Pedal Board Changes

RocketMusic · #1 08-10-2010, 03:11 PM

I've been re-working my pedal board quite a bit over the past month or so. I've removed a few pedals that I never used, I've added a Radial BassBone, and I've redone all of the "velcro" with the new Godlyke Power Grip tape (this stuff is bad to the bone, ya'll!!).

Once I'm over the fact that my pedals will now stay put thanks to the new tape, I think the BassBone will be the biggest thrill for me. I'm going to ditch my wireless setup and go back to cables (Lava Soars probably, assuming they rock like I expect). The BassBone will let me normalize the volumes of my two basses (my fretted one is hotter), AND I'll be able to have them both plugged in all the time on a gig. I think that will GREATLY increase the liklihood that I'll set my fretted bass down and pickup the fretless. That's the dream, anyway!

So here's a quick pic of my board in it's latest configuration. This is about as OCD as I get. I could've painted the bare wood black before I started putting down the power grip tape, but meh. Each pedal is easily accesible now with my foot, and that's an improvement. I hate turning on two pedals when you only meant to turn on one.

Both basses go into the BassBone, and then I've got a straight-through signal chain across the top as well as a sub-loop down below that is controlled by the Keeley Looper. When the Keeley Looper is off, the bottom row of effects is out of the signal chain completely. When the Looper is on, then whatever pedals I have "on" down below will all come in with a single button push (the button on the Looper pedal). That's awesome for big tone changes (octave, distortion and phaser all coming on at once is truly a phenomon).

So the straight-through chain is this:
EBS Multi-Comp (compressor, pretty much always on)
Keeley Looper (brings sub-loop in or out)
EBS DynaVerb (reverb, usually just for the fretless)
TC PolyTune (tuner, duh!)

The sub-loop contains these pedals:
MXR M-288 Bass Octave Deluxe (awesome, awesome octave pedal)
MXR M-82 Bass Envelope Filter (EF#1)
EBS BassIQ Envelope Filter (EF#2 - can't have enough EF!!)
T-Rex BassJuice (OD/Distortion)
Crowther Audio Prunes & Custard (general bedlam)
Red Witch Deluxe Moon Phaser (smooth, cool modulation effect)

This board is a ton of fun to play with, and I'll try to capture some sound clips to give ya'll a flavor for why you'd want to lug something like this around.

bassWR · #2 08-10-2010, 06:32 PM

Excellent Choice! I use one of these at church. Best DI for bass ever. Our sound guy loves it almost as much as I do.

LilRay · #3 08-10-2010, 06:45 PM

You've only got one thing missing; The handicap accessable "Whack a Mole" hammer for turning everything off/on.

AKA The LilRay special.

God Bless, Ray

JOME77 · #4 08-11-2010, 04:57 AM

Nice Greg! Wow! You've probably got as much in the pedal board as some cats do in their whole rig!

I keep trying to add a pedal or two but due to laziness, I end up with just the power switch to my amp .......

Darkstrike · #5 08-11-2010, 08:12 AM

Nice board man!

What happened to your Valvedrive?

varunkapahi · #6 08-11-2010, 08:37 AM

i can see so much empty space on it

RocketMusic · #7 08-11-2010, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkstrike

Nice board man!

What happened to your Valvedrive?

The BassBone took it's place in terms of physical real estate... I might try to squeeze it back on there down the road, but the BassJuice has me covered for the moment. I honestly don't do much with distortion. I used to use it a lot in The Kind, but I'm not playing with them much anymore.

RocketMusic · #8 08-11-2010, 09:38 AM

Here's a fun demo clip of me walking through the various pedals on my board. It sounds like it was an ambient recording done with my handheld recorder, but that's just 'cause I set up a second vocal mic and played in the same room as the cab (so you hear the strings, the pedal stomps, etc.). It still sounds pretty good, though...

I used my fretted Roscoe 5 running through my pedals into a Genz-Benz Shutte 9.0 head and the new Berg AE-212 cab. The cab was mic'd with a Peluso CEMC6 mic, as was my voice. Both mics went into the M-Audio FastTrack Ultra 8R USB interface. Then into the PC and Sonar Producer 8.5.

There's a brief moment of hilarity about halfway through. Ya'll might not believe me when I tell you my recording sessions are constantly being interrupted for string sales. Well, today I caught it on tape!!

