A Second Full Rig Pedalboard – Sep 2022

My Other Latest Super-Rig

The latest rig update is not a change in my existing main rig, but an addition of a second, main pedalboard. Fully featured, just as the the first with similar operation, but a slightly different character. Based around a programmable loop switcher and a Quilter Superblock UK amplifier.

Ready to Rock

No sooner had I just pieced together a mini-sized, amp-with-pedals rig on a diminutive 12″ x 8″ board, I decided I wanted a second, full-sized, fully featured rig to permanently setup my Superblock UK. After deciding to abandon the loop switcher setup I had a while ago with the Superblock UK I had a change of heart and decided that I wanted to rebuild it, but with the same level of improvement that I recently incorporated into the Superblock US rig.

This is the result.

The features are comparable to Rig One, but overall this setup is a bit more raw sounding:

Same noise reduction system as Rig One.
4-channel loop switcher for instant switching from cleanest to dirtiest tone with one step.
Simple Effects section (less than Rig One).
Same Delay & Reverb as Rig One.
Ability to send multiple signals to the PA (up to three).
A DI output using an IR of my own speaker cab with independent level control.

The No-Noise Policy Continues!

My obsessive noise-reduction requirements are employed on this board, just as Rig One with the DemonFX G-String noise reduction pedal sitting in the same place (underneath the amp).

The gain settings are selected with the loop switcher from “CLEAN” which runs through a Kokko compressor, “DRIVE” selecting the Mosky MM Silver (a Timmy clone supposedly), “DIST” which is the compressor, MM Silver and a Mooer Noise Killer and finally “LEAD”, which is a completely dimed Mosky D250X (a DOD 250 Overdrive Preamp clone) and the Mooer Noise Killer.

The noise killer is not that necessary for the “DIST” setting, but essential for the “LEAD” setting. The tone I need from that D250X pedal is with everything max’d and with that comes an absolute hurricane of noise. Without the Noise killer taming it, the G-String noise reduction control would have to be set high enough to negatively affect the other settings in order to control the noise from the D250X.

It sounds like a complicated mess, but because of this loop switcher, it’s super-easy to accomplish and highlights one of the very best features of a loop switcher in my opinion; the fact that I can have a ridiculously noisy lead pedal that has an otherwise killer lead tone and have an extra device to take care of its shortcomings only when it is active.

Similar in Operation – Different in Character

Rig Two is based around a typically British-voiced amplifier (I tend to stay on the JMP voice, which is Marshall inspired) with about the same number of gain steps from least to most. There are less refinement devices for balancing the levels between the pickups on my guitars, but because the JMP voice on the Superblock UK has inherently more gain than the ’57 voice on the Superblock US (the one I use on Rig One), it naturally tends to soak up the peaks more by itself anyway.

I still run the gain very high with the limiter at max or not far-off. It gives me the feel I like that makes the whole thing feel easier to play. With a lot of gain and compression I always feel that is the connection between the guitar and amplifier that results in the two becoming one overall instrument.

There are less sound effects with just a chorus or phaser (not both), no pitch shifting and only one delay instead of two. The delay and reverb of the NUX Atlantic is stereo, so I can configure my output setings in a similar way to Rig One. One side of the Atlantic goes to the Superblock’s FX return and the other side goes to a Sonicake Sonic IR, Impulse Response loader with an XLR out and a separate level control to the master volume on the amp. The IR used is generally the same as Rig One (Tonetubby Alnico 1×10), but with the Sonic IR, it is easy to select a number of different cab IRs with the dial. This is a feature that is not so easy with the NUX Cerberus on Rig One. With that rig I can only choose a different IR if I hook the Cerberus up to a computer and change it via the software.

Nickname “The Classic Rig”

After building Rig One as my main board, geared towards being able to cover pretty much any style of music it feels to me like its identity or character is fairly modern (to me that is 80’s and later). It can kind-of do classic/vintage tones, but I would call it a “Contemporary Rig”. In contrast, Rig Two, which is more like another main board rather than Second in the pecking order has a slightly less refined vibe about it. Although the engine of the board (the loop switcher) is hardly a vintage feature, it does make the operation of the whole system very, very simple. I have four buttons for four different tones; one press changes whatever I have pre-determined to switch on or off for each setting.

The result is a no-frills setup with a small number of easy-to -follow steps for accessing all my sounds – all thanks to some technology doing its thing in the background for me.

This board will be the first choice for certain bands and lineups that I play and Rig One will be the first choice for others. I already know which they are geared towards. Such is the adventure of playing in different bands and shows. The upshot is that I really do need more than one fully-featured rig to deliver across all those different situations without going the route of an amp modeller/multi-FX unit. I still like my amp and pedals layout!

In fact I already know of a possible situation where I could probably benefit taking both rigs and switching between them on a song-by-song basis. That means I’ll need to get a second Ashton case, so I don’t have to share one between both boards!

Signal Chain of Rig Two

INPUT BOX: DIY. Wireless receiver goes in here.
NOISE REDUCTION (detection): G-String – guitar input > guitar output.
CHORUS: DONNER TUTTI LOVE.
HOTONE PATCH KOMMANDER: Loop Switcher
– TUNER OUT (mute) to Pedal Tuner on upper level.
– CLEAN: KOKKO COMPRESSOR
– DRIVE: MOSKY MM SILVER
– DIST: COMPRESSOR + MM SILVER + MOOER NOISE KILLER
– LEAD: MOSKY D250X + NOISE KILLER
AMPLIFIER INPUT (preamp): Quilter Superblock UK. Gain > Limiter > EQ.
AMP FX LOOP >
NOISE REDUCTION (decimator channel): G-String – dec input > dec output.
DELAY 1/REVERB: NUX ATLANTIC
RIG OUTPUT >
OUTPUT 1: Atlantic 1 > Superblock FX return > Speaker cab / Amp DI out.
OUTPUT 2: Atlantic 2 > SONICAKE SONIC IR > DI out to PA.