More in the 'stories of minimalism' series

[Orvillain]

So tonight was:

Lehle Mono Volume
Dunlop Crybaby 535Q
TC Electronics Polytune 2 Mini
Boss DD-8
Boss RV-5
MXR Reverb

And tbh, I did not struggle to get what I wanted. I spent a bit of time tweaking the knobs every now and then, but it was no hardship. This is quite a difference compared to what sort of patches I ran on my Helix from 2016-2021, and the kinds of patches I've been assembling on the Axe FX III.

I did have the Boss DM-101 as well, but tbh tonight I didn't use it once.

I think writing songs with the band, and sacking off my GigRig G3 switcher, and going back to tap dancing... it has sort of given me a trend towards keeping stuff minimal, and I really like it.

 

[Frodebro]

I tend to just use my FM9 with the band, but every once in a while I also like to mix things up just for my amusement. The most minimalist rig I've used at a rehearsal was plugging straight into my PRS HDRX 20 and riding the guitar volume. That worked well for the 60s and 70s songs we do, but it wasn't quite appropriate for newer stuff. But it was a good exercise nonetheless...

 

[la szum]

Time spent with the rest of the band is SO precious. I am all about using it to write and
create and hone in on playing together. Nothing should get in the way of that. So, fuck
tweaking and complexity in that context. I'll murder someone for that shit.

Save the maximalism for some other time.

 

[SillyOctpuss]

 

[dbagchee]

Only one delay?!

Seriously though that’s awesome - sometimes (most of the time) simpler just removes all the distraction so you can focus on the song.

 

[riffy]

Crap man, that is a down right plethora of options! Right now I am using a TS into a Tonex pedal into a source audio collider. That’s my whole pedlalboard.
As a matter of fact, for my past, probably 22 gigs, that’s been my whole rig! With the exception of a guitar, of course. Or maybe two guitars. I always take a shredder guitar, a PRS and a Tele!

 

[newpedals]

I am kind of a minimalist also. The reasons I decided to be one is because I can't afford expensive pedals, I also have to sing while playing guitar, and I am clumsy when it comes to tap dancing. I only use TU-3 > Charlie Brown > SD-1 with my hardtail HSS strat plugged into a small supro amp.

Since you had used a multi effects unit earlier, you may initially feel weird. Earlier when you changed the patch, you could have created presets which completely changed your tone.

YMMV, but you will be surprised to switch reverb off and find that your sound is more "up front". Most venues have some natural reverb, unless you are performing in an acoustically dead space.

Delay could be more useful if you want to highlight certain parts of a song. I don't use a delay pedal because I am not good at turning it on and off while singing and playing guitar. You can swap your DD-8 for a pedal with presets if you need different kinds of delay in your set.

DM-101 has dedicated footswitch for tap tempo, so it seems more useful than a DD-8. DD-8 has a +reverb mode, so if you won't use reverb often, you can gig with just a single delay pedal.

Ernie Ball used to make a volume pedal with an inbuilt tuner. I don't know if they still do, or if its accurate. You can replace your volume and tuner pedals with this single unit, if you wanna go more minimalist.

If you use reverb more often than delay, RV-6 has a +delay mode as you know. I am just 23 yo. Much more experienced forum members will help you out as usual.

Best wishes on downsizing.

 

[Eagle]

So tonight was:

Lehle Mono Volume
Dunlop Crybaby 535Q
TC Electronics Polytune 2 Mini
Boss DD-8
Boss RV-5
MXR Reverb

And tbh, I did not struggle to get what I wanted. I spent a bit of time tweaking the knobs every now and then, but it was no hardship. This is quite a difference compared to what sort of patches I ran on my Helix from 2016-2021, and the kinds of patches I've been assembling on the Axe FX III.

I did have the Boss DM-101 as well, but tbh tonight I didn't use it once.

I think writing songs with the band, and sacking off my GigRig G3 switcher, and going back to tap dancing... it has sort of given me a trend towards keeping stuff minimal, and I really like it.

What made you want the ditch the G3?
Not that I don’t like simple. If you have a great core tone you don’t need much unless you’re playing covers.

 

[Orvillain]

What made you want the ditch the G3?
Not that I don’t like simple. If you have a great core tone you don’t need much unless you’re playing covers.

A few things really. Right now I'm oscillating between wanting a small board or a large board, and often enough recently whenever I've taken a large board to practice, I've not enjoyed myself as much as having just a few selected pedals. I was finding myself quickly reprogramming the G3 every practice, because there were changes I wanted to make. It's just much easier to make changes on the fly when you tap dance.

