Pedal Line Friday :: John T

Amp: Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue

Board: Pedaltrain Classic 1 22" x 12.5"

Power Source: Strymon Zuma 9-output Power Supply

Cables: Rattlesnake 10' Snakehead Purple + 10' Standard Purple; Rattlesnake patch cables.

Front of Amp:

1. TC Electronics Polytune 3 Tuner with Buffer
2. Jam Pedals Chill Sine-Wave Tremolo
3. Catalinbread Valcoder Valco-Style Tremolo
4. Catalinbread Topanga Spring Reverb

Project: Surf, Spaghetti Western, Spy & other Instrumentals.

YouTube Channel: Apache (Cover) - The Shadows

Bio:

In the spring of 2021, I was jamming with my friends Brian (Stratocaster) and Lewis (drums) in Lewis' basement studio. I had my acoustic Martin 00-15 playing songs I had written. After about an hour, I asked Brian to play something so I could take a break. He started to play the instrumental surf tune Diamond Head. I was immediately blown away! That summer I ordered a Fender Deluxe Reverb amp and a Fender Am Pro II Stratocaster. After 40 years of playing several genres of acoustic guitar, I was inspired to "go electric." We have been playing 60's surf and instrumentals, spy & spaghetti western (The Ventures, The Chantays, Dick Dale, The Shadows, etc.) ever since.

The Catalinbread Topanga gives me a clean spring reverb sound. It's a very essential pedal. The two tremolo pedals are quite different. The Catalinbread Valcoder has a choppy square-wave tremolo sound while the Jam Chill has a smooth sine-wave sound. The Polytune 3 Tuner is a fantastic pedalboard tuner. I have it set on buffer mode for running the two 10' cables.

The idea of having a board with only four pedals is to keep the signal as clean as possible all the while keeping the sound faithful to the genre. Spring reverb and tremolo are the signature sounds of 60's surf and instrumental music.

Thanks!

John T

Bands / Projects

Apache (Cover) - The Shadows

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.

Reviews on Google

Nicholas Kirk
2/1/2025
Great cables. Super fast building and shipping. Hard to beat.

Jason Sunderland
12/4/2021
I have made multiple purchases with Hank at rattlesnake cables, I have bought several guitar cables, I bought pedal board patch cables, I bought test boxes and every one of them was absolutely perfect. I've even bought stuff from companies that Hank has recommended. In the process I've referred several friends who have also purchased. Let me start by saying his customer service is stellar you won't find anything better in the industry...PERIOD!! I have had not one failure or problem with anything that I've purchased. Getting back to the one thing that separates him from everybody else in the industry is his customer service. Not only does he keep you informed all the way through the process, not only does he personalize your purchase, he puts exceptional quality effort and Care into everything that is coming out of his shop. I can say nothing but good things about rattlesnake cables and I highly recommend that anyone who is even considering a purchase, pull the trigger!!!

Nicholas Kirk
2/1/2025
Great cables. Super fast building and shipping. Hard to beat.

Michael Capps
4/19/2022
I needed another cable like I needed a hole in the head. I had been using the same 4 channel snake cables for my keyboards for years. I started looking for a snake cable for my keyboards that was more substantial. I contacted a couple of high-end cable companies and Hank responded quickly suggesting I consider a loom. After considering it for a while, I finally decided to pull the trigger and I'm glad I did. I also bought a guitar cable at the same time. I ordered them on Sunday and got them on Thursday. These cables are amazing. They are really high quality and sturdy. In addition, I did an A/B comparison between the guitar cable I use in my studio and this Rattlesnake cable, and I was completely blown away that I could hear the difference. It's like I was missing multiple frequencies on my old cable. I literally couldn't believe the difference. Regarding their service: I went back and forth with Hank asking questions getting answers. I finally called him on the phone a couple of times to nail down some of the details. He sent me a couple of nice diagrams to confirm what we talked about. After my order I received a personal video recording confirming my order and giving me shipping update. I think the customer service isn't anything short of amazing. I don't leave reviews or testimonials in general, I just don't have the time. But for this one, I had to make the time. These guys rock!