Pedalboard blasphemy. Who's with me?

misterwhizzy

misterwhizzy

Well-known member
I played for about an hour last night, and the only pedal I used was my tuner. I thought it sounded the best it has in a long time, and I enjoyed playing more than I had recently as well. It might be time to slim down.
 
Re: Pedalboard blasphemy. Who's with me?

I use a small pedal board (4-7 pedals max -and that includes tuner and EQ pedal) -so I can get the same sounds from any backline amp when traveling to a gig - it also has redundant power underneath.

I was against any board for years until I had a couple of gigs in the 90s where I had pedal issues that had to be diagnosed onstage mid gig.

Then I realized the critical nature of the reliability inherit in a fixed and tight small board with a great power supply..

For recording, I only use the pedal or 2 that are a must for the song -I never run through a bunch of pedals or switching that are not part of the song.

Here's an example of my little guy for gigging.

it's typically a pedal or two smaller than this

View attachment 94878
 
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Re: Pedalboard blasphemy. Who's with me?

With the proper rig I got to the realization I don't need an overdrive or distortion pedal at all. When playing in mono the FX come in only in cameos like solos or enhancing a clean sound but you loose a bit of the definition of the note attack, after that FX are off. My always on pedal is my ISP Decimator GString ii, I just crank the gain and use the guitar volume knob.
 
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Re: Pedalboard blasphemy. Who's with me?

I play without pedals probably 90% of the time and love the sound of my amp . . . but that 10% there's just nothing else that will do.
 
Re: Pedalboard blasphemy. Who's with me?

Pedals are fun at home but I never use them on stage. I had not played out in several years when one of my old bands had two "reunion" shows in a row. Friday night I had my eq pedal for solo gain boosting. Halfway through the show I regretted it and Saturday night I ran straight into the amp. It just sounds better to me that way.
That Saturday the guitar player in the opening band sounded great running through a small pedalboard (5 pedals, I think). There is no right or wrong, only "sounds good."
 
Re: Pedalboard blasphemy. Who's with me?

misterwhizzy said:
I played for about an hour last night, and the only pedal I used was my tuner. I thought it sounded the best it has in a long time, and I enjoyed playing more than I had recently as well. It might be time to slim down.
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Yes, playing without a tuner has been way overrated for far too long. I recommend all musicians try playing with a tuner at least once to see how you like it. Scales begin to sound familiar again, and chords can sound like one guitar now instead of six different ones. ;-)
 
Re: Pedalboard blasphemy. Who's with me?

As long as that tuner is not clipped to the headstock when playing live.....I HATE that.
It just looks unprofessional to me. JMO
Like chewing gum on stage.
 
Re: Pedalboard blasphemy. Who's with me?

I am kind of a beginner and play using vsts right now, but using logic yeah, less cables+less buffering gives you a purer tone. You can do the reverse as I've seen some pros doing, use a long cable on purpose to shave some highs... I'd personally use a eq pedal for that.
 
Re: Pedalboard blasphemy. Who's with me?

I was just joking, don't actually own one . . . but have played around with strapping heavy stuff to the head stock just to see what would happen (hell, it's free right?). It does make a small change in how the guitar sounds. Maybe a touch more sustain if you use something that's pretty heavy.
 
Re: Pedalboard blasphemy. Who's with me?

BlueStrings said:
I am kind of a beginner and play using vsts right now, but using logic yeah, less cables+less buffering gives you a purer tone. You can do the reverse as I've seen some pros doing, use a long cable on purpose to shave some highs... I'd personally use a eq pedal for that.
Click to expand...

Let's me clear up some stuff here, Direct pickup to guitar amp preamp connections, in principle gives you an electrically cleaner S/N ratio and may avoid distortion and artifacts created from especially digital modulation circuits -and second, it gives your pickups direct interaction with your Guitar amp preamp -which can liven up the sound or reaction when playing in certain conditions or combinations (although it can conversely make it less desirable than interaction with a buffer circuit first too -it's totally pickup and amp combination dependent)

-but a better Signal to Noise Ratio or avoiding distortion/artifacts created by more circuitry in the chain DOES NOT EQUAL "Purer Tone" on it's own -unless you can audibly hear the difference. -and a properly set up pedal chain WILL NOT be heard in the path by most if not all listeners unless a desired effect is engaged on purpose.

So really to me, it's about a good pedal selection, pedal power and cable setup and if you like how your pickups and guitar gain structure acts direct to Guitar amp preamp or not or prefer how the other pedal buffers interact.

And I think most people who laud over they way their guitar sounds direct into their amp are ACTUALLY enjoying how the impedance matching between their pickup and the preamp circuit are working because it can be very nice at times with the right combo -AND NOT how their various pedals are interfering tonally as often communicated
 
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Re: Pedalboard blasphemy. Who's with me?

Hmm, I really have little experience with real gear so maybe I am over-counting the effects of cabling/impedance.
Thanks for the info and clear-up!
 
Re: Pedalboard blasphemy. Who's with me?

Gtrjunior said:
How well does that work?
I know that extra mass on the head stock is supposed to add sustain...does it really work or is it just a gimmick?
Click to expand...

I find that the poor man's fat finger has a better tone
images.jpg
 
Re: Pedalboard blasphemy. Who's with me?

Gtrjunior said:
Lmao
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In theory, you could measure the fundamental resonant frequency of the guitar mass and then add or subtract weight (lead bullets like a cub scout pine wood derby or something) to move the resonant frequency to match perfectly or harmonize with the most frequented Key or natural open tuning you use when strumming. In this way you could get some crazy big sustain and perhaps intense vibrational movement over the coils to make some intense sounds.

or you could make the guitar a perfectly irrational frequency to get perfect separation or isolation, or do some weird tuned phase canceling

Thinks Tesla earthquake machine. :lmao:
 
Re: Pedalboard blasphemy. Who's with me?

NegativeEase said:
In theory, you could measure the fundamental resonant frequency of the guitar mass and then add or subtract weight (lead bullets like a cub scout pine wood derby or something) to move the resonant frequency to match perfectly or harmonize with the most frequented Key or natural open tuning you use when strumming. In this way you could get some crazy big sustain and perhaps intense vibrational movement over the coils to make some intense sounds.

or you could make the guitar a perfectly irrational frequency to get perfect separation or isolation, or do some weird tuned phase canceling

Thinks Tesla earthquake machine. :lmao:
Click to expand...

I see you’ve really put some thought into this.
Ha!
 
Re: Pedalboard blasphemy. Who's with me?

GuitarStv said:
Vintage clamps have a better sound.
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I only use antique tonewood style clamps on my headstock

il_794xN.1376515354_kseg.jpg
 
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