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Does it ever end?

vivaknoxvegas

vivaknoxvegas

El Duderino
Supporting Member
May 6, 2002
4,184
8,495
51
Knoxville, TN
soundcloud.com
#1
I've been trying to assemble my board for about 4 months now. It's in a constant state of flux. I have several winners now that aren't going anywhere but I can't seem to finish the thing. Is this pretty normal or am I insane?

First board was a Metro 20. I ran out of room there, moved to a used PT-1 with power on the bottom.

I've bought pedals, sold them, then re-bought the same pedal.

Sorry for the first world rant. Just curious to hear your all's experiences.
 
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#3
Your insanity is normal. :D It's called Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS), and isn't just pedal-related. Most of us have been there, same as you. I have sold good gear that I was bored with, sometimes re-buying it later when I realized the shiny new alternative wasn't better, it was just different.

I suppose you could ask yourself these questions:
  • How many tones do you actually need? (If you're in a bar band playing classic rock you probably only need just one).
  • How far are you willing to go to chase the tones you need and/or want really badly?

FWIW my needs are minimal. I've decided that my maximum will be 2-3 pedals: overdrives and sometimes compression. Others have massive pedal layouts, sometimes out of need but sometimes just for fun/variety.

As an old phart having gone through costly (and sometimes unnecessary) gear swaps, I mostly keep my GAS in check by changing my strings regularly ;) and trying to be satisfied with what I have. My only real piece of advice:
  • Never buy anything that will break or even strain your budget: you probably don't need it, and if you do there's probably a cheaper alternative.
 
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#4
Welcome to the club! Started building a new board about a month or two ago after using the same one for three or four years, and I ma going through the same process of find the right 5 pedals. Bought many, sold one, and will sell a couple more to buy some more. Wait, I do this all the time, lol. I went 6 months without buying/selling any gear, then I got the GAS again.
 
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#6
vivaknoxvegas said:
I've been trying to assemble my board for about 4 months now. It's in a constant state of flux. I have several winners now that aren't going anywhere but I can't seem to finish the thing. Is this pretty normal or am I insane?

First board was a Metro 20. I ran out of room there, moved to a used PT-1 with power on the bottom.

I've bought pedals, sold them, then re-bought the same pedal.

Sorry for the first world rant. Just curious to hear your all's experiences.
Click to expand...

Nope, it never ends. My board is constantly in flux. I've got multiple pedals that I've bought-sold-rebought-resold-rebought (and so on), I'm now on my 5th board (increasing in size each time), and over the past 4 years or so, I've probably bought, sold, and/or tried hundreds of different pedals.

It is all in good fun though, so just sit back and enjoy it! Just think, it could be worse - you could be into golf.
 
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#12
After about 8-9 years of trying to build a board that would do what I wanted, involving thinking of effects and then looking to see if someone had built it yet and if so ordering one and paying a fortune for it or if not commissioning someone to build it for me, and a period where I went a bit mental and built a MIDI controller that I could program myself using an Arduino and a steel Gruffalo pencil case to control my Source Audio pedals and my H9 and my M9, I gave up.

I've now gone completely software, using a Softstep 2 for a board, but using Max/MSP to get more functionality out of it, and hosting my effects in Ableton so I can also do looping, sequencing, sampling etc. I also run my synth through the same setup so I can add effects to that, or sequence bass parts in Ableton, or play soft synths hosted in Reaktor or Kontakt. My mic is also routed through my Mac. I have outs to both my bass amp and the PA. Our drummer is also wired in so he gets a click if he needs one and can trigger stuff on the Mac from his octapad.

But purely in pedalboard terms ultimately it means if I have an idea I can be demoing it within half an hour and it costs me nothing, rather than spending a month or three researching it, spending a fortune, rewiring the board, etc. What a pain in the arse.
 
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#14
It took me 2.5 years to get things to where I wanted them and I had exactly all the sounds I needed under my toesies, no more and no less. I don't like buying things, and I've been happy for a few years with my entire rig. I've also been playing for 3 decades and know what I like. If you don't suffer from "what if...", and "perfect", then yup, you can be done with the endless youtube reviews and get back to playing and making music.
 
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#18
vivaknoxvegas said:
I think this is some of my problem. I want to have a wide array of options on tap, and that makes it so much harder to be happy with 12-14 pedals all working together.
Click to expand...

You may be bumping into what a lot of synth players run into...a desire to have nigh on infinite resources at your fingertips at all times "just in case." That leads to the gradual acquisition of a metric ton of hardware and a terabyte of softsynths, samples and plug-ins. But one day they realize with all this stuff at their disposal, they're still not sure just what it is they want to say musically.

The problem with gear is it can easily become an end in itself. But when you think about it NONE of all this gear has anything to do with actually playing music. At best, it's a preparation to play. At worst, it's a neverending superfluous preparation to play music.

Somebody once told me: "Don't ever marry a piece of gear. And if you're smart, don't even fall in love."

Wise words. The Bass isn't the instrument...or the amp...or the tray of expensive boxes on the pedalboard. The bass is the player.

Don't be this guy:

IMG_1082.JPG
 
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#20
brianrost said:
I believe in K.I.S.S. so yeah, you are insane ;)

Are you gigging with your pedal board? If so, after four months you should have a real good idea of what you're actually using. Don't fetishize your pedals. Almost every pedal I have ever owned I got rid of once I didn't have a use for it any more.
Click to expand...

I gig and record with my pedalboard, and I'd say I make a significant change to it at least once every four months, if not more often. I only keep pedals that I use regularly - I'm quite ruthless about that - and I'd also say I have a strong idea of sounds I'd like to have and roles I need fulfilled. However, just like virtually every other marketplace out there, new products come along daily, not to mention personal discoveries of pedals that I just haven't played before.

TL;DR - it is impossible to explore all effects and sounds available within four months. :)
 
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