FX8 pedalboard build. Thoughts?

Deadpool_25

Deadpool_25

Fractal Fanatic
IMG_1953.JPG IMG_1956.JPG Since I'm back to using tube amps, I decided (for now) to do the FX8 with some other pedals. The FX8 will handle all pre FX and maybe a few post. The additional pedals (with the exception of the Drop) will all come post amp (and post FX8) and are are:

- Drop
- Timeline
- BigSky
- Hamstead Tremolo (the Dig is just a placeholder for this)
- Ditto (maybe the Ditto x2)

Power will be via The Strymon Zuma. External routing will be to either one or two amps and via one or two GigRig MIDI Cincos.

There will also be three EV-2 expression pedals. Likely one for volume and the others for random stuff.

Pros:
- Should eliminate potential CPU issues
- Frees up a few blocks on the grid
- Increased simplicity in reverbs and delays
- Simpler (debatably better) digital drop tuning
- Increased looper time/access
- Maintains excellent sound quality

Cons:
- Larger board footprint (smaller than the AX8/FX8 option I considered)
- Increased power needs (Zuma)

I'm sure there are other considerations. What do you think?

Here are a fee pics of the preliminary mockup. The final board will be professionally built.
 
IMG_1961.JPG Haha. Yeah my G2 pedal board is about the same size and isn't exactly light but definitely isn't too heavy either. I'm considering shrinking it down a bit to where it will only have two EV-2s on it. The third can be an optional add-on that sits outside the rest of the board when I need it.

This pic shows the G2 board next to the FX8 board for size comparison. The line in the FX8 board shows where I could trim some width.
 
Ok - I reread your post. I guess if you're doing ambient music gigs, that makes sense. I'd probably use two separate boards to make it easier to carry
 
Lance Holland said:
Ok - I reread your post. I guess if you're doing ambient music gigs, that makes sense. I'd probably use two separate boards to make it easier to carry
Click to expand...

It's a couple of extra pedals. Really only three. I like the reverbs in the BigSky as much as those in the FX8. So adding the BigSky allows me to most likely avoid any CPU issues at all. Pretty much the same story with the Timeline, though the FX8 would likely do anything the Timeline can and not cost too much CPU, so that's moreso just because I have it. Although a minor consideration is the simplicity of the Timeline's dual delay. I guess I could do that in the MTD block but it's a bit more involved I think.

Because I always want my Tremolo after my Reverb, and because if there are any FX8 effects I want to put in the loop, I'll want them in front of the delay, it makes sense to add a Tremolo pedal at the end. I think.

I'm not doing any gigs at all, lol. I'm just playing around at home. :)
 
Oh and the looper needs to be after everything but the way I have the chain set up, kind of prevents me from using the FX8 looper.
 
Actually - you can use the looper. Put the other delays and stuff in the loop and change the loop settings to move the position where it records.

If you don't need to travel - have at it!!

I have my old board with an H9 and an El Capistan plus some dirt. I haven't been able to bring myself to sell it. But I can use all of it together with the fX8 for home.
 
I'm not sure about that. My planned signal chain will be:

Guitar > FX8 Pre FX > Amp Preamp > FX8 Post FX > Timeline > BigSky > Tremolo > Amp FX Return

In this setup, the FX8 looper will play loops before, and thus be affected by, the Strymons and Tremolo. I could switch to a patch with the Strymons bypassed and delay and reverb coming from FX8. But if I want to solo/noodle over the loop with the Strymons/Trem affecting the solo, the loop would then be playing through those effects too. Because the FX8 doesn't have any external loops (REALLY wish it had a couple of those like the Helix), you can't insert random pedals in the FX8 chain. If the FX8 Mark III has these, I'll be first on the wait list. :)
 
From the manual, you can move where the looper falls in the chain. I think I moved mine to OUT POST (at work so I can't check)


