Making a decent pedal board w/ tiny pedals: suggestions?

Discussion in 'Effects, Pedals, Strings & Things' started by MikeSelmer, Jan 28, 2008.


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  1. Jan 28, 2008 #1
    MikeSelmer

    MikeSelmer Member

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    Hi all!

    Having got bored with carrying around the heavy-as-hell bigger pedalboard of mine, I've decided to build up a really small, lightweight version for practice and smaller gigs.

    I want small, lightweigh, good-sounding, and inexpensive. I'm ready to give up the boutique urge for this project...

    Now I need suggestions for the pedals. Here are the smallest and the most decent ones I've found so far. Have you got any ideas for better ones? Or is there a reason I should drop any of these off my list?

    TUNER: Guyatone MT-3 Micro Tuner
    DELAY: Guyatone MD-3 Micro Digital Delay
    PHASER: Electro-Harmonix Nano Small Stone
    FUZZ: Electro-Harmonix Nano Muff
    TREMOLO: Guyatone VT-3 Micro Tremolo
    OVERDRIVE: ??? Maybe Bad Monkey, but it's the normal size...
    DISTORTION: ???

    Also, I need a small looper (with 4-5 loops) - which one is the smallest yet controllable?

    Cheers,
    MIKE
     
    MikeSelmer, Jan 28, 2008
    MikeSelmer, Jan 28, 2008
    #1
  2. Jan 28, 2008 #2
    iaresee

    iaresee Supporting Member

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    Fun! And a great idea.

    A Catalinbread V8 Fuzz will is smaller and more crazy fuzz-like if you want something less tame.

    Catalinbread Hyperpak all the way here. No better size/sound OD/dist pedal out there.

    Heck, anything in a typical Catalinbread-sized Hammond enclosure is pretty darn compact.

    The Loop-Master or other like product is probably the smallest form factor you can get for a 5 loop box.
     
    iaresee, Jan 28, 2008
    iaresee, Jan 28, 2008
    #2
  3. Jan 28, 2008 #3
    lifeinsong

    lifeinsong Member

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    As far as distortion/overdrive check out MI Audio...Crunch Box, Blues Pro etc.
     
    lifeinsong, Jan 28, 2008
    lifeinsong, Jan 28, 2008
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  4. Jan 28, 2008 #4
    erksin

    erksin Member

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    Catalinbread will shortly be coming out with a new mini trem as well, FWIW...

    If you can find an older MI Audio Blue Boy or Blues Pro, they have offset input/output jacks that make it easier to shoehorn them on to a cramped board too. And a few of the Lovepedals have top mounted jacks as well (Older CoT50s, Karl, etc)...
     
    erksin, Jan 28, 2008
    erksin, Jan 28, 2008
    #4
  5. Jan 28, 2008 #5
    MikeSelmer

    MikeSelmer Member

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    Good suggestions, thanks! However, my priority is to find pedals that are smaller than Hammond boxes.

    Need to check the Catalinbread mini trem...where can I find info on that?

    MIKKO
     
    MikeSelmer, Jan 28, 2008
    MikeSelmer, Jan 28, 2008
    #5
  6. Jan 28, 2008 #6
    iaresee

    iaresee Supporting Member

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    The Hyperpak and the V8 Fuzz are both in tiny "gum stick" enclosures. Not the typical Catalinbread Hammond box.
     
    iaresee, Jan 28, 2008
    iaresee, Jan 28, 2008
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  7. Jan 28, 2008 #7
    erksin

    erksin Member

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    It hasn't been released yet - we're still waiting on the enclosures.
     
    erksin, Jan 28, 2008
    erksin, Jan 28, 2008
    #7
  8. Jan 28, 2008 #8
    blackjack davey

    blackjack davey Senior Member

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    Distortion >> MI Audio CrunchBox

    OD >> MI Audio Blue Boy
     
    blackjack davey, Jan 28, 2008
    blackjack davey, Jan 28, 2008
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  9. Jan 28, 2008 #9
    iaresee

    iaresee Supporting Member

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    He wants smaller enclosures:
     
    iaresee, Jan 28, 2008
    iaresee, Jan 28, 2008
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  10. Jan 28, 2008 #10
    erksin

    erksin Member

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    Those MI pedals come in pretty small enclosures - definitely smaller than std Hammond size. With the off-set jacks, they are great for tiny spaces.
     
    erksin, Jan 28, 2008
    erksin, Jan 28, 2008
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  11. Jan 28, 2008 #11
    erksin

    erksin Member

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    Another small box delay is the Jacques Prisoner - smaller footprint than a Boss.
     
    erksin, Jan 28, 2008
    erksin, Jan 28, 2008
    #11
  12. Jan 28, 2008 #12
    iaresee

    iaresee Supporting Member

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    My mistake.
     
    iaresee, Jan 28, 2008
    iaresee, Jan 28, 2008
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  13. Jan 28, 2008 #13
    Davevad

    Davevad Member

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    Blackstone. Two pedals in one small box.
     
