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Post by Scott on May 14, 2010 0:45:17 GMT -7
Just started building my first Pedalboard... I just clicked buy on the following from ZZ Sounds:(1) Pedaltrain JR SC Pedalboard with Soft Case (1) Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus Universal Power Supply (1) Red Witch Empress Chorus Vibrato Pedal (6) Neutrik 1/4-inch Male To 1/4-inch Male Connectors (1) DiMarzio Jumper Cable (Black, 6 Inch, 6-Pack) Items that I already own:Morley 'AB-Y Switch Box' Digitech 'Bad Monkey Overdrive' Boss 'RV-5 Digital Reverb' Ibanez 'DE7 Delay / Echo' I am not sure how my build will go, nor if the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus can power it all.... The adventure begins! Am I missing anything? I think I still am wanting a Visual Sound Open Road.
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Post by ScottStrat on May 14, 2010 2:27:33 GMT -7
What a great start! (there is never a finish) Good move on the Pedal Train and the PP2. I went through a lot of other set ups over the years before I settled on that combo. I have 3 boards now, each beginning with a Pedal Train and a PP2 and they work flawlessly. The under the board mounting is such a plus.
By the way, the PP2 will power that lineup with ease.
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Post by Scott on May 14, 2010 2:40:44 GMT -7
Thanks... If I get my TWA Little Dipper, I will have to order a special cable I think... I wrote the Voodoo Lab folks a while back, to see if it would power the Dipper. TWA 'Little Dipper' (Power supplies of less than 500mA do not power the unit properly) (This takes both 250mA outputs of the Voodoo Lab, with an adapter.) Hi, Scott: You may use our PPP1 cable to combine the currents on outputs 5 and 6 with their DIP switches set to NORMAL. Call us at 707-545-0600 between 9 AM and 5 PM (PST), Monday through Friday, to order the cable.
Sean Greenwalt Voodoo Lab Tech SupportI wish I could find the Voodoo Lab PPP1 cable online. I just want to click buy on it, then the Dipper. I did find the Dipper: www.rainbowguitars.com/ProductDetail.aspx?p=GDTWALD
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2010 4:28:32 GMT -7
definitely a great start, you're gonna have a blast!
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Post by Ben on May 14, 2010 5:02:25 GMT -7
Two thumbs up on the PedalTrain & Voodoo Lab – I’ve never had any problem at all with either of them. And the power-up options on the VL are handy – 9v, 18v, combinations. Plus they are all isolated.
I’ve never tried RedWitch’s Chorus, but their other stomps are nice. A little tad more expensive then the average price though. If you end up not liking it I’m an sure you’ll be able to unload it online in no time!
Cheers Ben
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Post by Scott on May 14, 2010 6:38:14 GMT -7
Thanks guys... I never built me a decent Pedalboard yet, due to my main amp being the Flextone III. 1) It did have lots of effects built in... 2) Never thought it did that well with pedals myself. Some people think it does fine. The few pedals I had, were actually for my old VOM tube amp. It has never been converted over for guitar, it's still looking for a turntable, so I never felt like a big pedal investment was worth it. The Maz Jr changed all that! Now it's worth having a decent Pedalboard. ** UPDATE: I now have also bought TWA's Little Dipper.I also just called and ordered the Voodoo Lab PPP1 cable. It combines the (2) 9v 250ma outs, to make one monster 9v 500ma out. It is $15 bucks, +$3 shipping, and a custom cable you must order. It will take about 2 weeks. Now my question is if outputs 5 and 6 are dedicated to the Dipper, how many other 9v pedals can the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus power? (Say that 5 times fast!) Powering that beast of a pedal, I might have a power issue now? Do I still have (4) Standard, and (2) with SAG control? (6) more 9v pedals total? I still might be fine...
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Post by Scott on May 14, 2010 20:08:14 GMT -7
Question:
If you had these pedals... What order would you put them in, and what ones should go through the FX loop?
PolyTune Digitech 'Bad Monkey Overdrive'-or- 'The Open Road' Overdrive Boss 'RV-5 Digital Reverb' Ibanez 'DE7 Delay / Echo' Red Witch 'Empress Chorus' Vibrato Pedal TWA's 'Little Dipper' Envelope controlled vocal formant filter.
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Post by rudymontana on May 14, 2010 22:03:11 GMT -7
PolyTune --> OD --> RedWitch --> TWA --> Reverb --> Delay
Thats what I'd do. Tuner at the front w/ OD right after. Delay and verb at the end. Chorus and little dipper in the middle. I'd like to see what others say. I am not a pedal expert.
