I'm finally putting my dream rig together.

[GreatRedDragon]

I come from the world of modelling. Two years ago I bought my first tube amp, a modded Ceriatone 2203, and used it in conjunction with a Suhr RL and Amplitube, which served as an IR loader and post-FX processor. But I hated being tied to a computer, so this year I made the jump and bought a Boss IR-200.

Since then I've been accumulating pieces of gear to replace the functionality of Amplitube's back end, but what I've neglected is the switching flexibility of the front end that I used to get from my digital rig.

What I've done is design a rig that (hopefully) will give me all of the control and flexibility I want. The goals I sought specifically were:

1) Single-switch activation of multiple pedals up front
2) MIDI control over the effects I have in the back
3) Seamless switching between my 2203 and the onboard sims of the IR-200
4) Convenient I/O so I'm not fucking around looking for the right hole

Goals #1, 2 and 3 pointed me to the Boss ES-8. It ticks every box I had: Eight loops plus an insert loop with a ground lift, twelve assignable footswitches and full MIDI control. Goal #4 pointed me to the Temple Audio Trio 28. The IEC and patch bay models should make connections a snap. I decided the stock board would not be sufficient, however. So I ordered a Fix Pedalboards Mag-Latch bridge, for extra real estate.

That's the gist of the hardware, now the software:

- Jimi Hendrix Crybaby Wah (True Bypass mod)
- Boss NS-2 loop
-- Boss ES-8
--- The eight loops:
---- MXR Poly Blue Octave
---- MXR Dyna Comp
---- MXR EVH Flanger
---- MXR Phase 90
---- Boss SD-1
---- Boss DM-2w
---- Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra
---- Boss MT-2
--- The volume loop:
---- Boss EQ-200 (Channel A)
---- Ceriatone 2203 (modded)
---- Suhr Reactive Load
--- Tuner out:
---- Boss TU-3
-- Boss EQ-200 (Channel B)
- Boss IR-200
-- IR-200 effects Loop:
--- Boss MD-500 (if the MD-200 had a Detune setting I'd use that instead)
--- Boss SDE-3000D

The first six loops are self-explanatory. The seventh and eighth are where the IR-200 and MIDI control really comes into play. The Sabbra and the Metal Zone sound like shit running into a cranked amp, so instead they will be used as preamps running into specialized patches in the IR-200. This is one of the major reasons I'm upgrading to the ES-8, I can switch seamlessly between the sound of my amp and these two pedals with a single tap.

The IR-200 has an EQ built in, but the EQ-200 will allow me to fake channel switching on my 2203 and provide a much more user friendly interface. But what it will also let me do is run the exact same settings into the IR-200 as I do into the 2203. Every patch I make featuring the 2203 will have an equivalent patch using the IR-200's amp sims. This way I can unplug the board, take it anywhere and still have all of my sounds without dragging an amp around.

It's pretty excessive for a home player I know, but I'm done having anything short of what I want. No more compromising. Right now the board and the ES-8 are on their way, and I'll update when I start building. In the meantime I need to prep my IR-200. I've drawn up a road map of my intended patches and if I don't get it sorted now figuring out the MIDI will be a nightmare.

 

[DanTravis62]

I use an es-5 for a similar purpose for my gigging rig, and it functions flawlessly.

It has a lot of great "hidden" features too, volume boosts for loops or patches, phase, etc

 

[GreatRedDragon]

Assembly has yet to start in earnest, as I'm still nailing down specs.

My Dunlop wah is getting swapped for a Morley 20/20 Wah Lock. I just really hate the activating switches on Crybaby-style wahs. With the Morley I obviously don't have to worry about it, and the "lock" feature basically acts like a Q-Zone - perfect for nailing that "Use Your Illusion" sound.

Instead of the Poly Blue I'll be using the Boss PS-6 for now, pulling double duty as an octave and a harmonizer.

