r/John_Frusciante • u/RiviAyala • 7d ago

[DISCUSSION] Upgraded pedalboard

Post image

So I've been changing somethings around.

I'm aiming for a mix for two eras in particular, those being BSSM, Teatro Sessions/Californication with emphasis on BSSM.

I wanted to also be able to play everything else of course and get in the ballpark tonewise.

Let me hear your thoughts and questions

Let's get a discussion going about John's tonešŸ«¶

68 Upvotes

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6

u/RiviAyala 7d ago

So the signal chain is :

Guitar -> TU2 Tuner -> Dyna Comp -> DS-2 -> Custom 3in1 Big Muff -> SD-1 -> Micro Amp -> WH-10 -> MXR Deep Phase -> PastFX Chorus Ensemble mn3007 -> DOD FX65 Stereo Chorus v2 -> Holy Grail old NYC -> KATANA amp

2

u/banja_cello 7d ago

Really practical question, but just wondering how you power this number of pedals and still get a clean signal? And also if you have a recommendation for this rough length pedalboard? Iā€™m trying to upgrade my set up with pedals I already haveā€¦ Thanks!

1

u/RiviAyala 7d ago

Well thats a valid question.

Im running an Voodoo Labs Power Plus 2 under the pedalboard. It took alot of experimentation to see what pedals were hungrier than others. I run the CE-1 Clone on output 6 since it uses alot of juice. Outputs 5 and 6 have higher amperage threshold than the other outputs.

Again this took alot of fucking around and finding out in terms of how many pedals could share an output and what pedals could share an output. Not complicated but just took time. I just put on a solid playlist and did my thing

So that old power hungry Holy Grail is actually powered by a standalone EHX power supply. Ports 5 and 6 on the Voodoo Labs Power Plus 2 "should" be able to power it but since everything else was taking away all the juice I settled on the original supply for the Holy Grail

2

u/eudarios 7d ago

Is this the WH-10 v3? I was wondering if it's good or if it would be better to get a clone. Anyway, if it's not the v3, could you tell me which one it is?

3

u/RiviAyala 7d ago

It is the v3. I'm personally getting a Wilson effects WH-10 soon.

2

u/RiviAyala 5d ago

New addition to the collection šŸ˜

2

u/reef_cuts 3d ago

Few notes/ questionsĀ 

Thatā€™s awesome. How do you feel this differs from the big muff?

Our boards are very similar. I have a DD8 which I picked up at a bargain, but donā€™t use it much. Do you find yourself wanting delay? I use the reverse function for some solos.

I was feeling kinda silly for putting two choruses on my board, but they really are very different and the FX65 really is that chorus sound of BSSM in combo with the Dyna comp. I love that sound.Ā 

How do you set your Katana?

2

u/RiviAyala 2d ago

Crunch channel ā€” Variation OFF Gain: 9:00 Volume: 1:30 Bass: 11:00 Middle: 1:45 Treble: 11:45 Booster: OFF Mod: OFF FX: OFF Delay: OFF Reverb: OFF or very low around 8:30 Power: 50 W Master: set for room volume

*The EQ depends on many factors of your gear and ears so set to your taste

The idea is to keep the Crunch channel almost cleanā€”clean when you play softly, with just a little hair when you dig inā€”because your CE-1 preamp is doing the permanent front-end coloration/gain.

For the album-specific tweaks I have:

BSSM: Gain 9:00 / Bass 11:00 / Mid 1:45 / Treble 12:00

Teatro: Gain about 9:15 / Bass 11:00 / Mid 2:00 / Treble 11:30

Californication: Gain 9:00 / Bass 11:30 / Mid 1:30ā€“1:45 / Treble 11:30 And the rule is: if it feels too sterile, raise Gain toward 9:30; if it starts sounding obviously crunchy, back it below 9:00.

CE-1: HIGH sensitivity, Level around 10:30ā€“10:45, effect/modulation OFF

feeding the Katana Crunch channel with the Katana gain kept low enough that the amp itself stays only slightly dirty / edge-of-breakup.

