I am trying to figure out a good pedal combination to get three distinct sounds: clean, gritty, & synthy/distortion. Thinking about dark glass products - Harmonic Booster (clean), B7K (grit), & Alpha Omicron (distortion). I need to be able to switch between sounds mid song without fiddling with knobs, and I know I could probably get all this from their Photon pedal, but I kinda think I’d like the look of the 3 pedals together. This a good idea? I’m a 20-year drummer turned bassist and know basically nothing about pedals.
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Pedal stack
- Thread starter Brydav
- Start date
I’m currently using almost the same signal chain and they play very well together. Harmonic Booster always engaged (I have a Hyperluminal placed before it), X7 as the standard drive sound and the Alpha Omega as the heavier distortion. When playing clean passages with just the Harmonic Booster, I sometimes use a TC Spark Mini boost pedal after it to kick the volume up a bit so’s it doesn’t get lost in a band mix.
What does it matter what the pedals look like together, isn't it about the sound?
Their new Infinity could probably also do what you want.
Their new Infinity could probably also do what you want.
You must take a look at this lil darling...there are too many tones available...
Although 3 pedals may look cool to you, it will be a tap-dancing nightmare in the future. Simplicity is the key live and in general. No one in the audience will care about how cool your pedals look. In addition, if you can get what you want in the Photon pedal, I suggest going that route. A few clicks on one pedal is a LOT simpler.
I rarely make pedal recommendations, but I can definitely recommend finding a combination that switches smoothly mid-set. I have a few knob adjustments in my set, but they're all between songs and noted on my set lists. Most of my pedals are on for whole songs and when they aren't I hit one footswitch per tone change.
You can do the tap-dancey thing, but it is a major pain and distracts from your performance.
You can do the tap-dancey thing, but it is a major pain and distracts from your performance.
I've owned a DG Photon and ended up selling it. It was more to do with moving beyond the DG sound. If that is what you are after, then the Photon is a great choice.
Just as an example of keeping it simple, but having a huge selection of tailored sounds and easy one touch midi control took me into Source Audio and the NeuroHub.
You should take the time to acquaint yourself with this system if one button changes are important to you.
Just as an example of keeping it simple, but having a huge selection of tailored sounds and easy one touch midi control took me into Source Audio and the NeuroHub.
You should take the time to acquaint yourself with this system if one button changes are important to you.
I played with this set up for the first time last night. It was awesome. Harmonic booster (which was always on), B7K for grit tone which was on 90% of the time, and a couple synth bridges with the Boss Synth. No tap-dancing at all.
