In building up my pedalboard over the last few years I have often ask myself, "when is enough, enough?" Do I really need 10 Overdrives, 7 Delays, 4 Boosts, 3 Compressors, 8 Modulators, Midi-switching, and a host of other gadgets like tuners, volume pedals, expression pedals, noise suppressors, buffers, loopers, ... and the list goes on ... and on.
I have mostly answered the question by keeping my pedals and stuff to the maximiun amount of effects that can comfortably fit on my 12 by 17 inch homemade pedalboard, that can then fit in my 13 by 18 inch anvil briefcase. That is enough for me to get a good variety of sounds for studio and live applications and also be easy and hassle-free to travel with.
To make this work, I am forced to make sure each pedal is essential (tool) and that if I'm not using something enough (toy), it's time to get rid of it. So the essentials really end up being 2 boost pedals, 3 overdrives, and a reverb and a delay pedal. This really fits for me playing mostly in pop, rock and worship genres.
This is the process I personally go through to keep my pedalboard small but useful. I tend to use less pedals but I do steer towards higher quality components that might have a a variety of uses within one pedal. My boosts can be used for boosting solos, colouring the tone, or as a light overdrive. My overdrives can be used singularly or in tandem to create tonnes of gain. My reverb and delay have modulation, filtering, shimmer, and looping options to really give me a creative modern pallet of sounds to choose from.
I would suggest this kind of method to any guitarist on a budget or in need of keeping things in a smaller package for travelling or just to be more temperate in ones materialistic spending. I also think that the less I have to play with ( pedals and effects ), the more I have to be sharper and creative in my playing and the more subtle my finger-work needs to be to squeeze out good tone.
Stay tuned for more...
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