GUITAR
I MADE A NEW PEDALBOARD | James Duke
A couple weeks ago I was bored and decided to make a totally new pedalboard and use it for a month . You know , just to see what would happen . I grabbed an empty board and went to the pedal shelf and started looking over the options . I took an old Ibanez TS-9 , a Chasebliss Audio Automatone Preamp Mk II , a volume pedal , Boss Flanger , Chasebliss Audio Tonal Recall analog delay , Boss RV-5 reverb , and a Boss tuner . It was a pretty minimal , albeit kind of fancy , pedalboard setup . I was excited to have a stripped-down board for a while .
I probably didn ’ t need the Tube Screamer , but it was sort of my safety blanket . Sure , I could have gone without it , but I have never had a pedalboard that didn ’ t have a Tube Screamer , and I ’ m not about to start now . I ’ m old . Maybe a little set in my ways . I digress .
I was most excited about the new Chasebliss Preamp . I ’ ve used it in my studio and really liked it , but this was going to be a new experience using it live . The flanger was recently given to me and I was excited to have that instead of a chorus style modulation . Fun fact , the first pedal I owned was a flanger . Which , in hindsight , is a curious choice of effect to employ before say , a delay pedal , chorus pedal , or a tuner pedal . But , the heart wants what it wants . I was 15 and my heart wanted flange .
After that , I needed a volume pedal . So I went with a trusty Ernie Ball VP Jr . For delay , I chose the Chasebliss Audio Tonal Recall analog delay because it has up to a second of delay and tap tempo . The Tonal Recall can do a lot and it sounds great . The RV-5 was there because it still , to this day , has the best modulated reverb in the world . It ’ s a fact . Don ’ t get mad at me , I didn ’ t make it . I wrapped up the pedalboard with a Boss tuner . Simple . Easy .
I had to play at my church the next morning , so I threw it in a case and that was that . I didn ’ t even check it to see if it worked or not . I don ’ t remember why I thought that was a good idea , but it ’ s what happened . I must have been feeling very confident in myself and my pedal board wiring capabilities . If you ’ ve ever played music with me , you ’ ve probably seen me tearing my board apart because something isn ’ t working right . It happens a lot . Not this time , though .
I showed up to church the next morning , plugged in to the board and it worked ! First time ! The celebration was short lived as I then realized that I had no idea what everything was going to sound like , all together . So I spent a couple of minutes finding some cool sounds in the Chasebliss preamp . I found a couple settings I liked , tweaked the delay to my liking , and decided that it was all going to be fine .
To be fair , It sounded really different than what I was used to . I wasn ’ t sure I liked it . It didn ’ t sound bad , just different . My overdrives all sounded a lot brighter , and less compressed . The delay was darker and not as defined . Flange … flange makes everyone laugh as soon as they hear it . The sounds were all new to my ears . I went with it and it was a blast , and it sounded good . I bet nobody else noticed
any difference . Musicians tend to think that everything they do is under everyone else ’ s microscope . It ’ s not . Everyone else in the band is worried about themselves . They hear you play good , not how dark or bright your delay sounds .
One thing I liked about it was it kept me on my toes . I had to be more intentional about what I was doing because I didn ’ t have a bunch of my “ stock ” sounds to go to . I felt more limited because I didn ’ t have dual delays , tremolo , and all the other weird stuff I typically use . I didn ’ t have a bpm display to see if the delay was in time . I had to use my ears like the old days .
New inspiration can be hard to find , especially when you find yourself in the same situations week after week . Sometimes all it takes is grabbing a different guitar or , in my case , pedalboard . Try it . Let me know what happens . Go play guitar .
James Duke James is a musician , songwriter , and producer from Jacksonville Beach , Florida . Most known for playing guitar alongside artists like John Mark McMillan , Matt Redman , Johnnyswim , and Steven Curtis Chapman , James also records his own music under the name All The Bright Lights . He currently lives in Nashville , Tennessee with his wife and 3 kids ..