pictures of your gear here

[Progrockabuse]

This one is the current favourite, got the M5 on top of the amp in the loop for some reverb or whatever I fancy.

Everyone should get a pure sky, for the money vs the sound it’s stupidly good. I’ve got it as an always on base tone, the FF and Octavio stack beautifully into it. Been happy with this iteration for a month or two now, I’ll wire something more permanent when I can get a slighty wider piece of wood.

[dots]

for the new iteration of the band, i'm traveling a little lighter. instead of lugging around the AC30 (71lbs) or the Prosonic (54lbs), i'm going with the Pro Junior (23lbs).

i also learned when doing a gig semi-recently my old board was waaaaaaay too busy and cramped, so i've gone from this:

► Show Spoiler

pedalboard20210922c.jpg (2.36 MiB) Viewed 476 times

to this:

► Show Spoiler

PXL_20240309_194749793.jpg (3.09 MiB) Viewed 476 times

changes i made:

- sold the Flashback 2 and replaced with a NUX Edge 3 because the former didn't have tap, and the latter has that goofy likeness of Edge on it lol
- added a Supro Tremolo as I can't live without that effect since getting the Vox
- added a Gamma Cumulus Reverb because the Pro Junior is my only amp without it
- swapped the Moollon Signal Boost for a TC Electronic Spark as the latter kills my signal (i think it's a buffer issue i'll need to have sorted if i want to use it again)
- swapped the Strobostomp for a Polytune 3 my son gave me for xmas 2022
- removed the Ernie Ball VP Jr., JHS Foot Fuzz, JHS Angry Charlie, Donner Compressor, Donner EQ Seeker, Mooer Tender Octaver, and the Fender Blender clone my son made. All for various reasons like i don't use fuzz enough, and I just want something as simple as I can get it...still ended up with 10 fx and a tuner. i may swap the Keeley Electronics Luna Overdrive for the Angry Charlie so it can take on the heavier duties with the Fulltone OCD sliding over for the lighter crunch. for now, i'm digging the sauce.

might get a smaller board in the near future, haven't decided yet.

► Show Spoiler

PXL_20240309_201704806.jpg (1.6 MiB) Viewed 476 times

[sunshiner]

The Hotone pedals look so cute and futuristic all at the same time. Too bad the company seems to have discontinued that line of pedals altogether.
Love the Pumpkinstang(because of the colour, not the band) and the minimalistic setup. If you ever decide to sell the Tender Octaver, not that you're going to, can I have the tentative dibs?

[dots]

yes, i was bummed when Hotone stopped making these cute little pedals as they've been super reliable and versatile. certainly there are more expensive, feature-packed chorus and flange options out there, but at their original price point and the quality of the construction (they're metal tanks, not plastic), i have zero issue using them. the little bar across the middle knob on the top are genius in preventing inadvertent setting changes. they must have a cult following as i tried to find their reverb before picking up the Cumulus, and the only two available were almost double what their retail was -- one was in Italy! Hotone still does make some small amps, though. reeeeeally small.

consider your dibs on the Tender Octaver secure!

[plopswagon]

I’ve thought about getting a 2nd Pro jr and making my setup a duo pro jr. thing.

[MattK]

Now where will we go for the ho tone?

[dots]

I’ve thought about getting a 2nd Pro jr and making my setup a duo pro jr. thing.

i appreciate this amp more every passing year. new they go for more than double the retail on mine when i got it circa ~2000.
my one "gripe" (very light) is the gain increases with the volume, but it's easy to control with the guitar's volume or a pedal. i'm probably going to pick up a full set of "cool" variety JJ tubes to add some headroom.

Now where will we go for the ho tone?

to the Boss, of course!

i think I saw an interview with a spokesperson or some other employee of the company years back saying it was supposed to be a shortening of "Hot Tone", which (1) they defeated by making the logo in all caps and (2) all for the savings of one letter and a ton of confusion.

[sunshiner]

consider your dibs on the Tender Octaver secure!

Thanks, Dot!

