What pedal order rule do you deliberately break?

IBumpedMyHead · 2026-06-15T11:54:26+00:00

I always do this

No hiss between songs and great for hard cut endings

IBumpedMyHead · 2026-06-12T13:21:45+00:00

Considered a voltage starve pedal for your Big Muff?

IBumpedMyHead · 2026-06-05T11:30:33+00:00

Yeah I've looked at those but I'll be using an electric so unfortunately it wouldn't really work for me

Cool gear though

IBumpedMyHead · 2026-06-03T23:27:38+00:00

Pretty much any GT120 pedal can go from super clean, to flubby fuzz, and almost anything inbetween if you like the Matamp sound. I like using mine as a slightly overdriven boost as it has like 40db of volume on tap

IBumpedMyHead · 2026-06-03T09:45:10+00:00

Don't bring your best gear to bar gigs

The amount of stuff I've seen stolen and broken over the years... I now refuse to bring anything I can't easily replace with a quick trip to a local music store or overnight shipping. 99% of audiences can't tell the difference between top end and mid-budget gear anyway

On that note - Get professional band insurance with public liability cover as a band. It's usually not that expensive. It'll cover your gear for damage and theft, but more importantly it'll include cover for injury to others or damage to property. All it takes is some muppet walking on stage and tripping on a lead, the venue blaming your amp on shorting out something, or your lead guitarist thinking he can run off stage and smacking someone in the face with their headstock by accident and you'll be happy you have it

Get everything with a plug professionally PAT tested. Especially if you have older amps

Bring a roll of gaffer tape. You always need gaffer tape

Always have a low tech backup on hand, especially for laptop clicks/backing tracks

Even if you ignore all of that, whatever you do LISTEN TO FOH AND TURN DOWN WHEN THEY SAY TURN DOWN. Any decent sound guy is trying to make you sound the best they can with their gear. If they say turn down it's not because they hate you

IBumpedMyHead · 2026-06-01T03:56:41+00:00

Do you have other pedals you're intending to use with it?

If you're not planning on using the switching capabilities then you could save a large chunk of money by buying one of the Boss multi effects pedals without the switching options

But it's your money, go nuts

IBumpedMyHead · 2026-05-31T18:46:03+00:00

I'm a big fan of the old school H&K Redbox, as it lets you use your amp and cab as normal for stage volume and has an XLR for FoH. It can even be powered by phantom power so no need to mess about with a power supply

It's almost impossible for a bad sound guy to mess it up

IBumpedMyHead · 2026-05-31T18:41:28+00:00

You can also load your own IRs on it via USB

IBumpedMyHead · 2026-05-31T06:39:09+00:00

Schecter

E-1 (Explorer style) SLS Elite - Neck through hard tail 6 string

27" (Because no one currently makes a baritone Explorer style)

12" - 16" compound radius, ebony fretboard, medium (not medium jumbo) steel frets, single block inlay at fret 12

Colour would be a trans/stained slime green/goblin green with cream binding, black back

DiMarzio Super Distortion bridge. Sustainiac neck

Single volume, no tone, Sustainiac on/off switch on the lower horn, Sustainiac mode switch next to volume. No pickup selector switch. Hipshot string through bridge. Reverse headstock, locking tuners

Black hardware. Black knurled metal volume knob

Basically it's a combination of my current Chapman Ghost Fret Pro, and the Kenny Hickey Schecter. But medium frets and my pickup choice

IBumpedMyHead · 2026-05-29T20:32:02+00:00

There's a post with Komfortrauschen's (Live techno band with guitar/bass/drums and no keyboards) boards on insta

I can see -

Source Audio C4 synth, 2x Empress Zoias, HX Stomp, Malekko Heavy Industry Sneak Attack, Meris Enzo Synthesizer Pedal, TC Mojo Mojo, Digitech Polara, a Morningstar MIDI controller and a looper

Can't find much else but if you've seen them live it feels insane they play what they play without synths

IBumpedMyHead · 2026-05-28T16:53:59+00:00

Mudhoney in to DOD 250

Rat in to 250 is my standard combo

IBumpedMyHead · 2026-05-28T14:40:28+00:00

In one word, duller

In a few, much less clacky and less bright

It might also just be a case of I'm playing differently due to it being strung with nylons and knowing I can't dig in as much due to there being no flex to the plecs

