Kenny Carlile

While I'm waiting for my new Fender American Nashville B-Bender Telecaster to arrive (someday…), I'm drooling over all the gear I want to add to my guitar rig, specifically, pedals. Am I gigging right now? No, not at all. However, I can't help but always be striving for the best possible and most ideal setup. Why? Because it's fun and I hope to someday get back to playing with a band even if I'm just a hobbyist for now.

Current Setup

[Guitar] -> Vox V847 wah (modded for true-bypass) -> Boss TU-2 tuner -> Keeley Compressor (2 knob) -> Ibanez TS-808 (reissue) overdrive -> Fulltone OCD overdrive -> Keeley Katana clean boost ->Dunlop Uni-Vibe with UV1-FC foot controller -> Visual Sound H2O chorus and echo -> Ernie Ball VP Jr. passive volume -> Fender '65 Twin Reverb (reissue) amp

The items I've marked in bold are the ones that I'm perfectly happy with. I don't see any need to replace those items. I might like to put the TU-2 and the TS-808 in true-bypass loops, but other than that, I don't have any issues with them.

Wah

I like my Vox V847 quite a bit, especially since I modded it to include a true-bypass switch. It's a huge step above the CryBaby I used to have, but it just doesn't have the sweep I wish it had. …and then the new hotness walked in: the Fulltone Clyde Deluxe wah.

This naughty little girl has a selector for 3 different voices: Wacked, Jimi, and Shaft. The only setting it's missing is "adult film", although I think the Shaft setting would pass for that. It also has an input gain knob, although I'm not sure how much I'd use this, to be honest. I'm sure it would be fun to play with, but I haven't been a fan of the idea of gain in or before the wah, at least in the past.

Like all of the other items on this wish list, the Fulltone Clyde Deluxe wah would be completely unnecessary and totally awesome! It's also $250, unfortunately.

Fuzz

I've wanted a fuzz pedal for a while now, which has been a change for me. For years, I didn't like fuzz pedals. They just sounded like chainsaws to me. Over the last few years, I've come to realize that, if voiced properly and used correctly, they can be used for that Eric Johnson-esque lead violin sound. I like to have several different levels of gain stages in my pedalboard and I think the Keeley Fuzz Head would be the perfect pedal to round out the upper end of my drive/distortion spectrum.

From the demos I've heard and from what the Pro Guitar Shop salesman has told me, the Fuzz Head falls into this "violin lead" tone category, which is just what I'm looking for. The sound characteristics, the tweakability (including the silicone/germanium switch), and the Keeley name are enough to sell me on this one. This pedal will ravage my wallet for $189-$209, depending on sales at the time.

Sorry, Pro Guitar Shop. You don't carry Keeley and you don't have a demo video.

Modulation

I like my Uni-Vibe a lot, but it takes up a lot of space since it's two pedals, especially since the controller ends up sitting off-board. The Fulltone Mini Deja Vibe 2 would be an awesome replacement for my Uni-Vibe in that it has many of the same controls, except that it's in one unit and the sound quality is better. The extended rate control has me very intrigued as I have always felt like the range of speed adjustment on my Uni-Vibe's controller seemed short.

I really like being able to adjust the rate with my foot while playing, so this rules out a lot of pedals that I would otherwise consider, such as the Voodoo Lab Micro Vibe. For $250, I can kick my Uni-Vibe into my pedal storage unit and keep the swirling action going!

Delay

Here's where it gets tricky. I've got a Danelectro Fab Echo (just for fun, but it doesn't sound good enough), a Line 6 Echo Park (lots of options, but too digital), and a Visual Sound H2O (echo and chorus…decent on both, but neither is great), so trying to justify another delay seems kinda silly. But wait, it gets worse…I don't want a single delay. I want two more! For my rig, I need a pedal that can handle short slapback delay and something that can handle longer, warmer echoes. I don't really love any of my current pedals for these sounds. They are okay, but not amazing. I want amazing.

