at a time while working on recordings and stuff. Tonight was the first time I ran them all together. Of course I took a picture…

I tried to do the signal path from memory and got it wrong, and I also don’t have anything to sit it all on, but whatever. Tuner->Wah->Overdrive->Phaser->Uni-vibe->Delay->Nano Bass Big Muff->Nano Big Muff.

I will move the overdrive to after the delay and switch the phaser and the uni-vibe tomorrow… assuming I’m going to be doing some recording tomorrow.

I’m not really sold on the Nano Big Muffs. They sound… wimpy… I guess that’s the word… wimpy when compared to the band board versions. I have a NYC Big Muff reissue that is awesome. I might replace both of the nanos with it. I’ll give it some recording time and see how I feel later.

The tuner on each board is the same model, same with the cry baby wah. The Joyo Ultimate Drive at home is a clone of the Fulltone OCD at rehearsal. Same deal with the Joyo Vintage Phase, it’s a clone of the MXR Phase 90. I don’t know if the Moen Shaky Jimi Vibe I have at home is an exact clone of the MXR Uni-Vibe I have at the practice space, but it’s damn close. The only major difference between the two setups is the delay. The DoD at home is a digital delay while the Seymour Duncan Vapor Trail at rehearsal is analog and 500,000,000 times better.

I also have a Fuzz Face Mini and an old DoD Flanger that I haven’t decided if they will find a home or not. We’ll see.

I am such a gear glutton. If my 17 year old self could see me now… he’d probably look down at his crappy little DoD overdrive plus and puke with jealousy (although he’d be pleased to see I am still using the same cry baby wah), and that doesn’t even mention the amps or the three (3!) high end electric guitars I’ve snagged since then.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Gear Acquisition Syndrome is a real problem and I hope they never find a cure.