I was intending on using the onboard reverb of the IR-200 but there isn't a CC# to turn it on and off, which would mean having to create duplicate patches for reverb on/off. I finally gave into temptation and bought a dedicated reverb - the final push was a used RV-500 popping up at a local store for 50% off list price. With the RV-500 I'll have more power than I'll ever need. Really, the only mode I care about is the SRV-2000 algorithm (if only Boss made an SRV-2000 pedal to complement the SDE-3000D), but by being able to run two reverbs and two delays off of that one pedal and stack it with the dual stereo delays of the SDE-3000D.... I can't imagine a stereo space being more huge.

To save additional space, I'm swapping my trusty TU-3 for a Rock Stock Nano tuner. The thing is about the size of the black rubber pad on the Boss's footswitch, and while it's been reported to be a pain to switch on and off that won't matter to me because the ES-8 has a Tuner Out.

I've also been looking into the RC-10r, and it's landed on my Christmas list. It'll fit in perfectly to the left of the ES-8.

I do have the Templeboard assembled with the bridge and the ES-8.... it's a pretty intimidating piece of kit. When it's loaded up with all of these goodies it's going to be a seriously fun toy.

 

[romanianreaper]

Awesome!! Nothing is too much for a home player dude. Enjoy it and do your thing. I am currently I'm a band but for years I wasn't and didn't let that sway me from getting great tube amps, setups, etc.

I just got my BOSS EVH pedal and having a blast with stereo and tons of Keeley pedals into my EVH 5150-III 6L6 50W. t is inspiring to have a great rig.

 

[Panhead5]

I come from the world of modelling. Two years ago I bought my first tube amp, a modded Ceriatone 2203, and used it in conjunction with a Suhr RL and Amplitube, which served as an IR loader and post-FX processor. But I hated being tied to a computer, so this year I made the jump and bought a Boss IR-200.

Since then I've been accumulating pieces of gear to replace the functionality of Amplitube's back end, but what I've neglected is the switching flexibility of the front end that I used to get from my digital rig.

What I've done is design a rig that (hopefully) will give me all of the control and flexibility I want. The goals I sought specifically were:

1) Single-switch activation of multiple pedals up front
2) MIDI control over the effects I have in the back
3) Seamless switching between my 2203 and the onboard sims of the IR-200
4) Convenient I/O so I'm not fucking around looking for the right hole

Goals #1, 2 and 3 pointed me to the Boss ES-8. It ticks every box I had: Eight loops plus an insert loop with a ground lift, twelve assignable footswitches and full MIDI control. Goal #4 pointed me to the Temple Audio Trio 28. The IEC and patch bay models should make connections a snap. I decided the stock board would not be sufficient, however. So I ordered a Fix Pedalboards Mag-Latch bridge, for extra real estate, and I will be building four 4-gang patch boxes to mount under the board. These patch boxes will be what bridges the ES-8 and the eight effects loops, allowing for easy changes without navigating the actual harness coming out of the ES-8.

That's the gist of the hardware, now the software:

- Jimi Hendrix Crybaby Wah (True Bypass mod)
- Boss NS-2 loop
-- Boss ES-8
--- The eight loops:
---- MXR Poly Blue Octave
---- MXR Dyna Comp
---- MXR EVH Flanger
---- MXR Phase 90
---- Boss SD-1
---- Boss DM-2w
---- Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra
---- Boss MT-2
--- The volume loop:
---- Boss EQ-200 (Channel A)
---- Ceriatone 2203 (modded)
---- Suhr Reactive Load
--- Tuner out:
---- Boss TU-3
-- Boss EQ-200 (Channel B)
- Boss IR-200
-- IR-200 effects Loop:
--- Boss MD-500 (if the MD-200 had a Detune setting I'd use that instead)
--- Boss SDE-3000D

The first six loops are self-explanatory. The seventh and eighth are where the IR-200 and MIDI control really comes into play. The Sabbra and the Metal Zone sound like shit running into a cranked amp, so instead they will be used as preamps running into specialized patches in the IR-200. This is one of the major reasons I'm upgrading to the ES-8, I can switch seamlessly between the sound of my amp and these two pedals with a single tap.

