Pedal board for guitar FX:

 

 

OK, we'll start of this series with an easy one: the guitar effects pedalboard as currently used by The Niz live onstage and in the studio.

 

The board is actually a DIY thing made out of a cheap briefcase that's been modified to take the top of, and fortified with a piece of MDF that serves as the base on which the pedals are attached to. This is done with small pieces of velcro-tape.

There's a second line of pedals that is placed higher as to have easier "stomp access". It's also making it easier to hide away the cabling of the front row pedals.

 

The pedals on the board are often changed in function of the gig or studio session that is coming up. The ones that have been on for quite some time and the "regular guests" are the ones that are shown on the picture. The red pedal is is the only one I don't elaborate on: it's a Boss power supply pedal and master switch for the FX loop and I only use it to power the other pedals, plus it provides an easy way to connect guitar and amp quickly.

Boss volume pedal:

We'll start on the front row, from left to right: we have the Boss volume pedal. This is for providing a volume boost when the solo comes up. Especially when performing with more than one guitar player in a band, this is a necessity for live-playing. Because when playing you sometimes   need to hear yourself better and just turn your volume up a teenie-wienee bit. And then at times you notice near the end of the gig that the pedal is all the way up when playing rhythm...  Typically... the battle of the loudest :-)

The way I connect it: after the modulation pedals and before the delay pedal.

Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner in pedal format:

Then we have another pedal that is a "must" live and even in the studio: a tuning device. Mine here is the Boss TU2. I don't have it that long but it is a sturdy one. There is a good visibility when standing straight, and you just need to stomp on it once to activate it. At the same time it mutes the output so the audience or studio personnel doesn't have to listen to your tuning song.

Ibanez TS10 Tube Screamer Classic:

Description:

This is the fourth generation of a classic overdrive pedal and it was manufactured in the mid-eighties.

-         Controls: drive, tone and level pots

-         Inputs: mono (jack), 9V DC

-         Outputs: mono (jack)

 

Sound:

-         My opinion:

In a guitar setup, I see two great ways to use this overdrive: either as an overdrive (applying “drive” in various degrees from clean-with-an-edge to crunch), or as a gain boost to smoothly overdrive the input of your tube amp (playing with the “level” control). Both work fine and provide a nice-sounding sweet tone when used with a good guitar and amp. Think bluesy and crunchy. It’s my main overdrive pedal when playing live. Reacts and sounds differently when combined with different guitars and amps and volume settings. To my ears, the TS10 sounds better than my (original) TS9.

-         Useable for: smooth overdrives, cranking up your tube amp, level boost.

-         sound sample: no dedicated sample yet available, but listen to "(Gonna) Hit The Ground" to the delayed rhythm guitar in your right ear; you'll hear an Epiphone Casino with the TS10, SC10 and DD5, check our sounds-page.

 

Strengths versus Weaknesses:

Very nice tone, the 9V adaptor input is of the same type as the Boss pedals

Versus

Input and output jack sockets are mounted on PCB (goes for all the 10-series pedals, btw)

Ibanez MS10 Metal Charger:

Description:

Overdrive/distortion pedal of the 10-series, manufactured in the mid-eighties.

 

Sound:

-         My opinion: Where the TS10 stops, the MS10 continues. It provides a lot of possibilities from Tubescreamer-like overdrive to real screaming and sustaining distortion. Also metal sounds are possible. A back draw is the noise that comes with the higher gain settings. This is not a problem as long as you keep on playing, but when you stop and the band enters a quiet passage, it’s better to switch it off, or use a noise gate. All in all a very addictive pedal!

-         Useable for: screaming solos; leads or riffs that require finger tapping, creating “walls of distortion”.

-         sound sample: no dedicated sample yet, but listen to the solo guitar in "The End Of Time" and you'll hear a stratocaster played through an MS10, check our sounds-page.

 

Strengths versus Weaknesses:

Great distortion, great sustain; the 9V adaptor input is of the same type as the Boss pedals

Versus

Pedal can get noisy with higher gain settings; input and output jack sockets are mounted on PCB (goes for all the 10-series pedals, btw)

Note that I put the TS10 and MS10 physically close to each other so that I can switch between them with one stomp of my foot (eg switching between solo and rhythm).

Ibanez SC10 Super Stereo Chorus:

Description:

Your basic chorus pedal with possibility to connect two amps and thus create a wide-sounding stereo; it was made in the mid-eighties.

 

 Sound:

-         My opinion: it provides a nice chorus ranging from subtle to "thick", it always gives a slight volume boost. I personally like it when a modulation pedal does this, because often this effect is used playing clean or "cleanish", so I always welcome the small increase in volume when I activate it in a live situation. Adds an eighties feel to your sound. I didn't try connecting two amps to it, so I can't tell whether the stereo is really that "super". Mono it is OK.

-         Useable for: rhythm guitar, "Andy Summers-like stuff" and "We're sooo in love"-songs.

-         sound sample: no dedicated sample yet available, but listen to "(Gonna) Hit The Ground" to the delayed rhythm guitar in your right ear; you'll hear an Epiphone Casino with the TS10, SC10 and DD5. You can also hear it in "The End Of Time": the rhythm guitar panned to the right is a strat combining the SC10 and the PT909 (see below), check our sounds-page.

