Pedalboard: Positively Overwhelmed

Pedalboard: Positively Overwhelmed

Sep 19, 2021

Hey all!

As you had the chance to read two days ago, I won a bunch of pedals. Of course, I went right into it, wanting to explore everything the EHX pedals have in offer. I'm super tired and exhausted from the experience, but not because it was bad.

I'll share some more details this time because I think some people would like to know how everything is connected, and how does Line 6 POD GO behave with multiple pedals.

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So, I'm gonna talk about the process of setting up first, and then say a few words about every individual pedal: Pitch Fork Plus, Big Muff Pi, Grand Canyon, and Mod Rex.

Oh yeah, and about the Dual Momentary FootSwitch.

Set-Up

The most important thing is that everything works as it should. There are no problems with any of the pedals, no noise, no weird behavior whatsoever.

I bought a few patch cables, all of the same kind, and all mono, one TRS stereo patch cable, and one more Y-Splitter which proved to be unnecessary. I was unsure about the FX Loop, and the way I want to go about it until the very end.

I decided that the Pitch Fork Plus and Biff Muff Pi will be in the front end, and the Mod Rex, together with Grand Canyon will occupy the FX Loop.

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I already had a few pedals from before, so the signal chain, looking at the front end, is this:

Guitar>Carl Martin Compressor>Pitch Fork +>Big Muff Pi>Zendrive Clone>Guitar Input on POD.

Now, the back end is where it gets interesting. Remember, I'm using a Stereo FX Loop to connect a modulation, a delay, and a reverb pedal.

From the Send of the FX Loop>Mod Rex>Grand Canyon>Oceans 12>Return of the FX Loop.

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The interesting part is the type of connection done here. Although it's a Stereo FX Loop, I'm not starting with a stereo patch cable. I'm using a mono cable, from the Send to the Mod Rex, then another mono patch from there to Grand Canyon, until finally, everything ends up in Oceans 12, which is a dual stereo reverb pedal.

From there, finally, there's a stereo Y-splitter, so I'm going from Left and Right Output of the Oceans 12 reverb into POD's return. The end of this cable is stereo, to satisfy the needs of the Stereo FX Loop.

DMFS

I wanted to use the external footswitch connection on the POD for some extra control. I bought a Dual Momentary Footswitch, no famous brand, but gets the job done. If you want to use something like this with the POD, don't forget - you need a stereo patch cable, so a stereo 1/4'' instrument cable.

If you plug a mono patch cable into something like this, only one button will work, and we have two extra switches available in the POD: FS7 and FS8.

FS7 is now assigned to turn off/on the complete Stereo FX Loop.
FS8 is Input Gate off/on...probably. This could change with Amps like Placater Ch2.

I've spent all this time playing through one Amp only - the US Princess.

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Pitch Fork Plus

This is a polyphonic pitch-shifter. More so, it's dual, which means you can blend your original guitar tone with two different pitch variations and control how present will they be in a mix.

The obvious first choice to try was one full octave down. Sounds mega.
Then I tried one full octave down + a perfect fifth up. Sounds wicked.

I already created three custom presets, all to detune my guitar, if ever needed. I have one for Eb tuning, one for D standard, and one for C standard, which takes the Strat into the baritone territory. There was a trick to it.

To detune to Eb, I just chose the -m2 interval and brought the mix of that pitch block all the way up to 100%. That means that I hear only the wet signal, the one that's constantly tuned down half a step. For an Eb tuned solo, that I have to record soon, this will come super useful!

Triangle Big Muff Pi Fuzz

No surprises here. When you kick it in, it's fuzzin'! It can be super-deep, or very nasal-y when it comes to Tone control. The Sustain will probably be set low for all my fuzz needs.

But, for a wild solo, this will work on my Strat and takes me very much to some Gilmour tones that we all know and like. Fuzz overall is not something I would normally pick or use in any form, so having the chance to experiment with a pedal like this is precious.

Grand Canyon

This is a delay and a looper in one. Still haven't explored the Looper option at all, but it's a one-button thing, so it's a record, play, overdub scenario.

Now, there are 12 different delay models, and I couldn't spend an equal amount of time with all of them. But, without a doubt, the one that sticks out the most is the Drum mode. What a gorgeous delay.

We have this one in the POD already, an emulation of Binson Echorec, which you can find in the legacy section of Delays under Echo Platter. I didn't know this was the Binson algorithm, and I wasn't biased because Gilmour used this vintage delay unit throughout most of his career.

The sound is spectacular: deep, lush, with dirty and modulated delay repeats. I knew EHX pedals excels at ambient stuff, but I'm super impressed with feedback control on the unit as a whole, you can definitely dial in the most subtle of slapback delays, or never-ending feedback loops. If you want a quick comparison between this and the Echo Platter block, the Grand Canyon algorithm wins big time.

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Another favorite is the DMM. You've guessed it, the original EHX Deluxe Memory Man algorithm. We also have this one in the POD, and it's called the Elephant Man.

First impressions in comparing the two are kinda settling, but the DMM from the Grand Canyon has a little bit more girth to it. This could probably be achieved by bringing down the Headroom control on the Elephant Man. Modulation Depth can be as extreme as we have it in the POD, and the Rate seems quite similar as well.

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Mod Rex

Now, this was a pleasant surprise. I did not know what to expect, or even if I'll try to fit this pedal into this whole setup. Glad I plugged it in sooner rather than later because it's amazing. I can't even explain the level of flexibility you have with Mod Rex, but I'm gonna sum it up like this:

It's a Vibrato, Flanger, Chorus, Phaser, Tremolo, and a Filter, all in one.

Now, everything can sync to the tempo of the song. There are technically four sections on the unit, which is technically its internal signal chain: Filter>Mod>Trem>Pan

You can choose four different LFO shapes for each of the four sections, and you can change time division modulation for each of the sections. I will stop here because there's a lot more.

Summing Up...

I'll repeat it again - I'm tired and overwhelmed with all the sounds I've managed to create by just messing around. Mod Rex going into Grand Canyon's amazing Drum algorithm, going into Oceans 12 Plate reverb that spreads everything into stereo is the closest I've ever personally felt having a Gilmourish tone.

I don't strive for it, and I like to think that I have and ''own'' a personal sonic signature, but it's definitely there. The phasing/chorusing modulation, into a dirty analog-sounding echo, into a huge reverb, all compressed before with the Carl Martin, and then just slightly kicked by the Red Llama (Alpaca Rouge in the POD) is the sound I fell in love with when listening to Pink Floyd. Think Shine On You solos, Welcome To The Machine, Sorrow, Us And Them, Time, Coming Back To Life, Comfortably Numb...

If I wanted to create a Pink Floyd cover band, I think I definitely could with all these elements put together. Even the Big Muff Pi comes in handy then, for a complete overload.

So, honestly, I'm still shocked that I actually got all of this to use every day in the studio. Some people said that I deserved it because of the things I do for the POD GO community. For all of those who feel that way, thank you very much for describing me in such a manner. I'm humbled by your words. Humbled that people find my info valuable, and humbled to win so much gear I couldn't afford to buy.

P.S.

The first picture is terrifying. I'm honestly not looking at it, because it triggers me, and I hate messy cables in the studio. Pedalboard soon.

Thanks again for supporting me here,
Ivan



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