For short slapback, I want the Way Huge Aqua Puss MkII. This is supposed to be the pedal for slapback echo and short delay. It only goes up to 300ms, so I can't use it for my longer echoes, but Brad Paisley uses one, so what better endorsement can I ask for? Yeah, I know…John Mayer uses one too. I'm hoping having one of these won't turn me into a shallow womanizer. I can pick up an Aqua Puss for $149, or less if I trust the low-ball sellers on eBay.

For longer echoes, I think the MXR Carbon Copy is the pedal for me. It's small, has great analog sound, and the delay times are up to 600ms, which should be long enough. If I want to get crazy, I'm going to have to go digital, and then I can use my Echo Park. It's true-bypass, has a small footprint, and great analog sound, including optional modulation. People on the internet and at guitar shops are really digging this pedal. For $149, I can have all the echo I need…I need…I need…I need….

UPDATE 2/5/2011: Tonight, I picked up a Way Huge Aqua Puss MkII! I'm pretty happy with it so far. It sounds a lot more live and organic than the H2O. I think it will be great for the shorter delay times I want.

Chorus

I haven't figured out exactly what chorus pedal I'd like to have on my dream pedalboard, but I'm pretty happy with the Boss CE-5 Chorus Ensemble pedal that I have. It's not on my current board because of the H2O, but I like that CE-5 and its lush sounds. It may not be true-bypass, but the effect is great. Maybe I can put it in a true-bypass loop to help keep everything clean.

Volume

I'm not really sure what to do about this. I read that passive volume pedals can really suck the high-end off your tone. I hadn't noticed this at first when I first started using it (see "frog in pot" adage), but after removing it from my signal chain, I really notice the difference. I like having the volume pedal, but until I can find transparent option, I think it may have to go sit in the corner.

Old Friends

I've got a few other pedals I'd like to bring back into the mix. I mentioned the Boss CE-5 Chorus Ensemble, but I'd also like to get my Ibanez TS9DX back in use. It's a slightly different flavor than my TS-808 and I'd like to use it as the first pedal in my multi-stage gain spectrum. My Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde might make an appearance, but if I get the Keeley Fuzz Head and if I have my TS-808 on the board, then the J&H is covering a lot of the same territory. I like my Line 6 Verbzilla, but it's a little more experimental than I need for most playing. Frankly, I really like the spring reverb in my Twin Reverb. The last "old friend" I want to add to my pedalboard is my Voodoo Lab Proctavia octave fuzz pedal. I don't use it a lot, but I just love that effect and I want to have it ready for use!

Board Yet? Get It?! "Board" Heh…Heh…

In addition to all the new pedals and rearrangements I want to make to the actual effects in my rig, I'd also like to build a new pedalboard. I've got an idea in mind that would incorporate my diamondplate decks as well as a wooden frame. I also want to incorporate some true-bypass loopers, but I can't find one that will accommodate all the pedals I'll need. I may end up building a couple small loopers and then chain them together. Either way, I want to incorporate a signal buffer to try to help retain the high-end of my tone. Tone suck with a Telecaster really…well, sucks.

The Paradox Of Cash And Regret

Here is where I run into a pretty big issue. I want to make a lot of expensive changes, so I should sell some of my pedals I'm not using, right? Wrong. Well, kinda wrong. You've got the right idea, but I have run into regretting the sale of nearly every piece of gear I have sold in the past. I wish I still had a Digitech Whammy. I got $100 out of it, but I'd rather have the pedal now instead of the $100 I got. Would I really play it that much? No, but I hate that I don't have it anymore. I want all my pedals to give to my step-son someday. They would be worth so much more like that than to sell them on Craig's List or eBay for half of what I paid for them. I may consider selling some of my pedals, but I'm going to think very cautiously and carefully before I do. I'd much rather just put them in a box and never play them so that I have them to pass down some day.

Since I don't know if I'll be able to fund my new gear by selling old gear, this may be a long and drawn out process. The good news is that it's something to stay excited about and keep striving for. If I got the perfect rig right now, then what would I have to look forward to in the gear realm? Oh, yeah…maybe I could just be content. Bah! Blasphemy! I've definitely got some of Eric Johnson's tone OCD in me. Step 1 is admitting you have a problem. Step 2 is ditching all the batteries in your pedals and going to AC-powered adapters! Hey, I'm one step ahead of Eric on the road to recovery.