New amp/pedalboard day :)

[tupesaku]

Finally got my idea of a portable and 'everything necessary' -containing pedalboard done!

The amp I decided to go with is a 70W Taurus Stomp Head 4 HG...which basically is a full guitar amp head...but it just happens to be sized so that it fits a pedalboard. It has 2.5 channels....clean with crunch switch and a distortion channel. And believe it or not but this thing sounds huge! It does not shy from competing with any regular tube amps...which was my biggest worry when buying the amp...so no regrets there at all.

We play numetal kinda stuff in drop Cis and Gis tunings and this can do them both without any problems. For the drop Gis songs I use an OD though, just to get the extra tightness for the low end.

The pedalboard is a Voodoolab Dingbat L...it is a nice and solid pedalboard so really happy with it. Rest of the stuff on the board are:

- Korg Pitchblack tuner
- Dunlop Dimebag wah
- Digitech Whammy Ricochet
- MEK overdrive
- MXR EVH 5150 OD...this I actually decided to use as a distorted channel with my 6 strings in drop Cis...so the distortion channel on the amp is for 7 strings in drop Gis.
- Source Audio Soundblox 2 Orbital Modulator
- Source Audio Soundblox 2 Dimension Reverb
- MXR Smart Gate
- BBE Supa Charger as a power at the bottom of the board

So there it is, my version of a great and "compact" pedalboard! I'm pretty happy with it...the board ended up being a bit bigger and more expensive as originally planned, but that happens always

What do you people think...yay or nay?

And of course without any pics this would be totally pointless Here you go:

 

[CapnForsaggio]

Absolutely killer. Perfect effect choice, good layout.

Can you tell us more about the Taurus?

How would you describe the voicing of each channel?

 

[tupesaku]

Thanks man!

Can you be more precise on what you wan to know about the Taurus...I'm pretty bad at commenting on anything subjective like voicings

For me the cleans sound nice and chimey (is that a word?) and what I would expect from a usable clean channel. The crunch switch adds some mild distortion for the clean channel...enaugh for some basic rock stuff but nothing heavier. The amont of crunch is adjustable with one knob.

The distortion channel covers anything from older heavier stuff to modern metal...don't really know how to describe it other than for me at least it does the trick...especially with some od in front of it. Maybe the sound is something between an EVH 5150 and a more sterile (in a good way) H&K kind of thing...does that make any sense?!? I like a crunchy and modern sound, and I'm copletely happy with the sounds I get out fromthe Stomp Head. Works well with passive and active pickups, and isn't too noisy...but of course with some effects and more volume a noise suppressor is a good idea.

Oh, and there's a mute switch, and also a boost switch that can be used to add a volume boost for solos etc. To me at least it doesn't affect the sound at all, other than volume...don't really use or need that my self.

Hope that helps...there are some ok clips in youtube. Ola Englund has one where in the second half he's just trying different sounds by fiddling with the eq...that gives some idea of the general sounds of the distorted channel.

 

[Kingcrimson]

Very nice looking.

Although, from a audiophile's point of view (with all due respect) have you compared/contrasted the amount of "tone loss" you incur due to the extension of your O/I chain from your guitar's output to your amplifier's input? If you're running all, for example true-bypass or not, 8 ~3' patch interconnect cables you've just added ~24' of cable length from your non-buffered pedal board to your signal path, not including from your guitar output then from your last box to your amp input.

http://www.petecornish.co.uk/case_against_true_bypass.html

 

[tupesaku]

To be honest I haven't really stressed about it...as long as all of the extra noise is minimal and I'm happy with the over-all tone it really doesn't matter if there is some tone loss.

I thought about tone loss due to all cables and so on...but this pedalboard is still quite simple, and there are a lot bigger systems used that work and sound good...so I think I'll be happy with my board

It would be nice to compare this current set up to the same without any tone loss....I wonder how big of a difference there would be?!

 

[MaxOfMetal]

8 ~3' patch interconnect cables you've just added ~24' of cable

I doubt those are 3 foot patch cables between pedals.

 

[PBGas]

That is a pretty wild setup! Well done!

 

[tupesaku]

Thanks!

Still have to try this rig for some gigs though...but at least it sounds great in our band mix at our rehearsal place...so probably gigging will be ok as well!

 

[Kingcrimson]

To be honest I haven't really stressed about it...as long as all of the extra noise is minimal and I'm happy with the over-all tone it really doesn't matter if there is some tone loss.

And in the end this is all that matters, your overall satisfaction as the player. It simply comes down to basic physics that the longer the audio signal chain the more fidelity you will lose.

When push comes to shove, only you and I will know and experience the difference in the quality of the tone, and when performing out, the crowd 99% of the time just wants to have a good time and enjoy your music.

As I stated above, nice board - enjoy it tupesaku.

 

[Kingcrimson]

I doubt those are 3 foot patch cables between pedals.

See above Isaac.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

See above Isaac.

Inches ["] =/= Feet [']