Pedalboard

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by nhbiker1961

I find it to be the best pedal I have seen for this purpose and I find the tracking is great. I use the mel9 pedal a lot more than the B9. Especially the strings as a subtle background on the slow stumming songs. You can adjust with these pedals how much guitar ( if any) or how much of particular sound you want. I tend to have about 70% guitar and 30% of the particular sound. One particular classic song ( house of the rising sun) I use the B9 and people will actually come out of their seats to see where that organ sound is coming from.

An Electro-Harmonix B9 is now on my shortlist! Thanks.

[midwinter]

I love my B9.

[jricc]

Originally Posted by nhbiker1961

We are playing music. When you get paid to play it it is a show. If you do not evolve with what the venue needs, they hire someone that does. Bands are booking gigs in my area at the price of what a duo should make. If I went out there with just an acoustic, many of the gigs would not hire us back, they are beer salesmen, busy dance floors sell beer. When we play in laid back lounges or restaurants, I may not even touch the pedals, depends on the venue. I have been playing in bars for over 35 years, mostly with a large band, this is the way I survive in an acoustic show where they could care less about your music unless it sells alcohol.

This is so true. If you are out there trying to make some money, and you are doing 3-4 hour gigs, you need to offer some variety. I play a lot during the summer on the Jersey shore. 4 hour gigs, 4-6 times a week. People are drinking and and they aren't listening to a troubadour singing heartfelt songs. (unfortunately) Over the years, I've added chorus, delay, looper ,harmonica and sometimes even a drum machine(gasp)to keep people interested over 4 hours. Do I use this stuff on every tune? No. But after 4 straight acoustic numbers, adding a harmonica gets people's attention. Then maybe the next song, I'll loop a chord progression and play some leads over that. Then another 2 straight acoustic numbers, then maybe a song with drum machine. It mixes it up and keeps it more fun for me too. Just my 2 cents...

[lschwart]

Originally Posted by midwinter

I love my B9.

I haven't tried the B9 with acoustic, but I love the Mel9. I'm using it along with an EH Ravish Sitar for an effects heavy project, and they're just a blast! The cello patch on the Mel9 combines very well with the Ravish.

Louis

[midwinter]

I haven't used it on acoustic, either. I use it with a volume pedal and compressor on an electric.

[Davis Webb]

I have a pedal board that looks about as crowded;

a. Pandora stomp
b. VE 20
c. same looper
d. boss DR3 drum machine
e. passive mixer
f. wah pedal
g. stomp box

Yes, the OP is right. If you are going solo acoustic and cannot vary the sound, its going to get you not hired. Shawn Philips, waaay back in the 70s had the same kind of board, with 6 guitars on a rack and held entire audiences all night solo.

With my rig I can stay acoustic, or throw on the Strat and suddenly have a 3 piece band.

One thing though, OP, your wife makes all the diff. Having 2 artists perform is waaay better for dancing then one. Just more energy on stage.

[janmulder]

Originally Posted by nhbiker1961

JUst that compressor pedal and boost pedal I have is $300 ( both Keeley, not TC), I am not going to buy a $300 processor in the hopes of eliminating them. I have over 75 loops pre-recorded. NOTHING will duplicate the B9, it's one of a kind. The only TC pedal I really use all the time is the Bodyrez, the HOF is only used on certain leads ( maybe 3 songs) . I am happy with the setup I have, I just had to move it to a bigger board because my last one was too cramped and the zippers on the case broke. Like I said, the problem with guitar processors is I will find one effect I love and others I hate and others that are useless. I don't believe it will cover everything I have already covered with seperate pedals. I am all set, just showing off the pedalboard.

But if you would like to send me one to demo, I will be happy to try it out

This is exactly the route I took many years ago. In the past I tried various multi-effect units ... many costing a fine bit of wedge ... but although the effects were not bad they were never great quality nor exactly what I was looking for in that particular effect ... and I was only ever using 1% of what was on offer.

I probably thought EQ is EQ, a compressor is like any other compressor and reverb is reverb ... how wrong I was

In the beginning, for me, the worst contenders were always EQ and compression. So I started looking for external units. To get a good EQ you can spend many hundreds. Same goes for compressors ... it may even be more difficult to find than EQ. Like you, I've gone through a few and have a nice collection. The same could be said about reverb ... it is amazing what a good reverb can sound like and I would never go back to the multieffect unit offerings.

In the end, you get what you pay for in pedals and effects ... which i suppose, when you do the maths, is logical really.

[midwinter]

As someone who just bought a Zoom A3 in hopes that it would solve his multi-instrumentalist needs and simplify the submixing live rig only to find that it doesn't and won't and will be selling it ASAP, I agree.

[janmulder]

Originally Posted by midwinter

As someone who just bought a Zoom A3 in hopes that it would solve his multi-instrumentalist needs and simplify the submixing live rig only to find that it doesn't and won't and will be selling it ASAP, I agree.

You aren't ever likely to find a multieffects unit that can replace a good parametric EQ like your Empress ParaQ. The Zoom ... as good as it is ... didn't stand a chance!

I don't have the Empress but have the Carl Martin ParaQ and AER Pocket Tools ParaQ ... both similar to the Empress just with a different feature sets.

[midwinter]

Yeah, but a boy can dream, can't he?

I'm willing to accept some slightly less robust EQing if it means that the rig gets radically simplified, but it's just not going to work.

Now I'm trying to determine what body part to sell for a Grace Felix....

Originally Posted by Dakedi

You aren't ever likely to find a multieffects unit that can replace a good parametric EQ like your Empress ParaQ. The Zoom ... as good as it is ... didn't stand a chance!

I don't have the Empress but have the Carl Martin ParaQ and AER Pocket Tools ParaQ ... both similar to the Empress just with a different feature sets.