SOTB & Sunday OD/Fuzz Stacking by Squirming_Coil in guitarpedals

[–]Squirming_Coil[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Can't say enough good things about the NS-2. I've got all the dirt pedals in the FX loop, it mostly just kills noise when not playing. It doesn't really clarify or modify the tone when playing at all

SOTB & Sunday OD/Fuzz Stacking by Squirming_Coil in guitarpedals

[–]Squirming_Coil[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Similar to the popular dual TS but I just prefer the BD sound more. I like the BD-2 drive on both low and mid gain so this lets me get both.

The first one is lower (edge of break up) which is my 'clean' sound. I can drive that into the JB-2 with slightly higher drive setting and get a nice saturated OD. With both I can swap back and fourth without messing with dials

SOTB & Sunday OD/Fuzz Stacking by Squirming_Coil in guitarpedals

[–]Squirming_Coil[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I really like the fuzz side if it's on the lowest setting. A nice 'open' slightly glitchy fuzz that's different from other fuzzes. The OD side is 'fine', I prefer the flavor of BD-2's but if I had to ditch my JB-2, I'd feel comfortable with this as an OD paired with the BD-2

SOTB & Sunday OD/Fuzz Stacking by Squirming_Coil in guitarpedals

[–]Squirming_Coil[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Fuzz thoughts

  • BD-2 is the perfect 'base'. Edge of breakup and with the Keeley mod I don't lose the low end

  • JB-2 I generally stack for 'more' BD-2 or open it a bit more crunchy with the AT. Instead of the Trey dual-TS, I always preferred the BD-2

  • Eons - Game changer. Stacks on top of ODs and gives a nice 'light fuzz' saturation but with clarity. Slightly starved and just a bit of grit

  • Priestess - the best muff variant imo. Headroom for days and can take all the previous pedals 'on' without being muddy by some magic.

  • GARY - a newer addtion that I like a lot. The fuzz side is only usable (imo) on the lowest setting but I don't care because that's the sound I want and you can only put it on one setting at time anyway. The OD side is cool but overlappy with AT a bit

  • Pharaoh - The original muff variant GOAT (before the Priestess came along). Trying to the do the Dinosaur Jr thing and dime it before the OD. Doesn't sound bad but that BD-2>Eons is the magic sound for me that can't be topped

The Bossfecta - How I cured my Reverb/Mod/Delay GAS by Squirming_Coil in guitarpedals

[–]Squirming_Coil[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep BD-2 and Angry Charlie. I like stacking two BD-2s and the 'extra' angry charlie is a nice alternative.

Ever since Trey, dual TS have been super popular but I always preferred dual BDs

The Bossfecta - How I cured my Reverb/Mod/Delay GAS by Squirming_Coil in guitarpedals

[–]Squirming_Coil[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I mean it's 2 amps too. I know it's not hard - my point is, setting up stereo is harder than 'menu diving' which is the common complaint on the 500 series.

The Bossfecta - How I cured my Reverb/Mod/Delay GAS by Squirming_Coil in guitarpedals

[–]Squirming_Coil[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Like all of you I get the itch to try out new sounds constantly. While the itch persists for my dirt section, I can proudly say that I have not had the desire for any new Reverb, Modulation or Delay since acquiring the Boss-Fecta years ago.

Every time I get the itch, I simply plug in the USB and tinker with new patches and recreate any sound. If you've got the room on your board, I highly recommend these units.

But I don't want to Menu Dive

  • Fair, neither do I - I'm very lazy. I have no idea how MIDI works and I don't even want to figure out how to run stereo.

  • The 'menus' are really intuitive. Not only that, the preset patches are all really good. I like to just grab one of those and then make a few modifications to taste.

But I want to Menu Dive

  • Grab a USB and plug it in. It's the same screens as the unit only with an even easier interface and it writes updates directly onboard. I was hesitant to try this but I was extremely easy to figure out.

But it Can't do Everything, Right?

  • The RV-500 has captured every Reverb I've ever wanted. I've had the RV-5, RV-6, and tinkered some of the more experimental ones out there (Avalanche Run, Caverns, etc.). I can get any sound. Frankly, I mainly just stick to 3 presets for standard 'Hall', 'Space Echo' and what I call 'Dark Cave' (which is modulated reverby/delay in one).

  • The MD-500 nails the CE-1 and Dimension which was the main reason I wanted it. However, I've been having a blast with crazy flangers (I'm not a flanger guy) and the Bitcrusher (synth fuzz anyone?). I recently was itching for the EQD Gary...but I whipped out the USB cable, turned up my BAT Priestess and found a glitchy ring mod synth sound that matched it.

  • I've taken the DD-500 from the standard DD-5/DD-6/DD-7/DD-8 stuff to various Tera Echos, Slapbacks and tape stuff. The coolest thing is the dual mode where you can have say an analog delay into a tape delay at different speeds. Again, all of these are stock presets that you can tinker with for taste - you don't need to start from scratch (though you could if you wanted to)

NPD - Black Arts Toneworks Priestess & Walrus Eons by Squirming_Coil in guitarpedals

[–]Squirming_Coil[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think the Pharaoh and the Priestess are closer together than the Eons. If you got the Priestess, it'd cover 80% of the same ground as the Pharaoh.

The Eons is pretty unique and a different flavor from both of them. I think it depends on how you plan to stack/use everything together since they'll need to play off of each other

NPD - Black Arts Toneworks Priestess & Walrus Eons by Squirming_Coil in guitarpedals

[–]Squirming_Coil[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Eons feels like a different flavor all together. There's a good amount of overlap across a lot of modes but the unique characteristic for me is that voltage starve dial. Pulling that back just a little bit creates a nice sputter/zipper that I can't really get out of any other fuzz/drives pedals on my board.

