Subject: Satisfy your gear neediness...
You are getting this e-mail because you subscribed to it on www.learn-to-play-rock-guitar.com. If you don't want to receive these e-mails any longer, go to the bottom of this message and click on "unsubscribe." Hey there Friend, Today I thought we'd have a chat about gear - specifically pedal boards. As a self-professed gear slut, I love getting my hands on new toys. I have to stay away from Guitar Center because that's like putting an alcoholic in the bar. I have a hard time controlling myself with all the bright, shiny guitars and amps, keyboards and recording gear (I really need to win the zZounds $250,000 Music Gear Giveaway!).Effects pedal boards are one of the most lusted after items on a musician`s wish list. There are literally hundreds of different designs and variations to choose from. If you are in the market for an effects board, it can be pretty daunting to finally decide on one. Popularly used by musicians to switch and layer effects (FX) when playing live, the board, at its most basic configuration, is used to hold various guitar pedals (along with their power supplies) in fixed positions. This effectively creates a flat surface that gives a guitarist the ability to manage multiple effects pedals while playing. It also makes it easier to transport the effects pedals from place to place. An effects pedal board can mean different things to different people, though. For some it can be as simple as mounting pedals on a wooden board (using strips of velcro tape), but to others it`s a floor-based multi-effects processor - technology developed over the years to introduce a range of guitar pedals that perform multiple tasks in small, easy to handle packages. You can think of multi-effects processors as consoles that give you "everything at your fingertips" (or toes, as the case may be!). These are typically programmable, so you are unlimited in control over the sounds you can produce. It wasn`t that long ago that guitar effects were only available as pedals but in the early 80s the introduction of the multi-effects processor changed the way musicians started to use them. Not only could they be used with guitars but with basses and keyboards, too. They were also incredibly expensive back in the day. While you can still spend a fortune on pedals and/or multi-effects processors, there are a lot of affordable models available. Personally, I've got a couple pedals (a Pro Co Rat Distortion and a Danelectro FAB Chorus) and a KORG Pandora PX5D multi-effects processor. When designing your pedal board layout, consider that each pedal you use imparts its own effect to the music you`re playing. These should be positioned so that effects introduced at different points in the signal chain don`t end up canceling each other out. This takes a bit of experimentation to find the best possible configuration. There's a great website that allows you to design a pedal board with an online tool. Head over to http://www.pedaltrain.com/products.php to view the different boards they sell. Then use the Pedalboard Planner to build your ideal board. They list most (if not all) pedal manufacturers to choose from when adding pedals. You have to remember that every pedal and every cable between each pedal introduces a new source of latency and possible signal degradation. This means there could be a noticeable lag in the time it takes for the sound to get from your fingers to the amp and ultimately your ears. There could also be noise and hiss added, so it's important to pay attention to your pedal placement and consider adding a noise gate pedal to the mix to minimize hiss. Another important aspect is the cables that I mentioned. Make sure you use the best quality cables you can afford to create your signal chain (everything between the guitar output jack and the amplifier input jack). A common pedal board layout includes anything from Dynamic Range (Compression) effects to EQ filters (Wah pedal and Equalizer), Drive (Overdrive, Distortion, Fuzz), Modulation (Phase, Flange and Chorus) and lastly to time-based effects (Reverb and Delay). Compression pedals should usually be first on the board because they pump up the volume when it`s quiet and cut it when it becomes too high. Putting them first in the effects chain gives a consistent signal to the rest of the effects chain. The EQ effect, usually the Wah pedal, creates its distinctive vintage sound by sweeping up and down a narrow frequency range as you move the pedal. By being second in line, it benefits from the consistent signal from the compressor. Drive and Modulation effects typically come next, with the time-based effects (Reverb and Delay) following last because they repeat the original signal without alteration. If your time-based effects were to be any earlier in the route, it could conflict with the other effects. As with anything, "rules" are to sometimes meant to be broken! You could put the Wah pedal after the drive pedals to produce a thicker sound, or put Phase effects in front of the overdrive/distortion pedals, for example. Again, it's up to you to experiment and find the best configuration that sounds good. The best advice is to decide the exact sound you are looking for and find out how that sound was created. Take inspiration from guitarists you admire - listen to their sound and research their pedal board setup. You can typically find "rig rundowns" on Youtube and other websites like Premier Guitar. In fact, Premier Guitar has a slide show of reader's pedal boards. Then use the Pedalboard Planner to build yours out. Keep Rockin'! Peace~ Dave P.S. - the holidays are coming, so don't forget to be good to yourself - get yourself some new gear! It will make you smile... Dave "Eddie" Vance is a rock guitar enthusiast and gear nut. He has been playing guitar for over 30 years and enjoys tormenting the neighbors every chance he gets. When he's not slaving for the man, you can find him rocking out with his B.C. Rich Bich guitar, a cold beer and some sweet tunes. He also runs Learn-To-Play-Rock-Guitar.com, but you knew that already! Follow Learn To Play Rock Guitar:I welcome your feedback! Did you like today's message? What other topics would you like to see covered in my e-mails? Please let me know at: dave@learn-to-play-rock-guitar.com As always, please feel free to forward this email to a friend! I review products before recommending them. If you buy a product based on my recommendation, I will receive a commission. However, my emails also contain links that don’t require any investment on your part and are jam-packed with "juicy, guitar learnin' tastiness". We don't rent or share your name with anybody. Feel free to forward this issue to any friends you think would enjoy its contents. They will thank you. So will I.
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