Show me your compact pedalboard setup

[sloppy_phil]

I don't think it would be policing, let's be honest regardless of how you define it there will always be that person that post a board with like 11 pedals on it. I think we could define a small board no more than 5 pedals. Single depth only. I think that's a fair definition...

But this thread is for "compact", not necessarily "small".

Well, I guess the question is really if it's the arrangement of the pedals on the board, or the pedalboard itself which needs to be compact. I personally see it as the first option; I truly think it's a case of people meaning to say small, not compact, in reference to the actual board size.

Semantics, eh? Good times!

 

[PhatBottomBass1]

I would put this in the mix...

Form, function, flexibility, fidelity

Compact = much, minimal space, does the job.

 

[ExaltBass]

 

[odarellmc]

View attachment 5025642

See that's compact... Nice!

 

[gonzkal]

Let me add something to the debate, for fun. In mathematics, the property of compactness in part refers to the absence of holes (all limiting points of a compact set must belong to that set too). So, in addition to a cap on the number of pedals and on size, we could consider how crowded/tight a board is.

edit: of course, others already suggested that before me. But if topology can back this up...

 

[Sascha Erni]

Replaced the JoshWah with the SV-Pre as an Overdrive for yesterday's outing (Metal/Alternative). It was also the first time I used the Master Effects Super Two Hundred in the wild.

The Super Two Hundred just slaps. What a great pedal. And it gave me quite the conundrum: I didn't really need the SV-Pre as an overdrive, like, at all. I turned it on where I usually use OD in our songs, but at live volumes, the difference was negligible, the Super200 more than enough dirty on its own. So after the first couple of songs, I left it off. I use the Damnation Audio MBD2 as something of a fuzz, functionally, and it provided the contrast needed for flavor, or go for all-out mayhem easily.

Two sounds, then – basic dirt from the Master Effects preamp, all-out with the MBD2, that was all I really needed.

So … now I'm considering dropping the OD slot and moving everything onto a smaller board. Like, why lug around stuff you don't really NEED while playing live? It's just another possible point of failure, takes up space, and makes the whole thing heavier.

Am I overthinking things? Have any of you guys and gals reduced OD/Distortion options for similar reasons, i.e. simplify for more reliability but mostly because one dirt option is enough?

That said, I got tons of compliments for my tone; even our picky guitar player was gushing all over it. You know the type – five guitars onstage because that song sounds better with a Gibson, that one with e Fender, that one with a Flying V etc..

 

[darkhalf]

i just got the diamond comp today and slapped this in a 5 pedals top jacks + tuner on a pedaltrain Nano+ with a cioks dc 5 underneath.

 

[dStar]

Gee, if only there was a reference that told us what words mean…

Compact
adjective

1. 1.
   closely and neatly packed together; dense.
   
   Small
   adjective
   1. 1.
      of a size that is less than normal or usual.

 

[darkhalf]

i guess this would pass as small and compact. 3 pedal essentials in a pedaltrain nano my awesome tbers. just giving some ideas maybe? cheers!

 

[mattattack187]

Update.
MXR M76 now on the board
This will be it for a while.
(Realizes he can fit at least 3 more on XPND....oh crap..)View attachment 5025035

How do you like the Drop? I have one coming in hoping it will work alright for half step down and C# tuning.

 

[Spector2112]

How do you like the Drop? I have one coming in hoping it will work alright for half step down and C# tuning.

Honestly, I'm borrowing it from my guitarist friend, (who also has the Whammy Drop) and I haven't had time to mess with it much.
I can say that in his rock/metal cover band, both guitar players and bass use it, and as a spectator in the crowd, I haven't noticed issues.

 

[Xavier Isaac]

Which do you use more, Sansamp or Microtubes?

