Walkthrough: Pedalboard (Feb 2016)

Having a massive pedalboard can be a pain and a chore sometimes, especially if it’s in stereo. Mine, helpfully, is both - but, barring one major complaint, I don’t think I’ve ever been as happy with it as I am right now. Beneath its chaotic exterior, the beast slumbers.

First, a chain order; the board begins with a run of five pedals, of which two are utility:

TC Polytune -> Boss CS3 -> Vein Tap Murder One -> Mooer Lo-Fi Machine -> Whammy IV

The only odd thing about the above is that the CS3 is always on. To avoid it sucking the life out of the fuzz down the chain, it’s basically set to the limit function, with the limit/compress knob at about ten o’ clock. If you combine that with the attack knob set at 3 o’ clock, then you can keep your guitar’s attack while still smoothing out the signal a bit. Also, the Whammy is always on, and that’s far from a transparent pedal, so more compression is simply not necessary. The Murder One is a neat momentary killswitch, and the Whammy is where I split my signal; nominally, the wet is my lead, and that goes into a Marshall JCM900; the dry is my rhythm, and that goes into a Line6 DuoTone head, set to be a mix of a Dr. Z and a Soldano Solo 100 model.

Whammy IV (wet) -> Zoom Ultra Fuzz -> Boss PW10 wah -> Amptweaker Tight Metal -> loop pedal (inside the loop: Boss DD6 -> TC Hall of Fame) -> Boss PN2 (right stereo input) -> TC Ditto X2
Whammy IV (dry) -> ENO ProCo Rat clone -> Boss PS5 -> Boss PS2 -> Boss BF3 -> Wasabi Chorus/Tremolo -> Boss PN2 (left stereo input) -> TC Ditto X2

My main drive sound is a combination of the Ultra Fuzz and the clean sound of the rhythm channel, which keeps some punch and clarity to the tone; to get dirty, and boost the volume, the Rat clone - set up for volume boost and low to medium gain - added to the mix makes for insta-Swervedriver vibes. The Amptweaker generally only gets stepped on for more metallic riffs or things that are palm-muted, as the fuzz doesn’t hold up as well there.

The Boss wah is a wah and Uni-Vibe, and an all-round underrated unit, while the combo of a DD6 on its reverse setting in front of the Hall of Fame allows for big post-rock washes while the rhythm channel stays clean and bright. Hitting the PS2 when the DD6 loop is on means there are two non tap-tempo delays coming out of the stereo cab, and it’s a completely immersive mess, which is used sparingly throughout the set, sometimes using the momentary function on the PS5 to bring the rhythm delays up an octave to cut through better. The chorus and tremolo are currently under-used, other than in a couple of choruses, to give the rhythm channel a more glassy tone underneath a lead with fuzz or distortion on it.

After that dense mass, both channels rejoin at the Boss PN2 Stereo Tremolo/Pan, a vintage pedal that I was in awe to as a teenager. A square-wave panned tremolo, it’s perfect for attention-grabbing leads, breakdowns and accenting chords in the same way that one might use a glitch or stutter pedal. After that, it’s into the Ditto X2 and out to the amps.

Phew. That wasn’t so complex, was it?