 

Strengths versus Weaknesses:

Slight volume boost and nice sound, the 9V adaptor input is of the same type as the Boss pedals

Versus

input and output jack sockets are mounted on PCB (goes for all the 10-series pedals, btw)

 

Ibanez PT-909 Phase Tone:

Description:

Interesting phaser from the late 70's/early 80's and from the same range as the famous first-generation "TS-808 Tube Screamer".

 

 Sound:

-         My opinion: this is a very good sounding phaser. It's not noisy, the switch is impeccable, and most importantly: the sound is super! Very usable on reggae-like rhythms and just as a lush phaser in rock songs. You can also dial in a fast speed setting making it sound like a sort of fast leslie simulation, but with a sound that reminds me of the late 60's Beatles and Hendrix. The pedal doesn't give a boost in volume when activated. Be careful with the feedback knob, it can be quite edgy on its sweep in combination with eg a telecaster.

-         Useable for: rhythm guitar, reggae-stuff (with slow speed setting), "Andy Summers and Edward Van Halen-like stuff", leslie simulation (with fast speed setting)

-         sound sample: no dedicated sample yet available, but you can hear it in "The End Of Time": the rhythm guitar panned to the right is a strat combining the SC10 and the PT909 (see below), check our sounds-page.

 

Strengths versus Weaknesses:

Very nice and lush sound, great switch

Versus

9V input is rather non-standard (different as the current Boss connectors)

Boss DD5 Digital Delay:

Description:

Delay pedal with stereo (panning) output and tempo input and a lot of musical possibilities; made in the 90's.

 

 Sound:

-         My opinion: one great pedal! In the mid-nineties this was the only delay pedal I could find that had the tap-tempo option (you need a seperate pedal for that; I use the Boss FS-5U for this - visible in the overview picture on top of this page). Whenever you need a delay that has to be synced to the rest of the band, this is a very easy way to do it. Just tap two times during the count-in and off you go! Small delay settings are also interesting. There is also a sort of loop-function in which the DD5 records and replays a couple of seconds, making it possible to layer your input over and over, and thus making very weird loops. Even the panning out can be useful: when connecting two amps it will hard-pan your delays left and right. Try it, it is a nice experience standing in the middle of two amps panning the night away ;-) Or, in case you need to have your guitar signal split to stereo for the studio, this is one way to do it.

-         Useable for: solos and fills mainly. Also special fx, eg you can let it oscillate.

-         sound sample: no dedicated sample yet available, but listen to "(Gonna) Hit The Ground" to the delayed rhythm guitar panned to the right; you'll hear an Epiphone Casino with the TS10, SC10 and DD5. Check our sounds-page.

 

Strengths versus Weaknesses:

Great sound, possibility to set tempo with your foot (hard to work without this feature live), great when using two amps in stereo

Versus

hard to find weaknesses here, perhaps one super small one: it stays activated after powering it up - you need to keep this in mind when playing live and setting up quickly

 

Digitech Whammy II:

Description:

Second generation of the world famous whammy pedal from Digitech, made in the nineties and brought to my attention by Tom Morello and Dweezil Zappa.

 

 Sound:

-         My opinion: seemless pitch variation with workable ranges (up and down, two octaves up and down, and a lot more). These up and down presets are, like most pitch shifting devices of that era, only workable when playing ONE note. You can play more notes, but then the whammy will not know which one to process and the result is a "flickering" sound (this is an effect in itself, check out Tom Morello on RATM). I also like the third "shift" setting called "2ND down". Here I have the impression that it is possible to play multiple notes and the shifter shifts them all. Backdraws: I find it a bit noisy, and I have the feeling that it is sucking tone when residing in my effects chain. That's why I don't put it in my FX-case permanently, only when it is required for a certain song. I'd like to get some sort of true bypass switching system for it one day. Always put it in front of your other guitar FX (first pedal after your guitar, or it might have trouble recognizing the pitch of the notes that you play).

-         Useable for: crazy pitch dives and jumps..., special FX,...

-         sound sample: no dedicated sample yet available.

 

Strengths versus Weaknesses:

Great effect, a lot of possibilities

Versus

a bit noisy, and I have the impression that it sucks tone

Electro Harmonix Deluxe Big Muff Pi ("distorter-compressor"):

Description:

Fuzz effect with compression.

 

 Sound:

-         My opinion: The Deluxe Big Muff is not a regular visitor in my pedal board, but just happened to be on the picture as I was fooling around with it at the time. So I might as well elaborate a bit. It is a fuzz and can make your guitar roar or sound really dirty. Think "The White Stripes" or sixties garage rock. The unit I have is an original one from (I think) the seventies and is in a rather poor cosmetic condition with small dots of rust on the frontplate. Technically it works fine. The compression is OK, but I don't use it a lot.

-         Useable for: rhythm, solos and fills, Jack White-like fuzz (great in combination with the Whammy)

-         sound sample: no dedicated sample yet available.

 

Strengths versus Weaknesses:

It's able to make your guitar sound dirty, and it has it's own 240V AC-plug

Versus

Rather big size - takes up a lot of pedal board real estate

That's it for now, more to come later!