Pedalboard Revision 349,174 And The HX/DA

[László]

I got sick of looking at my power supplies, cables and wires. Waste of space, besides. So I was all set to run to the guitar store and pick up one of those dandy Pedaltrain boards.

Then I watched a video demoing prepping the board. Getting out the power tools for attaching the brackets to the board. Cutting the velcro. Attaching the velcro (and in my case, no doubt screwing it up). Threading the power wires between the brackets and the supplies and the pedals. Peeling the rubber backing off the Eventides and Boss tuner as recommended, and cleaning the bases with goo-gone, so they'd stick to the velcro. Removing the feet from the pedals.

And after all that, basically having the very same functionality as I have with my decent looking home made board where my main complaint is that I can see the wires and it doesn't look especially cool.

So I went and made myself a latte in the kitchen, sat down at the computer, and finished recording an ad project.

There are some things that just don't seem worth spending a day on (yes, I'm the guy who'd spend the whole day doing it).

 

[justmund]

I've been looking at the FD3 for the past couple of months (also considering OCD or PlimSoul), it looks quite difficult to get one in Aus tho (need to go through a retailer which isn't even in my state).

Thanks for giving your feedback Les, I'll work out a way to score one...

 

[László]

I've been looking at the FD3 for the past couple of months (also considering OCD or PlimSoul), it looks quite difficult to get one in Aus tho (need to go through a retailer which isn't even in my state).

Thanks for giving your feedback Les, I'll work out a way to score one...

Having had all three, here's my take:

The Plimsoul integrates beautifully with the HX/DA, as the basic tones are kind of similar. It's also very flexible. It's a great pedal. I love the OCD, but I think the Plimsoul sounds smoother with a Plexi style amp.

Then again, you might want a bit harder-edged tone, however the Plimsoul can get OCD style sounds as well, there's a knob that lets you do that.

The FD3 is classic sounding with the HX/DA. The more I use it (and of course, tweak the thing), the more I like it. The boost section is the bonus here. Among all three pedals, the ability to have the separate clean boost makes the FD3 my current choice. The pedal has a very juicy tone. I love it.

 

[László]

Another "how this pedal works in my rig" review...

With everyone raving about the EP Booster, I decided to get one and try it out with my gear. So I put it on the board, and fired it up, at both 9 and 18 volts, to see how it would work for me.

Long story short...I didn't think it was a good match for my amp. I'm sure it would work just fine for different gear. But I was surprised, given all the positive spin this thing gets. I thought it did sound better at 18 volts than 9 volts, but in all honesty, the Fulldrive 3's germanium booster has a better sound for my HXDA (and my personal taste).

 

[justmund]

Just ordered a FD3... Looks like the importer got 3 of them and I got the last one (for now).

Thanks again Les for enabling me (seriously tho I don't just buy everything you do, I wanted one before you got one ), looking forward to plugging this one in.

Next step is a wah (maybe Fulltone Clyde Deluxe?) and my "simple" rig will be complete - guitar -> wah -> OD/boost -> HXDA as opposed to guitar -> G-System -> 4CM with amp gizmo + pedals in the loops -> Mark V

 

[László]

Just ordered a FD3... Looks like the importer got 3 of them and I got the last one (for now).

Thanks again Les for enabling me (seriously tho I don't just buy everything you do, I wanted one before you got one ), looking forward to plugging this one in.

Next step is a wah (maybe Fulltone Clyde Deluxe?) and my "simple" rig will be complete - guitar -> wah -> OD/boost -> HXDA as opposed to guitar -> G-System -> 4CM with amp gizmo + pedals in the loops -> Mark V

Sounds like a great rig!

The Clyde Deluxe is my favorite wah. I don't have one on the board right now, because I've been experimenting with an expression pedal with the Eventide stuff, but I usually sport one.

 

[Felix]

When you know your pedal enthusiasm has gone too far: the stages of addiction.

 

[László]

When you know your pedal enthusiasm has gone too far: the stages of addiction.

Ha! True enough. And I've been through all 3 stages and back again!

 

[Felix]

...Like a modular synth exploded...

 

[jfb]

I need a tuner and delay in one box. Tuners don't work well in loops do they?

 

[sergiodeblanc]

I need a tuner and delay in one box. Tuners don't work well in loops do they?

I think you may be fine with it in the loop if you switch to the clean channel when tuning, I'll check and see.

Look at those little Zoom MS pedals, the delays are nice and the tuner works well. SamAsh was selling them for under $50 this past weekend.

 

[László]

I need a tuner and delay in one box. Tuners don't work well in loops do they?

Just out of curiosity, what made you decide that you need a tuner and a delay in a single box?

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Tried my tuner in the loop and it didn't work too well, although I'm not sure why.

Just out of curiosity, what made you decide that you need a tuner and a delay in a single box?

My thought is that's all you'd really need... or at least all I'd need... well that and a compressor and a phaser.. and an envelope filter.. but that's it! That's all I need.

 

[László]

Tried my tuner in the loop and it didn't work too well, although I'm not sure why.

Because even clean, a guitar amp's preamp section generates a fair amount of harmonic distortion, often as much as 20% run without what we think of as "overdrive." The distortion gives it the sparkle, fatness, or other desired quality that it doesn't get, say, running into something like a direct box.

These added harmonics can confuse the tuner, which is programmed to react to a clear fundamental tone.

Just does to show ya there can be a difference between a really cool idea and a really workable idea...

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Because even clean, a guitar amp generates a certain amount of harmonic distortion. The added harmonics can confuse the tuner, which is programmed to react to a clear fundamental tone.

Makes sense, I mean I'm sure there was a reason I'd never tried it before.

 

[László]

Makes sense, I mean I'm sure there was a reason I'd never tried it before.

Yeah.

Besides, some of the newer tuner buffers actually sound OK, so it's not a bad idea to have them in front of the amp to keep the signal loss due to cable length low. Boss', for example, has much improved on the TU3 over the TU2, IMHO, and the one on the Peterson stomp-O-whatever actually sounds very good, too. I've tested both with a true bypass box, and they really don't color the signal much.

In fact, I now do what was once the unthinkable for me - I run a tuner early in the signal chain, in fact, it's now the first thing the cable from the guitar hits. Although it has a tiny effect on the OD I use (and I do mean tiny), having the buffer on the entire chain in front of the amp is a tangible benefit.

In fact, I could do without the true bypass box on my board, I only have it there at this point so I can have both the modulation box and the delay box come on at the same time, almost like a preset even though they're two different boxes.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Besides, some of the newer tuner buffers actually sound OK, .

I always used a Korg DTR-1 (silver) first in my chain of my used-too-long-but-wish-I-had it back-rack, never noticed it having a "sound" besides clean.

 

[László]

I always used a Korg DTR-1 (silver) first in my chain of my used-too-long-but-wish-I-had it back-rack, never noticed it having a "sound" besides clean.

Those are cool tuners!

I used rack gear in ancient times BP (before plugins*) in the studio. I figured I had it sitting there, why not use it with the guitar? I had that Eventide H3000 D/SE with a bunch of very useful guitar presets I could tweak, but the TC M5000 also was very cool with the guitar.

*Plugins made the work go faster, and gone were the days of kneeling in front of tiny LCD screens, but still, there was something to be said for the sonics of my old analog board and the hardware...I kind of wish I'd saved the hardware for a big guitar rack, but alas like you, I didn't.

Also and most importantly, what looks cooler than a big custom rack filled with gear (that is a rhetorical question, of course)?