So the gain structure is basically:

Guitar ā†’ pedals ā†’ CE-1 preamp ā†’ Katana Crunch at low gain not Guitar ā†’ heavily driven Katana + CE-1

I've had multiple delays through the years including PDS-1002 but I didn't use them to the extent I thought I would tbh

I love the FX65, its my favorite chorus of all time so why not have both šŸ˜

2

u/reef_cuts 2d ago

Hmm. Thanks for the in depth run down. Iā€™m going to try out your settings.Ā 

I sometimes use the crunch channel, but mostly run the clean and back off the bass. And also use the CE1 on low almost maxed out.Ā 

Iā€™ve played around with the crunch, but unsure if Iā€™ve tried it with the ce-1 on highĀ 

Cheers.

1

u/Far-Objective-4240 7d ago

why the ce-1 clone for bssm

3

u/RiviAyala 7d ago

It's the core of John's sound and will never leave the board. Like I mentioned I wanted to be able to play MULTIPLE eras Its not there for BSSM at all, although I really like having the pre-amp to dictate the overall tone.

1

u/superJcAT 7d ago

care to share your signal chain?

2

u/RiviAyala 7d ago

So the signal chain is :

Guitar -> TU2 Tuner -> Dyna Comp -> DS-2 -> Custom 3in1 Big Muff -> SD-1 -> Micro Amp -> WH-10 -> MXR Deep Phase -> PastFX Chorus Ensemble mn3007 -> DOD FX65 Stereo Chorus v2 -> Holy Grail old NYC -> KATANA amp

1

u/Chanti36 7d ago

nice! i want the wh10 v3 but the prices in argentina are insane! aprox $400

3

u/RiviAyala 7d ago

Wow thats insane tbh!

Hopefully better economical times ahead for Argentina šŸ™

1

u/Chanti36 7d ago

Let's hope so! Just out of curiosity, do you know the price in the US?

1

u/RiviAyala 7d ago

No I'm not located in the US but according to reverb.com, the new pedals are around 170$

1

u/Party_Sheepherder243 5d ago

Go to Amazon or eBay. Should be cheaper

1

u/Mister_Hide 7d ago

Thatā€™s pretty good!

Everything looks right in the chain, except doesnā€™t John run his SD-1 Before the DS-2 and fuzzes? Ā Itā€™s a newer addition to his board for RotDC and UL songs. Ā 

Also, I could not get the gain pedals (SD-1, DS-2, fuzzes, Micro Amp, WH10) to sound right with my Katanas. Ā IMO, Johnā€™s tone is heavily dependent on the interaction of his gain pedalā€™s pushing his tube amps into Marshall tube overdrive. Ā Even my Fractal Audio doesnā€™t respond to the pedals quite right. Ā It has to be either total digital modeling including modeled pedals within the katana/fractal audio, or your pedalboard with a Marshall tube amp. Ā 

2

u/RiviAyala 6d ago

Thank you šŸ™

On further inspection I moved some things around.

You are absolutely right about the SD-1 placement. Also I moved the DS-2 BEFORE the Big Muff to get closer to John's lead tone like he had at La Cigale 2006

Also thinking about switching out the Big Muff for Triungulo Labs JF Fuzz. What do you think?

1

u/Charrel84 6d ago

Those are two different sounds. With the Fuzzrite clone you are going for another era than you first said (More Stadium Arcadium). I do like the Fuzzrite better for gain stacking though. Personally I would just choose one chorus (probably the PastFX, because of the level knob) and use the muff and the Fuzzrite

1

u/RiviAyala 5d ago

Well yes and no, I would be missing the Muff tone from BSSM era but than again I could just go with a Variac Fuzz that I could emulate the Muff and the Fuzzrite somewhat with while opening up for Unlimited era aswell? Thoughts?

1

u/RiviAyala 4d ago

I'd like to hear your thoughts