I don't blame you for not reading this
so I have re-worked my pedal lineup yet again. it's finally starting to take it's final shape I think. I'm getting really close to it, and I know this because there are a lot of things I wouldn't change at all, not sure about the volume swells at the end, and I haven't tried the small stone or the ibanez DE7, but everything is pretty good so far. the most key ingredient at the momment is that morley ABY box. that will be the secret to my magic potion. now for a picture of the new lineup, and a description of each pedal in it. like the title says, I don't blame you for skipping this post.
starting from right to left (because I read backwards)...
Fender PT-100: chromatic tuner. could not be happier with this tuner. not only does it serve as a very hardily built, fast acting tuner, but it two outputs, one designed with a cutoff switch in it so you can kill the feed while you're tuning. a handy pedal.
Ibanez TS7: overdrive. this is a great pedal. not the greatest for heavy distortion, but as far as a nice warm overdrive it does wonderfully. two settings: TS9 and HOT. the TS9 is moderately quieter than the HOT setting, so switching between the two can be a bit annoying as far as continuity is concerned. HOT is very biting and scrappy, while TS9 is incredibly mellow with tattered edges.
morley Pro Wah II: wah wah. great wah, except for the boost in the signal when engaged. on/off switch is a blessing, because you can find certain frequencies in the wah, leave the pedal in that position and turn it on and off for easy accesability. the Wah-Level knob is fabulous, because it lets me adjust the rawness of the wah.
morley ABY (yet to purchase): AB box with a twist. this thing will be so key. not only will I be able to switch between my two tiers of effects, but I'll be able to run through both at the same time if I choose, giving the appearance of two guitars playing simultaneously. the AB box I have already lets me get closer to playing lead and rythm at the same time. this pedal will just make it that much easier, and give me so much more versatility. (especially when combined with the volume swell pedals at the end of each line).
TOP TIER: Big muff, Boss BF-2, Ibanez DE7, swell pedal
EHX Big Muff: big, hairy, sweaty, bloody, scabby fuzz box. it took me a while to find the right tone with this thing, but once I did... boy oh boy! this thing is the fattest distortion ever. fuzz though it be, individual notes ring so clearly through this thing that it shocked me. this pedals is a far cry from the TS7, but shares many of it's nicest qualities; such as it's warm, mellow flavour. it is the middle child in the hierarchy of harshness, with the TS7 below it, and the TubeWorks Real Tube at the top.
Boss BF-2: nice light flanger, easy to use, sits lightly on top of the guitar's tone. not too digital, though inescapably so. it's one of the better digital flangers I've heard (though I'd replace this thing with the EHX electric mistress in a heartbeat if I had the cashflow to.)
Ibanez DE7: delay pedal. dunno, haven't tried it yet.
Swell pedal: volume adjustment unit. this will be so key to my sound. each tier has a swell, so I can control how much of either is heard at any given time. SO: say I am running the AandB function on the ABY box. I have one tier going uber heavy and the other is clean with mad delay and trip-out effects going. I can turn down the uber heavy line so that the clean trip-out can be heard over top. this will give the effect of two guitars playing. plus I will be able to fade so much now. half the time I'm going to be using the swells instead of the ABY box.
BOTTOM TIER: TubeWorks Real Tube, EHX small stone, Boss DSD-2, swell pedal.
TubeWorks Real Tube: tube-driven overdrive. this thing is the god of distortion. possibly the most focused and meanest sounding pedal I've ever heard. it beats the pants off of all competetion. with a 3-band EQ, drive and level settings, this is a very versatile pedal, without leaving the realm of meat and potatoes. it's so simple to use, but so infinite in it's versatility. being tube driven, getting those tubes hot helps, and the best way to do that is to crank the distortion. god I cannot get over this pedal! and it was dirt cheap too! in fact. I love it so much, here's a close-up.
EHX smallstone: analog phase shifter. never tired it, but it's supposed to be the best phaser on the planet. I'll just have to wait till my order comes in :(
BOSS DSD-2: digital delay/ sampler. fuck the sampler on this thing. it sucks. but as a delay, it is great. real easy to use, and you can do a lot of trip-out with it. adjusting the time of the delay in mid-delay changes the pitch of the delay, and so it is very easy to sound very star trek with this thing.
swell pedals: a swell pedal lol.
so that's it ladies and gentlemen. I hope you've enjoyed this. I know I have.
starting from right to left (because I read backwards)...