Press the SETUP button. Press Footswitch 1 to open the GLOBAL menu.
Navigate to LOOPER LOCATION. Use the VALUE knob to select the desired setting:
  • ƒ IN PRE – (Default) The looper is positioned just after the IN PRE jack, before any PRE effects. No effects are recorded, but any effects you turn on will be heard to process the looper.
  • ƒ OUT PRE – The looper is positioned after PRE effects just before the OUT PRE jack. PRE effects are recorded into the looper.
  • ƒ IN POST – The looper is positioned before POST effects just after the IN POST jack. PRE effects are recorded into the looper; POST effects are not.
  • ƒ OUT POST – The looper is positioned after POST effects just before the OUT POST jack. PRE and POST effects are recorded into the looper.
  • ƒ NO LOOPER – The looper is disabled, resulting in a slight CPU usage decrease.
 
Agreed, and normally, I'd just put the looper in the OUT POST position. the problem is that the external pedals (strymons and trem) will be physically AFTER the out post jack. There would be a cable from the out post jack to the timeline's input, another cable from timeline to bigsky, etc.
 
I'll have to look over how I have my other board pedals connected in. They are in the effects loop wiring going to my amp. Those pedals are included in the looper.
 
The EV-2s and the Tremolo showed up today. In the pic, the Mesa EQ is there as a placeholder for the Morningstar MC6 I may or may not add to the mix.

IMG_1964.JPG Ev-2a and Tremolo showed up
 
Last edited:
Hey man. Thanks for checking in. I am working on some rig/routing stuff. I'm leaning towards a two-amp rig capable of easily switching between stereo and W/D operation. I'm not sure if you noticed but that pic I posted above that had the two boards next to each other was just showing the size difference between the two boards. I never intended to use both. :)

The board I'm looking at now will have the FX8, BigSky, Drop, and two or three EV-2s. I'm probably leaving the tremolo off. And that Mesa EQ at the top left is just a placeholder because it's about the size of the Morningstar MC6 that @scottburrow recommended I try out. Not quite sure if that or the Timeline will make it onto the board yet (even though I keep checking every day to see if that MC6 is back in stock). :)
 
Ok - put things back together after band practice.

Post In - 2nd board output

Post out to effect return

Effect send to one side of the volume pedal

Other side of the volume pedal to 2nd board input

Out pre to amp input

Hope that helps!
 
Thanks Lance,

I had to draw that up visualize it. So your board 2 goes into the FX8's post in. What that means is that whatever effects are on that 2nd board are going to be the first things in your amp's FX loop, and because they then run into the FX8 Post In, you can still add FX8 Post FX after the 2nd board effects. I don't know what's on that board, but let's assume it's a delay and reverb (even if it's not...stick with me for a minute).

In this case the delay and reverb from the board are the first things in your amp's FX loop, and this would allow you to use the FX8 looper and include those pedals.

However, one thing you can't do with that setup is put any of the FX8s POST effects BEFORE the 2nd board effects. Whether or not that matters is completely subjective, because
1) Maybe your 2nd board has effects you prefer to have before the FX8s POST effects (for example if you like modulation before delays and reverbs, your 2nd board could have modulations and you could use delays and reverbs in the FX8)
2) Maybe your 2nd board had delays and/or reverbs and you like those before the modulations or whatever else in the FX8 Post chain

For me, I like my delay and reverb to be last (I could also stand for Tremolo to be after reverb, but I'm fine with it before). For this reason, my "2nd board" (my Timeline and BigSky), must come AFTER my FX8 Post Out, so there's no way to get those pedals into the looper.
 
Here's a basic sketch of how I think my rig is shaping up. It's just a draft so things change. I'm actually leaning towards ditching the Timeline. The FX8's delays can do anything I want.
guitar rig.jpg
 
Exactly.

Yes - it's not perfect....that would require the FX8 to have an effects loop with flexible routing. But - it's certainly good enough if I want to add in an delay/modulation from the second board for home use. In reality, my second board isn't essential at this point and will likely be sold off with the exception of my El Cap and maybe a dirt pedal to use as a backup board. I know I tend to be fickle and change everything up. I've had times where I just ran a chord into an amp....and have gone full blown modeling....and then back again to a board.
 
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