My pedalboard – V2.4, simple and full of retro tones.
There's a crate full of pedals under my desk, but here's the signal path that works for me:
1. Korg Pitchblack: Pedal tuners i.m.h.o. are brilliant investments. They change your gigging life!
2. Harley-Davidson “mystery pedal”: It’s actually a Devi Ever Karaoke Party overdrive built into an MXR pedal that I hated (the Jimi Octave Fuzz.) I imported the Devi Ever innards and had it stuck into the MXR enclosure, repainted it and, just for laughs, stuck the HD decal on top. It fattens up the sound. Used with humbuckers, it gives you a ZZ Toppish sound. However, I use it solely as a booster during Strat solo’s to crank up the signal to the next pedal =>
3. Boss SD-1. Original 80’s issue, MIJ. Bought it ages ago secondhand at a Toms sale for R50. Still works like a charm. I keep it on almost constantly to warm up the signal since I generally play at low volumes.
4. Danelectro Fab Fuzz. I bought it on eBay and it cost me R280, shipping from the US included. It changes the volume immensely – so you can’t turn the knob more than 2 mm if you want to keep your volume constant. You can, however, turn up the fuzz control fully. It’s not fancy and it’s not wild, but it does adds some retro overdriven fuzziness to the tone. I might replace it later, but I think fuzz peds are generally overpriced, so this will have to do. And did I mention the purple colour? Think Purple Haze, dude – then it makes sense!
5. Boss OC-2 octave pedal. For even more retro hippieness.
6. Ibanez TK999 Tube King. Original shape, MIJ. Contains a 12AX7, if I remember correctly. A friend who owns a studio gave it to me. Someone left it there more than a decade ago. His loss, my gain. I use it for classic rock crunch.
7. Carl Martin Surf Trem. Brilliant. I’ve also got a Boss TR-2, which I use in my acoustic setup these days. The Carl Martin is an absolute favourite: swamp rock, rockabilly, tex mex, dirty country. You name it.
8. Boss RV-3 digital delay/reverb. My primary amp doesn’t have reverb, so this has to do the trick.
Only the Fab Fuzz was purchased new. All the others were bought or swopped via the forum, Gumtree or Facebook. They are connected by Ibanez Pro patch cords and I run them into either my Vox TV4 Mini or Fender Blues Jr.
I use the Vox as a head on a self-built 1X12 cab, stocked with a Celestion.
