Blake VanHouten calls this his “cutting board” pedalboard, which he uses to play blues-rock tunes. The plugs his guitar into a Cry Baby Wah, TC Electronic PolyTune, JHS SuperBolt, EarthQuaker Devices Zap Machine, Walrus Audio Jupiter, and a TC Electronic Nova Repeater before hitting the amp. A Visual Sound 1 Spot powers everything. “This board has served me well, but I may be upgrading to a bigger board soon,” VanHouten says. “I’m thinking of adding some sort of transparent overdrive, a vibe, and another fuzz. I love fuzz!”
North Dakotan Mitch Martin uses his hybrid analog/digital board to play blues, rock, and soul. His signal chain: Vox Wah, Chandler Tube Driver, G2D Cream-Tone Overdrive, Ernie Ball VP JR volume pedal, and Boss TU-2 Tuner. Mitch patches the Line 6 M9 Stompbox Modeler in the effect loop of his Egnater Renegade 65.
Grand Rapids, Michigan, native Dave Belknap took this pic before drilling the sheet of plexi atop his Pedaltrain PT-1 frame for cables and power. From his TC Electronic PolyTune Mini, he runs through an Xotic SP Compressor and EP Booster, a HardWire CR-7 Chorus, a “red brick” Lovepedal COT50, Bogner Ecstasy Blue and Überschall pedals, an MXR EVH Flanger, an Empress Vintage Modified Superdelay, and a Seymour Duncan Deja Vu Tap Delay. The Renegade footswitch controls functions on the Bogner pedals. A Dunlop MC403 beneath the Pedaltrain provides power.
Darrell Robinson, a self-described “hometown jammer on a budget,” uses this homemade board for band and church gigs. The signal flow: Behringer Hellbabe wah, old DOD Milk Box Compressor, MXR Doubleshot Distortion, Boss SD-1 and DS-1, Morley Mini volume pedal, TC Electronic Hall Of Fame Reverb, Electro-Harmonix Nano LPB-1 Power Booster, Behringer Ultra Shifter/Harmonist US600, Behringer Instrument/Amp Selector AB100. A Visual Sound 1 Spot powers everything except the 18-volt DoubleShot. Darrell fashioned the board with shelving material, spray paint, and rubber grips. “It’s seen a lot of mileage,” he says. “It leaves the house almost as much as I do!”
Charles Urenko originally assembled this board for acoustic guitar. But when he joined a new band playing electric, he didn’t want to resume lugging his large-format Pedaltrain Pro. This smaller Pedaltrain PT-1 frame houses a Guyatone Micro Tuner, an Ernie Ball VP JR volume pedal, a BBE Ben Wah, an Xotic EP Booster, a BBE Mind Bender vibrato/chorus, an Eventide TimeFactor delay, and an ISP Noise Decimator. The footswitch is for a Tech 21 Trademark 60 amp, which has a Guyatone Micro Delay in its effect loop. A BBE Supa-Charger provides the juice. Charles modded the board frame with blue LED strips and extra jacks.
Sean built this board with spare plywood from his dad’s garage. “I painted it, put Velcro all over it, slapped on a power strip, and called it a day,” he says. His signal chain: Boss TU-2, Electro-Harmonix Germanium OD, Snarling Dogs Blue Doo overdrive, Boss DS-1, Mantic Proverb, Boss DD-7, EarthQuaker Devices Rainbow Machine pitch-shifter, DigiTech Whammy, Boss RE-20. “Sometimes,” says Sean, “I like to switch out the Blue Doo and DS-1 for my Electro-Harmonix Micro Synthesizer and Doctor Q, and then I hook up my Line 6 Delay Modeler off the end. That gets me some really crazy sounds!”
“I set out to put together a small, flexible, and powerful board,” explains Bryan Almaguer. “I settled on a Pedaltrain PT-2 as a stage-friendly size that would still allow a little room between effects for stomping ease.” The signal chain begins with a Line 6 X2 wireless mounted beneath the board (along with a Voodoo Lab power supply). From there it passes through a Dunlop Jerry Cantrell Cry Baby wah, TC Electronic PolyTune Mini Noir, a Foxrox Octron, a Strymon Mobius, and an MXR Super Badass Distortion before hitting his Mesa/Boogie Royal Atlantic amp. “I’ve owned many classic effects, but elected to go with Strymon’s Mobius and Timeline for their sonic purity, small footprint, and preset abilities,” notes Bryan. The Timeline plugs into the amp’s effect loop, along with a TC Electronic Spark Mini Booster for solo boosts. Everything runs into the small Loopmaster patch bay mounted at the board’s top-left corner.
