I’m really enjoying this setup at the moment. Sometimes simplicity just works. I’ve got everything I really need here: tuner, an overdrive/boost and a delay. Plus a Wah pedal in front when the desire for such a thing hits.

Signal chain is Boss TU2 — Thorpyfx Peacemaker — TC Electronic Alter Ego Tape Delay. The Wah is a Dunlop CAE unit with switchable Fasel inductors and a built in boost if required.

All of that is mounted on a Pedaltrain Metro 20 with power coming from my original Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 which I wasn’t using.

The Thorpyfx Peacekeeper is a low gain overdrive with a 3 band eq. It is spectacularly good at boosting an already overdriven amp, without adding too much colour. I also love the sound of the Alter Ego Tape Delay, although I have had some problems with the foot switch working loose. I’ve done it up as tight as I can and it seems to be holding now. At the moment, my Strymon El Capistan Tape Echo, wont work on this board as the power supply doesn’t have an output that can provide enough milliamps. That will stay on my bigger board for the time being.

That “bigger” board is a Pedaltrain Jr, so it’s hardly massive, but I like this new simpler approach. I have so many pedals now that a cull seems likely. Recently, I have definitely fallen foul of the “acquisition of things” syndrome, particularly as far as pedals are concerned. I now have 5 drive pedals for example. And nobody needs 4 pedal tuners!!

I’m seeing so many players on Facebook groups, posting these enormous pedalboards with 3 Strymons, 4 boutique drives etc etc. However, I’m not convinced that many of them, actually have a clue on how to use all those pedals. Don’t get me wrong, there are some stellar players with massive boards (Steven Wilson, Guthrie Govan etc) who know exactly what they are doing with lots of effects, but I also feel that a lot of players are using effects to cover up some deficiencies. If that makes me sound like a snob, so be it, but some players seem to be searching all the time for a sound, rather than actually concentrating on writing a great song. Maybe thats indicative of all of us players, in that we are always searching for the latest/better sound. Each to their own, but certainly for me at the moment, less is more.