The IR-200 has an EQ built in, but the EQ-200 will allow me to fake channel switching on my 2203 and provide a much more user friendly interface. But what it will also let me do is run the exact same settings into the IR-200 as I do into the 2203. Every patch I make featuring the 2203 will have an equivalent patch using the IR-200's amp sims. This way I can unplug the board, take it anywhere and still have all of my sounds without dragging an amp around.

It's pretty excessive for a home player I know, but I'm done having anything short of what I want. No more compromising. Right now the board and the ES-8 are on their way, and I'll update when I start building. In the meantime I need to prep my IR-200. I've drawn up a road map of my intended patches and if I don't get it sorted now figuring out the MIDI will be a nightmare.

I wish I knew how to manage all that !! I'm good with an old 800 , sd-1 , a carbon copy and 2 cabinets .

 

[GreatRedDragon]

Awesome!! Nothing is too much for a home player dude. Enjoy it and do your thing. I am currently I'm a band but for years I wasn't and didn't let that sway me from getting great tube amps, setups, etc.

I just got my BOSS EVH pedal and having a blast with stereo and tons of Keeley pedals into my EVH 5150-III 6L6 50W. t is inspiring to have a great rig.

That Boss delay is just too good.

And ironically I think if I was gigging I wouldn't use a rig anywhere near this complex lol.

I wish I knew how to manage all that !! I'm good with an old 800 , sd-1 , a carbon copy and 2 cabinets .

I am a bit of a masochist when it comes to this shit I'll admit.

 

[GreatRedDragon]

Currently awaiting shipping of my new wah and the parts for the 31 (!!!) patch cables I need to build.

In the meantime I'll cobbled together a test board with the MD-500 and RV-500 to verify that they work and sound the way I want them too.

The key thing with the MD-500 is nailing that Zakk Wylde-style Symphonic chorused sound, a chorus that's thick and rich but not warbly. Until now I've been using a PS-6 for detune, but the big advantage of the MD-500 is I can run two stereo effects in parallel. So what I've tried is a stand EVH-style Detune, +/-9 cents, combined with the Roland Dimension D. I'm running both at 100% wet, and running that into the RV-500's SRV-2000 emulation, specifically the H37 preset cranked up to 3 seconds. This wet chain is running in parallel with my dry sound, which is running straight down the middle.

Even without the SDE-3000 mixed in it sounds like a wall of guitars, with no queasiness and a surprising amount of warmth. I can only imagine how huge it will get when I get the stereo delays mixed in.

 

[jabps]

Assembly has yet to start in earnest, as I'm still nailing down specs.

My Dunlop wah is getting swapped for a Morley 20/20 Wah Lock. I just really hate the activating switches on Crybaby-style wahs. With the Morley I obviously don't have to worry about it, and the "lock" feature basically acts like a Q-Zone - perfect for nailing that "Use Your Illusion" sound.

Instead of the Poly Blue I'll be using the Boss PS-6 for now, pulling double duty as an octave and a harmonizer.

I was intending on using the onboard reverb of the IR-200 but there isn't a CC# to turn it on and off, which would mean having to create duplicate patches for reverb on/off. I finally gave into temptation and bought a dedicated reverb - the final push was a used RV-500 popping up at a local store for 50% off list price. With the RV-500 I'll have more power than I'll ever need. Really, the only mode I care about is the SRV-2000 algorithm (if only Boss made an SRV-2000 pedal to complement the SDE-3000D), but by being able to run two reverbs and two delays off of that one pedal and stack it with the dual stereo delays of the SDE-3000D.... I can't imagine a stereo space being more huge.

To save additional space, I'm swapping my trusty TU-3 for a Rock Stock Nano tuner. The thing is about the size of the black rubber pad on the Boss's footswitch, and while it's been reported to be a pain to switch on and off that won't matter to me because the ES-8 has a Tuner Out.

