Pedal justification

[Nacho8807]

Recently I was giving my pedalboard an overhaul, and I came to a surprising realization; I don't need a wah pedal on my board. It was hard to accept at first' "Of course I need a wah pedal, I've always had one. I can't take it off, what if I want to Kirk-up that solo?"

Then I really thought about how often (or little) I actually stepped on it. My band doesn't have any original songs that use it, and we play maybe two covers that might benefit from some wah-wah action, so why is it there? Simply because it's always been there, just in case. All this time I've been dedicating this precious real estate on my board to something I barely even use. So I did what I had to do; I took it off. We'll see how long this lasts, but somehow I feel like I'll barely notice it's absence.

Have you guys done this with any of your gear? Is there something you hold on to simply because you've always thought you needed it, regardless of how often you actually use it?

 

[Agileguy_101]

Re: Pedal justification

When I was in my original band definitely. I went down from a basically full PT-1 to a Nano. But now that I am in a cover band, I can justify almost any pedal in the name of being true to the recording.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Pedal justification

I've kept my Crybaby since I bought it in 1991. Thing is, I hardly ever used it up until the last few years. It took some modding and parts replacement to get it to how I wanted it to sound. Now I actually use it. Comes in handy to get a pseudo faked neck tone with my single pickup guitars too.

 

[everdrone]

Re: Pedal justification

only thing I can justify is my tuner and decimator pedals! the others are for tonal textures: rat, fuzz, wah, amp reverb pedal-controller

 

[Nacho8807]

Re: Pedal justification

I've kept my Crybaby since I bought it in 1991. Thing is, I hardly ever used it up until the last few years. It took some modding and parts replacement to get it to how I wanted it to sound. Now I actually use it. Comes in handy to get a pseudo faked neck tone with my single pickup guitars too.

That's good you made it usable for yourself. I never had a problem with the way mine sounds, in fact I love the tones I can get (it's a 535Q btw) I just never feel the urge to use it unless I play Voodoo Child, or Bulls On Parade or something.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Pedal justification

The less stuff in your chain, the easier your setup is to use. If a wah is crucial to play certain songs (eg theme from shaft), use it, if you don't need it and can play the whole set without it, take it off your board.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Pedal justification

The less stuff in your chain, the easier your setup is to use. If a wah is crucial to play certain songs (eg theme from shaft), use it, if you don't need it and can play the whole set without it, take it off your board.

That's pretty much what I've done. I can't count how many times my board grew and shrunk down again. I'm good with what I'm using now.... Crybaby, Digital Delay, Tuner. That's my stage setup. At practice I run the Crybaby and a boost out front with a different amp.

 

[hydro]

Re: Pedal justification

I have downsized a lot, but I won't ever give up my wah!

For me recently it was a tremolo pedal. Used it on one song and really, I can use a vibe for that one just as well, so I sold it. I agree about simplicity, fewer things to go wrong - and stage real estate matters too esp. if you are singing and can't reach the mic b/c your pedalboard is the size of a dinner table!

 

[misterwhizzy]

Re: Pedal justification

I need to remove about 3/4 of my pedals. I could certainly get by with a tuner, the wireless, and a delay.

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: Pedal justification

Only you can decide how necessary a certain pedal is for you. You have to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of having the thing on your board. I hate having extra stuff, but I also hate being out somewhere playing and realizing, "Ehh, crap, I don't have my…"

I try to cover the basics, with the few effects that I can't really fake my way around not having -- wah, overdrive, high-gain distortion, reverb, tuner. Other players might consider different pedals to be indispensable, but they're ones that I personally just don't use that much. I can easily see myself eventually feeling that a chorus, phaser, delay, or flanger is essential -- it would probably just take learning the right Van Halen song or something.

 

[Telecustom]

Re: Pedal justification

I take a wah to the gig, but it is not on the board. My setup is designed to be modular and easy to add the wah if needed. I'm actually down to three pedals. 2 overdrives and a chorus. Easy setup that does it all for me.