Fender PT-100: chromatic tuner. could not be happier with this tuner. not only does it serve as a very hardily built, fast acting tuner, but it two outputs, one designed with a cutoff switch in it so you can kill the feed while you're tuning. a handy pedal.
Ibanez TS7: overdrive. this is a great pedal. not the greatest for heavy distortion, but as far as a nice warm overdrive it does wonderfully. two settings: TS9 and HOT. the TS9 is moderately quieter than the HOT setting, so switching between the two can be a bit annoying as far as continuity is concerned. HOT is very biting and scrappy, while TS9 is incredibly mellow with tattered edges.
morley Pro Wah II: wah wah. great wah, except for the boost in the signal when engaged. on/off switch is a blessing, because you can find certain frequencies in the wah, leave the pedal in that position and turn it on and off for easy accesability. the Wah-Level knob is fabulous, because it lets me adjust the rawness of the wah.
morley ABY (yet to purchase): AB box with a twist. this thing will be so key. not only will I be able to switch between my two tiers of effects, but I'll be able to run through both at the same time if I choose, giving the appearance of two guitars playing simultaneously. the AB box I have already lets me get closer to playing lead and rythm at the same time. this pedal will just make it that much easier, and give me so much more versatility. (especially when combined with the volume swell pedals at the end of each line).
TOP TIER: Big muff, Boss BF-2, Ibanez DE7, swell pedal
EHX Big Muff: big, hairy, sweaty, bloody, scabby fuzz box. it took me a while to find the right tone with this thing, but once I did... boy oh boy! this thing is the fattest distortion ever. fuzz though it be, individual notes ring so clearly through this thing that it shocked me. this pedals is a far cry from the TS7, but shares many of it's nicest qualities; such as it's warm, mellow flavour. it is the middle child in the hierarchy of harshness, with the TS7 below it, and the TubeWorks Real Tube at the top.
Boss BF-2: nice light flanger, easy to use, sits lightly on top of the guitar's tone. not too digital, though inescapably so. it's one of the better digital flangers I've heard (though I'd replace this thing with the EHX electric mistress in a heartbeat if I had the cashflow to.)
Ibanez DE7: delay pedal. dunno, haven't tried it yet.
Swell pedal: volume adjustment unit. this will be so key to my sound. each tier has a swell, so I can control how much of either is heard at any given time. SO: say I am running the AandB function on the ABY box. I have one tier going uber heavy and the other is clean with mad delay and trip-out effects going. I can turn down the uber heavy line so that the clean trip-out can be heard over top. this will give the effect of two guitars playing. plus I will be able to fade so much now. half the time I'm going to be using the swells instead of the ABY box.
BOTTOM TIER: TubeWorks Real Tube, EHX small stone, Boss DSD-2, swell pedal.
TubeWorks Real Tube: tube-driven overdrive. this thing is the god of distortion. possibly the most focused and meanest sounding pedal I've ever heard. it beats the pants off of all competetion. with a 3-band EQ, drive and level settings, this is a very versatile pedal, without leaving the realm of meat and potatoes. it's so simple to use, but so infinite in it's versatility. being tube driven, getting those tubes hot helps, and the best way to do that is to crank the distortion. god I cannot get over this pedal! and it was dirt cheap too! in fact. I love it so much, here's a close-up.
EHX smallstone: analog phase shifter. never tired it, but it's supposed to be the best phaser on the planet. I'll just have to wait till my order comes in :(
BOSS DSD-2: digital delay/ sampler. fuck the sampler on this thing. it sucks. but as a delay, it is great. real easy to use, and you can do a lot of trip-out with it. adjusting the time of the delay in mid-delay changes the pitch of the delay, and so it is very easy to sound very star trek with this thing.
swell pedals: a swell pedal lol.
so that's it ladies and gentlemen. I hope you've enjoyed this. I know I have.