[sunshiner]

Now where will we go for the ho tone?

to the Boss, of course!

i think saw an interview with a spokesperson or some other employee of the company years back saying it was supposed to be a shortening of "Hot Tone", which (1) they defeated by making the logo in all caps and (2) all for the savings of one letter and a ton of confusion.

Hot One is another way to read it. Hawtone could've been a good way to spell what they intended.

[dots]

More adjustments...

► Show Spoiler

PXL_20240314_195107189.jpg (3.18 MiB) Viewed 312 times

Swapping the Luna Overdrive for the Guv'nor created more options in gain with simple pick dynamics and guitar volume...insane levels of gain without getting flabby or fizzy. It's there and on most of the time, and then either switch to the OCD for heavy dirt or added together to melt your ear holes. Also moved the Supro to the back row so the front pedals are more easily accessible.

Plus, I get oddly nostalgic having a Marshall back in my rig, if only as a stomp box.

[Thom]

Looks good!

[dub]

Your OCD settings are basically the opposite of mine, as it's my "clean" tone, or something I stack into my distortion or fuzz.

The completely indulgent switcher board is coming together. Still figuring out some choices of what works well together, and I'd like to upgrade to a bigger power supply.

IMG_2326[1].png (1.01 MiB) Viewed 282 times

Rambling thoughts.

► Show Spoiler

I had two reverbs and two delays on there, but realised the Afterneath's job could be covered by the reverb side of the mood. So, I threw a phaser in that slot; I generally don't muck about with much modulation. Also, the Afterneath is a better companion for my Microfreak. The HOF works really well for me with all levels of gain and doesn't need any dialling in, solving my love/hate relationship with reverb.

Going back and forth on the carbon copy, I use it in a different way to the El Cap. But could probably get away with just the Strymon. The CC is basically just filling out distorted passages without taking over or blurring the notes like reverb. I would really like to get my hands on one of those discontinued Mini-Moog Delays.

I go back and forth with gain pedals, but that's half the fun. My main distortion right now is the Quantum Mystic, which is burly and rough and a little fuzzy sounding, thick enough for post-metal, with nice string clarity across chords. I push it with the OCD for a tighter palm-muted sound. It's the old Ross distortion with a really powerful EQ bolted on. The Hizumitas is my other main tone for more stoner rockish stuff. Boris has always been a huge inspiration.

Part of what I wanted to do with this was have all my sounds from the board and be able to switch quickly between different distorted combos and clean sections. I was using a Klon-style pedal as my clean channel, but didn't like how it stacked with certain other pedals, so the OCD is in that slot now, doing a lightly overdriven sound. I also flirted with a compressor to bring my cleans up to the level of the dirty tones but realised I'm not a fan of a spanking clean guitar.

Hyperfuzz is in my fourth 'crazy fuzz' slot; it was my first guitar pedal ever, and I haven't pulled it out for a long time, so having fun with that. Will probably go back to having my Dwarfcraft Shiva in there, as it sounds gnarly but also gives me the option of oscillation on a switch. I picked up an old Devi Ever BIT locally, but it's practically unusable; going to try it for a noise setup.

Also, really enjoying exploring the PS-3, although I would probably prefer to just have a simple analogue octave pedal in there for leads. Maybe I can squeeze one in there.

I will probably also stick a mini volume or wah at the front, and go in there rather than in to the switcher itself.

[plopswagon]

Someone else has the hyperfuzz!

[sunshiner]

I run OCD also as my base tone with the drive below twelve. I swapped the OCD for a Behringer OD300, which is a clone of Boss OS2, for a bit. It's not as "organic" sounding as OCD where you can shape the sound by rolling the volume knob on your guitar, and it sounds much harsher and feels more rigid, for lack of a better term. At the same time it's more touch sensitive, as in Dot's case with the Guvnor, and you don't have to dig as hard to make certain things sound good.