There were a few rehearsals towards the end of last year that I didn't enjoy as much, because I had a fairly big board with the G3, midi to switch presets on pedals and the amp, all the rest of it.

And at the moment at least, I'm just enjoying not having to think about any of that. Bend down. Turn some knobs. Go.

 

[newpedals]

Unless one has a financial issue, I don't think anyone should sell their gear unless they have tested the newly acquired gear by using it for a few months.

Once you assemble a large-ish pedalboard, you will soon think of incorporating your switching system with it again.

Try to leave your pedals on settings which you can use for most part of your set. If you have to set them up specifically for a certain song, take a pic of the knob positions for it and save it on your phone.

 

[laxu]

Have you considered replacing the G3 with a Morningstar ML5 and some MIDI controller you like? The ML5 is dead simple with no fancy routing options or anything, just loops on/off.

I did end up just going with MIDI controlled Strymons because then I don't need a loop switcher at all, I can still use the pedal footswitches if I want, or use a MIDI controller for presets.

 

[metropolis_4]

I go through minimalist phases quite a bit. It’s fun and I find it usually pushes me to be more creative. Usually I end up discovering I don’t need nearly as much as I think I do.

These are a few of my minimalist setups I gigged with in the past

 

[newpedals]

I go through minimalist phases quite a bit. It’s fun and I find it usually pushes me to be more creative. Usually I end up discovering I don’t need nearly as much as I think I do.

These are a few of my minimalist setups I gigged with in the past

View attachment 38879
View attachment 38880
View attachment 38881

Is the one after dynacomp a clean boost?

 

[metropolis_4]

Is the one after dynacomp a clean boost?

Yes, I think it was an EHX LPB-1 circuit

 

[JiveTurkey]

Orv; I think miminalist route is the way forward for you. You seem to keep coming back around to it and I think it really fits how you work.

 

[the swede]

So tonight was:

Lehle Mono Volume
Dunlop Crybaby 535Q
TC Electronics Polytune 2 Mini
Boss DD-8
Boss RV-5
MXR Reverb

And tbh, I did not struggle to get what I wanted. I spent a bit of time tweaking the knobs every now and then, but it was no hardship. This is quite a difference compared to what sort of patches I ran on my Helix from 2016-2021, and the kinds of patches I've been assembling on the Axe FX III.

I did have the Boss DM-101 as well, but tbh tonight I didn't use it once.

I think writing songs with the band, and sacking off my GigRig G3 switcher, and going back to tap dancing... it has sort of given me a trend towards keeping stuff minimal, and I really like it.

 

[Orvillain]

Orv; I think miminalist route is the way forward for you. You seem to keep coming back around to it and I think it really fits how you work.

Yeah, mostly. I definitely go through phases. If I ignore a lot of the Helix-specific shit I did on our last album, because honestly, I'll probably not bother with weird blended pitch effects and the like. Not feeling it right now.

Volume:
Lehle Mono Volume is here to stay. It is big, but sounds great. Works well as a front end buffer too.

Wah:
I have two options. bb535 and 535Q. I really dig them both. I've pondered buying another Budda Wah too, coz I used to use that back in the day and I really liked it. Quite different though.

Delay:
- I will always want a basic digital delay set to a quarter note. DD8 or DD3 (DD3T if I want tap tempo) does this for me.
- Reverse delay holds a special place in my heart. I have to have it. I like stacking it very subtly with the digital delay.
- I really love having an analog delay variation for certain parts. The DM101 sounds great, but the pedal is quite big.

Either I have two multi-delay pedals and do midi switching bollocks to achieve the above... or I just have 3 pedals that can do external tap tempo or midi clock.

Reverb:
- I need a bread and butter hall reverb, something not too subtle, but also not overpowering. Boss RV-5 does this very well; with the option to switch to the modulate algorithm.
- A more subtle plate, which just sits in the background of some cleans. MXR Reverb does this very well, but also... it is such a powerful pedal, almost seems like a waste.
- A huge atmospheric "pluck one note and get a 40 second mad wash" type of reverb. MXR Reverb can do this on the Epic and Mod settings. But I also think there may be other options.


I don't really need any drives. I don't really need any modulation effects, although I do like the phase 90 and Boss BF-2 a lot.

 

[Jarick]

My exercise in minimalism today was to run my guitar into my Boss IR-2 and then into my UAD Apollo getting a little slap delay and reverb from a Space Echo plugin.

