It seems that pedals will always be with us, just a basic set of four or five pedals and a decent amp and you can get a lot of sounds and even better, sound different to every other guitar player.
This is the pedalboard I use most of the time. It’s in an old DOD pedal-case that I have chopped up to fit the different pedals I like to use. I run the whole board from a regulated power supply at 12 volts, this makes the pedals sound slightly cleaner. Right now it looks like this.
Here is a description of each pedal. This is the order of the pedals both physically and electrically.
1. MXR Dyna-Comp.
I have a couple of compressor pedals (Boss CS3, Marshall ED1) but this is still my favourite. I only use it at about 25% squeeze but it is on all the time. I turn the output up so it is driving my other pedals (and my amp) slightly hotter than when turned off.
2. Cry Baby Wah-Wah.
This is the standard Wah-Wah. It is a bit crunchy but I can adjust the amount of sound going through it so it won’t distort unless I want it to. The compressor helps me adjust this level.
3. MXR Envelope Filter.
This is an auto-wah filter pedal that is useful for funk rhythm guitar. Again I can set the filter very accurately because I use the Dyna-Comp in front of it.
4. Ibanez “Reissue” Tube Screamer.
This is a fantastic overdrive pedal, everybody uses one and there is a good reason why, it has a great sound that suits blues and fusion tones, not too overdriven and if you turn down your guitar it will clean up really nicely. Sometimes I use a Boss OD2 (Yellow one) or SD2 (Orange One) as well.
5. Boss CE2 Chorus.
This is the typical 80’s chorus sound that everybody likes.
6. DOD Stereo Phaser.
This is the last pedal before my sound leaves the pedal board. When it is turned off it still acts as a stereo splitter so I can run into two small combos and get a big sound all the time. This is actually a Bass effects pedal, but I like it cos it has a better low-end response and doesn’t seem to distort as easily as other pedals I have tried.
The phase sounds really 70’s with rich strong regeneration, and a nice even sweep (especially in stereo) from very slow up to a fast warble. It reminds me of an old Mutron Bi-Phase pedal, not as warm but much smaller and it fits on my board.
That is basically what I use and even though I keep trying different pedals out for a while, I still keep coming back to this basic setup.
I am thinking about building another pedal board so I don’t have to keep messing this one about when I try out different effects pedals. When I have something sorted out I will put it up.