Optimizing Your Rig (Part I of the Pedal Series)
Originally posted on the S&R Blog on February 17, 2016.
I was talking to my friend about this music blog that I’ve started to bounce some ideas I had off of him. He plays guitar, not as much as he would like to, but none-the-less he has been strumming since we were in middle school. My friend looked at me and said “I think some basics on pedal setups could be really nice” … Yea that’s always one of those really important things that I don’t feel like is clearly explained well.” I guess it never crossed my mind to think about the order in which pedals would operate. So the next few weeks we will be giving you the low down on rig optimization, an overview of guitar effects as well as pedal order. This week we will start off with rig optimization.
This week as we discuss optimizing your rig we will go over what all you can apply to create a rig that is setup for optimum sound and efficiency. As we all know, the more efficient something is, the easier it is to use and more likely than not, your playing will be more enjoyable so you can do more rocking than fussing over your gear. This week we will be talking about everything from the length of the signal chain, the type of cables you use to link your rig and some other optimization tips. So let’s get started.
I cannot stress enough the importance of using quality cables (or leads for our British friends), whether you make them yourself or buy them off the rack, use quality cables that go for all the cables between your guitar and your amp! Think of the cables as the road in which you drive your car on. Your car is the guitar and your destination is the amplifier. You could have the fastest most luxurious car in the world and you are driving to your favorite place in the world but no matter how fast or luxurious your car is, it will have some difficulty getting to your dream destination if the road is poorly built. The same goes for patch cables, you could have on an original 1959 Les Paul going into a Mesa/Boogie Mark V but if you use mediocre cables, you will have some difficulty finding that dream tone of yours. So use quality cables.
Now for the debate of premade cables or making your own, I recommend making your own. There are plenty of cable making kits out there that you can choose from – like D’Addarios Planet Wave or George L’s. The reason I recommend making them yourself is to optimize the length of the signal path. Going back to the cable is a road metaphor, the longer the road the more gas you have to use to get to your destination; the same goes for your cable, The longer your cable, the more signal from your guitar is required to reach the amp due to resistance on the cable (yay science!) and if your guitar’s volume is fully cranked up, your signal will be weaker and thus affecting your tone. So keeping the distance between your guitar and the amp at the bare minimum necessary, is optimum. Cue in the build your own cables!
Building your own cables will allow you to have leads that are just long enough to connect two pedals or your guitar and amp. If you buy off the rack, you run the risk of having cables that are either too short or too long, both of which provide you with issues. A quick side note: Using cables to connect your pedals with a right angle will save space on your pedalboard which will allow you to add more pedals.
Now that you have the lowdown on the cables, let’s talk about your board. Chances are if you have some pedals, you have a place where they all rest. If not, you need to make the investment now, organization is key on this and having your pedals scatter aimlessly around you is going to make things more challenging, not to mention the length amount of extra cable being used. There are a plethora of options you can choose from, whether it’s a standard pedalboard which is a piece of material that houses all your pedals made by Boss, Gator or Pedaltrain or (for my high-tech users) an effects switching system.
The standard pedalboard is straight forward. You have pedals and you need to have a home for them all to sit on and they will be close to one another so that you can cut down on the cable needed (already optimizing) to chain them all together. The use of a pedalboard will also allow the user to use a daisy chain of a power supply (Voodoo Lab and Truetone are two great companies you should checkout if you are looking for power supplies). A pedal board is well worth the investment if you need a place to house a handful of pedals. If you have more than 5-6 pedals or any pedal that isn’t a true bypass pedal (particularly vintage pedals), I recommend using an effects switching system.
An effects switching system (ESS) is essentially an optimized pedalboard. With a traditional pedalboard, the more pedals in a chain, the more resistance is placed on the original signal from the guitar resulting in a weaker tone. Some have come to call this term as “tone suck” due to the vast pedals sucking the tone away. Pedals that are considered vintage, or do not have a true bypass mode, will suck your tone regardless of how long your sonic chain is. Cue in ESS!
ESSs take the concept of stomp boxes and floorboard effects units but instead of chaining them all together, ESSs creates the shortest distance that any number of pedals activated can run through. Essentially if no pedals are activated, the guitar signal is running directly into the amp with a minor stop at an ESS board and no longer has to travel through the dozens of pedals you have in your arsenal. When you are ready to use a pedal, stomp on the pedal and instead of the whole chain becoming the new circuit, the signal only goes into that pedal and out to the amp. The most optimum chain is utilized for the pedal(s) that is(are) turned on thus preventing the suck tone that a non-bypass pedal or a long chain will create. Some of the ESSs can be programmable, too; programing one button turns on a certain number of pedals to create a sound and the next button turns on another group of pedals. Boss, ECPedals & OneControl make great products if you are looking to go the ESS route.
Now that we have your pedalboard and your cables optimized, let’s talk about the other two factors of the rig, the guitar and the amp. Keeping your guitar in tip top shape is a must for optimized playing. Change your strings at bare minimum of once a month. If you play more than an hour a night, I would recommend every two weeks. A good rule of thumb is: “If you cannot remember the last time you changed your strings, it’s time to change them”.
While changing your strings, it is wise to change one string at a time so that the tension on the neck does not alter. Also, now would be a good time to wipe down the guitar with a microfiber rag to remove any dust or grime that has built up on the guitar. If you know how to do a decent setup to the guitar, right after changing your strings is the perfect time to perform one. A future post will cover a proper setup, but until now, if you are not entirely sure how to perform one, take it to your local guitar store and ask them do set it up for you. Last but not least, keeping your guitar its case in room temperature with a 50% humidity is optimal. For the most part, just keep it in its case at your house away from the air conditioner or heater.
Last but certainly not least, your amp. Keep your amp clean, change the tubes every couple of years or if one blows or when you notice it has weakened. Keeping your amp away from humid areas will also prevent any wiring corrosion issues you may face. If your electricity is spotty in the clubs/bars/home that you play in, use a power conditioner (Furman makes great ones); this is an amp saver, trust me.
To cap it all off, optimizing your rig, or even part of your rig, is something all musicians should look into seriously. Using these tips, you can optimize your own rig and get the most out of it all the while making it look professional and sleek. If you have any comments of optimizing your own rig, leave a comment below.
Until next time, let the music play!