“I enjoy putting together pedalboards for myself and others,” says Luis Fernandez of Caldwell, New Jersey. “I’m a stickler for tidy wiring, dependability, and roadworthiness.” Luis submitted two examples of his work, both with homebuilt power supplies and buffers mounted beneath.
“Pedalboard No. 1,” Luis explains, “is mainly used with a multi-channel high-gain amp, so the only dirt box is the Mad Professor Golden Cello, plus a buffer and a couple of boosts (one at the beginning of the signal chain and one at the end) for goosing the amp’s clean and crunch channels.” The signal path: Xotic EP Booster, Ibanez Weeping Demon wah, Lovepedal Pickle Vibe (atop the wah’s unused battery holder), TC Electronic PolyTune and Gravy Tri-Chorus/Vibrato, MOD Kits Trill Tremolo, Bob Burt Boost, Mad Professor Golden Cello, BYOC Lazy Sprocket kit (Boss Slow Gear clone), EarthQuaker Devices Organizer, TC Electronic Transition delay.
“Pedalboard No. 2 is mainly used with a very clean single-channel amp,” says Luis, “so there’s more variety of overdrives and distortions.” The effects: Korg Pitchblack tuner, Wampler Ego Compressor, Boss CE-5 Chorus and TR-2 Tremolo, TC Electronic Flashback Delay and Hall of Fame Reverb, T-Rex Luxury Drive, TC Electronic Vortex Flanger, Bogner Ecstasy Red, and Zoom PD-01 Power Drive.
Chris Carley assembled his board on a Pedaltrain PT-3 frame. His pedals: TC Electronic PolyTune Mini, MXR Custom Comp, Dunlop Volume X, Vox Joe Satriani Big Bad Wah, MXR Joe Bonamassa FET Driver, Bogner Ecstasy Blue, Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde, Xotic Effects BB Preamp, MXR EVH Phase 90, Stereo Chorus, and EVH Flanger, TC Electronic Nova Delay, and Strymon Blue Sky Reverberator. “I run all this through either my Bogner Barcelona or Bogner Shiva,” says Chris.
“This is my poor man’s Joe Bonamassa attempt,” jokes Tracy Larsen. His SKB PS-45 pedalboard hosts a Korg Pitchblack tuner, a Dunlop 535Q wah, a Barber Direct Drive, an Ibanez TS9DX Turbo Tube Screamer, the output from which feeds two amps: an Orange Crush and a Bugera V22. Meanwhile, the MXR Micro Chorus, Voodoo Lab Micro Vibe, and MXR Carbon Copy effects are sent only to the Bugera.
Masaki Murashita, singer/guitarist for the metal band Hemoptyis, uses this “all-in-one” pedalboard, which even includes a preamp (ISP Theta) and power amp (ISP Stealth). The signal goes from his guitar into an EHX Switch Blade and then into a Providence PEC-2 switching system. A Providence Delay 80’s goes before the preamp, and all other pedals reside between preamp and power amp for a cleaner sound on the crunch channel. The lead channel relies on a Providence Final Booster. All pedals and the amp’s channel status are programmed with an RJM Switch Gizmo and the Providence PEC-2. “As a metal guitarist, a built-in ISP Decimator G String II on my Theta preamp is a huge thing,” explains Murashita. “It kills all hiss/hum noise without losing sustain. My board is light, and I get the same sound everywhere I go—all I do is plug my guitar in and connect the speaker cable to the cab. No more carrying a refrigerator-sized rig to shows!”
Richard Kendall of Dryden, Ontario, calls this his “at home” pedalboard. “It’s bulky,” he says, “so for playing out, I just take my Line 6 M9 Stompbox Modeler.” Mounted on a leaf from an old kitchen table are a Fulltone Soul-Bender, an Electro-Harmonix Little Big Muff, a Bixonic Expandora, an Electro-Harmonix Superego Synth Engine, a Nobels TR-X Tremolo, a Line 6 M9 Stompbox Modeler, a DOD DFX 94 Digital Delay/Sampler (used primarily for samples), and a Radial Big Shot ABY, the output of which feeds two amps.
