Need Pedalboard Help

[frenchatticus]

Can anyone help? I'm looking for the best order of combination as well as how to power them. I have a Keeley modded Boss Blues Driver BD-2, a Boss Chromatic Tuner TU-2, and a Barber Tone Press compression pedal. I was thinking I'd put them in order of input to output: Tuner, Blues Driver, Compression. It seems logically that a tuner should go first so that the other effects don't affect the tuning. Also it seems that the Tone Press should go last so it can compress the tones being created, rather than having more tones created after. But I just started getting into pedals so I need help from an expert. And again, should I build my own mini pedalboard and power it or buy something? What's the best way of going about this kind of stuff?

[Blague]

The nice thing about guitar tone is that it is all a matter of taste, so there is no "wrong way" to do it. But, it's good to ask like you have, because there are some basic guidelines.

My opinion is in line with yours. But remember, you only have 3 pedals at the moment; experiment! See what works best. I agree with your plan, though.

As for your board itself, I'd build one if you do plan to continue to expand your board and are good with building things. If you're not currently gigging, consider holding off before buying a board/case so that you don't run out of room before you know that you even need it, or vice versa, so that you don't buy a huge board when you don't end up using much of it.

For powering your pedals, the DC Power Brick and Voodoo Pedal Power are common and reliable products.

[patrickhowell]

You definitely want to put the tuner first in your chain. The only thing I would consider putting before a tuner is a wah pedal. The order of the compressor and driver pedals pedals are total optional... just experiment with them and see what tones you like best.

As far as a pedal board, with just three pedals, especially if you're planning on buying more, I would just go to Home Depot or Wal Mart or somewhere and pick up some velcro, then use a scrap piece of wood for your board.

To power the pedals, you should be able to use the output from your TU-2. If that adds a lot of noise, then I would consider another option like the ones from Voodoo.

[reachforthesun]

check out this godlyke power supply.

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Godlyke-PowerAll-PA9B-9V-Digital-Power-Supply-Basic-Kit?sku=150470

[mylastflight]

tuner and then volume peda/wah pedal, dist/od, modulation fx (chorus,phase,filter) and lastly delay/reverb

[frenchatticus]

check out this godlyke power supply.

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Godlyke-PowerAll-PA9B-9V-Digital-Power-Supply-Basic-Kit?sku=150470

I've actually been warned about DC power supply because I guess it reduces a lot of tone. My friend who's been playing for a long time and got me into pedals says he uses an SKB ps-45 and it's been working out really well. I managed to find one of those on craigslist for about $130 less than what they cost new. Any suggestions?

[Blague]

I use a DC power brick and suffer no discernable tone-loss. I do try my best to keep my patch cables very short though, and I feel that contributes a lot to it. I feel that if you're smart about your signal chain and don't have +15 pedals, you will be fine.

As to the SKB board, my friend used one and liked it a lot - then he ran out of room. If you have a very consistent pedal set-up then I think that the prebuilt board is often a tidy and efficient product. Until you're fairly sure about how much room you'll need, however, I'd stick to building your own. Also, this is a quote from a review of the ps-45:

"I was disappointed to discover that power supply outlets are not electrically isolated - they're just daisy chained together. At this price level I expect fully isolated power, I'm sorry."

I don't know if that's true, but if it is, then I agree. At that price level, that's a rip.

[patrickhowell]

tuner and then volume peda/wah pedal, dist/od, modulation fx (chorus,phase,filter) and lastly delay/reverb

With a buffered tuner pedal like the TU-2, you're killing the interaction between your guitar and Wah if you put the tuner first. On the other hand, using a volume pedal without a buffer will change the impedance as you lower your volume, adding cable capacitance and taking all the sparkle out of your tone. If you use a volume pedal and want to cut more as you lower the volume, you need a buffer on both sides of the volume pedal. By the way, using your tuner pedal in the "tuner out" from a volume pedal will suck even more tone than putting it before the tuner. Of course, these are just little nuances, but they definitely make a difference.

Guitar -> True Bypass Tuner (like Korg Pitchblack) -> Wah -> Buffered Tuner (like TU-2) -> Volume Pedal -> Boost/OD/Distortion -> Modulation -> Delay -> Reverb -> Amp

Mod, Delay, and Reverb are also great in the effects loop of an amp.

[kitastrophic]

The nice thing about building your own is you can customize it easily, and do something tacky like, oh, I dunno, put zebra print fabric on it (sadly this is something I have considered because I lack class). There's a ton of pedal boards on ebay, and some even come with airflight cases for a reasonable price.

[mylastflight]

patrick said it all.
but then thats a basic idea of pedalboard the rest is really experimentation.

[inertiatic_sks]

Chain should be tuner -> Tone Press -> BD-2

If you don't gig, check out the boards that Rondo Music has. They've got some cheap ones that are decently sized for $30-ish.

[SD_John]

With a buffered tuner pedal like the TU-2, you're killing the interaction between your guitar and Wah if you put the tuner first. On the other hand, using a volume pedal without a buffer will change the impedance as you lower your volume, adding cable capacitance and taking all the sparkle out of your tone. If you use a volume pedal and want to cut more as you lower the volume, you need a buffer on both sides of the volume pedal. By the way, using your tuner pedal in the "tuner out" from a volume pedal will suck even more tone than putting it before the tuner. Of course, these are just little nuances, but they definitely make a difference.

Guitar -> True Bypass Tuner (like Korg Pitchblack) -> Wah -> Buffered Tuner (like TU-2) -> Volume Pedal -> Boost/OD/Distortion -> Modulation -> Delay -> Reverb -> Amp

Mod, Delay, and Reverb are also great in the effects loop of an amp.

Volume pedals allow sound to go into the chain but not exit it, if you get that.

If you do, but the volume pedal first. Then the tuner. It will allow you to tune without anyone hearing it. Then your distortions or overdrive. I personally don't change effects that often, so I don't even use a pedal board. If thats you, I'd put a volume then tuner close by you while gigging, then running like a 10 foot to the front of the cab/amp where the rest of the effects are. Guitar Player has an article about how to arrange pedals from like a year ago, i'm not sure if its on their site though.

But if you do use a pedal board, just make one. Get some scrap wood, and a 1" x 2" to put on the bottom to rise it up a bit. Velcro the pedals, and use LiveWire Patch cables. Paint it black too, it'll look better and won't stick out much.

[patrickhowell]

Volume pedals allow sound to go into the chain but not exit it, if you get that.

If you do, but the volume pedal first. Then the tuner. It will allow you to tune without anyone hearing it. Then your distortions or overdrive. I personally don't change effects that often, so I don't even use a pedal board. If thats you, I'd put a volume then tuner close by you while gigging, then running like a 10 foot to the front of the cab/amp where the rest of the effects are. Guitar Player has an article about how to arrange pedals from like a year ago, i'm not sure if its on their site though.

But if you do use a pedal board, just make one. Get some scrap wood, and a 1" x 2" to put on the bottom to rise it up a bit. Velcro the pedals, and use LiveWire Patch cables. Paint it black too, it'll look better and won't stick out much.

If you put the volume pedal before the tuner, no sound will get to the tuner and you will not be able to tune your guitar. If you run the tuner on the "tuner out" from a volume pedal, it will affect tone because it will change the impedance of the input on the volume pedal. Every tuner pedal I've ever seen will be able to mute your signal while tuning.