While working at home, I don't really have the time or energy to fuss with guitar beyond just picking it up and playing for a few minutes. So I tend to just use whatever it's currently plugged into. The Axe 3 takes more than two seconds to mess around and change settings, so I just ran the guitar into the Boss pedal where everything is WYSIWYG. And then a little delay and reverb always on from the sound card so it's not as dry.

That works awesome honestly, there's no messing around. I just have a slightly dirty sound and then a very dirty sound and then my guitar volume knob.

Has me looking again at the beast of a Boss board I built and thinking I probably need just a couple simple pedals again lol

 

[newpedals]

Yeah, mostly. I definitely go through phases. If I ignore a lot of the Helix-specific shit I did on our last album, because honestly, I'll probably not bother with weird blended pitch effects and the like. Not feeling it right now.

Volume:
Lehle Mono Volume is here to stay. It is big, but sounds great. Works well as a front end buffer too.

Wah:
I have two options. bb535 and 535Q. I really dig them both. I've pondered buying another Budda Wah too, coz I used to use that back in the day and I really liked it. Quite different though.

Delay:
- I will always want a basic digital delay set to a quarter note. DD8 or DD3 (DD3T if I want tap tempo) does this for me.
- Reverse delay holds a special place in my heart. I have to have it. I like stacking it very subtly with the digital delay.
- I really love having an analog delay variation for certain parts. The DM101 sounds great, but the pedal is quite big.

Either I have two multi-delay pedals and do midi switching bollocks to achieve the above... or I just have 3 pedals that can do external tap tempo or midi clock.

Reverb:
- I need a bread and butter hall reverb, something not too subtle, but also not overpowering. Boss RV-5 does this very well; with the option to switch to the modulate algorithm.
- A more subtle plate, which just sits in the background of some cleans. MXR Reverb does this very well, but also... it is such a powerful pedal, almost seems like a waste.
- A huge atmospheric "pluck one note and get a 40 second mad wash" type of reverb. MXR Reverb can do this on the Epic and Mod settings. But I also think there may be other options.


I don't really need any drives. I don't really need any modulation effects, although I do like the phase 90 and Boss BF-2 a lot.

From what I have read about the DD-8, setting tap tempo on it is a little harder than on the DD-7. If you don't use the DD-8's +reverb setting anyway, you can swap it for a DD-7. Some players also think that it's analog delay simulation is better than DD-8. Will help you save a spot on your board.

You can go for delay+reverb combo pedals like collider, older Boss RV-3, Del-verb, Grand canyon etc. but for that you will have to like all the algorithms on them.

Instead of having multiple reverb pedals on your board, you can go for one with options like RV-200, oceans 11 or 12. If you like reverb more than delay (like me), as you know some of these also have delays as secondary features.

One of my friends has many EHX pedals. It is his observation that they are less noisy if powered by their power supplies (wall wart type). Boss pedals are not so fussy about power usually. I have not recommended TC products because of my poor experience with their footswitches. YMMV.

I had read a lot about pedals before switching from a worn out partscaster to a hardtail HSS strat. I had thought of buying a much cheaper guitar and spending more on pedals, but decided to do the reverse instead.

 

[Orvillain]

From what I have read about the DD-8, setting tap tempo on it is a little harder than on the DD-7. If you don't use the DD-8's +reverb setting anyway, you can swap it for a DD-7. Some players also think that it's analog delay simulation is better than DD-8. Will help you save a spot on your board.

You can go for delay+reverb combo pedals like collider, older Boss RV-3, Del-verb, Grand canyon etc. but for that you will have to like all the algorithms on them.

Instead of having multiple reverb pedals on your board, you can go for one with options like RV-200, oceans 11 or 12. If you like reverb more than delay (like me), as you know some of these also have delays as secondary features.

One of my friends has many EHX pedals. It is his observation that they are less noisy if powered by their power supplies (wall wart type). Boss pedals are not so fussy about power usually. I have not recommended TC products because of my poor experience with their footswitches. YMMV.

I had read a lot about pedals before switching from a worn out partscaster to a hardtail HSS strat. I had thought of buying a much cheaper guitar and spending more on pedals, but decided to do the reverse instead.

Yup, the DD7 is a great pedal. In some ways better than the DD8 because the digital modes also select the tap division; so if you want a quarter you select one mode, an eighth or dotted have their own modes. You can't really do that on the DD8 without messing around with unplugging cables.

Personally I prefer the analog mode of the DD8 over the DD7, and the DD8 has a really nice tape mode too. The reverse mode is about the same, and I don't really gel well with the modulate mode on either of them. The modulation is too strong for me.