# Minimalist pedalboard!



## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

Okay, after almost a year with just dirt and delay, I think I can say I am a minimalist guitarsit. I prefer quality (and utility) over quantity.
So, not that I have a better job (yeah, school is over and the adult's world is mine!) I would like to put together a couple of effects to play at home and with some of my friends.
I know there's a couple a pedal gurus overhere so I'm taking a chance.

I want a simple signal chain: Wah, dirt, boost, delay. That is good for me. Sure, don't worry, there will be a tuner somewhere in that chain.
So, here's my list so far:

Tuner: Pitchblack (already having it, good for me)

Dirt: Would like to get something like a fuzz face or a Muff variant. In fact I would like to cover fuzz tone like Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour and Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys). I know I'm asking alot from one fuzz pedal (from fuzz face to muff) but maybe there something that can cover them all (Pharao Fuzz, maybe?)

Boost: I'm in love with The Elements by Dr. Scientist. This thing can do Boost, OD and full Distortion. So in love, I'm on the fence to buy a Double Elements to the Dr. so it would be my boost and dirt pedal.

Delay: Still not sure here, would like a analoguish souding delay with self oscillate possibilities. The El Capistan and the Endangered audio research ad4096 are tempting me. The ML Jr seems nice too. I would like to get that spacey tape sound to play some psychedelic stoner stuff.

Wah: The fulltone seems good enought for my needs. Thnink I'll go this way.

So, any suggestion regarding my dirt and delay section? Would like to hear for you, guyz.
A big plus if you have a pic of your minimalist pedalboard!


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## 4345567 (Jun 26, 2008)

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## starjag (Jan 30, 2008)

No wah here, but these two are rather minimalist.

The Keeley BD-2 is a great clean boost. And can also do great overdrive. The PTD mini-bone is a superb, flexible fuzz with some classic tones.









Switch the Keeley BD-2 with a Dr. Scientist Frazz Dazzler and you get this. The Frazz has a dry/wet mix knob that allows you to use it like a boost (dry), and does a great muff as well (when very wet).


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## b-nads (Apr 9, 2010)

Same here. when I think minimalist, I think comp, dirt, delay, bt I play almost all country, so that could cover my needs. With the styles you have listed, I would probably add abother true od or dstortion along with the fuzz. For a delay, the Carbon Copy is tough to beat for the price. A lot of this will depend on your amp and what itès capable of.


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## ElectricMojo (May 19, 2011)

Really cool board starjag!


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

I've had the opportunity to own and use a few delays, from my first when I was 14, the Ibanez AD-80 shortly followed by a DD-3 because I was a kid who didn't know any better, to the recent addition of an El Capistan that replaced my Empress VMSD. I've gone through many, so many, over the years, I had a Malekko Ekko 616 and I kind of miss it, it sounded great, it was analog, simple and had some good potential for modulation. I bought it used for $70 so it seemed cheap and a good investment for the sound it provided the only thing I wanted that it didn't have was a tap tempo option so it went out the door.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

Dr Scientist stopped making the Cleanness, that's incorporated into the Elements now.
You'd be hard pressed to go wrong with the Elements. I'm shocked that I don't have one myself.
That Frazzdazzler is cool too, nice pedal. I'm a big fan of Ryans builds.

Instead of splurging on two Elements, maybe just get one and a boost.
The Cleanness itself is nice, if you can find one used.
I'd also recommend Jeffs Bullfrog boost from Maritime Analog.
It's on his retired pedals list, but may still build you one.
It's a great unit.

I like my Dr S SunnyDayDelay, but again, discontinued.
He was in the process of revamping this one and the CosmicChorus.
I don't have a ton of experience with different delays though.

I just got in my ZVex Double Rock! That's a keeper!
It's two Box of Rocks, or two Super Hard Ons, or any combination of the two.
Three stages of gain for the distortion for each.
It's a glorious pedal...and bit pricey. 8)
This is a mid to higher gain pedal.

You could look at an O/D maybe, with an independant boost on it.
CMATMODS SuperSignaDrive comes to mind. It won't break the bank either.
Use this in conjunction with a medium gain pedal and that should be lots.
(Trying to talk you into more pedals already ).

Quinnamp makes a cool low to medium gain distortion/boost pedal, Dirt and Ernie.
This distortion kind of makes me think of a dirtier PaulC Tim/Timmy.
Nice clear voicing, no mid hump at all. It's your tone, with a bunch of "hair" on it.
Or, switch the toggle, and you've got a nice boost, again, without colouring your tone.

I had a three knob Dyna Red Distortion from Bearfoot FX. I foolishly traded it away.
That has a really nice creamy distortion, Marshall sound. Not buzzy or harsh.
It was just a touch mid heavy for me though, but it did sound great.
There's a four knob version out now, I bet that's the ticket for medium to higher gain.

These are all pedals that I've owned and that made an impression on me.
Hope that helps in some way.

btw, I have several minimalist boards, they're just alltogether in one! :banana:


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## Jeff B. (Feb 20, 2010)

sulphur said:


> I'd also recommend Jeffs Bullfrog boost from Maritime Analog.
> It's on his retired pedals list, but may still build you one.


It's on it's way back soon in a tiny "A" size enclosure. I was working on it today actually and it will be one of the Lil' Stompers I mentioned on Facebook.

Very nice board you have there. Ryan does build great pedals both inside and out and he offers a birthday discount.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Here's a pretty minimalist "board" I'm getting close to finishing. It's a Ross compressor, a modded TS-808 (more bass), and a Rebote 2.5 delay (PT2399-based with somewhere over a half-second of delay). Built into a 3-button Sunn amp footswitch box I picked up cheap in a pawnshop years ago in Billings Montana. Only thing I don't like about it is that I didn't leave room for an external loop.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

My idea of a minimalist depends on what amp I have. It would have to have reverb. It the amp is clean, then it would be - wah, dirt 1, dirt 2, chorus. If it was an amp with a good clean and crunch channel, then it would be - wah, dirt, chorus. I'm still trying to figure delay out - there seems to be about a few dozen different things you can do with it.


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

There's some good advices! I'll take a look at all those suggestions.

@Robert: You're right about the amp, since I only have one amp, my pedalboard stay pretty concistant. Reverb is a no no, for me...


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## georgemg (Jul 17, 2011)

I have a Diamond Memory Lane Jr on my small/minimalist board and like it a lot. It's a great sounding pedal and is really easy to dial in. The tap/double button works well for my needs. I can set up a nice quarter note repeat and hold down the button to go to a slap back delay.

I don't use a wah a lot currently but I did have a Fulltone for a couple of years. Liked the sound but found the pedal sweep was a bit of an adjustment after having played a Cry Baby for years. I heard Gearmandude say the same thing in one of his reviews, so it might be something to consider if previously played a Cry Baby or other similar wah (like a Vox, etc).

I added a picture of my small board (and yes, it has changed yet again since I posted it a month ago in the Show Your Pedalboard thread). I mostly play Classic Rock and Country, and this covers 95% of the bases for me. Still looking for a boost myself. I'll likely go with an EP Booster, mostly for size reasons. I had a Keeley Katana in the past and kind of regret selling it. At the time I thought I needed a boost with more tonal adjustability. Looking back though, it had a great boosted sound that didn't need a lot of adjusting.


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