Pedalboard Fun

Okay, so staring at my slippered feet operating pedals for five minutes does not make for an entertaining video, but it does give you an idea of what’s going on, down on the floor. The main pedal of focus in this video is the Empress Zoia. I had designed a preset called Frippery, influenced by Robert Fripp and his use of reel to reel tape machines with which he created loops. I’ve also taken some influence from Steve Reich, in which he used looped tapes at slightly different lengths to play back the same phrase. The difference in tape length created rhythmic and timbral shifts. I still feel like more tweaks to the preset will get me closer to the feel of tape. I know what I need to do. Other pedals in play here are the EHX Superego + pedal, which I have set to drop my sound an octave. It’s not on display so much in this video, but I used the Superego to replicate viola and cello sounds. The final piece to this puzzle is in the HX Stomp. I have a reverse delay in there and when I work the right expression pedal, I bring in the reverse sound. With just this board alone, I could create dense sonic tapestries, but it’s only one third of my entire live rig.