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Pedal Line Friday :: Sid Solomon

Sid Solomon

I'm Lead Guitar for Monica Robins, a kickass singer in Cleveland, Ohio.  We have a Country Band and a Classic Rock Band and play a variety of venues from Bars & Private Events to Stadiums & Festivals.  I've also played live and recorded for Mike Onesko.

I use 2 main pedalboard rigs:  a Friedman 1317 Pedalboard for most shows and a Friedman 1520 board for the larger venues.

I like the 2-level layout of Friedman boards along with the wire routing and integration of his Power Grid 10 & Buffer Bay 6, both of which just slap right into the pedalboard.  The Power Grid 10 is the quietest & lightest power supply I've ever used.  The Buffer Bay 6 is a patch bay where all your cables live and also includes a buffer to push your signal.  You can also bypass the Send/Return and just use an out cable to the amp.  Both boards utilize Dual Lock instead of Velcro as it's super strong and frankly easy to change with a screwdriver between the two pieces, pops right off.

I have a Shure GLXD16+ Cordless unit on a Pedaltrain Nano board that I can use with either rig which also has an onboard tuner, but frankly, prefer to use cables, specifically Rattlesnake Cables & Looms.  While using cables, I'll use a TC Electronics Clip On Tuner.

1317 Rig:  First off you notice the Rattlesnake Loom in Snakeweave.  It's a 12 foot with Amp, Send, Return, and Footswitch.  The cables are color coded on both ends along with the leather labels at both ends.  The cable is a 12 foot Snakehead guitar cable in Black Cherry Weave.  Both cables plug into the Friedman BB6.

Routing Chain:  Top Tier is non-drive modulation pedals which all go through the Send/Return Effects loop.  First is a Dunlop Micro Wah which is switchless, goes into an MXR Phase 95 Mini Phase Shifter, into a Boss Dimension C Chorus then into a Keeley Halo in Andy Apple red.  I'm a set & forget guy, so I like simple mini pedals that sound good.  The Phase 95 is a classic phase shifter sound, The Dimension C is a super easy to use chorus with studio quality results, and the HALO has several settings like Reverb, dotted 1/8 notes, and Rockman that you can easily switch through.

Bottom Tier:  Footswitch is connect to the Buffer Bay for when I use 2 channel amps.  The rest are drive pedals which are all going through the Boss NS2 Noise Suppressor in a loop.  This pedal is fantastic when you use it that way and is dead quiet.  First is a Keeley Mini Compressor.  Great sound, simple and easy to use and can be an always on pedal.  Next is an MXR Duke of Tone Mini set on a very subtle Boost mode only for extra presence, typically also always on.  It also has Distortion & Overdrive modes, the distortion not being as dirty as you may think.  Next is the Wampler Mini Tumnus, one of the best transparent overdrives ever.  All my drives are set around medium gain so I can stack them depending on the need of the song.  Your guitar volume knob is also key to how much drive you give to a song at various points.  This one can warm up the tone whereas the next in line the classic Ibanez Mini Tube Screamer can boost mids & treble.  Stacking the two can go full out hard rock & metal.  Last is the Xotic EP Boost pedal set for a vlume boost during leads.  This can also be used on a completely clean guitar for extra presence as an always on pedal.

1520 Rig:   Rattlesnake Loom in Snakeweave.  20 foot with Amp, Send, Return, and Footswitch.  The cables are color coded on both ends along with the leather labels at both ends.  The cable is a 15 foot Snakehead guitar cable in Sidewinder Black Weave.  Both cables plug into the Friedman BB6 like the 1317 rig.

Routing Chain:  Top Tier is non-drive & modulation stuff.  First off is the Morley Bad Horsey wah which is full sized and switchless.  I'm using some bigger pedals since this is for bigger stages.  From the wah, we go into the Boss OC3 Octave Box which I consider the best octave box I've ever used.  I use the Polyphonic setting, but it has a really cool drive setting for that Pat Travers driven octave type sound. I don't like the newer OC5.  Next we go into a TC Electronics 3rd Dimension Chorus, a knockoff of the Boss Dimension C, but about a 3rd of the Price. Normally an original Boss CE2 Chorus sits here but it's being repaired.  This pedal also sounds great.  We then go into a Boss DD7 Digital Delay which I believe I leave on a modulated setting.  That then goes into a TC Electronica Hall of Fame Mini Reverb which is set on the stock setting at around 9 to 10:00.

Bottom Tier:  Once again, the drive pedals, also through a loop in the Boss NS2 Noise Suppressor as described in the 1317 rig.  This time  we have 2 Friedman drive pedals at the beginning; a Friedman Smallbox overdrive set on the edge of medium and high which goes into a Friedman Golden Pearl drive set on medium.  that then goes into a Keeley Workstation which is a multi drive pedal set for Compressor, Boost then overdrive, in that order as there are 2 options per stomp button and that's the order they were in.  Again, your guitar volume is key for using these drives properly either by themselves or stacked.

You'll notice the front of each pedalboard now has a Rattlesnake Cable Company decal.  That's because they are the best cables on the planet.

Bands / Projects

Monica Robins Music





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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.



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Reviews on Google

Neal Elliott
Neal Elliott
9/9/2020
I was building my pedal board and needed custom length patch cables. My friend Pete Duvall at The District Custom recommended Hank at Rattlesnake Cables. I reached out and he responded almost immediately with a quote for the custom cables I needed, and shipped them the next day! These are great... Read
Hollis Prince
Hollis Prince
9/6/2023
I write a review on something only if I'm extremely inspired to do so by the product, customer service, or whatever. This is why I am writing this. Rattlesnake Cables truly have a remarkable instrument cable, and even more remarkable customer service(I was truly blown away!) I bought a 10' Snake... Read
Joey Gaither
Joey Gaither
11/14/2020
Flawless, no better cable exists. Super durable, great colors, and unimpeded sound quality ????
Neal Elliott
Neal Elliott
9/9/2020
I was building my pedal board and needed custom length patch cables. My friend Pete Duvall at The District Custom recommended Hank at Rattlesnake Cables. I reached out and he responded almost immediately with a quote for the custom cables I needed, and shipped them the next day! These are great cables, really well made with really low profile plugs and seem to maintain signal quality better than the cables I had been using before. The price is comparable to the name brand cables but the quality is superior. Could not be happier, and the level of customer service goes beyond what I have come to expect. I am working out what my other cable needs are and will look forward to trying his instrument and speaker cables. The ones I have seen look cool with the different colored braids and seem much better made the generic cables I have been using.
Hollis Prince
Hollis Prince
9/6/2023
I write a review on something only if I'm extremely inspired to do so by the product, customer service, or whatever. This is why I am writing this. Rattlesnake Cables truly have a remarkable instrument cable, and even more remarkable customer service(I was truly blown away!) I bought a 10' Snake head cable the other day, early Sunday morning. A few minutes later I get an email from Rattlesnake Cables. They made me a video saying that they're going to get started on my order just as soon as the guys come in to work. Again this is early Sunday morning! And as promised my cable showed up at my door a couple of days later, impeccably packaged. Opening the box was a very pleasant experience. The cable was in a nice bag made of some sort of burlap-type material, then in an outer, sturdy cardboard box. The cable itself is super high quality, with Neutrik jacks. It feels very high-end, and works perfectly. I'm very impressed with the quality of the cable, and maybe even more impressed with the customer service!
Joey Gaither
Joey Gaither
11/14/2020
Flawless, no better cable exists. Super durable, great colors, and unimpeded sound quality ????

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