[dub]

I run OCD also as my base tone with the drive below twelve. I swapped the OCD for a Behringer OD300, which is a clone of Boss OS2, for a bit. It's not as "organic" sounding as OCD where you can shape the sound by rolling the volume knob on your guitar, and it sounds much harsher and feels more rigid, for lack of a better term. At the same time it's more touch sensitive, as in Dot's case with the Guvnor, and you don't have to dig as hard to make certain things sound good.

Yeah, I like how nasty the OS-2 can get. I ended up picking one up cheap after we talked about it in that other thread. (actually when I ordered the PS-3 from a shop in japan and the courier couldn't deliver to my place, didn't leave a card and the pedal went back to japan! so I bought another boss pedal from the same place out of shame so they could bundle them together, hah). I haven't played around that much with it though. It reminded me a lot of my providence stampede DT, which I have been going back and forth with the QM as my go to distortion.

I do really love how responsive the OCD is, I'm running it at 18v, for the low gain stacking I'm doing right now the extra headroom seems to make a difference.
Another thing I have been doing lately is playing with my guitar controls more. I roll the tone back nearly halfway on the bridge, and dial everything in from there, that way I have more treble to play with if I need it. Similarly I usually have the volume backed off ever so slightly , so I can kick it up a notch, so having pedals that are smoothly responsive to your volume and "amplike" is a must.

[dots]

Another thing I have been doing lately is playing with my guitar controls more. I roll the tone back nearly halfway on the bridge, and dial everything in from there, that way I have more treble to play with if I need it. Similarly I usually have the volume backed off ever so slightly , so I can kick it up a notch, so having pedals that are smoothly responsive to your volume and "amplike" is a must.

been playing in this field a bit more lately myself and really liking the options.

also been considering picking up a switcher setup but haven't quite gotten the nerve yet.

[sunshiner]

I do really love how responsive the OCD is, I'm running it at 18v, for the low gain stacking I'm doing right now the extra headroom seems to make a difference.

I need to try running my OCD at 18V

[dots]

Switched mine to 18v mode and didn't notice a difference until I started messing around with different gain stages at more moderate volumes. It's more variable to my ears.

[Progrockabuse]

Another thing I have been doing lately is playing with my guitar controls more. I roll the tone back nearly halfway on the bridge, and dial everything in from there, that way I have more treble to play with if I need it. Similarly I usually have the volume backed off ever so slightly , so I can kick it up a notch, so having pedals that are smoothly responsive to your volume and "amplike" is a must.

been playing in this field a bit more lately myself and really liking the options.

also been considering picking up a switcher setup but haven't quite gotten the nerve yet.

Think I’ve done this my whole life. It’s such an easy way to vary your tone and gain/volume.

I tend to live on around 7 on the volume as my base tone/gain with my amp/gain pedals set to the loudest/most saturated sound. Then I can go up to my lead tone with just a nudge of the volume pot. The lower tone control on my old strat is wired to control the bridge as well as the middle. Il usually leave that around 6 and work from there.

Recently started using the middle pickup on its own, as usually I use bridge and middle together.

[dots]

Another thing I have been doing lately is playing with my guitar controls more. I roll the tone back nearly halfway on the bridge, and dial everything in from there, that way I have more treble to play with if I need it. Similarly I usually have the volume backed off ever so slightly , so I can kick it up a notch, so having pedals that are smoothly responsive to your volume and "amplike" is a must.

been playing in this field a bit more lately myself and really liking the options.

also been considering picking up a switcher setup but haven't quite gotten the nerve yet.

Think I’ve done this my whole life. It’s such an easy way to vary your tone and gain/volume.

I tend to live on around 7 on the volume as my base tone/gain with my amp/gain pedals set to the loudest/most saturated sound. Then I can go up to my lead tone with just a nudge of the volume pot. The lower tone control on my old strat is wired to control the bridge as well as the middle. Il usually leave that around 6 and work from there.

Recently started using the middle pickup on its own, as usually I use bridge and middle together.

I got what was probably one-sided advice from a more experienced band mate very early in my playing days. He said you always want to start with your guitar's volume up all the way to get all the tone it is capable of and then only back off for specific other sounds. I probably should have just experimented more.