what do you do when (board question)

[Helmet]

I have this keeley modded Bd2 that I like a lot (it's my main overdrive since fender bj is a single channel amp) but I rarely use it cause I need a higher gain fuzz (muff with tone wicker) for the wall of sound needed in shoegaze music.
I could create more space on the pedal train mini but I'm still debating.

what do you do when u have a pedal on your board that you really like but rarely use?

[asatbluesboy]

Get another board.

lol

I'm the wrong guy to ask, since I had two boards, 18-strong total, and 7 dirt boxes on one of them. Many pedals were just used in one or two songs, but they were the exact tone I wanted and I kept them there. Nowadays I tried to downsize a bit but I still find myself missing the flexibility of my ridiculously large boards.

[Helmet]

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1724844/board.jpg
my board at the moment

[asatbluesboy]

You do know the DC Brick is just a glorified daisy-chain, right? Your board is tight, so you could easily use the TU-2 to distribute your power and put the Brick somewhere it doesn't take as much space (since it would be powering only the TU).

That said, you could kick the BD off the board - as you've said you don't use it much - and see if you miss it. If you don't, move on. If you miss having your cleans dirtier, you could try having it sit on top of the amp. This way it doesn't take up any board real estate and you've still got your grit.

Edit: the latter scenario would change your sound a bit, if I understand your signal chain right. You will have the BD after the delays, which you may or may not like. I myself am a sucker for overdriven chorused delay, so I'd go TU-2 -> Muff -> DD-6 -> DMM -> CE-2 -> BD-2. I do it all wrong, I admit.

[Concretebadger]

You're only Doing It Wrong when it sounds like s***. I have two reverbs placed at each end of my pedal chain so I have choice between 'normal' reverb and a dirtier, 'swooshy' reverbed sound a la MONO or Di ck Dale. I like to have that choice.

If I were you I'd shuffle the pedals around to see if I could get another one squeezed in sideways like you've done with your DD-6. Since I do ambient 'shoegazey' stuff too I know how annoying it can be trying find enough room for stuff you don't use very often; right now I rarely use my chorus or analogue delay but I want a modulation effect so I'm considering getting an M5 (which does all three of those and then some, but has the same footprint as two of them). I use distortion/fuzz, reverb and delay more often so I don't mind having several dedicated boxes for those.

[lobsty]

Keeping a board nice and small is always an uphill battle... I totally understand your plight. That looks like a nice and compact setup though. Personally I'd want to keep the BD or some other low gain pedal on the board because as much as I love Muffs and things like that I find a slight bit of dirt useful as well.

[jonny-b-brown]

Originally Posted by lobsty

Keeping a board nice and small is always an uphill battle...

Exactly. Half of me wants to carry the smallest board possible, and the other half wants to have tons of options available. I just dug out my PT Mini and I really want to make it work..........

[lobsty]

I also get put off because lately I always seem to see guitarists with huge pedalboards that are frantically turning pedals on and off throughout the set and it makes bugger all difference to the songs... it used to be that when a guitarist had a huge pedalboard they were usually going to play some cool atmospheric stuff that was really interesting... (and they were often a fellow gg member - haha!) now every lame commercial rock band has a board full of cool boutique stuff and does nothing interesting.
/end rant/


Oh, and above all, the smaller the rant the better!

[Helmet]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I was thinking about all the things asatbluesboy wrote and I suppose he's right about the dc brick, and putting the bd upon the amp is not a bad idea since I use overdrive alone or I don't use it at all.
I could swap the dc brick for a 1 spot and try to fill the space with a small foot print pedal (reverb probably)

[lobsty]

Originally Posted by Helmet

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I was thinking about all the things asatbluesboy wrote and I suppose he's right about the dc brick, and putting the bd upon the amp is not a bad idea since I use overdrive alone or I don't use it at all.
I could swap the dc brick for a 1 spot and try to fill the space with a small foot print pedal (reverb probably)

Haha! I love that you make it a bit smaller but then think "hmmmm, maybe I can squeeze a reverb on their too".
Awesome.

[asatbluesboy]

Originally Posted by Helmet

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I was thinking about all the things asatbluesboy wrote and I suppose he's right about the dc brick, and putting the bd upon the amp is not a bad idea since I use overdrive alone or I don't use it at all.
I could swap the dc brick for a 1 spot and try to fill the space with a small foot print pedal (reverb probably)

Always glad when I can help. And yes, 1-Spot and DC Brick are pretty much the same thing (only the 1-Spot seems to be a bit more practical/tweakable). This is why I sold my Brick and got a BBE Supa-Charger (damn fuzzes need their own separate supplies or they wreak noisy havoc).

As a matter of fact, the 1-Spot is a true 9VDC power supply, whereas the DC Brick is a 18VDC supply that caters 7 of its outputs with alternating 18V and 0V at such a fast rate that your pedals think it's 9V. Quite a neat trick, if you ask me.

Originally Posted by lobsty

Haha! I love that you make it a bit smaller but then think "hmmmm, maybe I can squeeze a reverb on their too".
Awesome.

That's the spirit!

[Helmet]

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1724844/27062012059.jpg Tone is clearer with the guitar directly into this with a good cable.

board re-wired and downsized a little https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1724844/30062012061.jpg

[jonny-b-brown]

Originally Posted by Helmet

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1724844/27062012059.jpg Tone is clearer with the guitar directly into this with a good cable.

board re-wired and downsized a little https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1724844/30062012061.jpg

Haha! I'll have to post a pic of my board for you bc it's kind of similar.

[asatbluesboy]

Originally Posted by Helmet

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1724844/27062012059.jpg Tone is clearer with the guitar directly into this with a good cable.

board re-wired and downsized a little https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1724844/30062012061.jpg

Neat! If you would allow me one more suggestion (maybe "poking my nose in" would be a more appropriate expression), I was looking at that board pic and saw that nice "Direct Out" in your DMM. If you want more room on your board, you could also consider feeding the tuner off the direct out and putting it elsewhere. Or just get a damn rack tuner... lol