Jims guitar pedalboard

[cderosa1185]

Interested in what guitar pedals are on Jims board these days. I've seen countless pictures of past pedalboards, but I know he's using some new stuff since the start of the waterfall tour.

I've seen rig rundowns of Carl's gear, but was hoping there would be one for Jims. His fuzz tone is out of this world! Anybody have any pics or info they can share?

[pandamike]

No one has responded so I'll chime in for you! Im a big fan of Jims tone so I'm always looking at what he's got on the board. Most of his pedals have remained the same in the past 4-5 years, but it looked like the board got an overhaul and cleaned up for the waterfall tour. Here's what was on his board last time I saw, and at least on the bottom row at red rocks last weekend:

Bottom row-
Boss TU-3
Zvex SHO
Boss OC-2
Boss BD-2
Malekko Spring Chicken
Earthquaker Devices Organizer

Top row-
Boss TU-3 (Acoustic)
Devi Ever US Fuzz (that's the super gated fuzz tones!)
Earthquaker Devices Ghost Echo Reverb
Boss DD-(5?) uses it for looping at the end of songs
Strymon BlueSky Reverb
Pete Cornish LD-1

Not sure the order of any of the pedals but whatever he does it sounds great! Seems like he runs his amp (3 monkeys orangutan) already breaking up so anything on top is gonna get pretty dirty. Looks like he uses his SHO and BD-2 (volume almost maxed) mostly for gain tones adding onto his amp. Hope that helps!

[Rex]

Pretty sure the Earthquaker pedal is a Bit Commander. Order is right to left, bottom row then right to left top row. The oranguatangs have a boost channel, both triggered from a single pedal

[Lonndown27]

his old one, from the 2003 Conan performance:

MXR Phase 90 (this was still on his pedalboard, but it was hooked up away from the board and in front of the Mesa Boogies for Okonokos)

Boss Digital Reverb (he STILL uses this)

Boss Tuner

Boss Blues Driver (one of his favorites)

and some other white pedal, looks like Boss but i'm not 100% sure..not quite ready to just say Boss Digital Delay.... I don't know why there's YET ANOTHER thread on this, we've done like twenty hahah

[pandamike]

I would have thought it was a bit commander as well (and maybe he's had one before) but the EQD pedal is for sure an Organizer.

If he uses the boost on the orangutan it's in the little board off to the side for vocals, but I never see him step there and get louder guitar, mostly looks like he's using SHO and BD-2, then Devi Ever US Fuzz for crazy fuzzy parts.

[cderosa1185]

Thanks guys. I've seen numerous threads but nothing updated as of late. He stone has really changed in the last few years so that ms why I've inquired. Looks like his wooly mammoth is no longer on the board

[Rex]

If he uses the boost on the orangutan it's in the little board off to the side for vocals, but I never see him step there and get louder guitar, mostly looks like he's using SHO and BD-2, then Devi Ever US Fuzz for crazy fuzzy parts.

He does, and it is, but it tends to be on or off for entire songs, most often the Boss is his go to for solos. That board on the right has nothing to do with vocals, just some extra bits and bobs.

His board was rebuilt from scratch in early 2012 and the amp-side signal chain evolved significantly last summer. For the most part though things change pretty slowly

[jacketfan127]

How does Jim use the zvex Super Hard on? Is his amp running pretty dirty or is on the edge of breakup and he uses the Super Hard on to boost it into more crunch? I one he uses the BD-2 for the solo boost but I'm not sure where the SHO comes into play. I love the sound he gets on I Will Sing you Songs. Nice clear gritty amp breakup sound.

[Rex]

How does Jim use the zvex Super Hard on? Is his amp running pretty dirty or is on the edge of breakup and he uses the Super Hard on to boost it into more crunch? I one he uses the BD-2 for the solo boost but I'm not sure where the SHO comes into play. I love the sound he gets on I Will Sing you Songs. Nice clear gritty amp breakup sound.

The zvex is essentially a clean boost, but since its before the BD-2, it contributes to overall gain there and can push the BD-2 into even higher overdrive.  The amp is pretty clean with the boost channel off, so the zvex helps push clean tones a little harder without distorting too much.  Discounting the gated fuzz which is more of a special effect, he has clean amp, overdriven amp, clean(ish) boost (zvex), and BD-2 overdrive.  Every combination of those four gain stages yields a unique tone, so there is a lot to work with there. 
Considering lightly overdriven sounds like IWSYS he a lot of options, I'd guess that one is clean amp with SHO, but I'm not certain. 

[gardenparty]

It sounded like he had the Zvex Woolly Mammoth back in his chain at the Red Rocks show earlier this month.   
I was about a quarter mile back though so couldn't really see his board. lol

[jacketfan127]

How does Jim use the zvex Super Hard on? Is his amp running pretty dirty or is on the edge of breakup and he uses the Super Hard on to boost it into more crunch? I one he uses the BD-2 for the solo boost but I'm not sure where the SHO comes into play. I love the sound he gets on I Will Sing you Songs. Nice clear gritty amp breakup sound.

The zvex is essentially a clean boost, but since its before the BD-2, it contributes to overall gain there and can push the BD-2 into even higher overdrive.  The amp is pretty clean with the boost channel off, so the zvex helps push clean tones a little harder without distorting too much.  Discounting the gated fuzz which is more of a special effect, he has clean amp, overdriven amp, clean(ish) boost (zvex), and BD-2 overdrive.  Every combination of those four gain stages yields a unique tone, so there is a lot to work with there. 
Considering lightly overdriven sounds like IWSYS he a lot of options, I'd guess that one is clean amp with SHO, but I'm not certain. 

