Assembling a Professional Pedalboard

The beauty of pedals is that there aren't absolute answers to many of these questions. Running different pedals in different orders affect the overall tone and how everything works together. For any six given pedals, there are numerous combinations of ways to set them all up. Even the way you choose to power them affects how they sound.

Therefore, this article will focus on general information about assembling a pedalboard. While my own life got a whole lot easier once I got my pedalboard set up the way I like it, I'm not going to sit here and tell you what to buy and how to use it. On the other hand, a lot of letters I get specifically ask for gear recommendations, so I'll provide suggestions but adding that your own ears and eyes are ultimately the experts.

To start off, I would set the pedals up in the following order: Boss Compressor into Boss Stereo Volume pedal into Boss Dual Overdrive into Digital Delay into Danelectro Chorus.

Compression typically sounds better before distortion. The volume pedal should go after the compression pedal perchance you want to play mock pedal steel licks. The volume should go BEFORE the distortion perchance you want to use it to control distortion level. The volume pedal could also go AFTER the distortion if you prefer "swell" type effects, but make certain to place it BEFORE the delay pedal so if you pull back the volume control, the echoes don't get cut off. The stereo chorus could go last cuz that way you can split the stereo signal off into two amps. If I had a Wah, I'd put that before the distortion. Any other effect, such as pitch shift, vibrato, flange, phase, etc. should go after the distortion.

If you happen upon one of those Boss "Guitar Effects Guide Books" , grab it cuz it contains a detailed diagram of where pedals should go and why. It also gives suggested setups to fit specific styles of music.

In regards to the question regarding power supply issues, I would say not to skimp on the power supply. I personally use the Voodoo Lab "Pedal Power" because it powers eight pedals. Each individual power supply features shielding from the other seven. It also features eight toggle switches, enabling you to supply the proper higher voltage to Boss pedals requiring the "ACA" adapters (Pre-1997 Boss CS-3 is a good example). It also has a courtesy outlet which could, for example, be used to power an 18V "wall wart" (available at Radio Shack) capable of powering the DanO chorus.

The Voodoo Lab Pedal Power

If the lofty price tag for the Pedal Power is too high, head to Radio Shack and buy a good-quality surge protector/power strip and the appropriate quantity of wall warts. Boss, however, would probably prefer you purchase the appropriate "PSA" or "ACA" adapter for each Boss pedal (as each Boss pedal is marked as to which supply it requires).

One final note on power supplies: some people feel that distortion pedals sound better when run off of batteries (this is because of a slight delay when a battery is called upon to deliver power, thus creating a "sagging" sound). Try your distortion pedal with battery and with power supply to see which one you like.

As for the pedalboard itself, I use the SKB (www.skbcases.com) PS-25 model (which comes in the Cordura bag), but quickly ditched the SKB's cheap integrated power supply in favor of the Pedal Power. The PS-25's Velcro surface works great, especially on pedals with metal bottoms. Things only start sliding around if you frequently swap stuff out, often causing the adhesive attaching the Velcro to the pedals the come loose. A trip to K-Mart for more Velcro will remedy that problem. The bag itself is handy for toting cords and such cuz it sports a large zippered compartment.

The Boss BCB-6 with pedals and tuner.

If you are on the road, however, I don't think the SKB PS-25 would stand up to much abuse. I'd opt for the hardshell- protected SKB PS-100 (also featuring a 3-space rack) or have a custom flight case made for you. The Boss (www.rolandus.com) BCB-6 is good, too, if you only plan to use Boss pedals (it won't fit anything else). If you are particularly industrious, some cleverly crafted pieces of plywood could do just great. If fact, I've seen lots of great pedalboards homemade from plywood or Tupperware lids ... there was even a guy who zip-tied everything to a grill from a charcoal barbecue.

To address the issue of stereo, whichever stereo effect you care most about, place at the end of the signal chain so you can split it off into two amps. Typically, this is either going to be a chorus or maybe a stereo delay with some spatial "panning" or "ping pong" feature. However, if you happen to have two or more stereo pedals lined up, you may notice that you could split the signal several times. Assuming you had the appropriate number of amps and/or D.I. boxes, you could hypothetically get quadraphonic sound. Those who have ever recorded or played a lot of live gigs probably realize that there aren't a lot of practical applications for this. In most cases, truthfully, the pedalboard route will force you to compromise your stereo capabilities in some fashion.

Since every pedal and cable placed in between a guitar and an amp will hypothetically degrade the signal, another compromise of pedals is that you are limited in the number of effects that you can use. I personally feel that this limit actually has a positive effect in that it forces you to choose the sounds that truly enhance your personal sound, and also forces you to get the most out of them. I say six to eight pedals is probably the max you should have in a pedalboard, and try to choose pedals that feature "true bypass" to keep the signal clean. Also, use quality cables to connect everything.

When choosing what pedals to buy, obviously try them out with your stuff, and don't buy a pedal unless it truly knocks you out ... like your performance "wouldn't be complete without this particular effect." For example, would the theme from "Shaft" be as cool without wah wah? Would old U2 records sound the same without delay? Would Jerry's solos have the same spacey impact without an envelope filter? If a particular pedal isn't totally crucial to your sound, why bother having it?

Another approach might be to search for sounds that actually INSPIRE you to create music. If they don't, these boxes are simply taking up valuable real estate on your pedalboard.

To end this column, I'll explain the workings of a professional-style pedal board. This particular example would work well simultaneously using two amps (an old Fender and an old Marshall) or a Fender amp utilizing both "Normal" and "Vibrato" channels. Please note that this setup can be used for other brands of amps, it's just typically used in the following setup.

Guitar goes into Wah then goes into a channel switcher. This lets you select three signal paths: The first path will go to a tuner (tuners kill tone, so keep them out of your normal signal path). This also effectively mutes the guitar, allowing for silent tuning on stage.

The second path is for your clean tone. In this signal path, you might want a compressor, chorus, flange, phase, and probably a long delay (for those U2 covers). This signal is sent to the "Vibrato" channel of your Fender amp where you can also add reverb and vibrato.

The third path is for your dirty tone. In this signal path, you would want the distortion pedal(s) of your choice, possibly a gain boost, EQ, pitch shifting (for Brian May-esque leads) and possibly a short "slap back" delay to give your solos some added dimension. This signal can be routed to a Marshall amp (set clean) or the "Normal" side of your Fender.

A volume pedal with stereo ins and outs enables you to control both the clean and dirty signals through this pedal (it's placed before the delays and any reverbs, of course).

 

A professional-style pedalboard wiring diagram.

The advantages of this system is that it lets you fudge on the number of pedals you are limited to because the signal will never be traveling through all of the pedals at any given time. This also lets you set separate EQ and volume settings for clean and dirty sounds. Another plus is that when, for example, you switch from clean to dirty, the natural decay of the clean sound's delay will remain intact as you begin your solo (creating the momentary illusion of two guitars). This also works when you switch back to clean.

All in all, there are limitless combinations and applications of a pedalboard. This can make pedalboards intimidating, but this can also make them fun. Ultimately, a pedalboard should be able to help you sound like you.

This article written by Brett Ratner.
And taken from Harmony-Central