Pedal Chain - what would you do?

[Madureira]

Hello fellow gear heads.

I'm stuck in a rut with my current setup, and I want to avoid at all cost to buy new gear. GAS gets you tingling in coo body places, but I really want to focus on playing with what I have. New year resolution I guess.

What configuration would you do? I'm interested to see what types of music you could play with the gear I have. It would help me out to get out of my comfort zone musically as well.

Here's my current gear:

TC Electronics - Nova Delay
TC Electronics - Nova Dynamics (Compressor/Noise Gate - two engines)
TC Electronics - Reverb Hall of Fame (toneprint)
TC Electronics - Flashback Delay (toneprint)
TC Electronics - Polytune
MXR Stereo Chorus M134
MXR EVH Phaser
MXR EVH Flanger
MXR Bass Octave Deluxe
MXR Bass Envelope Filter
Empress Tremolo
Empress Multidrive
Ibanez TS9
RAT
Wampler Plexidrive
Black Arts Pharaoh Fuzz
MarkBass Compressore
EBS Valvedrive
EP Booster
Behringer US600 - Ultra Shiftter
Ernie Ball Wah
Ernie Ball Volume Pedal

Amps:
Mesa Boogie Mark V - 90W - has effects loop
Mesa Boogie Transatlantic TA-15 - no effects loop

Guitars: a few with single coils, humbuckers, P90's...

Thanks!

 

[thefruitfarmer]

For my country/rockabilly/indie sound I would go single coil into the TA15...

..and start off with these..

MarkBass Compressore - for the necessary heavy squish
Empress Multidrive - must be several useful drive sounds there
MXR Stereo Chorus M134 - in mono as fattener
TC Electronics - Flashback Delay (toneprint) - for slapback
TC Electronics - Nova Delay - for tricks

 

[thanemuzika]

Blues, country, funk. There are actually quite a lot you can cover with your selection of pedals. Put aside the TA-15, using the Mark 5 clean channel with the TS-9, RAT and plexidrive , in any combination you can cover from early 70's rock and up to any rock/metal (with your mark 5 other 2 channel included).

With the aforemention pedals on the clean channel, blues with the ts-9 (which can double as a mid boost for solo on channel 2 or/and 3). There a recent video where Paul Gilbert demonstrating his latest pedalboard with a JHS Bonsai. If you need more from the TS-9 you can always goose it up with the EP Booster. RAT could cover for faux JCM800 and the Plexidrive would cover the faux plexi channel. (for me this is redundant, so I might alternate between the RAT and the Plexidrive depend on the flavor). So for your drive section, EP Booster + TS-9 + RAT/Plexidrive into amp (since the Mark 5 has the solo boost function if I am not mistaken).

Might place the tuner and wah pedal before this combination. For other pedals I might assist you tomorrow. Too many pedals in one post to arrange.

 

[soma]

I'd suggest you have option paralysis from too many choices.

Take one drive, one boost, one modulation and a delay and then eek everything you can out of them with the controls on the guitar.

 

[Madureira]

Blues, country, funk. There are actually quite a lot you can cover with your selection of pedals. Put aside the TA-15, using the Mark 5 clean channel with the TS-9, RAT and plexidrive , in any combination you can cover from early 70's rock and up to any rock/metal (with your mark 5 other 2 channel included).

With the aforemention pedals on the clean channel, blues with the ts-9 (which can double as a mid boost for solo on channel 2 or/and 3). There a recent video where Paul Gilbert demonstrating his latest pedalboard with a JHS Bonsai. If you need more from the TS-9 you can always goose it up with the EP Booster. RAT could cover for faux JCM800 and the Plexidrive would cover the faux plexi channel. (for me this is redundant, so I might alternate between the RAT and the Plexidrive depend on the flavor). So for your drive section, EP Booster + TS-9 + RAT/Plexidrive into amp (since the Mark 5 has the solo boost function if I am not mistaken).

Might place the tuner and wah pedal before this combination. For other pedals I might assist you tomorrow. Too many pedals in one post to arrange.

Very nice suggestions! Looking forward to your input on the modulation side of things.

 

[Madureira]

I'd suggest you have option paralysis from too many choices.

Take one drive, one boost, one modulation and a delay and then eek everything you can out of them with the controls on the guitar.

Humm...option paralysis. First time I hear that term, but you know...it actually makes sense. I guess with the amount of pedals I could do two pedalboards: One for the Mark V in front and effects loops, and other for the TA15 in front of the amp since no effects loop on this one.

 

[thanemuzika]

So for the time being, tuner + wah + Markbass compressor + drive section into amp. Apology since not really familiar with the Empress, fuzz and Valvedrive.

From amp in the effects loop, you can add on the TC Nova Dynamics for 2 presets of gates or gate with compression (more useful with a midi switcher/router since you can set one for normal high gain settings, and the other for tightening palm mute stuffs - heavy gate clamping style, and switch on the fly).

From the nova dynamics you can add in your volume pedal, and then set your delay/reverb. I might rearrange Nova Delay + HoF + Flashback. (Since you have 2 delay pedals, I would set one of the toneprint in the Flashback with Steve Morse patch - the delay with modulation/ so you can put aside your MXR chorus.) If you do this something like a moveable loop router/switcher would be useful (Boss ES-8 or Musicom Lab from the top of my mind).

The reason why is you might want chorus before delay and reverb or you might want chorus last, or just for no reason you want to swap the entire position.

Regarding the modulation I get back to you later on. But the MXR chorus to me are redundant since I think a delay like the Flashback can cover a lot with the toneprint. And you also have the Nova Delay which also can do presets and modulations (as best as it can if I'm not mistaken not as configurable as the Flashback.) 2 delays to me are more useful than having a chorus and delay on the same board. Maybe you can add in the phaser after the compressor since you can push the phaser with it. Flanger in the amp fx loop (after the volume but before delay) or before amp depend on your choice.

 

[thanemuzika]

So tuner + wah + comp + octave + phaser/envelope filter + drive section into amp
Amp fx send into nova dynamics + volume pedal + flanger/tremolo (which can also double as doubler and faux chorus) + delay + reverb + delay into amp fx return. Can also swap the wah before or after the comp if you like a comp pushing the wah.

 

[thanemuzika]

Pedals with the / like phaser and the envelope filter for example you might want to try their arrangement either before or after. This to me cover a lot of stylistic component. Should be no issue at all from 40s to the recent music unless you want to dive in into synths stuffs.

Optional paralysis, might be but if you had to cover a job either in a top 40 hits or session works and you need the effects. Just go for it, for example Dave Kilminister board for Roger Waters gig.