Please help me with my pedalboard...

Embarrassing as it is, here's my pedal disaster...we are still in the experimental stages:

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Not shown is pedal #1 - Korg Pitchblack Tuner with mute feature. Here's my current order based only on how everything sounds:

Amp Front:

Dunlop GCB-95
Boss GE-7
Boss CS-3
Boss NS-2

FX Loop

Boss FV30L
Boss DD-3

FV30L is set for lead volume at WOT and rhythm when pulled back. No chance of accidentally going WOT on a cranked amp.

Here's my VS265 settings. ' Countour' on this amp is mid frequency scoop. Full CW is scooped mids. I run this in the middle with mids full-up and it just breaks the edge of that AM radio tone on the mids and makes them full and rich:

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Settings never change. Even with EQ like this there's tons of top end. This setting keeps it from getting shrill at very high volumes:

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Delay settings never change. This is mixed with subtlety so that you hear the effect on solos but it doesn't muddy up the rhythm and there's no need for tap dancing.

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I'm building a pedal board right now also. I'm waiting on three pedals. Expected delivery is Wednesday. I've been using a Boss ME-50 multi effects pedal for several years now. I also bought a used Mustang I modeling amp recently. Now I'll have 3 different types of effects to monkey with.
 
HAHA, says the guy with no pedal board, just about 5 free pedals I've yet to try and a couple I actually bought intentionally. TS9 from Music Go Round that Sysco fixed for me, a Vox Wah and Vox distortion booster I got in a box of gear at auction.
 
@Mr. Grumpy this would be my order with those. Compressor>Katz>808>BB Pre-Amp>Etheral>Looper.
I haven't found either of my RATS (Big Box 308/Solo) like being boosted into, to me they sound better on their own but boosting afterwards worked. I hear people have good results boosting into a RAT but that hasn't been my experience yet, same with Fuzz, always sounded better to me 1st in the chain. Maybe I am doing it wrong but those circuits always seemed to be overpowered when boosting into them? I have never tried the KATZ either though.
 
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Tony M. said:
Maybe I'll jump on the band wagon and build another...
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Don't do it - moments of joy followed by hours of frustration. This is the last f'kin pedalboard I ever have!!!

chilipeppermaniac said:
HAHA, says the guy with no pedal board
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You, Sir are a sensible man.

RobV said:
I haven't found either of my RATS (Big Box 308/Solo) like being boosted into, to me they sound better on their own but boosting afterwards worked.
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The only decent sounds I can get with the Katzenkonig are with the TS and compressor turned off; before or after doesn't matter, the RatKiller does not keep any girth with them around... &, you're right, the RatKiller is at it's best when everything else is turned off except the amp boost.

RobV said:
I hear people have good results boosting into a RAT but that hasn't been my experience yet, same with Fuzz, always sounded better to me 1st in the chain. Maybe I am doing it wrong but those circuits always seemed to be overpowered when boosting into them? I have never tried the KATZ either though.
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I've always struggled with fuzz pedals in a line-up. I might do some kinda nifty A/B switch pedal with only the RatKiller on one side while the amps boost goes into both.
 
So, after 36 hours of frustration with these bastard pedals, I have got back to good basic sounds and some fun:

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Much as I love playing the little Epi Special, it has never been right so I took it to the shop today to have a proper tech sort it out: new pickups (nice ones, even if I say so myself); a new nut; a new bridge and tailpiece. I asked him to set it up with the P90s much closer to the strings (as one of our esteemed members above pointed out a few weeks ago...).

While I was there, because my bloody MXR powerbrick has not been delivered yet (maybe tomorrow). I picked up a PSU, so I could plug the batteryless Wampler into the FX loop - and, as I suspect you already know..., with the SG's powerful P90 straight into the front, and the Wampler in the FX loop we have good stuff. Easy to get many good sounds. I really like the plate reverb a lot. I've hardly dipped into the delay side yet, but this pedal is very easy to get sounds out of, very intuitive, very simple to use. If all pedals were this simple, life would be easy - this and the Velvet Drive are the only two Wampler pedals I've had, but both were very easy to use with no poor sounds in them.

Now, as a bonus, while at the guitar shop, I met a guitar teacher and went back to his studio. He set me up with some G-minor pentatonic runs and a backing track to practice.

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&, as I didn't have a guitar with me, he let me use his rather gorgeous Gibson LP - and, I liked it a lot! He also had one of the limited edition Gibson Jimmy Page Signature LP, and it was gorgeous (no, I didn't even ask if I could play it...).

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eSGEe said:
Would you like to borrow my Hammer Grumpy??? works great for pedals--- computers-- or anything with a lot of lights and knobs that just needs pulverized.....
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If I could jump back in time two weeks then I'm not sure I would have gone this route - maybe a Origin20 head, a nice cab and a DSL 1 head and no blooooooooooooody pedals. Ok, maybe the Wampler reverb/delay.

How big's your hammer (if you don't mind me asking)?

Having said that, the new puppies in the Epi Special (being set up properly), especially the 10k P90 in the bridge, should work much better with this amp. I might even be able to justify getting a LP with humbuckers (big manly ones...) to drive this amp a bit harder - because that's what this amp needs.

&, I am also thinking, rather than just pushing this f'kin huge headroom, I might be better off with one of these (at half the cost of any one pedal...):

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...but, we live and learn.
 
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lol--- big enough to get the job done ;)

The Origin 20 seems a fine amp---lots of tones in there ---keep digging ytou'll find one ya like--a good reverb is never a bad thing --- the Marshal has lovely "dirt" built in but a good distortion pedal (the Tube Screamer) and really dont know you needs anything more than that

one of my happiest tones (I revisited it yesterday) is a Gibson Les Paul Jr straight into a Marshall Valvestate 20 amp----- dime everything -- (except reverb) back contour to 1:00 and FOOGIN RAAAAWK!

love that tone

of course your always welcome to send it to me for destruction
 
eSGEe said:
one of my happiest tones (I revisited it yesterday) is a Gibson Les Paul Jr straight into a Marshall Valvestate 20 amp----- dime everything -- (except reverb) back contour to 1:00 and FOOGIN RAAAAWK!
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This will work great with my SG junior and Origin too - the problem being the noise level... If I dime it at .3 watts (and I just risked a kick up the jacksey by wifey by testing this for you...) then we're at 85 db (not hitting the strings hard at all) while the SG volume is on 4... I leave the Origin on the 3w mode (which doesn't seem that much louder) because it just feels the entire soundspace, especially the bottom end and lower mids, much better. But, the amp does get loud quickly when you add gain to its master volume.
 
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Playing with the reverb/delay is nice because even at low volume it feels 'bigger' - and, practicing scales is not the most exciting when you're as slow and shite as me, so it's just more fun...

This is a good watch for low level playing:

 
^ nothimg like a good basting...

This just turned up, so now only waiting for the Keeley reverb/modulation (of which I've had two before and been impressed for about 2 days...):

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Feels really good quality, as you'd expect with MXR - I should just stick to Wampler and MXR pedals...

It's quite small indeed for a 10-brick.
 
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