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I like my current guitar effect pedal board, so I'm going to explain what's going on here. Maybe this will help someone. Read more for a detailed description...
FIRST THINGS FIRST - WHAT AM I AFTER HERE?
I lead worship. I can't go dancing all over the place while I'm leading worship on the mic. I have to get to all of the essentials without moving too far.
I play electric guitar when I lead worship and I am often the only guitar player. I have to play rhythm, riffs and leads - keeping the tones changing for dynamics, and cover as much sonic territory as possible - without being distracting to the worship!
Delay and Overdrive are the two essential flavors for me - everything else can go if necessary
SIGNAL CHAIN TIPS
I have found the best signal chain is <gain stuff> <pre amp> <effect loop out> <volume pedal> <delay> <modulation> <reverb> <effect loop in> <power amp>. The key is to put the volume pedal first in the effect loop!
Most people put that volume pedal first in the chain – but then you can’t volume swell with a thick and juicy tone. The volume pedal is changing the gain to the overdrive and amp and killing the distortion and dynamics. You don’t want that.
When you do your volume swells, the delay pedal repeats the swell and you can start a new swell, so you get a nice overlap – connecting the chords and notes together with a nice legato.
I put tremolo and chorus at the end of the chain, to add overall color and weirdness to what is happening. Keep this stuff subtle if you are leading worship so you don’t distract.
MY NEW BEST FRIEND – THE EFFECT LOOP BLENDER
Wah Wah is typically too strong a flavor when you only have one guitar - yet it is a great enhancement. So, what can you do to soften the impact and make it "useable"? Use an effect loop BLENDER! 50% of your signal is original and 50% is effected with the WAH, so you don’t get overpowered. It can be as subtle or harsh as you want with some tweaking.
The same with the compressor! The compressor is cool for fattening and adding sustain, especially when you do volume swells (keeping the compressor before the volume pedal!) but we all know how frustrating a compressor can be when it wrecks your attack and dynamics. Answer? Put it in the effect loop BLENDER! The snap and attack of your strings are unaffected, but the compressor kicks in to add the sustain and fatness you want.
By the way – Barber makes a compressor that has a blend control (the Tone Press) that solves the above problem in one pedal. Very cool! If I didn’t have the effect loop blender, I would definitely buy the Tone Press.
And while you are at it – might as well put the octave pedal in the effect blender, too, just to keep your pure guitar signal somewhat intact while the octave pedal is brewing up its magic.
PEDAL BY PEDAL BREAKDOWN – ARRANGED BY SIGNAL FLOW
Wireless Receiver | Line 6 X2
I don’t use this all of the time: just when I need mobility. This is a great digital unit that is very pristine, except for a very slight high end cut due to the sampling rate.
Effect Mixer | Radial Big Shot Mix…
My new best friend! 50% of the signal goes to the following effects: wah, compressor & octave. The other 50% goes directly to the Overdrive which goes directly to the amp. Keeping it clean, dynamic, subtle and friendly!
Wah Wah | Morley Bad Horsie…
Ok, the Bad Horsie is not for everyone. I’m not even sure it is for me! I do like the ability to change the contour and level. Keeping it the Effect Mix takes the edge off. I usually keep my compressor on as well to keep the spiky edge and bite of the wah from attacking me. It is a beast of a wah!
Effect Loops Pedal | Road Rage 8 Looper…
This is my solution to the “pedal dance” which keeps me from having to leave the microphone. Each effect goes into a separate “true bypass” loop. Each loop has a different colored light, too. Very groovy.
I got tricky and used the fourth loop to divide the pedal in half. The send on loop 4 goes back to the Big Shot mix (the Pre Amp side of things); the return on loop 4 comes from the effect loop on the amp. The looper pedal continues on through the delay, chorus, trem and reverb before return to the effect loop return on the amp to go to the power tubes and speaker. Yeah!
Tuner | Boss…
It is currently in the wrong place. I’m going to move down the chain into the amp effect loop side of the looper pedal. I like to use it as a mute, and it isn’t working as a mute where it is because 50% of the signal is getting through the Effect Mixer!
Compressor | Boss w/ Monte Allums mod
I don’t know what Monte did to this thing, but it is awesome! It is so much better than the standard Boss compressor. Keeping it in the Effect Mix is over-the-top super-cool!
Octave | Electro-Harmonix Octave
When we are doing a riffy bass / guitar jam or a funky little solo, this adds the sass. It works better on a clean tone and you can only play single notes, but it puts a smile on your face. Are we allowed to have fun when we lead worship? This makes me think so!
