Let's see your PEDAL BOARD!

[dubkitty]

a particular benefit is that it'll be easier to operate the loopers on the smaller board where they're not so far away. comparatively, the FEB won't get tweaked with much other than the AD attack length (with the expression pedal), the input level from the Hi Five, the SHSL filters and preamp, and the delay time.

[coldbrightsunlight]

Looping board looks great! I like that layout a lot, it's a real shame the volume pedals didn't work out

[dubkitty]

i'm pretty disappointed not just because i had to rework things, but because i really liked the way those layouts worked in visual terms. now i need to get accustomed to different layouts. unfortunately there's no pedalboard solution that supplies a crossfader. i had hoped to make the implementation as much of a DJ experience as possible.

[alexsga]

unfortunately there's no pedalboard solution that supplies a crossfader.

actually i comissioned Adam to build a sort of crossfader and that custom led to a minature version you may be interested in:

https://www.copilotfx.com/portal.html

[dubkitty]

i'd still have to lean down over my knees to reach the pedalboard with that option. in any case, i need to control three looper outputs so that's not sufficient to my needs. pedalboard-sized line mixers exist, ranging from inexpensive Saturnworks-type options to a Red Panda device that goes for $150, but to solve my back problems i'd have to patch them into the board from a stand which would require a fuckton of cabling. for now i'm going to try using the Loop Level controls and see if i can deal with that.

[dubkitty]

FEB weirdness continues...when i tested it with the Gator PS i decided to check the T-120 to see if it was still fucked, and behold! it resurrected itself. i now have no idea whatsoever what's up with this device, but it seems stable now. it may have gotten a power surge from being disconnected while still switched on. i won't let that happen again. this is nice because it saves me $300.

unfortunately, that money will have to go to a "high-current" PS to replace the Gator, which only gives 250 mA max from 2 of its ports which isn't enough for the So High So Low or (surprisingly) the Virus to operate properly. the SHSL hardly does anything since it requires 300 mA, and the Virus is essentially a doorstop. it seems like some of the other devices rated for lower current don't work properly on 150 mA either; the Fairfield Shallow Water's wobble is much more audible on its own OneSpot, and the WIIO clone and LF7 seem weak-ish despite their minuscule draw.

so i bite my nails for a few more days waiting for the upcoming bonus check, at which time i'll get the PS and the Farm Pedals reverb i want to replace the Keeley Realizer. i may yet figure out use cases for it, but it's not working as the gate out of the ambient universe.

i have a Catalinbread WIIO reissue coming in that's quite a bit snappier than the CMC clone i'm currently caning. i could also add the Fender Marjorie Taylor Greene Tube Tremolo, which is a 220 mA motherfucker, by kicking the expression pedal off. if the reissue WIIO is crunchy enough, the addition of the tremolo could make this into an standalone alternate board for less standard use as well as a module in the Great Big System.

[dubkitty]

meanwhile i need to do a Bass Box Shootout. now that i'm using the bi-amped stack with the bass amp for looping i need to see whether the Octave Multiplexer or the Octron 3 is better for supplying bass content for my loops. it'll probably come down to tone quality because the Octron doesn't track much better than the OM, much to my disappointment.

[Blackened Soul]

meanwhile i need to do a Bass Box Shootout. now that i'm using the bi-amped stack with the bass amp for looping i need to see whether the Octave Multiplexer or the Octron 3 is better for supplying bass content for my loops. it'll probably come down to tone quality because the Octron doesn't track much better than the OM, much to my disappointment.

Now.. I have not owned a octron.. but.. I have own a lot of octavers… I think around 11 different ones.. I think the Octave Multiplexer is in the low medium as tracking goes… if you decide on trading up I’d recommend the MXR Bass Octave Deluxe for an analog monophonic octaver and the boss OC-5 for a digital polyphonic octaveshifter (the range control is an incredible feature).

[dubkitty]

the Octron does in fact track better than the OM, but i don't like the octaved sound as much. it's more square-waved, which is good for lead guitar but not for faking bass parts. i might think about a different box, but the OM is adequate for what i need at the moment. i just have to be careful, fret cleanly, and avoid open strings. the Octron sounds like death on a motorcycle with the up, down, and clean all on run through a distortion box, though.

i can't put an octaver on the boards, though, because they insist on being first in the chain and i only use them when i'm looping. i don't want to use that space for something that only gets used some of the time.

[Seance]

i can't put an octaver on the boards, though, because they insist on being first in the chain and i only use them when i'm looping. i don't want to use that space for something that only gets used some of the time.

Can't you just use an octave down delay so that the bass sound is only coming around on the second pass of the loop?

If you lay down the bass sounds first in the loop and then layer stuff over top of that in time and in sync, wouldn't "latency" of the bass notes be a non-issue?



And doesn't the FoxRox Octron allow for tonal shaping so that it can sound more "bass" like by filtering out some of the transients?

[dubkitty]

Can't you just use an octave down delay so that the bass sound is only coming around on the second pass of the loop?

If you lay down the bass sounds first in the loop and then layer stuff over top of that in time and in sync, wouldn't "latency" of the bass notes be a non-issue?

