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[Harley Hexxe]

Hey Gang,

   Okay, I had completed this project about a year ago, but didn't post anything about it because it didn't quite turn out like I was hoping it would.
    I was looking here to build the best budget minded pedal board I could build that would sound great through an amp, but also be able to plug directly into FOH mix and sound just as good.
    I accomplished half of that goal. It sounds great through any of my combo amps, but running direct, it's not so impressive. Maybe it's an EQ thing

    I've only tried it in my DAW as far as direct recording goes, but I'm not really gaining any ground on figuring out how to dial this in.

Anyway, here it is, and this is all mounted on a NUX large version pedal board. Pretty sturdy, but I'm not a fan of the bead lock velcro to mount pedals.

   Starting at the bottom row, the signal flows like this:

      JOYO Multimode II Wah/Volume pedal = $79
      NUX Sculpture Compressor pedal = $59
      NUX Cerberus Multi-effects pedal = $300 (set up in 4CM) signal comes out after OD/Dist.
      NUX Horseman OD/Boost = $69
      NUX Cerberus Modulation/Delay portion, then out two Outputs
      NUX Solid Studio (x2)

  Overall, it's a pretty decent fly-rig, I can fit it in a supplied carry bag, and carry it on my shoulder. But the quest for tone goes on...
 

[rnolan]

Hey Harley, wow, nice little setup.  Have you tried doing your own IR with the NUX Solid Studio? You could do one based off your Fender combos, or maybe try one using your ADA rig.

[Harley Hexxe]

Hey Richard,

    It's not the IRs that are the issue, it's the fidelity of the effects themselves. Some sound pretty darned good while a few sound really cheap. The Solid Studios aren't too bad at all for the price, and I think they do more than the Strymon Iridium which costs double what these do.

   I'm still messing around with it though, so maybe I just have to dial it in better.

   The reason I'm saying it right now is because I've got other pedals which I like better because they have much better clarity. Crazy Tube Circuits is one that I've been buying lately, and they have really good sound. Kind of pricey, but so far, they deliver the goods. One that has really impressed me for direct into DAW is the Crossfire. It gives me a clean amp tone right out of the box that sounds really good, plus if has a TS circuit built in which is pretty smooth.

    I have a bunch of pedals that sound raspy or too fuzzy for lack of a better description, and fuzz is my least favorite tone.

[Systematic Chaos]

Aargh, Pedalboards….
I tried hard to build me some and tried even harder to like it, all the stepdancing and such.
Hard to go any wrong with Mooer Micro Preamps (especially the 5153 is really killer).
All my efforts still felt/sounded like they were lacking sth:dunno:
Also tried it with a dedicated Loop Switcher (Moen GEC, that one even has a Solo Boost), 2 different Micro Preamps in the Loops, Keeley modded TS or SD or MXR GT-OD, TC Delay (Nova or Flashback), TC Corona Chorus….eventually ended up simplifying that with an Atomic FireBox and the later an Atomic AA3….
Common Backline Amps over here (my w plus 200 klicks radial) are 5150-type (all iterations, Peavey or EVH), Mesa Rectos or Marshall DSL/TSL/JVM…
If I’m not using my own stuff I just pack whichever OD Pedal I prefer that day plus a Chorus (and Delay) for the loop. Gets me there 99%. As soon as the drummer kicks in …. 

All that being said, I’m currently jonesing really hard for an Engl Ironball SE, Lunchbox (2x EL84, 5x 12AX7) with built-in OD Boost, Solo MV Boost, Noise Gate, Delay, and Rvb…all MIDI controllable (my old Digitech Control Seven would come in handy)

[Harley Hexxe]

I hear you SC,

   But the key here is what you said about the common backline amps over there. At least you guys can have amps in your backline. Over here, in my part of the country anyway, many of the clubs that used to have live bands have shut down since covid. The ones that are left, if they let you bring an amp at all, don't want anything louder than 20 watts. The other place won't let you bring any kind of amp at all, they want you to plug into the PA system direct.
   Over in Germany, you guys are still rockin'. Over here, we have a bunch of neo-maxied zoomed "wee-bees" who are trying to outdo each other as faux trend setters.
   Personally, I prefer my racks over anything, but that isn't happening unless it's an outdoor festival of some kind.

[Dante]

@Harley: I feel your pain. I thought I'd be able to use my Boss MS-3 for that fly rig you speak of, but couldn't really embrace the tone...it just doesn't do it for me. So, I added the 20w Peavey lunchbox head and I'm in business. It's a 2-trick pony, but they are good tricks I use the EQs in my MS-3 to get beefier lows (or scooped mids) in some patches.

I thought the Ritchie Kotzen Flyrig pedal sounded pretty good (with the built in Sansamp pre), but I could not see the tiny knobs/labels on that thing. Didn't know what I was adjusting. And, if I was adjusting...it probably didn't sound right anyway...so...yeah

I guess I'm gonna have to bring a head (or small rack) everywhere, regardless of whether I'm using speakers onstage.

I don't know that there is such a thing as a decent sounding fly rig without a solid tube preamp somewhere in the chain

[Harley Hexxe]

Dante,

   I think a large part of my issues is the fact that I pretty much relay on Stratocasters for my guitar tones. Strats are pretty finicky about what kind and how much distortion you can put on them. I mentioned above that I have the Crazy Tube Circuits Crossfire which has amazing fidelity. I could use that direct into the board by itself, but I would want something like the Solid Studio for power amp and speaker emulation too, just because it sounds better.

   They also have a tube overdrive pedal which I'm going to pick up and see how much I can get out of that for a killer lead tone, and that's the Space Charged Overdrive. If that has the same fidelity as the Crossfire, then I'm good to go. If not, they have one more pedal I might look into for a searing lead tone and that's the Black Magic, which to my ears sounds like a JCM800 on steroids.

   They also have a delay pedal called TI:ME that looks like it has some killer delay ranges.

If that works out, then I already have the Flanger, and Chorus and all I'd be looking at would be the Humboldt Simplifier DLX for the power amp and speaker sims. Maybe a few other odds and ends, depending what styles of music I'd want to use it for.

   I've got a few of the EQD pedals here because they are made in town, but I use them with very low gain settings because they get pretty raspy sounding. I don't even want to go into the Fender pedals I have here, but I will say the Santa Ana OD is pretty cool.

[Systematic Chaos]

Dante,

   I think a large part of my issues is the fact that I pretty much relay on Stratocasters for my guitar tones. Strats are pretty finicky about what kind and how much distortion you can put on them. I mentioned above that I have the Crazy Tube Circuits Crossfire which has amazing fidelity. I could use that direct into the board by itself, but I would want something like the Solid Studio for power amp and speaker emulation too, just because it sounds better.

   They also have a tube overdrive pedal which I'm going to pick up and see how much I can get out of that for a killer lead tone, and that's the Space Charged Overdrive. If that has the same fidelity as the Crossfire, then I'm good to go. If not, they have one more pedal I might look into for a searing lead tone and that's the Black Magic, which to my ears sounds like a JCM800 on steroids.
….

Too bad we’re a sh!load in shipping cost away since I recently put one of mine on the local classifieds…the rare Mesa Boogie V-1 Bottle Rocket Tube (2x 12AX7) OD Pedal works like a charm with Strats…

[Harley Hexxe]

That's a pretty hefty looking pedal. I can't say that I've ever had the chance to try one.