I'm unsure if you're asking which I use more for like OD, or something else. But technically my Sansamp, I use it more like an eq pedal to affect the rest of my pedals with a bit more control. It's an always-on pedal, I also like sending it out with any of my other fx because I mainly need the bass to clean, that's way more important to me than the crowd hearing my chores, fuzz, and whatnot. I have a DI out of my bass amp so I usually make the sound guy blend both signals.
The microtubes are great, really versatile OD, it's very present in the mix without being overpowering. I sometimes have it always on, but it depends on the songs.

 

[Xavier Isaac]

How do you like the Drop? I have one coming in hoping it will work alright for half step down and C# tuning.

I also have a drop, they're really good, I've even recovered songs in a studio with one, I recommend having it really early in your chain. I have mine after my tuner, followed by a comp and a preamp/eq. I find that it sounds a bit more natural if you scoop a bit of mids off.

 

[Xavier Isaac]

View attachment 5022001
....Out!

How is that Saturnwork's buffer? Im thinking of adding one underneath my board at the end of my chain, but I'm unsure if it's worth it.

 

[PhatBottomBass1]

How is that Saturnwork's buffer? Im thinking of adding one underneath my board at the end of my chain, but I'm unsure if it's worth it.

It's a splitter to the Zuul Mini "key function" and the input of the JohnK XOII.

No buffer, coming right off the Bass input that is split with the "Y", to the Saturnworks unit and the Direct Injection Box DI.

The SFX Micro Thumpinator (HPF) is buffered at the end right after the Zuul Mini I/O.

This is the JohnK XOII:

(mine has a phase switch on the hi-pass loop)

JohnK's Distortion is fantastic, blended with dry signal.

 

[dabis]

... but at live volumes, the difference was negligible..

With my dirt pedals, what I find at live volumes it's that the all the dirt tends to dissapear and you have a different Eq and compression. And it serves me very well.

 

[amper]

Just finished wiring this up, though the HOF mini is temporary, to be replaced with a One Control BJFe Prussian Blue reverb, so the HOF mini can go back to my mini guitar board. Board size is 8" x 11.625", or about 205 mm x 295 mm.

I keep the tuner separate so I only need to own one tuner, and it can be used separately from the board on battery, but gets power from the board when on stage. The Polytune will eventually be replaced with a Peterson StroboStomp HD, but that's not a huge priority right now, since the Polytune is accurate enough.

There's one extra power plug (with the yellow cap, at left), in case I want to temporarily patch in my Ditto looper, or something. I'll also need different patch cables for the reverb, to make it neater. There's still room to plug in my headphones and aux input into the Simplifier. Power is from a tc electronic 9 VDC/600 mA adapter.

 

[ExaltBass]

 

[amper]

A few years ago, I decided that the largest pedalboard I was willing to use for the foreseeable future would need to fit inside an airline underseat "personal item" flight tote, and I decided that would be no larger than 390 mm x 290 mm, or about 15 3/8" x 11.5 ". The total area is 0.1131 sq meters. I would not consider this a "small" or "compact" board, though some might. I would call it a medium sized board:

I haven't had the actual board fabricated yet, I changed out the drive pedals, and I still haven't got the second FreqOut, so here's what my main guitar board looks like right now. The actual board it's on is 19" x 12.25":

By contrast, the smaller bass board I posted before this has a total area of about 0.60475 sq meters, or about 54% the size of my medium sized board. I would definitely consider that "small" and "compact".

 

[lomo]

A few years ago, I decided that the largest pedalboard I was willing to use for the foreseeable future would need to fit inside an airline underseat "personal item" flight tote, and I decided that would be no larger than 390 mm x 290 mm, or about 15 3/8" x 11.5 ". The total area is 0.1131 sq meters. I would not consider this a "small" or "compact" board, though some might. I would call it a medium sized board:

Yeah-I'd also call that "medium", and I dig the concept of deciding on a reasonable size and self-imposing that limit.....otherwise the board can too easily get bloated and cumbersome....which sucks from my perspective (different strokes, of course)......kind of like a 1972 Dodge Polara........which is technically a "car", but more accurately described as a "land barge".