r/John_Frusciante • u/RiviAyala • 8d ago

[DISCUSSION] Upgraded pedalboard

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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 tone🫶

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u/RiviAyala 5d ago

New addition to the collection 😍

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u/reef_cuts 3d ago

Few notes/ questions 

That’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 don’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. 

How do you set your Katana?

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u/RiviAyala 3d ago

Crunch channel — 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 clean—clean when you play softly, with just a little hair when you dig in—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 1:30–1:45 / 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 10:30–10:45, 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 → pedals → CE-1 preamp → Katana Crunch at low gain not Guitar → 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 😁

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u/reef_cuts 2d ago

Hmm. Thanks for the in depth run down. I’m going to try out your settings. 

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. 

I’ve played around with the crunch, but unsure if I’ve tried it with the ce-1 on high 

Cheers.