Why, oh why? (Pedalboard overkill content)

[Matty Koff]

I seem to be stuck on the little white expression pedal..

 

[bassbrad]

I see dedication and commitment in that board as long as the bass player brings the groove. His band mates might have rights to gripe about space but from you it just comes across as needless criticism and envy.

 

[Jazz Ad]

I seem to be stuck on the little white expression pedal..

I think it's a dunlop mini wah.

 

[Nephilymbass]

I seem to be stuck on the little white expression pedal..

That's the newer mini version of the bass wah

Dude shows up at a gig last night in a relatively small club with quite a small stage for a 8-piece band and THIS is the pedalboard he lays down and hooks up:

View attachment 3544748

Mind you, this was a for an early gig (7:30 to 10:30pm) with a 1980s cover band. His board and amp alone took up about a fifth of the overall stage. The drummer had a smaller footprint!

All I can say is, why? Even if you're an effects maven, would you show up with such a ridiculous rig, bragging about the fact that it lights up, when you probably wouldn't use more than two of the pedals on the board?

This band included three female singers, a singing sax player, a singing keyboard player, a singing drummer, a singing guitar player, in addition to the non-singing bass player.

I was just flabbergasted. I mean, really, WT... you know the rest!

(I do wish I had the guy's money, though -- That board must have cost more than my car!)

They do have several sick pedals on there though I wish I could get my hands on. So definitely a plus for taste in pedals. Yeah can agree to some extent about the size. I play in a 5 piece and often on stages that are smaller than my master bedroom. By the time you have your amp behind you and a pedalboard and floor wedge In front of you there’s not much standing room on some of those stages. I think at that point I’d put the pedals in a rack and control them with a GCX switcher but that wouldn’t look as cool. I personally use a little pedaltrain mini with just the essentials. Not that Im a hater of bigger boards but I’ve seen some bands with bassist that have huge pedalboards and if they aren’t on it the bass volume can be all over the place as they switch from one pedal to another. Especially with synth/envelope/wah type pedals which I see at least 4 on that board. Some people are really good at that kind of stuff though so you never know.

 

[zontar]

when you probably wouldn't use more than two of the pedals on the board?

There's a good chance he used more than that
Plus to just take two off & hook them up would take more time than just plugging in the board

 

[cnltb]

I don't like the light but not knowing his set, I'm not going to judge. He may need all the pedals?
I have met people who wrote music to accommodate their pedal collection.

 

[yberwaffe]

Slightly envious of the amount of pedals he have, but the light is waaay to bright.

 

[mcnach]

I think the background floor lights are a little much and wasteful of juice.

I don't particularly like them myself, but they're LEDs, they're not really going to waste anything.

 

[Fialka]

I have played witj a guy at a jam with board like that, maybe even bigger. His playing was superb, he really carried it, I couldnt care less.

 

[Clemouze]

I find myself asking, how did the band sound? Did you dance?

Is making dance a criteria for something ?

 

[LaklandLaksNADA]

At least they're good pedals...haha

 

[40Hz]

Live and let live.

 

[dab12ax7ef]

I played with my one church band at a small coffee shop, the guitar player easily brought two of those boards. With high end effects and the hand wired tube amp too. He was a good player and used the effects well to get sounds accurate to the songs, but totally extra super overkill. It was 1/4 of the stage area, he had to have his rig off to the side or something.
I showed with my UBass, a tiny amp, and a cord, for the vibe and to “save space”.

 

[40Hz]

Is making dance a criteria for something ?

It is if you want to get regular club bookings most places.

 

[BurningSkies]

Awesome board! What does the club size, time of the show etc. have to do with a any of this? I see a lot of stuff that would make for great 80’s band sounds.

 

[JimmyM]

I don't recall the guy asking for permission or approval. Nobody's holding you hostage at his gigs.

 

[soundsupport1]

Oh for goodness' sake...

...It wasn't your band, it wasn't your gig, you don't know what other shows that bassist has to provide the bottom end for. Did his bandmates complain about how much space he was taking up? Did anybody - anybody - else care about how many of the pedals on his board were on at any one time?

I look at that board, and all I can think is 'considered'.
Everything is neatly laid out, well wired up. Clearly, with those LEDs, he's not concerned about electronic interference so he's invested in a quality power supply (or two). The pedals are all from known, reliable, quality brands.
A lot of time and effort and thought and money has gone into this bassist's setup. He's ready to fulfil any sonic requirement you can throw at him, in any genre. He's probably very pleased with the results of his work - rightly so.


And here you come, steaming in, p***ing all over it.
Did you enjoy the show? Did you have a good time? Why do you care so much about how the show was provided?

Would I use that board? No. But I don't need to use it. It's not my board, it's not there to make me happy - it's for the guy who actually uses it, to make him comfortable and happy and bring him joy and inspiration.
Frankly, the rest of us can just shut up and enjoy the show.

Peace,
SoundSupport

 

[Nev375]

Compared to Doug Wimbish or Bootsy Collins that's just a little miniature fly rig board.

I Bet Bootsy would love the lights in it.

 

[neckdive]

Dude shows up at a gig last night in a relatively small club with quite a small stage for a 8-piece band and THIS is the pedalboard he lays down and hooks up:

View attachment 3544748

Mind you, this was a for an early gig (7:30 to 10:30pm) with a 1980s cover band. His board and amp alone took up about a fifth of the overall stage. The drummer had a smaller footprint!

All I can say is, why? Even if you're an effects maven, would you show up with such a ridiculous rig, bragging about the fact that it lights up, when you probably wouldn't use more than two of the pedals on the board?

This band included three female singers, a singing sax player, a singing keyboard player, a singing drummer, a singing guitar player, in addition to the non-singing bass player.

I was just flabbergasted. I mean, really, WT... you know the rest!

(I do wish I had the guy's money, though -- That board must have cost more than my car!)

Perhaps a proper introduction is in order.

@Bonesy85, this is @Il Duce.

He has an issue with the gear you bring to gigs.

 

[FunkHead]