And doesn't the FoxRox Octron allow for tonal shaping so that it can sound more "bass" like by filtering out some of the transients?

that would require me to buy an octave-down delay in addition to the three other delays i already have on the FEB and main board, and is way more complicated in action than just turning on the bass box (which i already own) when i want it. an octave-down delay would also get used even less than a bass box, and thus would not be an efficient use of space.

no, the Octron 3 does not allow "tonal shaping" other than mixing the octave-up, octave-down, and clean signal. i don't know where you got that idea from.

i got everything sorted and wired on the FEB and started dialing it in yesterday. i'm generally happy with how things are working. i had to reconfigure the Attack Decay in order for everything in its effects loop to show up in the signal chain when it's bypassed, but it's working well now. i was considering adding the Instant Lo-Fi Junky for more flavors of modulation and subtle, smeary dirt, but i don't really like the compressor function and you can't dial it 100% out...it still gobbles up my low notes. and i think i have a sufficient variety of fidelity-distressing options between the WIIO, LF7, Virus, and the SHSL's Moogerfooger preamp. i like that the auxiliary boards actually have room enough to step on a box without having to be careful not to hit anything else.

FEB 6-6-24.gif (204.64 KiB) Viewed 1892 times

[dubkitty]

even the color scheme works.

[dubkitty]

oh, heck, signal path: Mellowtone "party favor" Hi Five clean boost (for balancing pickup output levels)->EHX Attack Decay->Attack Decay effects Send->Catalinbread WIIO reissue (Hiwatt-style amp overdrive)->Ibanez LF7 Lo Fi->Stomping Stones Virus->Analog Music Company So High So Low high-/low-pass filter->Fairfield Circuitry Shallow Water modulation thingy->Attack Decay effects Return->AD volume envelope if active->AD out->Demedash Effects T-120 delay v1->Farm Pedals Expanding Universe reverb.

the only things that stuck from the original layout from what, a year and a half ago? are the Attack Decay, LF7, and Shallow Water. everything else got supplanted by other devices that did that job better. even the expression pedal is different.

i was a sceptic regarding flat-plug cables and still don't love their lack of repairability, but they sure as shit made the board layout easier. the Attack Decay used to require an entire inch of additional lateral space to accommodate all six of those 90° barrel plugs, and it was tough to run three on a side between the Pedaltrain slats.

i absolutely love every box on this board. i can't even decide which one is coolest. the reverb is pretty arbitrary, but also pretty unique. the SHSL is an incredibly power signal mutilator in a pedal-sized footprint, the Shallow Water does a lot more than is always apparent in demos, and the WIIO reissue really does act like a large British amp. fuckin' Howard was a genius.

[dubkitty]

having spent a few days getting lost in the FEB, i decided it was time to get the whole setup going so i got all 3 boards out, wired them up, and set up the amp stack with the Hammond guitar head and Ampeg bass head. i have stored loops on all 3 loopers, so i spent some time last night running them in and out of each other, running them backwards and at half speed, and enjoying the variations inherent in running 3 loops of different lengths while dialing in the amp response. i have everything set up including the bass box, which i'm running off a 2-plug daisy chain that came with the Voodoo Lab power supply and is perfect for running that sort of thing alongside the board; this would also be a good solution for an off-board tuner or a wah-wah pedal. it goes from the PS to the Hi Five, which assumedly has the lowest current draw of anything on the FEB and thus has 250 mA to split with the Octave Multiplexer. i had to do this because the OM refuses to run off a 9V battery. way to be ecological, dumb piece of equipment!

i'm so fucking big.

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signal path:

(EHX Octave Multiplexer)->Mellowtone Hi Five clean boost->EHX Attack Decay w/Dunlop mini volume/expression pedal (used as EP)->Attack Decay effects loop SEND->Catalinbread WIIO v.3->Ibanez LF& Lo Fi->Stomping Stones Virus->Analog Music Co. So High So Low high-pass/low-pass filter->Fairfield Circuitry Shallow Water modulator->Attack Decay effects loop RETURN->AD envelopes if engaged->Demedash T-120 videotape delay->Farm Pedals Expanding Universe reverb

Ernie Ball volume pedal

Peterson StroboStomp tuner->1978 MXR Distortion+->CMC Effects Tone Bender MK III->Fuzzhugger custom small-box Algal Bloom->CMC Effects Buzzaround->Fuzzhugger one-off 3-knob Great Wall->EMMA Discumbobulator v.1->Mojo Hand Villanova optical Uni-Vibe->Fairfield Circuitry Randy's Revenge ring modulator v.1->1980s TC Electronics SCF chorus/flanger (used as chorus)->Boss CH-1 chorus->Ibanez PM7 "phase modulator" (wonky phaser)->Menatone Pleasure Trem 5000 tremolo->Zvex Sonar square-wave tremolo->EHX Canyon delay->TC Electronics Flashback delay v.1->Earthquaker Ghost Echo v.1

Saturnworks 1-to-3 powered splitter with isolated outputs->two TC Electronics Ditto X2 loopers and one EHX 1440 looper->Saturnworks powered summing box with isolated, switched channels->Keeley Bassist Limiting Amplifier

the only things i might change at this point would be the reverb on the FEB, reshuffling the dirt/fuzz array on the main board, rationalizing things down to a single delay there, and replacing the compressor with a real brickwall limiter which would probably mean using my Rane rackmount stereo compressor in mono. that thing'll lop off peaks like Godzilla's tail. i have to see if i think the Keeley is serving its intended purpose of keeping the overall volume of the loops from creeping creeping creeping ever louder. if the compressor goes i may try to find some way to shovel more functionality into the loop board space, perhaps an effects loop where i could add reverb, delay, and/or filtering. i'm definitely getting another So High So Low to run my drum machine through.

[Blackened Soul]

That's pretty rad!

here is board for IceBear gig this friday for World Music Day - Aberdeen WA

D4D3A160-C3C1-4358-BCAF-A2D0FA988934.JPG (139.7 KiB) Viewed 1649 times

The 3 way in switcher is something I never needed to utilize before but I'm switching instruments every 2-3 songs between 12string Bass, Bass VI and electric cello so this makes like so much easier!