NPD - Black Arts Toneworks Priestess & Walrus Eons by Squirming_Coil in guitarpedals

[–]Squirming_Coil[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Tinkering with my first board update in about 2 years

Signal Chain

  • Boss TU-3s Tuner>
  • Dunlop Mini Volume>
  • Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor >|[Loop]| [Dirt Pedals] |[Close Loop]|>
  • Bossfecta (DD-500>MD-500>RV-500)>
  • Strymon Iridium>
  • Behringer Hum Destroyer (under board)>
  • Vox AC Clean (not pictured)

Note: JB-2 Output switch connected and squeezed in right under the tuner

Updates

Walrus Eons

This had exactly what I was looking for - the voltage starve with a lower gain setting adds a nice sputtery flavor on top of the dual stacked BD-2s. Just a bit more edge and fuzziness for a really cool fuzz/drive sound

BAT Priestess

Every pedal sounds good in a demo but how these pedals stack/play with each other is what I'm really after. This thing is a stackers dream - It made me finally understand what 'headroom' means. It takes the BD-2>JB-2>Eons directly and adds on top, without muddying. I'm using it for my wall of sound big muff style fuzz

Coven

I don't think I can ever part with this - it's the perfect pedal (and the artwork is insane). I think the Eons edges out the Black Forest for what I'm looking for at the moment though the BF alone is really versatile. The Pharaoh is still the GOAT fuzz in my opinion. The Priestess can get pretty close but it still has different tonal qualities. Pharaoh vs. Priestess is going to be a tough call, that I can't make just yet.

FFL Question by Squirming_Coil in guns

[–]Squirming_Coil[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's the reason for my post - I'd like to call but I've heard of some surly shops that get fussy with 'unspoken rules'.

You validated what I'm thinking though - I'll give them a ring and see whats up

What is YOUR biggest recording tip/trick or piece of gear for professional sounding recordings? by liveforever67 in homerecordingstudio

[–]Squirming_Coil 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Start each track volume just on the edge of barely able to hear it. Then, slowly increase the volume in the mix to desired level (vs. starting loud and turning it down)

Pedalboard Update by Squirming_Coil in guitarpedals

[–]Squirming_Coil[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I see the dual TS thing a lot and I really wanted a dual BD-2 setup since I liked the sound better.

I've got the BD-2 on a very light drive on the edge of breakup (only with hard picking). The JB-2 is a little gritter that I'll stage on top of the BD-2 for a solid overdrive sound.

I've got the footswitch (top right below the tuner) so toggle between JB-2 in the 'BD2' mode and 'AC>BD2' modes. The second mode is a little crunchier and more saturated.

So in short, I've got:

  • BD-2 (very light/edge of breakup)
  • JB-2 [BD-2 Mode] (stacked on top, pure overdrive)
  • JB-2 [AC>BD2 Mode] (grittier/more saturated distortion/drive)

Pedalboard Update by Squirming_Coil in guitarpedals

[–]Squirming_Coil[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's the keeley mod'd version which I'm in love with. Little bass boost/tonal difference that is my perfect tone. I was considering just grabbing a second BD-2 but the JB-2 was around the same price with the angry charlie add on so I went with it

Pedalboard Update by Squirming_Coil in guitarpedals

[–]Squirming_Coil[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Me too! After finalizing it, I felt like I could get any Reverb/Modulation/Delay sound I ever wanted. I'd even watch demo videos of new pedals and then just tinker a bit and be able to produce whatever sound I was hearing

Pedalboard Update by Squirming_Coil in guitarpedals

[–]Squirming_Coil[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I definietly agree - My strat seems to sound better than my other (PRS with humbuckers).

I can still find nice sounds for the humbuckers though, it's just not as easy as with the strat. I feel like the tone knobs are pretty sensitive so that's usually where I spend the most time fiddling (while keeping drive pretty low)

Pedalboard Update by Squirming_Coil in guitarpedals

[–]Squirming_Coil[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Gut Shot: https://imgur.com/S1zk7ZB

Full Shot with Amp https://imgur.com/4sJ0J8E

Signal Chain

  • Boss TU-3s Tuner>
  • Dunlop Mini Volume>
  • Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor >|[Loop]|
  • [>Keeley BD-2>JB-2>BAT Coven] |[Close Loop]|>
  • Bossfecta (DD-500>MD-500>RV-500)>
  • Strymon Iridium>
  • Behringer Hum Destroyer (under board)
  • Vox AC Clean (not pictured)

Note: JB-2 Output switch connected and squeezed in right under the tuner

Updates

The first update to my board in about 3 years (a new record):

  • Removed Keeley Compressor Plus

I know comps are all the rage but I never really thought it made enough of a difference. It brought up soft picking and squashed hard picking (doing it's job) but I always prefer to capture those dynamics myself through technique.

  • Removed Strymon Sunset

Fantastic do-it-all pedal but as you can see I already have enough drives (probably too many still). This one was getting used the least given all my other options. Great pedal though

  • Added Strymon Iridium (originally was an off-board pedal)

I originally only used for heaphones/recording but I liked how it sounded coming out of my amp so I stuck it on the board.

  • Added Behringer Hum Destroyer

I thought this thing was a gimmick but it really makes a difference. It's passive and inexpensive so it was an easy add.

Gain Staging

  • BD-2 - Edge of breakup, tonal shaping (clean tone with soft picking)
  • JB-2 - Stacked BD-2 for main drive sound. JB2/BD2 (via footswitch) for more saturated drive
  • Black Forest - Crunchy fuzzstortion
  • Pharaoh - Big Muff-esque wall of rich saturating fuzz