I've also been looking into the RC-10r, and it's landed on my Christmas list. It'll fit in perfectly to the left of the ES-8.

I do have the Templeboard assembled with the bridge and the ES-8.... it's a pretty intimidating piece of kit. When it's loaded up with all of these goodies it's going to be a seriously fun toy.

The Morley's are cool, I used a Tremonti for years however if you want a standard Crybaby without the switch look at the Cry Baby 95Q, it's perfect. No it doesn't lock but it doesn't have the switch either. What I've been using for years since making the switch from the Tremonti.

 

[Briman24]

I love my boss es8. Was a challenge for me setting it up for my wet dry wet rig but got her done. Had to refer to manual and youtube vids a few times for midi set up etc.
I love it and haven't tinkered with it in years. Hopefully nothing happens because i will have to go back and read up again lol.

 

[Motorboat McCooter]

I come from the world of modelling. Two years ago I bought my first tube amp, a modded Ceriatone 2203, and used it in conjunction with a Suhr RL and Amplitube, which served as an IR loader and post-FX processor. But I hated being tied to a computer, so this year I made the jump and bought a Boss IR-200.

Since then I've been accumulating pieces of gear to replace the functionality of Amplitube's back end, but what I've neglected is the switching flexibility of the front end that I used to get from my digital rig.

What I've done is design a rig that (hopefully) will give me all of the control and flexibility I want. The goals I sought specifically were:

1) Single-switch activation of multiple pedals up front
2) MIDI control over the effects I have in the back
3) Seamless switching between my 2203 and the onboard sims of the IR-200
4) Convenient I/O so I'm not fucking around looking for the right hole

Goals #1, 2 and 3 pointed me to the Boss ES-8. It ticks every box I had: Eight loops plus an insert loop with a ground lift, twelve assignable footswitches and full MIDI control. Goal #4 pointed me to the Temple Audio Trio 28. The IEC and patch bay models should make connections a snap. I decided the stock board would not be sufficient, however. So I ordered a Fix Pedalboards Mag-Latch bridge, for extra real estate, and I will be building four 4-gang patch boxes to mount under the board. These patch boxes will be what bridges the ES-8 and the eight effects loops, allowing for easy changes without navigating the actual harness coming out of the ES-8.

That's the gist of the hardware, now the software:

- Jimi Hendrix Crybaby Wah (True Bypass mod)
- Boss NS-2 loop
-- Boss ES-8
--- The eight loops:
---- MXR Poly Blue Octave
---- MXR Dyna Comp
---- MXR EVH Flanger
---- MXR Phase 90
---- Boss SD-1
---- Boss DM-2w
---- Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra
---- Boss MT-2
--- The volume loop:
---- Boss EQ-200 (Channel A)
---- Ceriatone 2203 (modded)
---- Suhr Reactive Load
--- Tuner out:
---- Boss TU-3
-- Boss EQ-200 (Channel B)
- Boss IR-200
-- IR-200 effects Loop:
--- Boss MD-500 (if the MD-200 had a Detune setting I'd use that instead)
--- Boss SDE-3000D

The first six loops are self-explanatory. The seventh and eighth are where the IR-200 and MIDI control really comes into play. The Sabbra and the Metal Zone sound like shit running into a cranked amp, so instead they will be used as preamps running into specialized patches in the IR-200. This is one of the major reasons I'm upgrading to the ES-8, I can switch seamlessly between the sound of my amp and these two pedals with a single tap.

The IR-200 has an EQ built in, but the EQ-200 will allow me to fake channel switching on my 2203 and provide a much more user friendly interface. But what it will also let me do is run the exact same settings into the IR-200 as I do into the 2203. Every patch I make featuring the 2203 will have an equivalent patch using the IR-200's amp sims. This way I can unplug the board, take it anywhere and still have all of my sounds without dragging an amp around.