“Every board I put together before was designed for a specific project,” says Michael Campbell. “Not this one, though! It can cover a lot of ground, though it really shines in rock and ambient contexts.” The signal from Michael’s American Deluxe Strat travels through an Xotic EP Booster and SP Comp, an MXR MC404 Wah, a DigiTech Whammy V, a Basic Audio Scarab Deluxe and Tri/Ram Muff, a Boss SD-1, an MXR Super Badass Distortion, an ARC Klone V2, a Paul C. Timmy overdrive, an Xotic RC Booster, a Boss FV-500H, a TC Electronic SCF+, a Strymon Mobius, an MXR Carbon Copy, a Strymon Timeline, a Boss RV-5, and a TC Electronic Ditto Looper on its way to a Roland JC-120 amp. Voodoo Lab power supplies mounted beneath the Pedaltrain Pro frame provide power.
“My pedalboard has shrunk quite a bit lately, but flexibility is a high priority,” says Mike Wickett. “I play contemporary worship music at church, where I need a fair number of sounds with little time for changing settings. Because of this, the Carl Martin Octa-Switch forms the center of my setup. I play a Strat through a clean amp, with all drive and distortion coming from the pedals. Note that the volume pedal is after the drive and distortion and before everything else, allowing volume changes with no change to the fundamental tone.” After passing through a TC Electronic PolyTune and MXR DynaComp, Mike’s signal reaches the Octa-Switch, which selects between eight sounds:
Loop 1: Barber Half Gainer
Loop 2: General Guitar Gadgets Rodent (Rat clone) and Joyo AC Tone
Loop 3: ProCo Rat
Loop 4: Ernie Ball VP JR
Loop 5: TC Electronic NM-1 Nova Modulator
Loop 6: Way Huge Aqua-Puss
Loop 7: TC Electronic ND-1 Nova Delay
Loop 8: Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Reverb
A Voodoo Lab PP2+ and a Pedal Power Digital power everything.
Dale Randall populates his Pedaltrain Pro board with a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2, a modded ADA MC-1 midi controller, a Line 6 X2 wireless, a Visual Sound Pure Tone Buffer, an MXR MC404 wah, a Boss TU-2, a Rocktron Banshee talk box, a Keeley Compressor, an Xotic BB Preamp, a Mesa/Boogie Throttle Box, and an Xotic EP Booster.
These two boards used by the guitarists of the Steepwater Band and were shared by John Wator of Chicago’s Daredevil Pedals. Jeff Massey’s board features a Real McCoy RMC wah, NKT Analogman Sunface, BMF Sissyfuzz, Foxx Tone Machine, Klon Centaur, Digilog Delay, Neo Ventilator Leslie simulator, Analogman Beano Boost, and a Uni-Vibe. Bandmate Eric Saylors opts for a Dunlop Wah, Fulltone Deja Vibe, Ibanez Stereo Chorus, Wampler Tape Echo, Fulltone Fat Boost, Analogman King of Tone, an A/B box, and an Ibanez TS9.
“My pedalboard changes as often as the attention of an 18-month golden retriever,” says Jason Davis. “I’m addicted to fuzz pedals, so much of the tweaking and adjustments concentrate in that area. An occasional swap of color (modulation, phaser, flanger) may come into play, but certainly not as often as those damn fuzz boxes! It really is a sickness, those blasted metal foot soldiers!”
Davis connects his Reverend RGII via a Retro Coil by Lava Cable, feeding a Z. Vex Wah Probe, Fuzz Probe, and Seek Wah, a Source Audio Multiwave Distortion, a Catalinbread Perseus, a Spaceman Sputnik, an Xotic Rob talk, a Blackstone Appliances Mosfet 2S, an Xotic EP Booster, a Z. Vex Sonar, an EHX Superego, a Korg Kaoss Pad and a 6-channel bypass strip (controlling an Ibanez Airplane Flanger, Voodoo Lab MicroVibe, Source Audio Orbital Modulator, Z. Vex Seek Trem, Red Witch Empress Chorus, and MXR Carbon Copy). A Boss tuner doubles as a signal mute. Last stop is TC Electronic Ditto.
All of this passes through a Clear Connect by Lava Cable to a Randall RM100 (all tube, “Plexi” module exclusively) with a 2x12 cab. A Pedaltrain Grande provides the platform. “It's not much, really,” Davis concludes.
