A few additions to the ol' pedalboard...

Since I went "rackless" back in September, I've made a few more additions to the pedalboard. Not that it wasn't already overflowing with wholesome effects goodness, but now it literally is overflowing, since I can't fit all the pedals on the board anymore. Overall, I'm still content with the relative simplicity of the pedal-based effects... I'm spending a lot more time playing than programming & tweaking, which was the goal for sure.

ISP Technologies Decimator

After reading a bunch of reviews for different noise suppressors (Boss, Rocktron, MXR), I decided to try the Decimator based on its utter simplicity (one-knob operation) and generally rave reviews. It's the best noise gate I've had so far... It doesn't cut in or out abruptly, but rather, does a decent job of preserving the natural attack and sustain of the guitar. It's easy to adjust on the fly based on the amount of pickup hiss/hum/noise generated by any particular guitar. Extra points for having a cool shiny chrome finish and not requiring some proprietary power supply.

Boss AC-3 acoustic simulator

Dave picked up one of these to use for acoustic guitar parts in Necessary Distraction tunes, and I've been pretty impressed. The new AC-3's have a few improvements vs. the old AC-2's... the acoustic tones are a bit more realistic, there are dedicated outputs for guitar amps and PA systems, and there's built in reverb. I've given up on electric guitars with built in piezos (they just don't sound that great and it ties me to one or two piezo-equipped guitars for every gig); I tried using a Gracie stand with a real acoustic but it only succeeded in doubling the amount of gear to be hauled out for a gig (and despite how sturdy the Gracie's are, I still felt like there was a pretty high risk of knocking my acoustic off the stand mid-performance). So the AC-3 is the best compromise... I can use any guitar in the arsenal, don't need to haul out a ton of additional acoustic guitar gear, yet can still get a reasonably realistic (enough to fool 90% of the folks listening) acoustic tone at the stomp of a foot.

Ernie Ball Jr. 250k volume pedal

Pretty basic... it makes it quieter, it makes it louder, it's built like a tank, and it takes up (slightly) less pedalboard space than the original EB volume pedal. But I'm using the EB in a non-conventional way... the Randall RM50B has a 1/4" jack for a "boost" that works with a latching footswitch; a lesser known fact is that it also works with some volume pedals for a variable solo boost. So instead of using the EB in front of the amp (varying the level of preamp distortion), I'm using it to vary the overall output level of the power section, which will be useful for soloing during both rock and jazz gigs.

Sennheiser ew172 wireless

Ok, technically it's not a pedal, but it's still part of my pedalboard since that's the source of the signal path. My Nady wireless recently gave up the ghost (not the first cheap wireless I've owned that's randomly stopped working), so I decided to invest in something a touch more "pro". So far I've just used it around the house and been happy with the reception and tone quality (much better dynamics!) compared to the Nady--it will probably be the only accessory I'll take to this week's Necessary Distraction gig, just so I can roam out into the audience to see how we sound with the "minimal sound reinforcement".

With all the new additions, here's the new signal flow...

Sennheiser ew172 --> Axess BS2 --> Peterson StroboStomp --> Fulltone Clyde Deluxe --> Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive --> Carl Martin compressor --> Boss AC-3 --> ISP Decimator --> Ernie Ball volume pedal --> Damage Control Glass Nexus --> amp input

I doubt there'll be any more additions now, but I do need to pick up a bit more velcro to get everything officially mounted. Then I'll snap a picture or two of the finalized pedalboard for posterity's sake.

--B