On to the pedalboard - this is probably the way it's going to stay for a while (I know, that may be only a few months, but whatever). The most important thing about this board, given the way I work, is that I can have all 3 amps hooked up to it and switch between them instantly. That matters more to me than the effects!
But the stuff on this board is also working extremely well. There's no hum, there are no buzzes, there is no switching noise, and these pedals sound great. I'll explain the setup --
The pedalboard is a suitcase style with a detachable top. Under the hinged panel where the pedals sit, there is also a velcro-material covered "floor" for the power supply, and anything else you want to put there. The "floor" keeps everything inside clean. I always hated lifting my pedalboard and finding all the cables covered with goo (or spider webs). There are four input/output jacks on the top panel of the board, and two switched power outlets underneath the surface of the board. Connecting the board is as simple as plugging in a power cable, and connecting the guitar and amps. No fussing around. Power is via a Voodoo Labs 4x4.
I use the first I/O jack as an input jack, located on the top panel of the board instead of plugging directly into a pedal. For me, this simply makes the setup a little faster and more compact, since I'm old - jacks that face upward to plug into mean not having to kneel down to find the hole on a pedal for the plug.
From the input jack, the signal hits the wah, which is true bypass. From there it goes to the Suhr buffer, the little black box next to the wah on the upper part of the board. This buffer is dead quiet, does not suck tone at ALL, and has a separate output for a tuner or another amp, or whatever you want to plug into it. The second output is electrically isolated, so there are no ground loops, and has a phase switch if you need one. It's tiny, too. If I need room on the pedalboard, it can go underneath the lid, but for now I like everything on the top panel of the board so I can get to the inputs and outputs easily. I use the second output for the TC tuner. I actually prefer my Peterson Strobe-o-stomp, but it's so big and heavy, I just didn't want to add its weight to the board. Maybe I'll change my mind...
From the buffer, the signal hits a Suhr Koko Boost, an incredible sounding pedal that gives you a very hi-fi guitar tone that can be boosted slightly or boosted a lot. Plus it can be electronically switched to a mid boost with an adjustable Q simply by holding the foot switch down a few seconds. The switching is absolutely silent on Suhr pedals, since it's done by relays. This is without a doubt the finest sounding pedal of any kind I've ever had.
From the boost, the signal goes to the Suhr Koji Compressor. I saw Pete Thorn demo this thing, and watched the demo several times because I liked what it did so much. It's always a little hard to even out the levels with a clean amp when recording, and this is about as transparent a compressor pedal as there is on the market. It's also got a nice little EQ switch that can brighten things up or tame them down a little bit. But I like it for more than a clean amp; it sounds great into an overdriven amp, too, when I want to boost the signal a little bit to fatten up the tone, but don't want the amp to go out of control. I use this thing a lot now.
The signal then hits a Suhr Jackrabbit tremolo. I like analog tremolos, and this one has tap tempo, and is very quiet compared to most. The sound quality is outstanding. I have a tremolo on the Eventide H9 as well, and there is really no comparison in thickness/chewiness.
The last effect on the pedalboard is the Eventide H9 Max. This pedal is (I think) the best sounding digital pedal I've heard so far. Its limitation is one effect at a time, but they're all very useful and good sounding. There are too many to list. Like most digital pedals, there's a little hiss with some algorithms, which drives me absolutely crazy, but it is what it is.
After the board, I have a Fulltone Tube Tape Echo, the best sounding delay in the history of my world, but obviously it's not on the pedalboard. I plug into it when I want that thing it does. The Mesa footswitch is for the Lone Star, it obviously isn't in the signal path.
Finally, the blue pedal with the 3 buttons is the Lehle 3at1 SGoS, a programmable switcher that lets me connect all three amps and switch between them with no noise, no switching noise, no tone suck, and no ground loops. It is just terrific.
All the cables are Van den Hul "The Bay C5" interconnects, made in Holland. These are ultra-low capacitance silver coated copper, with a carbon screen to eliminate noise, and indeed, this pedalboard is the least susceptible to outside noise and interference I've wired up. The cables are VERY stiff, and I had Lava terminate them with standard sized G&H plugs for durability, as I have a habit of changing and moving stuff around on pedalboards. I got tired of do-it-yourself plug failures appearing out of the blue. So the cables show, and they take up space. But...the sound's great and it's worth it. I use PRS/Van Damme cables to the amps, and from the guitar. I'd use PRS' pedal interconnects too, because I like the way they sound and how flexible they are, but they're only available in one length, so I went to the other brand for the custom work.
Here's the board:
Oh yeah...no dirt pedal! I get dirt from the amps.