Cheers
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Post by Scott on May 14, 2010 22:31:20 GMT -7
Thanks for the input...
Still deciding if I should mess with the FX loop, or just run them all in front.
All in front would be easier.
If I go for running some in the FX loop, I wonder if I should be looking at that Pedalboard Snake hookup? I still can't picture in my mind how that works.
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Post by Scott on May 15, 2010 11:08:31 GMT -7
I wonder how this config would do?
Out Front: Polytune->Little Dipper->Overdrive
In Loop: Red Witch Empress->Ibanez DE7->Boss RV-5
We just use speaker cable for our FX loop, correct?
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Post by doctorice on May 15, 2010 12:00:18 GMT -7
I wonder how this config would do? Out Front: Polytune->Little Dipper->Overdrive In Loop: Red Witch Empress->Ibanez DE7->Boss RV-5 We just use speaker cable for our FX loop, correct? If you've got some time, I'd be tempted to try both this loop version and the all-in-front. However, I suspect that if you want to use the MAZ's front end to generate some of your OD, then you might be happier with those effects in the loop so they're operating on the already overdriven signal. I've found that I don't particularly like sending, say, a delayed signal into an amp that's set to overdrive. It seems to create some unpleasant intermodulation distortion or something like that. Of course, what I dislike may be just what you're after. Do report back on what you find and like.
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2010 12:25:28 GMT -7
INSTRUMENT CABLE FOR LOOP EFFECTS! Speaker cable ONLY for speakers... That said, I've tried various combinations, but settled on Delay>Chorus>Reverb>amp. And some pedals (dist.) sound better with a driver in front, others with a driver following. You might want to (eventually) try a boost pedal at the end of your chain to fatten up the other pedals. Rothwell Atomic Boost is my fave. Works as a treble boost also... Just my 2 centavos
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2010 13:02:01 GMT -7
Good choices by the way. I have a Pedaltrain / Voodoo Lab board as well. I found that by using large wire ties to secure the pedals, I could utilize the side rails of the board for pedals too. I put my tuner and RC Boost outboard like this and it leaves more space on the inside of the board for my distortion toys...Enjoy (tommy) tbird
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Post by Scott on May 15, 2010 16:39:55 GMT -7
Thanks guys... "INSTRUMENT CABLE FOR LOOP EFFECTS!" Guitar cable it is then.... Monster Rock for now. I have them on hand. Thanks for the post doctorice... Wise words. "I've found that I don't particularly like sending, say, a delayed signal into an amp that's set to overdrive. It seems to create some unpleasant intermodulation distortion or something like that".I will test out running with the Red Witch Empress->Ibanez DE7->Boss RV-5 in the loop, and report back... Note that I currently was considering the Dipper, as a Wah pedal, and the reason for this order out front: Polytune->Little Dipper->Overdrive Now, after watching this video: Visual Sound: Myth Buster #1: True Bypass I think I need a Visual Sound Pedal first in the chain, with it's Pure Tone buffer circuit to minimize my Guitar Cable Capacitance. I might be a sucker, but I believe this... The radio frequency blocking is a nice feature too. I don't want to hear some random song, playing through my amp. Here is the Open Road Overdrive, and TrueTone Clean Boost together... Note: He liked running the Clean Boost after the Overdrive... I will be running that way too. That would fill all 8 outputs on the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus.Output 1 - PolyTune Output 2 - Visual Sound 'True Tone' Clean boost Output 3 - Visual Sound 'The Open Road' Overdrive Output 4 - Red Witch 'Empress Chorus' Vibrato Pedal Outputs 5 & 6 TWA's 'Little Dipper' Envelope controlled vocal formant filter. Output 7 (SAG 1) - Ibanez 'DE7 Delay / Echo' Output 8 (SAG 2) - Boss 'RV-5 Digital Reverb' I think running that config could keep me happy for a while... My reverb needs to be upgraded to a WET unit. This will be my first Envelope Controlled Vocal Formant Filter... It's tricky to know the best spot to put it in the chain. ;D I find the LD1 charming, and am getting more excited about it's arrival. You are allowed to have 1 crazy pedal right... This will be mine. Do you feel, like I do... @ 5:05 This guy has a nice sound... Talk Box (little dipper) Blues It could only be better with a Maz Jr...
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Post by Eddie on May 15, 2010 22:41:24 GMT -7
Oooh! Fun new toys on the way! :-) You'll have a lot of nice gear on that board.
