Pedalboard Saga

[-mjk-]

I've not been one for guitar pedals. In the 70s I was a touring musician using Orange amps. I (and everyone else I worked with) got our guitar tones out of the amps we used, typically by turning them up all the way. The Orange OR80 was especially great sounding when dimed. The only pedals onstage might be a wah, or some kind of delay/chorus. Most of the time though, we added those effects at the mixing desk.

I acquired my first Redmere Soloist in the very early 80s and that amp has the most basic effects built in. Again, no need for pedals (especially distortion pedals!).

FF to the 21st century and all of those legacy amps are hard to deal with now. I do not want to have to lug an OR80 head with a 4 x 12 cab around with me.

I bought the GOAT Sustainor and the GOAT Stereo Chorus and started to build a pedalboard about it based on the Harley-Benton Power 60XL frame (an excellent pedalboard frame with a power supply). I got a class D amplifier and was using a pair of VOX guitar speakers. It actually sounded very good. One of the VOX speakers blew though (replaced by Thomann!) and I saw myself getting into more and more pedals - something that was new to me. I investigated using the Morningstar loop switcher and MIDI controller, which allows one to make a pedal chain of 10 mono/5 stereo loops. A great system that is still not out of the question. I also experimented with the JOYO Oxford Sound pedal, an Orange amp emulator. I realized I could end up with 20 pedals just to get what I needed.

I saw that what I really needed was something more natively versatile, where I could choose the amps, FX, cab sims, whatever - and make my own presets. So even though the platform is old now, it's still being regularly updated and I was confident enough to get a Line6 Helix. The need for versatility became even more evident with the arrival of my new Red Special Limited guitar, which isn't the average guitar and has some special requirements.

I stripped the pedalboard and added the Helix with the GOAT pedals and a few more things on the board. Here is a visual record of how things look. I won't bore anyone with Rev. 1 though Rev. 3 versions of the board.

New item by MJ Klein

photos.app.goo.gl

This is the board assembled with the GOAT pedals, a treble booster, tuner and wireless receiver pedal.

New item by MJ Klein

photos.app.goo.gl

This was taken at a gig to prove the concept of marrying the physical pedals with the Helix. I wired up the Helix's 4 mono/2 stereo FX loops with discreet wires on the stage. It worked great but was a nightmare to setup and the amout of floor space it occupied was ridiculous.

New item by MJ Klein

photos.app.goo.gl

I also got the Line6 Powercab 212 Plus, a 500 watt stereo FRFR guitar amplification system with speaker emulations and IRs (2 different things). I can select an IR or raw speaker emulation per preset on the Helix and change them on the fly when I press a button to change presets. That allows a very custom sound that really does have that "amp in the room" feel to it.

In my studio, I take the output of the Helix on 2 cables and plug them into the 1176 inputs on my patchbay (I'm looking at you @shredd) and bring that into the console (I don't use USB audio in m studio except for mastering - everything is Dante).

FRFR is very different than running the Helix into a clean guitar amp. Also, using the Powercab's speaker emulations/IRs does not translate well when the Helix is going directly into the console because the emulations are not there. I have to add some kind of cab emulation to the preset for recording. The alternative it to record off the Powercab XLR connectors which do output the sound with the emulations.

Now I sit at my dining room table with a glass of rum and some Taiwan snacks and have fun programming new presets. I have several main guitars that I use so I can really dial in presets specifally to match those guitars, and even presets for each song with specialized FX and amps for that song. This is not anything new to Helix (or other system) owners. But I'm having fun with it!

New item by MJ Klein

photos.app.goo.gl

 

[shredd]

Wow. Times do change, don't they?
My first band - the lead git'rist had a solid-state head and a 4x12, and perhaps 2-3 pedals (as I recall, an OD/dist and a wah - this was the 70's, after all!).
I recall many years being a serious G.A.S.-driven pedal hawr - I tried everything, always fiddlin', never perfecting.

Then came DigiTech's GNX's - I started with the 3 and immediately went to the 4 - and found them to be extremely versatile, if absurdly complicated (compared to 3-knob pedals).

Am still using MFX of various types, but actually keep it pretty simple. My tone-needs aren't that complicated, nor do I obsess on tone/sound like I did in younger years. My hearing is so damaged that if I was tracking acoustic parts and a plane fell on my house, I probably wouldn't hear it.

 

[mixerizer]

there's a trio of pedal shelves -
wild effects wired in by elves,
'midst rack delays from tc, korg and eventide

and some vintage filter fuzz
bleeps and bloops galore - no buzz!
a pedalboard whose thoughtful roles are all hard-tried.

In the bag, a portable set
a gig bag to grab and git...
gives great modulation, saturation, sampling hold...

…but there’s only one effect
that will always leave them wrecked:
…thats a clean expressive note played from the soul!

Happy Holidays!

 

[-mjk-]

Am still using MFX of various types, but actually keep it pretty simple. My tone-needs aren't that complicated, nor do I obsess on tone/sound like I did in younger years. My hearing is so damaged that if I was tracking acoustic parts and a plane fell on my house, I probably wouldn't hear it.

My friend has a karaoke place nearby (they are used to loud music). Ｉtook my rig there and cranked it up. I'm telling you, the Orange OR80 SIM on the Helix and the Creamback speaker SIM on on the Powercab is indistinguishable to my ear from the original Orange. It responds like the valve amp. I'm blown away. I had created a preset just for the new Red Special and wow does it sound fantastic.

 

[-mjk-]

@mixerizer said:

…thats a clean expressive note played from the soul!

So true! Thanks!

 

[shredd]

My friend has a karaoke place nearby (they are used to loud music). Ｉtook my rig there and cranked it up. I'm telling you, the Orange OR80 SIM on the Helix and the Creamback speaker SIM on on the Powercab is indistinguishable to my ear from the original Orange. It responds like the valve amp. I'm blown away. I had created a preset just for the new Red Special and wow does it sound fantastic.

Honestly, that's why my "digi-fex" phase came to being, and basically persists to this day...

Yes - there was a time (when Page and Townsend et al ruled the git'r world) that a roaring stack of tube-driven wattage and a wall of speakers was the best - maybe only - way to get certain sounds.
Those days were already fading by the late 70's (aforementioned lead git'rist in my band was a fine player, but he got a great power-rock sound with his SS head and a DS/OD pedal!).

I spent about 10-12 years on the pedal-board merry-go-round - probably spent enough 1980's $$ to pay for MJ's Red Special several times over - and while I enjoyed all the sounds, I never got "the" sound that made me go, "GOT it!".
Once I got the GNX4 (which for anyone under 50, is a digital MFX/modeler with full cab-simulation control...think Kemper/Headrush ancestor)) - I found I could dial in any sound I wanted, including amp/cab sims. Best of all, you could share your "patches" with a large community...I have a CD/R from a guy who made a living at it - creating/amassing a library of GNX patches/sounds. There's over 1000 - which of course you can tweek to your liking.
You can record/play direct out via DI/line outs, or speaker-compensated into the amp of your choice...all sounded great.

As a result: haven't bought a "pedal" in 30+ years, 'cept a Fishman ToneDEQ for my 'coustix (tried a handful of 'coustic DI/pre's and most either suk'd or were noticeably "meh"). The Fishman killz.