Dave Stinson’s board started off as a small DIY project to save a few bucks. But once he started exploring pedal options, the board got bigger and bigger. “I built the board from scratch using pine and screws and a couple of coats of black paint,” explains Stinson. “Given the variety of pedals, I had a variety of polarity requirements and power adaptors, and I had to hide them across two power bars mounted on the underside of the board. I made all the instrument cables myself. I soldered four of them to an input jack by the wah pedal and send/return, and amp jacks on the front. I also designed an LED circuit that lights up the O’s on the front and works with my Visual Sound 1 Spot power supply. Putting together a custom pedalboard was a big learning curve but it’s definitely paid off.”
Stinson currently uses these effects: Fulltone OCD, MXR EVH Phase 90, Z. Vex Sonar Tremolo, Z. Vex Super Hard On, ISP Decimator G String Noise Reduction, EHX Big Muff Pi, B.K. Butler Tube Driver, EHX POG2, 1986 Ibanez Tube Screamer TS10 (with mods), Sonic Research Turbo Tuner, Xotic Effects SP Compressor, Strymon TimeLine Delay, Eventide Space Reverb, Pigtronix/Mission Dual Expression Pedal, and a Dunlop Kirk Hammett Signature Wah.
Ptuj, Slovenia, native Dejan Miletic is a Strat and Tele guy who mostly noodles in his living room for fun. Still, he’s got a pretty serious pedal collection for a bedroom guitarist. He changes things up often, but right now he’s rocking a ’90s Dallas Arbiter England Fuzz Face, a ’90s Cry Baby Wah (“the best after trying many”), a Visual Sound Angry Fuzz (“the best fuzz for me—very transparent”), a vintage Tube Screamer, a custom DryBell Vibe Machine (all Uni-Vibe clones in one) made in Croatia, a TC Electronic Flashback, a EHX Holy Grail, and a Boss tuner.
“I love Tube Screamer-style pedals, so when Keeley introduced his Red Dirt and Bootlegger, I had to have them both,” says Roger Williams. “I flip-flop on which is the OD and which is the boost. One is a standard TS-Style (Red Dirt), and the other is TS-style with germanium diodes (Bootlegger).” Both overdrives have extra-gain switches. “It’s like having four OD pedals on the board,” says Williams. His signal chain: Fulltone Deja Vibe, Red Dirt, Bootlegger, Keeley Katana Boost, Keeley TR-2, and a Way Huge Echo-Puss, all powered by a T-Rex Fuel Tank Jr., on a homemade board.
“Hi, my name’s Rich, and I’m a drive-a-holic,” confesses reader Rich Monks. He plays a Les Paul Studio through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe using this beautifully spaced pedalboard, which features a DigiTech JamMan Delay, Boss GE-7 Equalizer, MXR Analog Chorus, MXR Super Bad Distortion, T-Rex Yellow Drive, Mad Professor Sweet Honey Overdrive, and a TC Electronic PolyTune. “I get a great sound stacking the MXR and Sweet Honey with the drive controls set pretty low, and I desperately need the Empress Multidrive and the Wampler Dual Fusion to make my life complete,” he says. “My neighbors hate me.”
This pedalboard hails from the Netherlands, as does guitarist Lennard Schoonheim. “I use this mostly with my Squier Bass VI, which is sort of a combination of a bass and a guitar,” he says. “This instrument sounds kind of odd, and I use the pedals to enhance some of that weirdness This pedalboard took quite some time to assemble because I was looking for pedals that sounded great on guitar and bass. It wasn't an easy task, but I'm very pleased with this setup now.” The signal chain: Korg Pitchblack, EHX POG2, MXR Blue Box, DigiTech Whammy, Z. Vex Mastotron, Pigtronix Aria, EHX Hot Tubes Nano, TC Electronic Hall of Fame and Flashback. Everything runs off a Powerplant JR Power Supply except the Whammy, which has its own source.
One of our favorite pastimes is racking up good ol’ pedal envy by ogling the setups of our fellow players. It seems you don’t tire of it either, because pedalboard mail keeps rolling in!
Here are some of the latest board submissions, from a crafty all-in-one board to a fuzz-sick stomper to a bunch of boxes on a cutting board. There are plenty more where these came from (pedal lust has no end), so look for Reader Pedalboards Part 2 next week!
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