I have one small suggestion: at least _try_ putting your tuner last in the chain. Being TB, it won't hurt anything tone-wise. The reason I like a pedal tuner last is so you can use it as an overall mute switch while tuning. For instance, let's say you are in between songs. The next song you are about to play uses a hi-gain tone so you kick in your overdrive. With the tuner first, your tone will be muted while quick-checking your tuning, but the amp will still "hear" the hiss from the OD. With the tuner last, the amp will go dead silent for tuning between songs. Some won't like that because of your modulation effects, which can cause tuning problems for a pedal tuner, but if they are in the effects loop, it won't matter.
Enjoy, Eddie
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Post by Scott on May 16, 2010 2:59:07 GMT -7
Good tip Eddie. Thanks... More True Tone Clean Boost tips for me... So I could put this in the front of my pedal board, and it would act as a buffer to improve my tone from long cables and true bypass pedals? In one of these videos VS showed that even a 20ft George L cable showed dramatic loss. Guitar > 30ft cable > effects > amp. I have about 60ft of cable in my rig, will a good buffer after my guitar cable fix any signal loss? Even if one of the Visual Sound pedals is first on your pedalboard, it will help the whole signal chain.VisualSoundUSA Will it (or any other V2 pedals) buffer enough when turned off for me to use a low impedance volume pedal without treble loss? Thanks for posting it! Yes, the Pure Tone buffer is in all the Visual Sound pedals and is active even when the pedal is bypassed.VisualSoundUSA How does this work with a distorted amp? Pushing it into a more brootal crunsh? To use it where you're not overdriving the amp, use it in the effects loop. That way it will only make the amp, louder.VisualSoundUSA Your tip, along with the above info, this might be my order now... Out Front:Visual Sound 'The Open Road' Overdrive TWA's 'Little Dipper' Envelope controlled vocal formant filter.In loop:Visual Sound 'True Tone' Clean boost Red Witch 'Empress Chorus' Vibrato Pedal Ibanez 'DE7 Delay / Echo' Boss 'RV-5 Digital Reverb' PolyTuneMy thinking... The Open Road Overdrive will be first in the chain, and will use it's Pure Tone buffer circuit on the guitar's input cable's capacitance. (Note that the Pure Tone buffer is in all the Visual Sound pedals, and is active even when the pedal is bypassed.) Also note that when I do use my Little Dipper, my Open Road will be in buffered bypass mode, and should actually be helping out the Dipper's input signal. (I hope!) The Dipper has it's own on-board fuzz (Diffraction), so I don't believe I will have a need for an Overdriven Dipper Fuzz sound... ;D Diffraction alone should keep me happy. My True Tone Clean Boost is moving to the first spot inside the loop, and will use it's Pure Tone buffer circuit on the FX cable's capacitance. With the idea being to only give me a volume boost, but not to change my tone or current distortion level. And that all pedals that follow a Visual Sound pedal, get to enjoy having a buffered input signal. That should be good for my Chorus, (Delay / Echo), and Reverb units. I love the idea of putting the PolyTune last in the chain, with true mute, playing or not... As long as she still can accurately check your tuning, I see no problem with it running that way. Having the ability with one button click, to mute all sound including any distortion pedal hiss, is just too big to ignore. And probably would now plug them in this way...Output 1 - Visual Sound 'The Open Road' Overdrive Output 2 - Visual Sound 'True Tone' Clean boost Output 3 - Red Witch 'Empress Chorus' Vibrato Pedal Output 4 - Ibanez 'DE7 Delay / Echo' Outputs 5 & 6 TWA's 'Little Dipper' Envelope controlled vocal formant filter. (With the Voodoo Lab PPP1 cable.)Output 7 (SAG 1) - Boss 'RV-5 Digital Reverb' Output 8 (SAG 2) - PolyTune I am not a big RV-5 fan. Who has a WET Reverb unit to sell me... There is no button to click buy: www.neunabertechnology.com/wet-reverbWhat is the best Reverb unit, any price, that runs on (1) standard 9v out?
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Post by Scott on May 16, 2010 19:53:02 GMT -7
FYI - Still hunting for an outstanding Reverb, at any price, that I can actually click buy on, and runs on a single standard 9v out...
I feel my Boss 'RV-5 Digital Reverb' is the weak spot on my board.
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Post by countrybilly83 (Ty) on May 16, 2010 23:15:38 GMT -7
The HardWire Reverb pedal is very nice... Check it out... www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/HardWireRV7/ You have seen mine so I know whats its like to figure this all out.. Funny though is, that one is my second board I have a PT2 board for band rehearsals, and small stage gigs where the big guy wont fit.. Gotta love pedals... I have a few I need to sel off come to think about it.. lol...