It's pretty excessive for a home player I know, but I'm done having anything short of what I want. No more compromising. Right now the board and the ES-8 are on their way, and I'll update when I start building. In the meantime I need to prep my IR-200. I've drawn up a road map of my intended patches and if I don't get it sorted now figuring out the MIDI will be a nightmare.

I'm interested in your build. I've built a few boards and they all utilize a loop switcher of some sort, but nothing like a programmable ES-8. All mine are just your basic manual loop switchers. The more loops the better depending on available space.

I try to use 2 of them if space permits. One for loops before the amp, and another for loops in the amp effects loop.

Something like this:

I should really get an ES-8 or something similar and learn to use it.

I wonder if the ES-8 might be able to MIDI control the board I've been thinking of building? The main components would be these 5 IK Multimedia pedals:

I think it could. But COULD I?

Anyway, looking forward to more details of your build dude. It's a very ambitious project.

 

[Motorboat McCooter]

One thing to keep in mind is the input/output side of these loopers. There are A LOT of jacks and they a VERY close together.

Regular patch cables with regular straight or 90 degree ends AIN'T GONNA WORK. Well the straight one will but they stick out so far it takes up too much space.

Best to get low profile straight jack's.

Here's the input/output of the BOSS ES-8.

And here's a another photo from Boss showing it with patch cables. Looks like they're all low profile straight jack's. I would leave more room than they did. In case you need to trouble shoot down the road. The Boss DD-20 and SL-20 are way to close IMO.

Here's a photo from one of my boards showing a mixture of low profile straight, and low profile 90 degree connections on my looper.

In a perfect situation I would have the ends connecting to the looper all low profile(short) straight jacks and the ends going pedals mostly 90 degree angle low profile.

 

[rsm]

ambitious effort, good luck!

I recently built a computer plug-in based rig, much simpler and compact but I can run any computer software up to the hardware limits.

I may still build a Fractal rig (again)...if I can justify the cost

 

[mooncobra]

Whoa……

 

[ccn]

I'm from the days of a guitar, a cable, an amp input jack and possibly an overdrive pedal and that's the entire rig .

The stuff people are using today is just mind boggling , it just gets more expensive and more expensive as time goes on .

 

[GreatRedDragon]

Did a little prep on the RV-500. The features are way too deep for me to go in blind, so I did some digging and found the old manual for the SRV-2000. And as luck would have it, that manual has a huge table with every parameter setting for every factory preset.

With some help from Boss's (honestly pretty mediocre) editor software, the first 28 patches on my RV-500 are now exact recreations of the 28 reverb patches on the SRV-2000. It's pretty cool to cycle through them and get all of those classic sounds, without having to do any of the thinking myself.

I'm interested in your build. I've built a few boards and they all utilize a loop switcher of some sort, but nothing like a programmable ES-8. All mine are just your basic manual loop switchers. The more loops the better depending on available space.

I try to use 2 of them if space permits. One for loops before the amp, and another for loops in the amp effects loop.

Something like this:

View attachment 256478

I should really get an ES-8 or something similar and learn to use it.

I wonder if the ES-8 might be able to MIDI control the board I've been thinking of building? The main components would be these 5 IK Multimedia pedals:

View attachment 256493

View attachment 256496

I think it could. But COULD I?

View attachment 256499

Anyway, looking forward to more details of your build dude. It's a very ambitious project.

I was going to use a regular loop switcher, but, well, feature creep happened. Once I decided I wanted to integrate MIDI into my board it was inevitable I would go for the ES-8.

If the IK pedals are MIDI the ES-8 can handle it. The ES-5 and MS-3 would be able to handle them too - you can even plug your existing loop switchers into one loop on the Boss to keep everything integrated.

One thing to keep in mind is the input/output side of these loopers. There are A LOT of jacks and they a VERY close together.

Regular patch cables with regular straight or 90 degree ends AIN'T GONNA WORK. Well the straight one will but they stick out so far it takes up too much space.