Boost / Cut | Earthtone NOC3
This single little knob is great for dialing just the right amount of gain into the overdrive pedal. It also allows you to change guitars without having to change all of your settings on the distortion pedal. When I’m playing my Tele I keep it mostly even, but when I pull out my higher gain Godin, I dial it back and cut the volume a bit. It also adds a super nice vibrancy to the guitar. I can’t explain it, and neither can Earthtone. But it sounds good, and I like it.
Overdrive | Barber Tone Pump
Seriously folks, this box is totally magic. Every other overdrive / distortion pedal I’ve had has changed my tone – usually cutting the bass and adding too much mid range. This can be dialed in with the “bass” and “tone” knobs, plus it has “midrange” and “presence” knobs inside. Amazing!
The other key thing is that it is two channels – and the high gain side is “symmetrical” or “asymmetrical” switchable. I keep it on “asymmetrical” because it seems a little more dynamic and lively.
I keep this on pretty much all of the time. The notes in a complex chord are very discernable with this pedal – it doesn’t mush everything together.
Volume Pedal | Morley
I've had the most frustration getting this element just right. It really should be the first item in the effects loop, but the gain coming from the amp effect loop is too low and the volume pedal cuts major lows and gain from the signal. I can park it here and put something with a boost before it to push the signal through at a healthy level. Weirdness! I've literally tried four different types of volume pedals and each one has its flaws. I'll keep looking!
Amp Input | Genz Benz Black Pearl 30 Head | home made cabinet w/ Celestion Vintage 30’s
The Black Pearl is single channel class-a with a boost. It has some fancy voicing options, but I keep it pretty straight. I run it at about 2 tube / pentode mode – only 15 watts, only, I think!
Amp Effect Loop Out To…
Delay | Line 6 DL4
This is the heart and soul of my guitar tone. I hate playing without it! I especially rely on the tap tempo. I use the three presets for (1) a heavy dotted eighth repeat (2) a single heavy repeat and (3) a single medium repeat. I will sometimes set it up for triplets instead of the dotted eight.
When you only have a three piece band leading worship, there is nothing like delay to fill things up! I even use it with my acoustic guitar when I’m leading solo.
Chorus | TC Electronics
Here is the famous TC chorus. I had it to get it refurbished a while back because I burned it out. So nice to have it back. It is absolutely sweet. Just a touch of color is all you need, sometimes.
Tremolo | Danelectro Cool Cat Tremolo
Shakes things up a bit. For occasional use only!
Reverb | Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Plus
Adds a nice dose of “pretty” – I keep it on the hall setting for a little ambiance
Amp Effect Loop In
Now that the signal is perfect, it goes back to the amp’s effect loop in and then beefed up in the power tubes and delivered to the masses through the Celestion speakers and the line out to the sound system. I gave up miking the cabinet. The mic is always getting kicked and moved.
Amp Boost Switch | The Home Made “One Louder” Red Tape Pedal
This takes the amp up to 11 when I need to push it over the edge. This is for all of the “Spinal Tap” fans out there.
A FEW OTHER NOTES
I made the pedal board out of an old bass case. I got some removable hinges and carpet and vóila!
My speaker cabinet is Frankenstein’d from a Line 6 Flextone 2x12 cabinet. I put in the Vintage 30’s and had a buddy cut some openings in the back with shutters that can be opened and closed depending on where I’m playing. I keep it open in the youth room and close it up for the church stage.
My Telecaster guitar is interesting…
- It started out as a 1969 Thinline Reissue
- I put in a modern bridge with Graphtec saddles and cut the bridge plate like a Tom Anderson Tele,
- I changed out the tuners – I highly recommend swapping out the tuners on any cheapy guitar out there to dramatically improve the tone and tune-ability
- I swapped out the neck – my new one is fat and has a flatter radius rosewood fretboard - Allparts, I think
- I’ve changed out the pickups three or four times. Now they are Guitar Fetish GFS pickups – a single coil with fat pole pieces for the neck and a mini humbucker in the bridge. I had it wired with a split switch and a parallel / series switch for a bunch of options.
I’ve been fussing with this guitar for years and it is finally getting to the place where I’m using it as my primary guitar. I just realized that the only original part of the guitar is the body and the pickguard!
But I'd really like a Tom Anderson Hollow Drop Top T: rear routed with a sick exotic wood grain. This is my dream guitar!
TO SUM UP
I hope this has been helpful to someone out there. Come jam with me sometime!
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