What is the smallest number of pedals you need to do (almost*) everything you do?

[55 Jr]

Cornish TB-83 Extra
JMI MKII Tone Bender
Fulltone TTE

*Fulltone Gold Deja Vibe optional*

 

[chanley]

If I was going to rip 3 pedals off my current board for a grab and go board, I would imagine these 3 could get me pretty close to most of the stuff I like to play:
1 - Cali76 SE
2 - Greer LightSpeed
3 - Jam Pedals Ripply Fall

 

[James_Gang]

For the minimum, I could live easily with an Analogman TS9, Original Boss DM2 and my Bud-wah.

 

[natmiss]

I keep a battery in my KOT in case my board goes down, which hasn't happened since I got rid of those infernal solderless cables. I've done a few shows with just that. It made me wonder why I have all these other pedals. Minimal board would be my Ego comp, KOT and ARDX20 delay.

 

[Dashface]

In my bar band cover outfit I can (and do!) easily get away with one rhythm drive, one lead drive, one modulation, and a Timeline (that I mostly use for slap-back anyway).

That is really enough to do justice to 90% of the songs you would ever want to play, as long as you know how to use your guitar.

 

[your name here]

I could get away with:

PTD Rotobone
Chase Bliss Preamp MKII
Cali76 Stacked
GFI Synesthesia
Chase Bliss Thermae
Chase Bliss CXM 1978

And if I was REALLY limited, just the CBA Preamp MKII and the Synesthesia.

But why? Lol. I don’t get these ’let’s try to have the least amount of fun‘ type of threads.

 

[scott58]

I've got 6 pedals and POD HD on my board. I pretty much need all of it.

 

[MilwMark]

I purposefully chose my amp so that, if my entire pedalboard went down at a gig, I could make it with just my amp.

My amp is the lovely Fender '68 Custom Vibrolux loaded with 2 10' Greenbacks.

So technically my answer is 0.

BUT...

If I stripped my board down to absolute bare essentials, it would be 3. A drive, a delay, and a rotary.

Ha. Those are exactly the categories I need. And all I’ve been using in a punk band, an old school Country band and a new wave cover band, forever.

I use a chorus/vibrato for rotary and sometimes for chorus.

Lately switched to TC Plethora X5 which works wonderfully for my modest needs.

 

[stonecabin]

I could probably get away with just using my mystery brain, a fuzz face and tremolo. But why limit yourself!!

 

[Ti-Ron]

Tuner - EQD Plumes - ProCo Rat - EHX Small Stone - Boss DM-2W.
So, 5 is the smallest I can do.

 

[Ry@n]

If I’m cutting things down without being too draconian about it:

Compressor
Phaser or Uni-vibe (I go back and forth on these, but I can make one or the other work if I’m trying to minimize pedals).
Analog delay
Muff
OD (I think I could make any one good OD work, for purposes of this exercise)
Chorus (or DC-2w)
Tremolo

So that’s seven. And my amp has to have reverb. I’d prefer to round it up to 8 and add a digital delay, but I can make the analog delay alone work.

I’m not saying I absolutely can’t play guitar without seven pedals, mind you. But you said “(almost*) everything you do”...

 

[Saltbath86]

I could easily get by with an od/eq and a delay and/or reverb.
With what I currently have it'd be JHS Twin Twelve and an Old Blood Dweller.
I'd like to throw in the Keeley Fuzz Bender, but could get by without it... if I had too.

 

[zhivago]

Zvex Fuzz Factory
Klon Centaur
EH Deluxe Memory Man, big box

Wildcard...Boss GE7 EQ pedal...it will transform the Fuzz and OD into many more pedals.

 

[HBob]

Probably KOT
Sun Face fuzz
Empress Reverb
Eventide Time Factor?

If I would take time to learn how to do presets on the Empress I could leave the Eventide at home. Maybe. I’ve only recently discovered running a medium length tape style delay on about 2-3 repeats on all the time and add reverb for more depth. Maybe the Empress could do that. Then I’d bring the Xotic Wah for my 4th pedal.

Great thread, BTW! Thanks!

 

[Oinkus]

Not as many zero pedal comments as I expected. I gigged for years without pedals , only a guitar cable and amp. These days I would take a pretty good sized board with 15 pedals or so because I bought them to use. Looks like my small board has 14 , 3 of which are doubles. Includes an ABY , channel switcher and looper.

 

[D. Redington]

2 rats & a reverb pedal.

 

[Phisherman]

4

 

[JJ321]

I could be happy with a fuzz, boost, delay and reverb.

 

[LaceSensor1]

You could likely find one pedal that does that.

Yep, I can do all of that with an HXstomp if desired. Lately I have been preferring a nano+ with

Fatrat -> ts9 silver mod -> tu3w -> dd3t

 

[TeletoneH137]

Trying to stick with this setup for awhile.

Boss TU2
Fulltone QB
Durham SD
Analogman Boss RV3