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Pedalboard trends 2018

2018 is also my first year using a pedalboard. Previously I was just bass directly into amp. This year I've decided I was going to experiment a bit more. The only thing I still want to add is a Reverb, otherwise I feel like I have a solid board that will get me through many years.

This year I will be running by bass into a D'addario Tuner, SpectraComp, PhatPhuk B, Sub'n'Up, Bass Chorus Deluxe, Carbon Copy, HPF+LPF, Ditto Looper. Only possible addition is an Earthquaker Devices Afterneath.
 
My board has two signal chains, which I blend together, and I couldn't be any happier with my tone (live or recording)!

1. Wireless -> DI -> Tuner (always on tuning!)

2. Wireless -> Preamp/Distortion -> Comp -> Phaser -> SansAmp -> Delay (w/ Tap) -> Chorus -> Boost -> DI

I have all the essentials (except for octave). I also have dirt from the MXR M80 (if I need it) and it sounds great thanks to the SansAmp cab sim!

Philly Watts Pboard.jpg
 
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For me I think it's just accepting I really just like getting a driven sound from my amp and not worrying about getting the light grit sound from a pedal, sticking with one distortion pedal, and figuring out my modulation. My octave/distortion/delay needs are pretty set, and while I have a great phaser and flanger option, I think I either want a great chorus or reverb to make the bass sound bigger if I need it to. Only other thing I feel I need is a boost pedal, probably just a simple Micro Amp.

That being said I am open to changing up my delay. If I find a Dispatch Master at a good price I might pick one up. :P
 
After several years with the Pedaltrain Mini with a tuner, compressor and 3 other variable pedals, I moved to a tiny kitchen cutting board covered in velcro. It holds no more than three pedals, and often only two.

Snark tuner has replaced my Korg pitchblack
Church board = Sansamp BDDI + one other pedal (this week, Aguilar TLC)
Open Mic House Band = Aguilar Agro + one other pedal (last week, MXR Reverb, but this week, I'm thinking the MXR Bass Env. Filter)
 
I'm also part of a pedalboards group on Facebook- It's mostly guitarists but there are a few bassists on there too. I've noticed more people getting loop switchers and stuff like that, streamlining boards and making them easier to use.

Personally I want to move from my homemade IKEA board to a proper Pedaltrain or something like that. Maybe get a decent chorus and/or phaser. Depending on what happens gigging-wise I might go to a stereo rig too, and run different dirt sections on each.
 
For me it’s been all about the HX effects so far. And I couldn’t be happier. I went from this about 6, 7 months ago (I actually ran two boards about the same size that got old fast):

7B19C4F4-759B-4808-889F-363BAAAF11F9.jpeg


To this today:

4599DB9B-7C26-49E3-85D8-E55F1AD2218A.jpeg


It’s made my like a lot easier for a lot of reasons. I’m always changing things up and evolving (or should I say revolving ;)) but the HX has really added a lot of excitement and inspiration for me. I plan to incorporate my synth setup into this too eventually. Synth stuff has really been intriguing to me lately but it’s gonna take some time for me to add and integrate all the stuff I want. But it’ll get there. The HX is going to make my life a lot easier in that arena as well.
 
I've started a long time ago with a huuuuge board that was so heavy I never was able to move it. So I downsized to a PT-JR, and I have found numerous ways to fit in as many pedals as possible along the years ;) I then re-added a small Metro 16 board for pedals with non-standard power requirements. Quite happy with the size. For 2018, the only changes will be a couple of exchanges on the PT-JR. Waiting for my last new pedal to arrive!
 
For me it’s been all about the HX effects so far. And I couldn’t be happier. I went from this about 6, 7 months ago (I actually ran two boards about the same size that got old fast):

View attachment 2963272

To this today:

View attachment 2963273

It’s made my like a lot easier for a lot of reasons. I’m always changing things up and evolving (or should I say revolving ;)) but the HX has really added a lot of excitement and inspiration for me. I plan to incorporate my synth setup into this too eventually. Synth stuff has really been intriguing to me lately but it’s gonna take some time for me to add and integrate all the stuff I want. But it’ll get there. The HX is going to make my life a lot easier in that arena as well.
Looking good mon!! Keep us posted on your synth journey. Are you planning on a single dedicated synth pedal like Future Impact or similar or are you gonna integrate some effects from the HX with some pedals in the loop?
 