Awesome info! Lastly, what would you say his dirty rhythm sound is? Comparing his old sound to new sound the new sound is way gainier to me. Sounds like a nice amp being pushed. Songs like Way He Sings, I'm Amazed, and Mahgeetah really showcase that sound.

[TOOGANS]

its way more nuanced than that.  It depends on what guitar is being played at any given time.  And in general his amp sound should have less gain than his original amp.  Historically he used a Mesa dual rectifier and it would go from anemic clean to over the top cascading gain.
The boss blues driver has always been a constant for him and in the chain.  The three monkeys is basically a fender deluxe on steroids with twice the output (45 watts).  Two of the same amps with totally different cabs. Downstage is a Three Monkeys loaded with Warehouse alnico speakers and the upstage original Mesa 2x12 with Celestion V30's.  What your hearing is more of a classic amp input sag. He is indeed punishing the input with the Blues driver and whatever else he chooses to add on the pedal board.  The result is much more musical and not as loud on the output side of things in contrast to the Mesa head.  I hope this helps answer your question.

[millerjustin]

its way more nuanced than that.  It depends on what guitar is being played at any given time.  And in general his amp sound should have less gain than his original amp.  Historically he used a Mesa dual rectifier and it would go from anemic clean to over the top cascading gain.
The boss blues driver has always been a constant for him and in the chain.  The three monkeys is basically a fender deluxe on steroids with twice the output (45 watts).  Two of the same amps with totally different cabs. Downstage is a Three Monkeys loaded with Warehouse alnico speakers and the upstage original Mesa 2x12 with Celestion V30's.  What your hearing is more of a classic amp input sag. He is indeed punishing the input with the Blues driver and whatever else he chooses to add on the pedal board.  The result is much more musical and not as loud on the output side of things in contrast to the Mesa head.  I hope this helps answer your question.

as a lover of guitar porn (Carl's Star Player being the "money shot"), this reads like a penthouse forum letter - lol - I don't understand half of it, but am strangely aroused.

[jacketfan127]

its way more nuanced than that.  It depends on what guitar is being played at any given time.  And in general his amp sound should have less gain than his original amp.  Historically he used a Mesa dual rectifier and it would go from anemic clean to over the top cascading gain.
The boss blues driver has always been a constant for him and in the chain.  The three monkeys is basically a fender deluxe on steroids with twice the output (45 watts).  Two of the same amps with totally different cabs. Downstage is a Three Monkeys loaded with Warehouse alnico speakers and the upstage original Mesa 2x12 with Celestion V30's.  What your hearing is more of a classic amp input sag. He is indeed punishing the input with the Blues driver and whatever else he chooses to add on the pedal board.  The result is much more musical and not as loud on the output side of things in contrast to the Mesa head.  I hope this helps answer your question.

Once again that's great stuff! This is why they needed to do Jim's rig rundown along with Carl's. Carl has that polished guitar sound but Jim's is just raw and his playing style so Neil Youngish. Also, I had no idea that Jim is using two cabs...the original Mesa backstage (if that is what you meant).

[Rex]

its way more nuanced than that.  It depends on what guitar is being played at any given time.  And in general his amp sound should have less gain than his original amp.  Historically he used a Mesa dual rectifier and it would go from anemic clean to over the top cascading gain.
The boss blues driver has always been a constant for him and in the chain.  The three monkeys is basically a fender deluxe on steroids with twice the output (45 watts).  Two of the same amps with totally different cabs. Downstage is a Three Monkeys loaded with Warehouse alnico speakers and the upstage original Mesa 2x12 with Celestion V30's.  What your hearing is more of a classic amp input sag. He is indeed punishing the input with the Blues driver and whatever else he chooses to add on the pedal board.  The result is much more musical and not as loud on the output side of things in contrast to the Mesa head.  I hope this helps answer your question.

Once again that's great stuff! This is why they needed to do Jim's rig rundown along with Carl's. Carl has that polished guitar sound but Jim's is just raw and his playing style so Neil Youngish. Also, I had no idea that Jim is using two cabs...the original Mesa backstage (if that is what you meant).

Yep, the upstage cab is a mesa 2x12, but as noted it has Celestion's, so its not stock.  Both Jim and Carl play through dual cabs, largely to allow the flexibility to feel something onstage, but keep its level reasonable, and to be able to run the upstage cab hard without blowing the stage levels.  Of course, the cabs all have unique speakers, gain staging and micing, (and some are open backed while others closed) so the result is a pretty broad palette on both sides of the stage. The band and its crew put tremendous effort into the details, in fact I don't think a single cab onstage has stock speakers.

[cderosa1185]

Awesome info man! Thanks!

[jacketfan127]

I agree. I just want to know how Rex and Toogans know some of the more intimate stuff of the boys' gear ;)? Do you guys know what kind of WGS speakers they have? Also Jim's spring reverb is so awesome. Most likely coming from the Spring Chicken because I have a Ghost Echo and, while it sounds great, doesn't have that crazy splash that Jim gets.

[jacketfan127]

I was rewatching the KCRW show and there is a part of IWSYS where he clicks on a pedal and it oscillates the note and gets huge sound.

. It starts at 4:45 on the video. Anyone know which pedal that is? I want to add that sound to my board.