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Post by Scott on May 16, 2010 23:31:43 GMT -7
Thanks... She is a looker! I will give it a listen on youtube. I have already loaded a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 up to it's capacity with pedals... And I don't even have a compressor! I guess we all have to make some hard choices. I still am glad I made myself select the PedalTrain Jr. It may help to draw a line in the sand I won't cross. Update***I think it sounds darn good! This might be it, and I can pick it up at GC. Sounds better than my RV-5 to me.
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Post by ecsong187 (Edwin) on May 17, 2010 0:19:10 GMT -7
Reverb I love the Electro Harmonix Holy Grail
As far as compressors, the best one hands down is the Barber Tone Press -edwin
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Post by ecsong187 (Edwin) on May 17, 2010 0:21:48 GMT -7
Also get an MXR Carbon Copy Delay. Best bang for your buck delay IMO. -edwin
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Post by Scott on May 17, 2010 0:46:38 GMT -7
Thanks, The only thing about the Holy Grail I don't like, it that it has it's own PSU. I wanted to use my last 9v wire. I still will keep my Ibanez 'DE7 Delay / Echo' on the board for a bit... I still like that pedal. One good reverb pedal, and I hope to be done... Well... Done for a while.
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Post by Scott on May 17, 2010 10:07:46 GMT -7
Update... Went to GC today, and they didn't have the Open Road or True Tone in stock. I made some changes... This will be my config, and all pedals are now bought. Out Front:TWA's 'Little Dipper' Envelope controlled vocal formant filter. Fulltone OCDIn loop:BBE Boosta Grande Red Witch 'Empress Chorus' Vibrato Pedal Ibanez 'DE7 Delay / Echo' HardWire RV-7 Reverb PolyTune
I have 30 days to return the Fulltone OCD, BBE Boosta Grande, HardWire RV-7 Reverb, or PolyTune if I don't like any of them... I hope this board keeps me happy.
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Post by ecsong187 (Edwin) on May 17, 2010 10:24:02 GMT -7
Should keep you happy for NOW! haha You will always come across other pedals that give you GAS enjoy it! snap some pics if you get a chance -edwin
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Post by Scott on May 17, 2010 10:28:11 GMT -7
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Post by keatonmyrick on May 17, 2010 11:52:14 GMT -7
Wow, there is some VERY good info in this post. Coming from a complete rack system I too am now building my very first pedalboard. This post is continuing to be very helpful.
I really think it should be made sticky. EVERY first timer can benefit from something in this thread.
Thanks for all the info everyone. This place rocks.
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Post by Scott on May 17, 2010 12:10:58 GMT -7
Thanks... Do Clean Boost pedals normally require so much current I wonder... 200ma for the Boosta Grande seems rather high. Wonder how much the Filltone OCD is looking for when running on 9V's? Update: Good news... www.stinkfoot.se/andreas/diy/power/brands/other.htmBBE Boosta Grande 3 mA (stated)The Boosta Grande actually only using 3mA is indeed good news to me! I am keeping it now.
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Post by countrybilly83 (Ty) on May 17, 2010 13:14:41 GMT -7
I think you should be fine running the Boost of a normal 9v output from the PP2... I ran a Sonic Stomp for a while off of a Boss TU-2 tuner that was powered by a One-Spot... Didn't have problems with it so I wouldn't worry about the PP2 not doing the job.. You could also run a wall-wart power supply off the accessory outlet of the pedal power as well.. In case you hadn't thought of it..
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Post by Scott on May 17, 2010 13:19:13 GMT -7
I will keep the accessory outlet in mind... Heck, I figure if I can flip a switch and let the OCD have 12V's instead of 9V's, and it can actually use up to 18V's, I might as well let it have the 12. I just was trying to be sure I had the right idea about the PedalPower II. That it can also deliver 12V's too. I now think it can if set to.
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Post by doctorice on May 17, 2010 16:31:09 GMT -7
Setting up the pedals can be an endless, albeit fun, quest. I've still got a large Pedaltrain board waiting for me to load it up, but I haven't had the time to sort through what will go on it and in what order. In the interim, I picked up a mini PT and just put some basics on board: Boss TU-2, FET Dream, Analogman mod DS-1 and Visual Sound H2O. Turned out to be a great little set up for gigs and rehearsals. Worth keeping in mind as your pedal collection grows -- and you know it will
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