"Pedal Board Demo"

JOME77 · #9 08-11-2010, 09:52 AM

That's really cool Greg! Man you've got about every flavor available on the board! Great demo!

lol

Very fast string sale around 3:37 - 3:47!!!

Speaking of strings, it's only right that I momentarily interrupt this thread to ask if you have some 5 string FLAT wounds (or halfwounds) that would work on my 35 scale Warmoth fretless? I want to try going for more of an upright sound with that bass. No really! Do you?

RocketMusic · #10 08-11-2010, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JOME77

That's really cool Greg! Man you've got about every flavor available on the board! Great demo!

lol

Very fast string sale around 3:37 - 3:47!!!

Speaking of strings, it's only right that I momentarily interrupt this thread to ask if you have some 5 string FLAT wounds (or halfwounds) that would work on my 35 scale Warmoth fretless? I want to try going for more of an upright sound with that bass. No really! Do you?

Hah! Well played, sir! Unfortunately, I'm afraid I don't have anything for ya. If you're not in a hurry, I could order something. Let me know if you have a particular preference...

RocketMusic · #11 08-11-2010, 10:04 AM

By the way, I did also record this session with my Olympus recorder. Some guys here (Jerry!!) seem to prefer that, so I'm going to make an effort to record things both ways at least for a little while.

I'd love to hear if ya'll think this is valuable at all...

"Pedal Board Demo Through Olympus"

RocketMusic · #12 08-11-2010, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JOME77

lol

Very fast string sale around 3:37 - 3:47!!!

There's actually a "cut" in there that my mad Sonar skills allowed me to make disappear.

I probably should have made it more pronouced so that would be more obvious...

Darkstrike · #13 08-11-2010, 05:25 PM

Can't wait to check out these clips, have to wait until tomorrow, though....

RocketMusic · #14 08-11-2010, 05:32 PM

How ever will you sleep?!?

I trust you can manage...

Darkstrike · #15 08-11-2010, 05:36 PM

Sweet dreams of groove and grind!

kasanovakarl · #16 09-07-2010, 10:25 AM

Greg,

It looks like you have a variety of cables hooking your pedals together. Which ones have you found that sound the best, while also not breaking the bank?

RocketMusic · #17 09-07-2010, 10:47 AM

I think I've got it down to a mix of three types of inter-connects.

My favorite are the EBS str-str connectors that don't even have any cable to them. You can see two of those in the lower right hand corner (between the two MXRs and EBS Bass IQ) They're like $10-12 each. They let you put two pedals right next to each other as long as they both have their inputs/outputs on the side.

I also use several 8" Monster RA-RA cables. They're not cheap ($20-$25 each?), and I'm not even sure they still make them. Very nice, though, no complaints from me.

The two long runs (1.5'-2'?) from the Keeley looper to the lower row are part of a Lava pedlaboard kit. Also not cheap ($90 for 5 cables?), but very easy to make cables of exactly the length you need. And the RA connectors let you get pedals VERY close to each other.

I'll be checking out the Lava Soar stuff as soon as it comes in (any day now?). Those REALLY won't be cheap, but they should be very nice.

LilRay · #18 09-07-2010, 11:13 AM

Greg,

I had an effect question I've been meaning to ask you too. I know you use the EBS Multicomp as your compressor. Have you ever tried the T-Rex Squeezer? I'd be curious of your opinion of it AND the differences between it and the EBS. Would you mind telling me why you personally choose the EBS?

You sell 'em both so you'll get the sale, I'm jus' wunerin'?

God Bless, Ray.

RocketMusic · #19 09-07-2010, 11:22 AM

I actually used to use the Squeezer. It was slightly nosier (not too huge deal), but the real reason I got rid of it was the knobs. There were so many, AND they tended to move pretty easily when you close the pedal board up and transport it. I usually have cables in there, and they would inevitably sit on top of the pedal and change the knob locations. I could have marked the pedal with where I liked the knobs to be positioned, but I decided to just go with the EBS instead. It's got half the knobs, and they stay put.

The EBS Multi-Comp has a multi-band mode that I like, too. The lows and the highs are compressed independently, which is pretty hip on bass guitar.

LilRay · #20 09-07-2010, 11:38 AM

Thanks man! Sounds like you run your Comp "Set it & Forget it". You'd know better than I would how to use any of this stuff. I've got no idea.

I was taking a break from my "Modes of Rhythm" practice and thought I'd post something serious for once.

God Bless, Ray