Here is my pedalboard. It is ridiculously oversized with a fair amount of unnecessary duplication between pedals. It works for me as I am prone to panic attacks and so like to avoid changing settings during a gig.
The signal chain is: PAPA Smith preamp > EQ1 > EQ2 > EQ3 > Fission Bass Powerchord > SYB5 Synth > Duality Fuzz > ODB 3 Overdrive > CEB 3 Chorus > MXR Phaser > Wonderlove Envelope > Sonuus Wahoo > Flashback x4 Delay/Looper.
The board itself a Pedaltrain Grande with two Pedaltrain 1250 PSUs underneath. I wish that I could fit the 4-way extension underneath for neatness, but the preamp needs a 24v power supply which is too bulky.
My thoughts on the pedals are:
• Preamp – this is pricey but perfect. My bass has a slightly brighter tone than I like so this gives a little more bass which now growls beautifully. This is always turned on.
• I have 3 Behringer EQs which are for different pedal combinations.[list]
[*]No effects or Chorus/Wonderlove= no EQ on
[*]Emulating 80s pick sound = EQ1 on
[*]Distortion / fuzz = EQ2 on
[*]Fission powerchord = EQ3 on
[/list]
• Fission Powerchord. It took me a long time to get a good sound out of this. It is most effective in rock song solos when there is no rhythm guitarist.
• Bass Synth SYB-5. If I could go back in time, I wouldn’t have bought this, but I get a really filthy overdrive sound if I use this and the overdrive pedal at the same time and, because it is synth-based, it is quite tight and controlled.
• Duality Fuzz. This is a brilliant fuzz pedal and it is tight and controlled and as bassy as you want, too. I use it for a Muse-esque bass fuzz.
• ODB-3. I mainly use this with a lot of overdrive, but a very dry mix to beef up my sound. I find it too messy to use a wet mix satisfactorily.
• CEB-3. This chorus pedal has been overtaken by the Wonderlove in my book, but I keep for a very specific sound when playing arpeggios.
• Phaser – on it’s very slowest setting, this can be quite subtle, with the ODB-3on it is very powerful, if a bit of a one-trick pony.
• Wonderlove – easily the best envelope pedal I have used. I keep it on a pretty gentle setting for a sound that is close to my clean sound, but just a little more interesting.
• Sonuus Wahoo. This pedal does so many things that I get depressed by how little I understand it. At the moment I only use the bass wah-wah effect (which is brilliant) but am aware that it does so much more.
• Flashback – a brilliant delay looper. I mostly use it with a very fast delay so that my sound is fattened up just a little for some songs. I have been known to cheat and set a loop running for songs with a tough bass riff when I have backing vocals to sing, too. Don’t tell anyone, though, because I’m pretty sure there is a law about that! ;-)