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I seem to be in the process of starting a second band so I will have a second pedal board. I think it will be very simple, something like tuner, overdrive, fuzz, octaver and chorus. I might want to limit it to a maximum of five pedals. I'm going to play rock music again, so no need for extended pedal use.
In my first band (no rock music) I plan to keep the board as it is. I developed the concept over more than 5 years now and I'm pretty much done with swapping pedals in and out there. You could say I've reached perfection in what I tried to achieve there and like to focus on exploring even more of the sonic possibilities it has. Of course there will be GAS but more for synths than for pedals I guess.
 
My board is constantly changing, trying out different stuff from my guitar collection or new acquisitions on my bass board while refusing to up my small footprint (it's built into a case and I don't want to go larger). Slowly settling on what stays permanent

Oh yeah, - 1 for making me look up "concomitant" ...
 
2017 was a big year for bass purchases - went from two to six - and getting acquainted with my full-doofus pedalboard. 2018 will be the year of the new tube amp, restricting pedal purchases. I'll be getting more in-depth with the pedals I already have, and possibly scaling down the board (maybe split into two?) for the band I'm in rather than my own home fun-time. Also hoping to get my new originals band on stage finally.
 
Right now my "band" board is as stripped down as it's been in a long time but the big change has been going to a dual rig.
So right now I am focused on getting that rig dialed in and making it scalable to different sized venues and leaving my pedalboard alone for the most part.
So currently it is: signal splitter/buffer - (Dry side) Joyo UD - (Wet side) Blower Box - TAFM - Bassballs
I am still experimenting with a few odds and ends that may make it to my main board as new songs are written, but with the style of music we play I'm committed to keeping it pretty straight forward.
This year I will probably be purging some of my collection of pedals that are essentially duplicates or are pedals which I am certain I will never use.

My band has an alter-ego that plays a completely different style of music (prog/fusion/improv) in which I really get to indulge my sound mangling tendencies. That board is wide open and there are no limitations.
Next year I plan to get a Helix Floor and also dive deep into synths, both bass and keyboard type.
 
I'm using effects for the first time this year. Building a pedal board now(built into a suitcase for ease of travel/protection). Going with tuner > octave > OD > fuzz > chorus > volume.

I think anyway, I'm not done trying different orders yet and I don't have a volume pedal yet.

-Jake
 
Changed up most of my board to incorporate a BOSS ES-8 for quick patch changes. I was doing a lot of tap dancing to switch sounds. Looking for a few more key pieces to round out the board...
So are you pretty happy with that boss es8? If you had to do it over again, would you buy it again? Been wondering about taking the big plunge. Can you elaborate a little on what exactly you are using it for?
 
I feel like I'm almost there. I bought a Novo 18 last year and deliberately put my coolest sticker on the flight case as a mark of commitment to that size of board. I do need a decent octaver - I ditched the Sub N Up and I'm making do with the -1 option on the Boss PS6 for now. An MXR is probably in my future, since an OC2 has too many downsides and the MXR can get pretty close. Doing the capacitor mod on the Pork Loin will solve my slightly unconventional dirt issues. Some sort of nice reverb with some weird options (reverse maybe) would finish things off nicely, but I don't know what at this stage. I just saw the Red Panda 'Tensor' demo on Pedals and effects.... Fortunately they are expensive and hard to find in the UK. Keeping he footprint tight is forcing me to think hard about what I really need though. I've realised I can do without a 'shimmer', for example since I get something that sounds similar but slightly different by combining existing pedals. Does anyone make a multi channel / switchable expression / volume pedal?...
 

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