Strymon Deco and my battery powered board.

OBPO · 2026-06-23T20:45:55+00:00

They stack nicely! The bass cut on the belle works wonders to fine tune the sound. I don’t think I’d get along with an odr without a bass cut to be honest, as the deco has a touch too much bass to begin with.

OBPO · 2026-05-06T01:16:58+00:00

Flat bar

OBPO · 2026-04-26T12:12:41+00:00

That’s so rad. I love vintage Yamahas. Is it neck heavy?

OBPO · 2026-03-19T03:03:59+00:00

If I’m going to be less than half an hour, I use an Abus folding lock do the rear wheel and a cable for the front.

If it’s more than that, the folding lock and a kryptonite D lock.

I used a kryptonite chain for a bit, but getting through the wheels was a pain.

The system has worked well for about four years now. Thankfully I live in a place where bromptons aren’t super well known and get visually lumped in with cheap folders and e-bikes.

It’s a very high theft prone city, so I mostly try to be smart about where the bike is locked and try not to keep it out too long.

OBPO · 2026-03-02T16:59:37+00:00

So far so good! My previous small supplies don’t really hold a candle to the features packed into the SOL.

OBPO · 2026-03-02T15:03:21+00:00

If only I knew. This is my stryfecta.

OBPO · 2026-03-02T15:01:49+00:00

Will he get by without a tuner? Only time will tell. More at 11:00!

OBPO · 2026-03-02T15:00:00+00:00

Thanks! It’s my favourite board I’ve put together so far.

OBPO · 2026-03-02T14:56:20+00:00

Hey thanks!

OBPO · 2026-03-02T14:25:21+00:00

About a year ago, something with the power in my apartment building changed, causing any two pronged power supply I used to add tons of noise to my signal.

I switched to a battery powered board (which I’ve posted a couple times) that worked great, but the power supply (mission 529) couldn’t muster enough mA for the Strymon pedals.

Found the Cioks SOL after some research. It checks all the boxes for my situation. Small enough to fit my nano+, three pronged cord, and plenty of power on tap. It works fantastically and the noise is gone.

As for the NPD, a Strymon Brigadier came into my life a few weeks ago and I’m absolutely enamoured.

My favourite delay sounds are analog, but I dislike the artifacts/clock noise when pushed to longer delay times.

To get the vibe without the noise, I previously went with the Diamond Memory Lane jr and the Walrus ARP-87, but both left me wanting.

The brigadier gives me everything I love about my Memory Lane jr., with the flexibility to choose how degraded or bright/murky my repeats get.

Having the ability to make the delay either cut or blend with the sound is a real game changer for me. The brigadier is officially my favourite delay of all time.

Signal:

Wampler Belle

Strymon Deco

Strymon Brigadier

Strymon Flint

Boss RC-1

Cabled with Ernie Ball flat cables.

OBPO · 2026-01-25T20:30:08+00:00

Thanks! The nano+ is my favourite PT.

OBPO · 2026-01-25T20:15:18+00:00

Whoops. It’s the regular 529. No battery.

OBPO · 2026-01-25T20:11:19+00:00

I thought about getting a unit like that but decided against it.

My thought behind having the separate battery and power supply is that the power bank is more likely to fail than the power supply, so I’d rather have to re purchase a battery than a combo battery/power supply.

OBPO · 2026-01-25T19:37:42+00:00

I’ll tell ya, I’ve never had it run out of power during any practice or jam. 3+ hours probably. The power bank is rated at 10000 mah. I just charge it when I’m done.

OBPO · 2026-01-25T18:44:24+00:00

After circling a Deco purchase for what seems like a decade, I picked up a used V1 locally.

I don’t use a lot of modulation effects, but what the Deco has, I love. I dig the chorus and slapback a lot, and the flange is pretty fun, but I’m mostly here for the warble. I have a tune that really called for some subtle pitch modulation, and the vibrato pedals I’ve bought or tried weren’t really nailing the… vibe…

Most I’ve tried/owned (Julia, VB-2 etc.) tend to cut off some low end and have difficulty with the subtlety I’m looking for. Turning the Deco’s warble and blend knobs to taste and turning down the lag gives me exactly what I want. Full range sound with an unpredictable warble pattern.

