Greater detail for my Satan.
(I wrote a damn novel are you happy?)
My main setup is tabletop (primarily processing drones, field recordings, and my bandmate's voice), but I do play guitar quite a bit. As you might deduce from my posts elsewhere, I am mostly interested in pedals/effects that play in the time/pitch domains. Delay, reverb, pitching things, stutter, glitch, etc., etc. Realistically I am more than set for all of those things, but I always want to hear more. I'm a big fan of pedals with multiple uses - Pitchfactor, PS-3, PS-2, Bitquest, CT-5. By playing more than one role they save space in my setup.
I own and use pedals by many current and former local ILF builders. These include Montreal Assembly, Industrialectric, Cooper FX, Fairfield, and Dr. Scientist. If someone were shopping locally, I would love to try pedals by Copilot, Iron Ether, Rainger, drolo, Eightytape, Lightning Wave, or any of the companies listed in the sentence prior to this one.
Rad non-local gifts might include older digital delay and reverb pedals. Late 80's/early 90's DigiTech and Ibanez come to mind. If someone wanted to go overboard, a Syntax Error would be a splendid gift. If someone really wanted to go overboard, another CT-5, an Echo Degrader, or something by Cooper FX would be surprising. If someone wanted to kill me and everyone else here, a Sonic Crayon Anti-Nautilus or Mechanical Sun would do it.
(I know, I know...
)
Non-local weirdo companies that interest me include Lastgasp, Seppuku, Bananana, Meris, Old Blood, Alexander, ezhi&aka, etc., etc., etc.
Probably the main criteria for a good pedal gift for me is that it is not a one-trick pony. A pedal is never a pony, but some pedals are so specific in their sound that they can easily be overused. I play out a fair bit and do short tours throughout the year, so almost everything in my setup has to be useful in more than one context or has to play a more general role. Pedals with wet/dry or mix controls are key. I need to be able to blend as much or as little wet signal into my chain as the situation demands.
This is getting to be way too long, but I'm going to carry on with it.
To give you an idea of how I'm currently working, here is my band's signal chain:
SM-58 Beta - Mixer - Aux Loops:
Aux Loop 1: Digitech VHM-5, Bitquest, PS-3, TimeFactor.
Aux Loop 2: PS-5, CT-5, Superego, Nemesis, Wet V1
Superego FX Loop: Moog MF-Drive, HR-2
Also running into the board are an RC-20XL into a Particle on one channel and a tape player on another.
Until recently the Nemesis was an E2D.
We just finished an album, so I am about to expand my setup to include a couple of synths and 4 aux loops. Time to keep learning.
On the subject of music/recordings, old cassettes of field recordings are cool. Field recordings you made would be even cooler. Or things like those weird relaxation tapes (without music) that describe the life of a businessman or harried housewife in the liner notes and offer an escape through the sound of gulls on the California coast. Or guided meditation tapes and recorded sermons. Tapes that promise a better life or at least a brief reprieve from how shitty the 80's and early 90's were; tapes that condemn the sins of the modern world. I love that shit.
If you wanted to give me proper music, something you made that you're proud of would be cool, or something deep and long (think Pauline Oliveros, Laurie Spiegel, Eleh, Field of Hats, Kevin Drumm, etc., etc.). I like music that reaches into the depths. I want to feel something ineffable or I want to disappear into the sound.
TL;DR
He likes reverb.
He likes recordings of nature.
