Boardom March 2014 - A pedal board demo

I've been getting some requests to show off the pedal board I've been using lately. Well, at the risk of disappointing some, the truth is that I've been mainly using an Axe-FX II on stage for the last few months. This is because airline freight restrictions have forced me to but also because the Axe-FX II is really good.

However, I do still use the 'real thing' and this is a board I put together this morning to give you an idea of what goes on. My problem is that I'm spoilt for choice therefore many of these pedals - especially the dirt pedals - are interchangeable and many don't last longer than a few days before I get bored with them and change them.

Other excuses for chopping and changing include the type of amp that I know will be at the gig waiting for me. For instance, if I'm lucky enough to score a Bluesbreaker combo I'll use a Tim or Timmy, for sure, because they were designed for a Strat/Plexi combo (if memory serves me correctly), and they do that job better than anything else in my experience. But they're not as great with Fender-type amps and therefore the Red Jasper makes an appearance today.

The Mobius has proved very useful as it eliminates the need for a heap of different modulation pedals and it has the loop facility which is a godsend. Why? Well, some people, for instance, like to run their Vibe effect before their dirt; others like to run it after dirt. The Mobius will let you do this. Very cool.

I explain the benefits of the other pedals during the video.

Todays tools:

Guitars: Smitty Custom Guitars 'The Hog" mahogany T-Style guitar with Brierley Vintage/Modern hum buckers.
Amp: Laney VH-100R Clean Channel & L412 Cabinet (Greenbacks)
Cables : Providence
Mic : Violet Design 'The Amethyst' (amp) Samson Airline77 (me)
Camera : Canon 60D (me) and Sony HDR CX150 (pedal)
Soundcard : AVID Mbox Pro 3
Computer : Apple iMac 27" i7 3.4 GHz 16 GB RAM
Software : Pro Tools 10 LE, Waves CLA Guitars (slight comp over input track), Waves L3-16 Limiter (to keep levels in check at output), Apple Final Cut Pro X (video editing and Youtube compression).