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There’s nothing wrong with using effects, but there is something wrong if you can’t sound good without them. Effects can create a mirage that leads you to believe you’re playing in a more polished manner than you actually are, so it’s good to be sure you can play well with a basic guitar rig. There are also several logistical advantages to having a downsized guitar rig.
Less gear means you can locate and troubleshoot a problem more quickly, and it also means there are fewer links in the chain that can break. Another added bonus of having fewer pieces of equipment is that your setup and teardown time is greatly reduced.
There are so many stompboxes and effects on the market, and they do everything from making slight changes to your tone to making your guitar sound like a completely different instrument. Like a lot of players, I go through phases of using effects to create ethereal delays, swimming reverbs, lush choruses, funky envelope filters, and pulsing modulations. New sounds can inspire new music, and that’s a good thing. However, nothing is more vital to having good tone than being in tune.
Of all the pedals on a board, the most important pedal to me is the tuner: You can have a high-dollar boutique amplifier, the most expensive guitar in existence, and a mound of all the best effects—but if you’re out of tune, you are not going to sound good. When you shop for a tuner, there are a few things to consider. One of the first things I do when I try a new tuner is listen for how it affects my tone. Even when a tuner is off, it can muffle some of the highs. I need a tuner to be as transparent as possible. I have spent a lot of time finding guitars and amps that sound great to my ear, so the last thing I want is a tuner that alters my tone. I generally look for tuners that have a true bypass switch, which helps make the pedal more transparent. I also make sure the tuner’s needle or strobe does not behave erratically. The Korg Blackout is my favorite tuner because it is tonally transparent, built with rugged metal jacks and switches, and has a large, easy-to-read display. Since the tuner is the only pedal in my signal chain, I can easily switch between using my Line 6 G50 wireless and a cable. The G50 has a great feature that emulates the sound of using a cable, as well. Having a streamlined pedalboard allows the tone of my guitar and amplifier to shine through without encountering any tone-diminishing roadblocks.
Recently, I’ve been using a Mesa/Boogie Electra Dyne combo loaded with two 12" Black Shadow speakers. Most of the time, I leave the Electra Dyne set on the Low channel and use my guitar’s volume knob to blend between rhythm and lead sounds. The great thing about using your volume knob is that you don’t have to run back to your pedalboard to step on a boost pedal for a solo.
Onstage, I keep a Mesa/Boogie TransAtlantic as a spare head on top of the Electra Dyne in case there is a power surge that blows the fuse in my combo. Also, the TransAtlantic is great for getting a wide variety of tonal options that suit the occasional nights when I play for several acts. Besides being a nice backup rig, this two-amp setup also expands my tonal palette. I simply re-patch the instrument, footswitch and speaker cables from the Electra Dyne to the TransAtlantic, and I’m all set to go in a matter of seconds.
I encourage you to take only an amp, a guitar, a couple of cords, and a tuner to your next show or rehearsal. If simple guitar rigs work for Chuck, Brian, and Angus, they can work for you, too.
![Jerry Cantrell Rig Rundown [2024]](https://www.premierguitar.com/media-library/youtube.jpg?id=53714787&width=600&height=600&quality=85&coordinates=0%2C0%2C560%2C0)
Peterson StroboStomp Mini Pedal Tuner
| The StroboStomp Mini delivers the unmatched 0.1 cent tuning accuracy of all authentic Peterson Strobe Tuners in a mini pedal tuner format. We designed StroboStomp Mini around the most requested features from our customers: a mini form factor, and top mounted jacks. |
But by gosh, if delay—and its sister effect, reverb—haven’t always been perfect for the music I like to write and play. Which brings us to the Fishman EchoBack Mini Delay. The EchoBack, along with the standard delay controls of level, time, and repeats—as well as a tap tempo—has a toggle to alternate between analog, tape, and digital-delay voices.
I hooked up my Washburn Bella Tono Elegante to my Blues Junior to give the EchoBack a test run. We love a medium delay—my usual preference for delay settings is to have both level and repeats at 1 o’clock, and time at 11 o’clock. With the analog voice switched on, I heard some pillowy warmth in the processed signal, as well as a familiar degradation with each repeat—until their wake gave way to a gentle, distant, crinkly ticking. Staying on analog and adjusting delay time down to 8 o’clock and repeats to about 11:30, some cozy slapback enveloped my rendition of Johnny Marr’s part to “Back to the Old House,” conjuring up thoughts of Elvis trapped in a small chamber, but in a good way. It sounded indubitably authentic. The one drawback of analog delay for me, generally, is that its roundness can feel a bit under water at times.
Switching over to tape, that pillowy warmth evaporated, and in its place came a very clear replication of my tone—but with just a bit of the highs shaved off the top. With the settings at the medium-length mode listed above, I could see the empty, glass hall the pedal sent my sound bouncing down. I heard several pronounced pings of repeats before the signal fully faded out. On slapback settings (time at 8 o’clock, repeats at 11:30), rather than Elvis, I heard something more along the lines of a honky-tonk mic in a glass bottle. Still relatively crystalline, which actually was not my favorite. I like a bit more crinkle—so maybe analog is my bag....“That pillowy warmth evaporated, and in its place came a very clear, pristine replication of my tone—but with just a bit of the highs shaved off the top.”
Next up, digital. Here we have the brightest voice, and as expected, the most faithful repeats. They ping just a few times before shifting to a smooth, single undulating wave. When putting its slapback hat on, I found that the effect was a bit less alluring than I’d observed for the analog and tape voices. This is where the digital delay felt a little too sterile, with the cleanly preserved signal feeling a bit unnatural.
All in all, I dig the EchoBack for its replications of analog and tape voices, and ultimately, lean towards tape. While it’s nice having the digital delay there as an option, it feels a bit too clean when meddling with time of any given length. Nonetheless, this is surely a handy stomp for any acoustic player looking to venture into the land of live effects, or for those who are already there.