 

[Nacho8807]

Re: Pedal justification

I think the weirdest thing about this is the fact that I've been overlooking how little I use it for so long. I'm no stranger to taking off choruses or delays I decide I don't actually need, but I've always looked at my wah and said, no I can't get rid of that. I NEED it. Even though I really didn't. Must be some weird form of denial. I can see my Phase 90 going this way pretty soon too. It's basically just there cause it looks good, all orange and stuff...

 

[Lazarus1140]

Re: Pedal justification

I have a very nice Foxrox octave pedal on my board that I never use. I bought it because of a demo wahwah posted that blew me away. I love the pedal but have only used in one song that I absolutely hate playing and for one riff that will apparently never become a song ... so why is it still on my board? I honestly don't know.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Pedal justification

I have been the sound fx guy in a band using around 20 pedals (maybe more). And actually using them all.

I have plugged right in and hit go!

I have used a programmable multi FX for one sound and preset banks…

Whatever. I might slap a pedal on just for the color of the box, or play without any just because I'm too lazy to bend over and plug it in.

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: Pedal justification

I think I want a Bradshaw board. Only I'd make my own mushfake version, for the sake of learning, because I think I would enjoy it, and for general cheapness.

 

[aleclee]

Re: Pedal justification

I've been there and back. I had a big ass pedal board about ten years ago but when my band went to record a CD, all the guitar tracks were guitar straight into the amp. I've since replaced that entire rig and turned to the digital side. With everything "in the box", I can use whatever I want whenever I want.

If I still had a pedalboard, I guess it would come down to this:

1. Is there something I'd rather do with the space on the pedalboard?
2. Is the pedal messing up my tone when it's not engaged
3. Is there something I'd rather do with the money I'd get by ditching the pedal?

I guess where I'm going with that is that it's not so much about justification as it is prioritization. If there's nothing you want to take its place on the board, the only reasons to take it off are weight and tone suckage.

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Pedal justification

I went through this the past few years. I used to have multiple delay pedals, various wahs, phasers, various trems, etc. I hardly ever used any of it. The wah really messed with my head - even though I never used it I felt like my pedalboard wasn't complete without it

I went through a simplification process as I started focusing on writing a lot more. I started realizing what my "style" was and I realized that it wasn't a modern hard rock rig. I didn't need phasers, flangers, wahs, trems, lots of delays... I don't write with all that stuff. I condensed down to a compressor, a delay, a fuzz and an overdrive. That's more than some people, but it's pretty basic and most importantly, it all gets used.

 

[Stratman]

Re: Pedal justification

Just another pedal board, that I am building…
Needs cabling etc…
It will be placed in the middle of two other pedal boards.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Pedal justification

I've been in a process of minimizing stuff on my pedal board for the last few months, trying out different configurations and seeing what I can live without. At one point I was running 12 pedals, and realized that there were several on the board that had gone months without being turned on.

At the moment it's down to just fuzz->wah->vibe->delay. The wah pedal gets the least amount of use of those . . . but it's essential for some original funk tunes that I like to do (and Voodoo Chile) so it stays. I've given up trying to perfectly cop other people's cover tones . . . it's more fun playing the songs with the guitar sounding like me.

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Pedal justification

Recently I was giving my pedalboard an overhaul, and I came to a surprising realization; I don't need a wah pedal on my board. It was hard to accept at first' "Of course I need a wah pedal, I've always had one. I can't take it off, what if I want to Kirk-up that solo?"

Then I really thought about how often (or little) I actually stepped on it. My band doesn't have any original songs that use it, and we play maybe two covers that might benefit from some wah-wah action, so why is it there? Simply because it's always been there, just in case. All this time I've been dedicating this precious real estate on my board to something I barely even use. So I did what I had to do; I took it off. We'll see how long this lasts, but somehow I feel like I'll barely notice it's absence.

I'm in the same boat. Just too much of a pussy to finally take it off the board!