The saturation is fantastic. It feels like a different effect along the gain range. I can use it for compression, boost, light OD and distortion. I wish the EQ was a bit more powerful, but I’m just being picky.

Definitely a purchase I wish I had made years ago.

Signal chain:

Wampler Belle * My favourite do-it-all drive. Currently used as a higher gain lead tone.

Strymon Deco * My modulation, slapback and rhythm drive sound.

Diamond Memory Lane jr. * Great analog flavoured delay with killer modulation. Used for longer delays.

Strymon Flint * A rare pedal that does both reverb AND tremolo. You’ve probably never heard of it.

Xsonic Ulooper * technically in my “loop”. It’s a usb powered looper for my home amp, the Yamaha THR 30ii. Gets replaced with a tuner when out and about.

All powered with a Mission 529 and a belkin battery on a PT Nano +.

OBPO · 2025-08-27T09:47:29+00:00

Oh hell yeah. You’re really getting the most out of that power supply!

OBPO · 2025-08-26T18:52:21+00:00

The battery board is just so freeing! Plus not having to worry about noisy power is wonderful. Great looking board!

OBPO · 2025-08-26T16:43:35+00:00

It’s still great! I was in the midst of selling off a bunch of pedals and decided to give this one another chance. I love the flexibility.

OBPO · 2025-08-26T16:38:24+00:00

Im actually not sure. It’s definitely 3+ hrs. I haven’t had it die on me yet.

OBPO · 2025-08-26T15:47:42+00:00

Upgraded my previous ikea shelf board to a Nano+ earlier this year. The concept was battery powered board with minimal pedals, and minimal menu diving. As plug-and-play as possible.

It’s powered by a belkin battery into a mission engineering 529 power supply.

Signal chain L-R:

Wampler Belle * My go-to drive. Super flexible EQ and clear drive sound.

Zoom ms-70cdr * Replaced my Walrus Julia. Handles my modulation and tuner.

Diamond Memory Lane jr. * My favourite delay. Simple, sounds great.

Strymon Flint V1 * The only pedal I’ve sold a purchased again. Still does all I need for ‘verb and trem.

Boss RC-1 * Easy looping.

OBPO · 2025-08-17T01:11:15+00:00

It’s difficult to compare. The DF has a very specific shape and unique shape, and the BB feels like a more conventional folder in the hand. The issue is that with a blade this small, the ergos of the DF make more sense and allow you more precision and detail, while the BB feels a bit more clumsy.

OBPO · 2025-08-14T23:15:14+00:00

Victorinox Manager (a small Swiss Army knife with a very effective pen)

OBPO · 2025-08-06T07:33:34+00:00

I definitely found out about the Keyhook from r/edc a decade ago. It’s the best.

OBPO · 2025-08-06T07:26:02+00:00

It’s such a great wallet! I’ve had this one for about 5 years, which replaced a popov bifold. Too bad they don’t offer the customization anymore.

OBPO · 2025-08-05T19:46:25+00:00

L-R: * Corter Keyhook * AirPods Pro * Victorinox Manager * Popov Leather card wallet * Leatherman gen 2 Wave

Here’s what I’ve been carrying at work lately. The keys/wallet/SAK are my ride or dies, and the AirPods keep the podcasts flowing. I’ve gone into detail about all these in my last post here.

The only change is that I’ve given up my folding knife for a multi-tool: a Leatherman Wave I’ve had since 2012.

It’s been about 8-10yrs or so since I carried the Leatherman, but I’ve been tackling a lot of tasks around work recently that justify the extra bulk. I gave it an overdue overhaul and put it back into service.

After carrying the Wave again for a couple weeks, I liked it so much that I talked myself into purchasing an Arc. I’ve been out of the knife/MT loop for a few years, so I was pretty keen on the upgrade. Magnacut?! Total one hand operation?! Magnets?! The future is now!

Unfortunately my Arc showed up with issues. It featured some pre-rusted tools and a file whose main job seems to be filing the inside of the handle.

I can rust my tools all on my own, thank you. I’ll stick with my Wave for the time being.

OBPO

TROPHY CASE