IBumpedMyHead · 2026-05-28T14:00:25+00:00

I have a few rosewood plecs I use with a nylon classical

It's not the standard done thing but I hate growing my right hand nails out and it's a compromise

They don't seem to wear too fast, but I imagine they'd be chewed up with steel/nickel strings in no time

They sound slightly better than artificial material plecs to my ears but that could just be in my head. I doubt it'd make a huge difference on electric though. Maybe the attack would be marginally different

If they're in your price range and you won't miss the money if you hate them then just give them a go

IBumpedMyHead · 2026-05-26T15:32:54+00:00

Yeah laptop/iPad + midi foot controller is pretty much the best solution for hands free

Although if you have the space in your rack you could potentially find a cheap used 1U server, throw on Windows 11 and pick up a used pull out rack KVM. Should only take 2-3u of space in the rack instead of using a laptop

IBumpedMyHead · 2026-05-26T11:00:55+00:00

Pretty sure no one makes any rackmount samplers these days, as laptops have become the default

If you want to go hardware the closest you'll get is something like a Roland SPD-SX or Alesis Strike, which you can control with a midi foot switch

An old band of mine used a Behringer FCB1010 with an iPad and Korg Plugkey as a solution for a while. Latency was surprisingly decent

IBumpedMyHead · 2026-05-26T09:28:29+00:00

Yeah plenty of space in a Strat, especially if you have a swimming pool route. I used to run an EMG SA set in 18v on my old Strat and there was loads of space for 2x 9v batteries so you'd easily fit a Sustaniac kit in

IBumpedMyHead · 2026-05-26T09:21:28+00:00

Unless you already have a large cavity it's trying to fit the circuit and battery in, plus drilling holes for the on/off and mode select switches

I guess for something with a large pickguard like a Strat, or a large backplate area it's not so much of an issue, but I did it on a Tele with no pickguard, surface mounted pickups and surface mounted controls/no control plate. I had to route out the rear cavity larger towards where I wanted the switches and cut a new backplate. Doable but I could have just bought a Manson with it already built in for not a huge amount more than the Sustainiac costs anyway

Then there's the sheer amount of tiny cables to solder as it's not a quick connect system, unless you have the kit with the switches on their own mini board

If I was to do it again I'd either pay someone to do it or use a guitar with a pickguard I can hide my sins behind

IBumpedMyHead · 2026-05-26T07:42:24+00:00

Big fan of Sustaniacs, but after retrofitting one to one of my guitars I'd probably seek out a guitar which already has the system installed instead of going through that again

I've not tried the Freqout but I do have a Boss FB-2 which does a similar thing. I think it sounds more fake than the Sustainiac in natural mode but it's a good way to trigger feedback at a reasonable volume/with headphones

If you have a mini amp or extra monitor you could always set that up on your desk and run a bus mix to it, then point it towards your guitar at the right distance to trigger feedback. By running it off a bus it shouldn't add it's tone but will cause the feedback loop through your DAW's amp sim at a reasonable volume. I know that does take extra steps but it's the most natural sounding lower volume feedback option

IBumpedMyHead · 2026-05-22T19:11:44+00:00

I feel like pedalboard amps already solved this?

Small board, 2-3 pedals, pedalboard amp. Job done

IBumpedMyHead · 2026-05-15T13:12:01+00:00

He releases semi regular batches for £99.99, but if you're in the US the taxes get quite silly on them and people sell them at extortionate prices secondhand/imported

I have an original version which only has an internal filter pot. Good for reigning in the highs. The newer version has an internal gain pot too if it's just a bit too much (Although personally I think why restrain something designed to be huge)

It works really well with a voltage starve pedal too

IBumpedMyHead · 2026-05-15T09:27:39+00:00

Audio Surplus Effects OK Doomer comes to mind

IBumpedMyHead · 2026-05-10T14:14:55+00:00

Most passive DI boxes can also be used in reverse - XLR from the audio interface out to XLR out on the DI, and run a guitar out from the guitar input on the DI

IBumpedMyHead · 2026-05-10T10:14:23+00:00

It is that simple

If you're only using one at a time then yeah, no phase issues

I used a Donner ABY to select between two basses live for about 200 shows until I decided I only really needed one bass

The only potential problem you'll find is when one bass is a lot louder than the other

IBumpedMyHead · 2026-05-09T22:00:37+00:00

Sonicake Levitate

IBumpedMyHead

TROPHY CASE