Best to get low profile straight jack's.

Here's the input/output of the BOSS ES-8.

View attachment 256505

And here's a another photo from Boss showing it with patch cables. Looks like they're all low profile straight jack's. I would leave more room than they did. In case you need to trouble shoot down the road. The Boss DD-20 and SL-20 are way to close IMO.

View attachment 256508

Here's a photo from one of my boards showing a mixture of low profile straight, and low profile 90 degree connections on my looper.

View attachment 256514

In a perfect situation I would have the ends connecting to the looper all low profile(short) straight jacks and the ends going pedals mostly 90 degree angle low profile.

I've got a bunch of Squareplug straight plugs coming for the ES-8 and the stereo Boss pedals. Space will still be tight but will hopefully be manageable. What's gonna be really tight is the MIDI cables, I might have to make my own with Switchcraft right-angle jacks (that on top of the hassle of having a mix of 5-pin DIN and 1/8" TRS MIDI jacks to deal with).

 

[Motorboat McCooter]

If the IK pedals are MIDI the ES-8 can handle it. The ES-5 and MS-3 would be able to handle them too - you can even plug your existing loop switchers into one loop on the Boss to keep everything integrated.

Yes the IK Multimedia pedals are all MIDI. Those are some great ideas man. Thanks! Not sure if I'll try to tackle it though. Might be a bridge too far for me but I'm going to look into it.

 

[Motorboat McCooter]

I've got a bunch of Squareplug straight plugs coming for the ES-8 and the stereo Boss pedals. Space will still be tight but will hopefully be manageable. What's gonna be really tight is the MIDI cables, I might have to make my own with Switchcraft right-angle jacks (that on top of the hassle of having a mix of 5-pin DIN and 1/8" TRS MIDI jacks to deal with).

Yeah I figured you might have a plan for input/output connections but I wanted to mention it just in case. It can run into a lot of money if you don't take the limited space into account and bought the wrong stuff.

The MIDI input/output also definitely needs some kind low profile jacks, otherwise it's really taking up space on your board. Looks like you got a plan for that. Good job dude!

 

[nightlight]

That sounds like a cool rig, very powerful. I think one of the greatest features of the ES8 is the ability to switch around the loop order, that way the possibilities expand infinitely, especially with midi controllable pedals, in a way that my old Loopholic 5 never could.

 

[Motorboat McCooter]

I'm holding off on the pedalboard idea I mentioned earlier with the IK Multimedia Tonex and X-Gear pedals.

I think this is a much better way to get to know them. Just slap most of them on my desk.

I left out the X-Space pedal for space reasons(pun) and the Tonex has reverb anyway.

Running them stereo through my mixer and monitors.

Hell yes. Very fun and sounds awesome.

 

[GreatRedDragon]

Couple updates.

First, in my quest to make my life as complicated and expensive as possible I've replaced the Dyna Comp with the UA Max Compressor. The Max not only models a Dyna Comp, it also models the 1176 and LA2 studio compressors, and has a built in pre-amp boost based on the UA 610. It also operates in dual-mono, like the EQ-200, so I'm going to run one channel in Loop 2 of the ES-8 and the other channel in the loop of the IR-200. Four pedals for the price of two? Ish?

I've also been toying around with replacing the PS-6 with the upcoming Line6 HX One, which would not only serve as a MIDI-controlled Harmonizer but as a general "catch-all" pedal to emulate things like Fuzz and Uni-Vibe and other assorted effects not on the board. But I'm (hopefully) saving that for way down the line. Please, God, let me stop buying things.

Now I've begun the arduous task of building cables. I've just gotten in the MIDI cables I need (the simplest and cheapest option turned out to be five 1/8" TRS to 5-pin cables), I've figured out power, I've got the right Y-splitter for the IR-200's loop return, and I've got a big fat pile of Squareplug connectors and an even fatter spool of cable. All that's left is to suck it up and get soldering.