Pedal Line Friday :: Michael M.

My name is Mike and I play guitar! Playing for over 25 years, my passion for music has shifted. From being in a punk rock band in high school, releasing music I made in my basement during the first months of Covid/quarantine, and now sharing my love of guitar and music with my 2 1/2 old daughter, Joni (partly named after Joni Mitchell). Here's my list of pedals (in chain order), why I play them and as a bonus- I'll tell you the nicknames my daughter has for each.

1. Boss SY1- if we're being honest here, I was first attracted to it because I could make sick ska organ sounds. But it literally has 121 effects that range from pointlessly cool to mind blowing. Joni calls this bad boy "Weird One"

2. Earthquaker Devices Plumes- use this guy as my clean/overdriven baseline sound. An always on pedal for me (for the most part). Joni calls this one "Plumes" because Fancy Nancy writes with a pen that has a plume.

3. Sketchy Sounds Shark Shank- great high gain distortion. Perfect for punk. Joni calls this, appropriately, "Shark".

4. EHX Big Muff Pi- this beast was gifted to me and was my first pedal that caused this insane addiction. Joni named it "Big Red".

5. Catalinbread Octopussy- excellent octave fuzz. While Joni isn't a fan, she calls it "Kitty Cat".

6. Catalinbread Many Worlds- this guy is wild. It's LFO madness. I love the envelope up setting. Very funky. Joni LOVES this pedal this most and calls it "Lady".

7. Mojo Hand FX Swim Team- ok, another admission here. Firstly, I LOVE this pedal. It's a perfect chorus/flanger. Here's the admission- I was searching for a chorus, and once I found out that the pedal comes with a drink koozie, I was sold. Joni calls this "Swimming Pool, like Nan and Pops house". Yes, that's the full name.

8. Walrus Audio Monument- amazing trem, so many settings to play with. So good for an anthemic and big solo or chorus. Joni calls this one "Baseball". Yup, idk why either.

9. Catalinbread Montavillian Echo- very cool delay with nice decay and it can get bonkers. Joni calls this "Man", to many worlds "Lady".

10. Walrus Audio Fundamental Delay- Reverse setting. Alllllllll day. Joni calls it "backwards". She's smart.

11. Walrus Audio Slö- my fav pedal on my board. I love the down octave setting the most but they are all so beautiful and haunting. Joni calls it "Moon".

12. TC Electronics Skysurfer- great reverb. My sweet spot is tone maxed out, reverb at 9 o'clock and mix at like 7 o'clock. Joni calls this "BLUE". But like, shouts it.

That's all! I have some real estate left- hoping Santa is good this year! Here's a pic of the board and then my sound engineer/producer inspecting.

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.