Green stupid guy who doesn't belong on this thread here.

I've never used pedals I need to start building a pedalboard. I saw Bob Culbertson had some essential pedals,.

I must learn about signal chains and routing and effects.


The question is, if you only had three pedals, what would they be?

I have an sy but I barely use it.

I think analog pedals, easy peasy no programming.
Wah, volume, I would love a patch of shades, but good luck with that. Maybe chorus or delay.

Maybe this should be a different thread.

And here are those who didn’t make it to the board but will make a comeback someday

Once again I'd strongly recommend the HX Stomp, which will give you a model of almost every effect pedal you'll ever need, as well as a large number of guitar and bass amp models, AND you can process both sides of the Stick individually and simultaneously through it. It's a pretty magnificent piece of gear which takes up just over two pedals' worth of real estate on your board, and costs about the same as three individual pedals. That's some pretty big bang for your buck!

Hi George...

That Ernie Ball pedal has been sort of a secret weapon for me for quite a while, and I've used it in both roles over time. Currently, it's on my big homemade guitar board, where it's used to pan the processed signal between a Boss GP-10 and a Boss SY-300. In spite of the fact that it's run with little pulleys, it's given me zero trouble in the years I've had it, and it seems to be built of 1/4in solid aluminum plate. You could fight your way out of a bar with this thing.

Do you find the 6 blocks limiting for processing both sides of the Stick? That would leave you with 3 blocks per side, right?

Luckily, upcoming 3.0 firmware for HX Stomp will increase the block count to 8. I think once we get to that point the Stomp is going to be even more attractive as an all-in-one unit for Stick, at least for amp modeling. I'm considering purchasing a Stomp, but there's a good chance I'd also add some additional effects pedals along with it in a full pedalboard setup

I did some small adjustments quite recently : a Boss JB-2 popped up, replacing a Boss SD-2 i had for years. Here's the signal chain :


Preamp SP2 -> MX16 ->
out1 ->Trinity ->JB-2 ->Retrosonic ->DD-500 ->Ditto X4
out2 ->PS-6 -> Phaser -> SD-2 ->DD-500 ->Ditto X4

Then the melody side is feeding a Roland JC-40, and the bass side a Trace Elliot Elf, which is an awesome unit.

Small update, a Keeley Eccos came up... Very funny unit! (I think Andy Salvanos recently played one as well)

Grozoeil, just wanted to say that I thought that was an old cassette tape in one of your pics, based on a brief glance at the thumbnail. In reality it was your Hartke 2x10.

Only elders know!

One item in the list of PROs for the HX Stomp would be it's portability. It is a single pedal with a ton of potential.

Are three pedals enough for each side of your instrument? It's hard to say, but it should suffice to say that three is plenty to start.

The more realistic questions about the HX Stomp would have to include the 400 level college class you need to take ownership of the pedal. It has an astounding amount of features and when coupled with a controller, can easily fit the bill as an all encompassing single pedal solution.

The options for routing are just the start. A standard dual mono set up with 2 inputs and separate signal paths for each side? Running the melody stereo and feeding the bass out of the FX out mono? Running full mono with effects across both hands?

It's a programmer's pedal, so if you are looking for simple solution, this is not it. While you could just pull down other's patches, it would still involve some quality time with it. Further, if you enjoy the "buy a pedal / sell a pedal" model that so many guitarists do, you would be consistently working your board around this single pedal given it's ability to route external pedals into it's chain.

I like the pedal as it feels like it was MADE for Chapman Stick given it's versatility. It's a win, but it is an investment in time and effort, not to mention $600 / tax & shipping.