I think I’m going to start doing guitar lessons again. I’ve gotten so busy with my job that I haven’t really had a lot of time for it, but I think I’m going to work something out. And I want to open up some options to do some lessons over video chat as well (Skype or iChat).
If you’d be interested in doing some guitar lessons (in-person or online) or learning/talking one-on-one about guitar tone and gear, email me at nathanwrightmusic [AT] gmail [DOT] com
Now that my pedalboard has been like this for 6 months, I’m finally updating it on here…sorry guys!
Here’s my current pedalboard. It’s a Pedaltrain PT-3…a little bigger than a PT-2, but smaller than a PT-Pro or my old Showcase board. Most of the pedals are the same ones I’ve been using, just missing out on a few. I did get a Deluxe Memory Man with tap tempo…sounds dreamy.
The weirdest thing about this board is all the delays really. I know delay is “the thing”, but here’s how I’m using it:
Anyways, that’s what I’m running and doing now.
I remember when I got my first pedal. It was the same Boss TU-2 tuner that I have today. I really only played acoustic guitar then (see this post for more about that). I used a battery for it. Then I got a Line 6 DL4 (again…the same one I have today) and needed to power it so I got the power supply. When I finally started playing electric, I bought a Fulldrive 2 off eBay to go with my tuner and DL4. I suddenly needed a little more to power my pedals and wasn’t really sure what to do.
Powering your pedals is a big deal. The way you power them can determine how you sound and your tone…and if your pedals will fry or not. You spend money on your pedals to sound good, but if you’re not powering them right, you run the risk of them not sounding good. I’m by no means a pro when it comes to electricity or powering pedals, but I’ll share what I’ve learned.
First of all, there are a few things that matter a lot when powering pedals. First of all, is AC or DC power. Most pedals will use DC, but some require an AC adaptor (Whammy and the M9 are the only ones I’ve had to use this on I believe).
The next big thing is voltage. Different pedals require different voltages to power the pedal. The most common you’ll see is 9V or 12V, but you’ll occasionally run into some other stuff. If you don’t give a pedal the right amount of voltage or too much, it will either not turn on or fry the pedal. Check the box/manual/sticker on the pedal or online to make sure you’re giving it the right voltage.
The second big thing is milliamps. Some pedals require more milliamps than others and if you don’t fulfill this it can really bite you. For example, when I first got a Micro POG pedal, I supplied it with 9V but only at 100mA when it requires 200mA. It worked fine almost always, but occasionally something to pop and it would start squealing through my amp uncontrollably (of course, right in the middle of an intense, worshipful moment too)! When I realized what the problem was, I was able to fix it but it was a big deal.
Another thing is the tip connector for the pedal. I believe most pedals require a standard polarity tip negative/barrel positive jacks, but some require a tip positive/barrel negative jack on the pedal.
Honestly, if you use the power supply that comes with each pedal, these aren’t issues you need to think about. But if you the power supply that comes with each pedal, then you’ll have a huge power strip on your board taking up a ton of space!
There are a few options for powering pedals. Here they are:
My advice is to get one of these multiple pedal power supplies, but take certain measures to make sure you’re giving the right voltage and milliamps for each pedal. With some of these newer pedals like the Eventide and Strymon stuff, powering them is more difficult, but most power supplies are coming out with stuff that can handle these. I know this is the more expensive option for powering pedals, but it’s worth spending the money to make sure your pedals sound right.
I love making ambient noises and swells in a worship set where it’s needed. Where it’s needed is probably the key phrase in that last sentence. I think it’s important to know when to stop playing. Dynamics are big and you don’t always have to play! Sometimes it should just be acoustic or keys. Or acoustic and keys. Or just drums. Or drums and bass and so on. However, sometimes it adds a little something to play some ambient stuff. Or maybe you don’t have a keys player and need to pad a little.
I made this video a few years ago about a neat and easy way for a guitar player to run some good sounding pads while playing, but I’m going to talk about swells and ambient stuff on the guitar more now. You could go buy all the same gear I have or run the pedals the same way, but that’s not being true to yourself and it’s not the only way (and definitely not the best way) to do it. So this post is not going to be about settings and certain pedals, but how to get swells and ambient stuff in general.
When doing swells, the biggest parts are being able to swell the volume smoothly and having the note or notes carry over while you swell in the next note. Volume pedals are obviously the easiest way to swell, but you can definitely use a volume knob with a lot of practice. Be sensitive to the volume so that you don’t overpower who is speaking or praying over it. I typically turn off drives, but will sometimes have a little boost on if needed.
From an effects standpoint, it’s important that you get a long tail on that note or notes that you play. Most of the time, you may want a few delays on for this. I find that an analog delay with a long repeat and some modulation gets a great swell sound. I use my Memory Man for this, but I really like the Echo Park sounds as well. I also have a great analog setting on the DD-20 that has a long repeat I’ll use with the Memory Man. If you put the feedback or repeat up right before it gets crazy and doesn’t stop repeating, that typically sounds pretty good. There’s also this cool reverse setting on the DD-5 you can use where you put the effect in just a little, repeats pretty long and the time can fluctuate.
