Pedal Line Friday :: Michael H.

If you don’t like how your instrument sounds, then you’re not going to be able to play your best. Tones I’m comfortable with are a non-negotiable for me. I have a smaller board than this for simpler bar/hired gun gigs, but for my main bands (LVVRS and some working variety bands), this is what I use.

First in my signal chain is the Shure GLX16+. It’s a phenomenal wireless unit with a built-in tuner. There’s also a ¼ input as a backup in case there’s too much interference to go wireless (which never happens). From there, I go into my Dunlop 95Q wah pedal. This wah is great because of the auto-on feature. It’s automatically on if your foot is on it, so you don’t have to press a button to toggle it. I frequently as a filter sweep. From there, my signal goes into the Boss ES-8, the brains of my board.

Whenever I’m performing a show live, I need my sounds to change drastically quickly, and I absolutely hate pedal dancing on stage. The Boss ES-8 allows me to toggle multiple loops on/off as well as send MIDI commands in just the push of a single button. I can program MIDI commands into the tracks of the bands I play with so that those patch changes can be triggered automatically. Sometimes I’ll be vibing with the audience right before a solo or hitting some choreography. This allows me not to have to stop what I’m doing just to go push a button on my board. Additionally, I can manually create sounds on the fly live if I have an idea in the moment. Paired with the ES-8 is my Dunlop Volume X set as an expression pedal to control different parameters via MIDI through the ES-8 per patch.

All the other pedals in my board are in the ES-8’s multiple loops. First, I have the Empress Compressor MKII. My favorite feature of this pedal is the LEDs that show you the gain reduction in real time. It looks cool and can also be helpful when changing settings during a loud soundcheck with a quick visual. Next is the MXR Rockman x100 pedal. I’ll swap out different distortions and overdrives on the board, but right now I’ve been on a big 80s guitar tone kick, and this gets that sound perfectly. Loop 3 has my Strymon Iridium, which I use for my amp sounds triggered via MIDI from the ES8. Fourth loop is the Vertex Boost v2, which is a great transparent solo boost. Fifth loop is the best Instagram ad I’ve gotten: The Pill Pedal. It’s a live ducking pedal. I’ll trigger the sidechain with the kick drum or even the click track. Couple that with a tremolo for some dance rave madness. Second to last is the Eventide H9 Max, my swiss army knife modulation pedal (run in stereo and MIDI triggered). And finally is the Source Audio Collider Delay + Reverb (run in stereo and MIDI triggered). This pedal sounds absolutely incredible. The delays and the reverbs are absolutely top knotch and to have both in one pedal is just insane. 

I can route this directly to FOH in stereo and also to an amp for stage volume if necessary. All my routing is on the side built into the board using Temple Audio’s mod system.

Coolest personal touch is a USB on the right-hand side to charge my phone at the gig!

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Submit Your Pedal Line!

About a million years ago, I used to run a blog called EffectsBay. On that blog, the most popular feature I would run was Pedal Line Friday. This is where readers of the site would send pics of their pedalboard and a short (sometimes long) write-up of routing and thoughts about specific pedals and the reasoning why they liked it, etc. Readers. loved this. It was a great way to learn about new applications or techniques regarding pedals. It also brought a little inspiration and knowledge about pedals you were not familiar with. It also brought a great sense of community - people like sharing and absorbing cool things, right? It was a super popular feature, and I loved putting them together.

All you have to do is send a pic of your pedalboard (or pedal line - it doesn't have to be on a board) along with a short (or long) write-up of the board. We want a list of pedals (manufacturer/model), routing would be great, and, most importantly, why you use those particular pedals. Also, this is a great way to promote your band or musical project - include that information as well!

You can send the pic and the write-up to pedalline@rattlesnakecables.com.