how can i scale down on the number of my pedals?

[pintspiller]

i'm looking a basic setup. a setup that will can be used for your average cover artist. i never liked the idea of those multi-fx units, and have a collection of pedals that'd be totally unworkable if i was to string them all up.

my go-to amps are all single channel with no reverb, so od/boost and delay pedals are really a must.

i was thinking overdrive, chorus, delay would be an ideal setup if i was sensible...

over recent years of messing about on my own in the shed that a setup with two od pedals (would save having to twiddle knobs between songs) is best

[monquixote]

What kinds of sounds do you need?

Some people can get by with one OD and a Tuner. Others want 4 different drives and individual pedals for chorus/flange/phase/trem/vibe/

You could consider going halfway house to a multi like getting a jack of all trades pedal like a Nova Mod or a Line 6 M5

You could also get something compact like a Mooer which would let you cram more on a board.

I don't use amp drive so I have an overdrive and a distortion which I can stack for a third sound.

[Viz]

Get a g system for your post gain effects, plug a distortion and an overdrive in the pre- pre-amp loops and all you have on the floor is the g system pedal board and a wah wah

[martinw]

i'm looking a basic setup. a setup that will can be used for your average cover artist.

I've had the same pedal board setup for a few years now, in several different bands, playing everything from soul and funk to metal. On a Diago Gigman I've got:

Tuner, compressor, wah, overdrive, distortion, boost, chorus, delay and reverb.

There's not much you can't do with that, into a clean amp, and using your pickup selector.

The trick is not to try to obsessively clone all the sounds on all the songs you cover, but to develop your own pallet of tones that sound good for each song, are near enough to keep punters and the other band members happy, and are satisfying for you to play.

[pintspiller]

i still want to retain the pedals i have without replacing them. i already have the guts of a dozen od pedals without getting more - maybe i should just choose my faves and have a clearout.

[pintspiller]

thanks for the reply martin. sounds close to what i'm probably looking for. i'd probably be tempted to add a trem pedal or maybe a phaser. toying with the idea of having an acoustic simulator instead of an electro-acoustic.

i agree with not trying to "obsessively clone" sounds. indeed, while in a strictly-no-pedal period, i did enjoy playing a wide range of music this way, i found it boring in many ways also.

as an aside, during my most creative period about fifteen years ago, i found that a combination of boss metal zone, a pearl octaver,a yamaha phazer and amp channel switching and reverb opened me up to an amazing pallet of sounds.

i've found too that my p90 guitar (a modified 1970's sg special) offers more sounds with use of volume and tone knobs that none of my other guitars (gsg gypsy and peavey rockingham).

[Tenebrous]

i still want to retain the pedals i have without replacing them. i already have the guts of a dozen od pedals without getting more - maybe i should just choose my faves and have a clearout.

If your amp has an FX loop, look into getting a G Major 2. It'll replace all your delays/reverbs and then some. TC are digital wizards

[pintspiller]

no fx loop

[octatonic]

Wah -> Tuner -> Overdrive -> Clean boost (for solo boost) -> Delay.

Provided you don't need a particular effect (like a whammy if doing RATM covers) you should be fine in most situations.

[timmyo]

I've been round this loop myself and have got my 'smallest' place yet but finding something that works takes time. Also, your particular requirements (eq amp Master vol or not? Need a spot delay effect to sound 'just so' rather than generic? etc) might make someone else's solution no good.

But fwiw: I run a single channel, master volume amp (with a Brake Lite to help make it replicatable at different volumes) set so its a bit crunchy (think versatile blues sound or basic classic rock sound). The Guitar volume or pickup selector gets me a cleaner sound when needed (I don't need really loud very clean - others might) and a single dirt pedal ;I've used a BB Preamp, AC Booster, Hardwire CM-2, Zendrive clone and recently a borrowed KOT clone - all sound different and can be made to work to be honest particularly as the amp is already imparting some crunchy character).

Between the dirt pedal and the volume control I can get a good range of sounds cleanish through to loud solo sound. Then I have one pedal doing some general ambience (love the El Capistan) and one doing modulation/movent (ditto Strymon Lex)

The El Capistan is handy as I can use a favourite switch to recall a single 'feature' delay setting for one song and set to taste for the rest (it has a secondary reverb control too so can be used as a general ambience effect if needed).
The Lex, Capistan, OD and a tuner fit on a Pedaltrain Nano, and I stick a Wah off to the side. I keep toying with dropping the tuner and using a headstock one so I can add a 2nd drive but I don't think I need it....maybe.

If any of that sounds useful have an experiment. One tip I'd say is this: don't keep flipping between ideas - live with an approach for a few days at a time otherwise nothing seems right