Pedal cables and order

[spauldingrules]

How crucial are the types of cables between pedals?  I was always a "straight into the amp" guy, and used effects one at a time.  Now I got a few pedals I am using to create a pedalboard, and want to know how important these cables are.  I plan on using a Dunlop Crybaby wah, MXR Phase 90, MXR Blue Box, and Danelectro EQ.  Is it worth $10 for a 5 inch cable?  Any suggestions?  And what order should I put these effects in (I know, whatever sounds best to me, but where is a good place to start)?  I am playing a warmoth strat with a HB in the bridge and Dimarzio VV noiseless single coils in the neck and middle, so pickup noise is not a problem.  I play mostly classic rock tones.

Thanks!

TS

 

[RLW]

Is the Blue Box a fuzz? I ask because I'm a firm believer in the guitar signal hitting the fuzz before anything else. I don't use a wah, but having it second after a fuzz is usually a disaster.

I'm also a fan of George L's "roll your own" cables between effects boxes. I've been using them for about 10 years without a single problem, and I've noticed little if any tone coloration.

Rich

 

[Superbeast520]

I second the George L's..........I have  2 packs (10 cables) of the gold and black cable's, 120bucks worth and too me worth every penny....

 

[guitlouie]

Make that a third on the George L's and don't listen to anyone who tells you they are difficult to use, I heard that a lot before I got them, but really they could not be simpler.  As far as effects chain, it does make a difference, but the rules here are made to be broken.  While I like to go with  Wah first, then Fuzz or overdrive, and always time based effects last, You may find that some of the crazy sounds you come up with doing it differently are to your liking.  Experiment!

 

[Ted]

+ 4 they are a winner. you can cut as much or as little as you like. I like them a lot.  :toothy10:

 

[Shmoopie]

hey hey hey hey wait a short undermentioned amount of time.

ok this is my answer to the cable problem.

http://www.ebs.bass.se/2007/acc.htm

scroll to were is says Interconnection Plugs
i don't know were to get them, but this is what i'd use.

 

[-CB-]

GeorgeL's are the tits.

You just cant get a better cable, for lowest high freq loss, and low noise.  A 50' (FIFTY) foot GeorgeL's has less capacitance (high end roll off) than a 20 foot cable of most other brands.  And talk about easy to make, and fix!

I saw Chuck Berry (the show after his 80th bday bash) with Little Richard, a couple of years ago.  Chuck comes out - and 15 seconds later, his guitar is dead.  He's got a LONG cord too, as he came from behind stage, playing, all the way to front stage on this cord.  Tech comes out, pulls out the cable, cuts off the end, slips a new end on, tightens the screw, hands it back to Chuck who plugs in an keeps on playing.  The tech picked up the old end off the stage (for re-use).  Total down time, maybe... oh.. maybe 20 seconds - a long time when the band is still playin, but not really that long, and less than running some new cable over and thru stuff.

GeorgeL's.... I'll never use another cable.  Just use the thicker ones for gigging, and the smaller ones for box-to-box stuff.

 

[WMHOLP]

Another dedicated George L's user here for my pedal board.  I will say though that the Cry Baby wah will SUCK tons of tone from your signal when in bypass unless you convert it to true bypass.  Cool tone when it's on, but it just sucks when you're bypassing the wah.  For that reason alone, I use a Geoffrey Teece wah these days.  True bypass out of the box.

 

[Volitions Advocate]

Another dedicated George L's user here for my pedal board.  I will say though that the Cry Baby wah will SUCK tons of tone from your signal when in bypass unless you convert it to true bypass.  Cool tone when it's on, but it just sucks when you're bypassing the wah.  For that reason alone, I use a Geoffrey Teece wah these days.  True bypass out of the box.

I couldn't agree more.  I use the traditional everyday run-of-the-mill dunlop crybaby and in front of my amp it makes everything dull.  Its terrible.  One of my favorite wahs ever... but in bypass it really does suck.

In my experience i always put the wah first.  The effect is too pronounced if used after a fuzz or dist pedal.

Back in the day when I ran 2 pedals boards with 12 pedals in total the order i had was this:

Guitar -- Tuner -- Wah -- Distortion 1 - 2 - 3 -- EQ -- Tremolo 1 - 2 -- Phaser -- Chorus -- Noise Gate -- Delay -- Amp

So i'd go Tuner - wah - distortion - modulation.. thats usually how i do it.  If you want a milder phase sound then put your phaser before the distortion.  Personally I like to get kicked in the face when i stomp my phaser on so i put it after the distortion in the chain.

 

[jackthehack]

Always put the wah-wah pedal first. I just always leave mine in the "On" position, and actually use as master tone control.

Speaking of wah-wah pedals, having used one for 30 years, why do they keep getting less and less durable? I've always used a Cry-Baby (currently a "Classic" as they come in so many flavors any more) The first one I owned you had to unscrew the "legs" and pull the bottom plate off to change the battery and it lasted 10-11 years. Mine just went out after about a year, think the one before that lasted 2.

I don't want anything that sounds different at all - any ideas on something with a completely similar sound but more durable? Last time I tried every wah pedal at Guitar Center and wound up buying another Cry-Baby....

 

[RLW]

I don't want anything that sounds different at all - any ideas on something with a completely similar sound but more durable? Last time I tried every wah pedal at Guitar Center and wound up buying another Cry-Baby....

My best friend has one of these, matter of fact it was a Christmas present from me...

http://area51tubeaudiodesigns.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=001&Product_Code=wah&Category_Code=cat001

Built like a tank, probably weighs 6 lbs. Absolutely nails the Jefferson Airplane "Volunteers" wah tone. Not sure you want to drop that much money, though. Dan @ Area 51 was my amp tech for 10 years when he worked at Kendrick, his work and products are top drawer.

 

[jackthehack]

Thanks, think I'll try one. It may cost more, but the last $99 one only lasted a year, so...

 

[jackthehack]

Checked out their MP3 clips, sounds like it will work; going to pound it for the 72 hour "test drive"....

 

[thepriebster]

Sounds like my vox, was 85 bucks,  also built like a tank.

 

[RLW]

Checked out their MP3 clips, sounds like it will work; going to pound it for the 72 hour "test drive"....

Trust me, you won't be sending it back.

:icon_biggrin:

 

[Greg P]

Always put the wah-wah pedal first. I just always leave mine in the "On" position, and actually use as master tone control.

That's an old Michael Schenker trick.  Works great for humbuckers, I've found

 

[simple]

I've got one of these, sounds pretty nice and gets the electronics off the floor not to mention eliminating that long audio cable...true bypass too!

 

[jackthehack]

Always put the wah-wah pedal first. I just always leave mine in the "On" position, and actually use as master tone control.

That's an old Michael Schenker trick.  Works great for humbuckers, I've found

Trick not limited to Schenker/humbuckers; works great when switching axes to avoid having to re-dial amp tone controls, etc.

 

[guitlouie]

Fulltone makes the most seriously kick-ass wahs for my money, trouble is that's a lotttttttt of my money!  They are built like friggin tanks though, hopefully I won't need to buy another for some time!

 

[bpmorton777]

I got my wha in 82' for about $75. It picks up spanish radio stations in the area so ive never been able to use it a lot. read about upgrade kits from Fultone but dont think they make these anymore. Ive switched to a Line6 Pod xt and shortboard.

Brian