Hello fellow tone-chasers! Come on in, grab a coffee, and try not to trip over the spaghetti monster of patch cables that constitutes my current pride and joy: my guitar pedal board.
For those of you who appreciate the delicate art of spending money on tiny metal boxes that make noise, let's dive into the chain. Prepare yourselves, because this isn't always pretty, but it gets the job done—and occasionally makes a sound that vaguely resembles music.
The Signal Starts: Where Does the Magic (and Mess) Begin?
My signal path is a testament to poor planning and limited real estate. It goes like this: Cry Baby Wah PolyTune Sentry CS400 you get the picture.
1. Cry Baby Wah
The first stop is my trusty Dunlop Cry Baby. Now, in an ideal world, the Wah would come after the tuner, but thanks to the physical constraints of my pedalboard (read: I ran out of space), it's the very first thing the guitar sees. It's an issue I probably should fix, but honestly, moving things now seems like a task for Future Me.
2. TC Electronic PolyTune 3
It’s a great tuner and the first actual pedal on the board.
3. TC Electronic Sentry Noise Gate
We need a bouncer before the party gets started. The Sentry is here to keep the unwanted riff-raff (hiss, hum, and general buzzing chaos) out of my sound. A solid gate that does its job without drawing too much attention. I used to rely on a cheaper Donner Noise Killer. It was okay for the money, but let's be real: it was more of a "Noise Subduer" than a "Noise Killer." With the Sentry's full send/return loop, the noise killing is just in a different league. It's absolutely essential for taming high-gain pedals.
The Gain Stage: Prepare for Lift-Off
Now we move into the dirt, the grit, and the glorious compression that makes everything sound studio-ready (or at least, less awful).
4. Behringer CS400 Compressor/Sustainer (The Budget Baddie)
This is where things get interesting. I snagged this BOSS CS-3 clone for clean playing, and for the price, it actually works not bad! It looks okay, but let's be real: this cheap plastic box is definitely not built for professional touring.
5. Digitech Drop
I used to own a Leakto pitch box and while it wasn't bad for its price, it added a weird, unavoidable chorus effect. The Digitech Drop is the glorious (if pricey) replacement. It handles pitch-shifting flawlessly, giving me instant access to drop tunings without having to mess with the machine heads. Worth every penny for the sheer convenience. (BOSS just releases the XS-1 🤔)
6. Ibanez Tube Screamer Mini
This is the heart of my mid-boost. I specifically picked the mini version because, well, it’s smaller! While I admit I like the tone of the full TS9 slightly better, the difference is negligible when the band is playing. Plus, look how cute it is! I've added white-line indicators to my tone and volume knobs using a paint pen. The stock lines were uncolored and difficult to read from a distance.
7. BOSS DS-1
It's the DS-1. It's on a million records. It’s perhaps the most recognizable distortion pedal ever. It's solid, reliable, and gives me that classic, crunchy BOSS distortion tone when I need a little more fire.
8. MXR Distortion III (The Misleading Name)
Don't let the name fool you. I actually like this pedal because it sounds more like an aggressive overdrive and less like a distortion pedal. It's thick, rich, and provides a great alternative flavor of grit to the DS-1. Pro tip: Use the tube screamer at low gain with this pedal, it gives an amazing squishy tone.
The Post-Dirt Utility Section
9. JOYO Preamp House
Okay, prepare for a confession. I used to think JOYO was a cheap Chinese crappy brand and that their things wouldn't last. I was wrong. This Preamp House is surprisingly good! I use it as an amp (cab for the plugging into the laptop) sim. It has a fantastic, sturdy metal casing and the amp modeling is legitimately useful. Seriously impressed.
The 4 Cable Method Shenanigans: Note the second noise gate loop! The Sentry is running the 4 Cable Method: (Guitar Wah Tuner Sentry Input) Loop Send Gain Pedals Loop Return Sentry Output Joyo Preamp. A second loop goes into the Preamp's FX Send/Return and the Sentry keeps the power amp noise quiet too! It's complicated, but it works!
10. 6-Band Equalizer
The EQ pedal is a utility essential, and this JOYO EQ is a blatant clone of the MXR 6-Band. Why? Because I wanted to save some money, and frankly, it does the job just fine! When you need to scoop the mids or tighten the bass, this pedal is your budget champion.
11. Donner Revecho
Finally, we hit the time-based effects. The Revecho is so-so, not bad, but nothing spectacular. I got it because it's pretty small and combines both reverb and echo (delay) into one neat, little package. It adds space and depth to the final sound, which is all I really ask of it.
The End of the Line (For Now)
And that’s the board! A Frankenstein's monster of budget pedals, beloved classics, and inconveniently placed wahs. It’s loud, it’s versatile, and it suits my needs perfectly.
Oh, and for those of you who noticed the "MXR" branding on my board but not the MXR El Grande Bass Fuzz... yes, I also play bass, and that pedal is an absolute beast. I also own a Valeton GP-100 multi-effects unit, which is shockingly amazing for its price point.
I’ll probably write about those two stellar pieces of gear in the future. Until then, keep your tone tight and your cables untangled.
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