    Davevad, Jan 28, 2008
    Davevad, Jan 28, 2008
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  14. Jan 29, 2008 #14
    Merelington

    Merelington Member

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    Definitely get the catalinbread hyperpak. Sounds great, its the most tiny pedal i've ever seen, and they're only about $120 new. And I also have a MI Audio crunchbox version 2 with the internal presence control...pretty much brand new for $109 shipped and paypalled. They're made to sound like a cranked marshall jcm 800 and its the same size as a mxr phase 90, if not thinnner. Once this board is done you have to post pics.
     
    Merelington, Jan 29, 2008
    Merelington, Jan 29, 2008
    #14
  15. Jan 29, 2008 #15
    drbob1

    drbob1 Silver Supporting Member

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    Or you could check out the thread on the C Jones modified Danelectro pedals into multi-effects unit. You could build it in a square rather than long enclosure and mount all the bypass footswitches along the front with the actual pedal guts staggered.
     
    drbob1, Jan 29, 2008
    drbob1, Jan 29, 2008
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  16. Jan 29, 2008 #16
    nibus

    nibus Supporting Member

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    If you did a whole lineup of the Mad Professor pedals it would be one killer rig -

    Fire Red Fuzz
    Mighty Red Distortion
    Sky Blue Overdrive
    Little Green Wonder
    Mellow Yellow Tremelo
    Tiny Orange Faser
    Deep Blue Delay

    and it would easily fit on a small pedalboard. the only downside - $$$.
     
    nibus, Jan 29, 2008
    nibus, Jan 29, 2008
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  17. Jan 29, 2008 #17
    thedroid

    thedroid Member

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    I've got an EHX Nano pedal, and it's a Hammond-sized box, so you might want to reconsider those.
     
    thedroid, Jan 29, 2008
    thedroid, Jan 29, 2008
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  18. Jan 29, 2008 #18
    MikeSelmer

    MikeSelmer Member

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    It's great to get so many inspiring ideas! Here's some questions/comments:

    BLACKSTONE OD: Actually, I've eyeballed this one for a long time. And, actually again, I was thinking about it for this project. It seems to be very dynamic, so I could avoid having many od's/distortion with the volume knob of the guitar. Also, as someone mentioned, it's two pedals in one. A question: does channel 2 give a punchy singing lead tone?

    CATALINBREAD HYPERPAK: I heard about this only in this thread, and checked out the site - the Hyperpak seems and sounds SWEET! And the question: do you Hyperpak users miss the tone control?

    CATALINBREAD MINI TREMOLO: This could be it...however, if I put the money on the overdrive department, I might have to save on the extra effects size (I only use tremolo occasionally). Need to see about that? Do you think the price will be around the same as with the other Catalinbread mini pedals?

    EH NANO SMALL STONE: Thanks for whoever it was to point out that it's actually Hammond size...need to re-check this one. Are there any other smaller than Hammond-size phasers available?


    Oh well, I should have quessed that the more I think about this, the more it's going to cost. Why oh why?

    MIKE
     
    MikeSelmer, Jan 29, 2008
    MikeSelmer, Jan 29, 2008
    #18
  19. Jan 29, 2008 #19
    mds

    mds Member

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    Great thread....I'm doing something similar. About to head to europe for a tour and need a small, light pedalboard. How do the Dan-o's sound? Are the guyatones a lot better? I like the size of the micro delay, etc...don't want to spend too much $$ either...
     
    mds, Jan 29, 2008
    mds, Jan 29, 2008
    #19
  20. Jan 29, 2008 #20
    Jumblefingers

    Jumblefingers Supporting Member

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    When do you think the little Trem will be released and is the Phaser going to be a product as well??
     
    Jumblefingers, Jan 29, 2008
    Jumblefingers, Jan 29, 2008
    #20
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