I typically will also have some reverb on there. I stick to the modulation setting on the RV-5. You don’t want it repeating forever so that all your notes get muddy, but you want it to transition smoothly between the notes, without any dead space. I also occasionally like to add some octaves (not too crazy but helps with a fuller and sometimes organ sound), or a slow tremolo with not too much depth. If you use a wah pedal, you can also sweep the frequency and it sounds pretty cool, but that’s obviously very hard to do while use the volume pedal too. Which brings me to my next point…
I really hope someday, some company makes a swell pedal. All it needs to do is swell…and be small…and cheap. The Line 6 DL4 has an awesome auto-volume delay patch that makes an amazing pad sound when you dial it in right and combine it with some other effects. What this does is eliminate the need for swelling the volume pedal or knob and it swells automatically. The thing you have to watch out for with this is how it can be sort of choppy and the transitions between chords and notes aren’t smooth. When I had my POG2, I had a preset that did a swell setting really well too, but it didn’t have any tail at all. I honestly liked the POG2 more for ambient stuff and swells than for octaves. There was another setting on that pedal that would keep my dry signal coming through but add a shimmery octave and verbed out sound behind it. All this to say, if you have something swelling for you, it makes it easier to use the wah pedal like I mentioned earlier…and it’s not as much for you to have to do. I’m sure there are lots of great patches in many other units as well. Feel free to share those in a comment on this post.
But you don’t have to have these pedals to play ambient stuff. One trick for doing some ambient stuff is to turn on a few delays and/or a reverb and turn the tone knob back all the way until it’s really dark sounding. You can pick through some partial chords and let the feedback carry it to make some ambient stuff. The DD-5 reverse setting does well with this for me. Try switching the pickups some too…that always seems to give a different, but nice sound.
I’m not pro at this and my ways and tips aren’t the best or the only way to do it, but I hope this helps spring you to discover some new things and share them back here.
Not sure if it was really a birthday present or not, but I just got a new guitar a week ago. It’s a Nash T-57, which is modeled after a ’57 Telecaster.
I had heard of Nash guitars from a few friends. Daniel and Matt both have one, and my friend, Cody, just got one too. I’ve been playing a little bass in Passion Kids at church and had to borrow a bass. Jesse loaned me his Nash jazz bass. The neck and the whole bass felt amazing and I started plotting how I could get a Nash myself. After a little time, the exact kind of I was looking for popped up on Craigslist. Turns out it was a guy who played up at NewSpring Church.
I told myself I would never sell my Tele because it was such a classic guitar, but I think selling a Tele to get another is ok, right? I love this guitar and am super excited to have it! Check out Nash guitars.
Ok, let’s be honest…this is one of those posts that I really don’t have to post. Everyone can figure out how to plan and put together a pedalboard. But there are some things that I do that I thought I could pass on that might help as you’re planning out and putting together your board. Here’s my process:
I would be remissed if I did not give a shout out to my brother-in-law, Kyle Troop, after all the help and hookups he gives me. Kyle owns Dirty South Drums and is a dealer for multiple brands I use. The most frequent thing I buy from Kyle is Lava Cables…especially Lava Cable Kits or extra Lava Cable.
Almost every time that I re-do my board, I run out of cable. Most of the time I can plan ahead and order it from Kyle, but I was in a bind this past weekend. It was Saturday and I needed my board for Sunday morning at a church and Passion Kids Sunday night. Kyle had 7′ of cable at his house and just enough right angle plugs to satisfy that I needed.
I just wanted to say a big thanks for everything, Kyle!
If you’re looking for Lava Cable or almost anything else in the music world, check out Dirty South Drums and order it through Kyle!
I’ve been feeling rather guilty about not posting lately. A lot of times, I’ll write out a post and just end up saving it as a draft and never posting it. Honestly, a lot of my day-to-day now is planning events and such for NCCS and while a few of you may be interested in some cool things we’re doing, most of you aren’t really into it (there are very few Christian School Student Life Directors around…though there are a lot of student ministry leaders). Another thing I’ve considered is that I don’t want to change my audience and the small, humble form of a ministry that I have going on here.
However, I’ve been re-inspired to start posting regularly. I know there are a lot of people who can sign up for a blog and start taking pictures of people’s pedalboards and then posting them on their blog, but there are very few people who can do a guitar/worship blog well.
This guy, Karl, does it right…check out his Guitar for Worship Blog.
Check back soon for more updates.
Hey guys! I wanted to give y’all a heads up that Pedaltrain just came out with the Pedaltrain 3 and it looks pretty good. It could be a good option that’s a little smaller than the Pedaltrain Pro or my Showcase but is still bigger than the Pedaltrain 2. My friend, Matt, just moved to one of these from a Pro and loves it. I think he said it even fits in the roadcase from the Pedaltrain 2. Check it out!
