Key Moments in the Evolution of The Pedal-Chain

So the first proper plan of 14 pedals - didn't really pan out too close to what was initially intended.

I acquired all of the top row - where the Triple Wreck was though only added a couple of years later.

Obviously the Stryfecta was one of the first things acquired.

While in the middle column - the Diezel came later, and I decided on different alternatives to the Strymon Lex and Boss CP-1X. While those are still kind of on my wishlist as nice-to-have alternatives!

Needless to say the first actual official pedal-chain didn't exactly reflect this draft version either!

By the time of my first pedal-chain build - you can see I had very obviously evolved the whole 12 Degrees of Saturation Methodology - while I was still very much experimenting with pedal placement at this stage - so some of those slots did change format and position over time.

The rudiments of the pedal chain are definitely there, and from my original 14-pedal Pedal-Chain Plan - we can see that 9 of those 14 made it through that process.

Of course the first chain was quite a bit bigger than 14 pedals - at 25 - and we can already see a number of key perennial favourite pedals which are still an essential part of the chain.

These include the Strymon Riverside and Sunset, the Dr Scientist Frazz Dazzler, the 2 Boss utility pedals - and the first sign of the stereo fairy dust that is the TC Electronic Mimiq Doubler.

I of course still retain all these pedals - and several of these put in a fairly regular appearance on rotation. I'm still proud of all those choices - and they still stand up to today's standards. It's always interesting to see what has prevailed and what hasn't.

There's a pretty cool symmetry of arrangement here too - while some of those slots would swap around eventually - including the Mimiq - which turns out is better going into the Stereo Section than coming out of it at the end of the chain!

This visual was actually somewhat in flux - as I was on the cusp then of making several strategic choices.

Not everything goes according to plan every time though - and while we have the DigiTech FreqOut, Fulltone Octafuzz, and TC Electronic Hall of Fame 2 listed - those never yet made it into either the reference collection or the chain. All of those remain on the 'Infinite Wishlist' but several other priorities have been in effect since that time, and new ones are arising every day!

Everything else happened as is laid out - and we can wee that we've moved on from the Stryfecta to the Boss MD-500 and RV-500, alongside my still favourite all-rounder delay unit - the Empress EchoSystem. Note that a Looper takes up the final spot for the first time here too.

And another perennial favourite enters the fray here - in the shape of the CBA Brothers Analog Gainstage!

So we're steadily growing here from an initial 25 pedals, then 30, and now up to 36.

This is really a key stage in the development - as you can see by the full analog modulation section of 4 CBA types. Also my favourite ever sounding Stereo Rotary effect - the Tech 21 NYC RotoChoir.

We can also see that the pedal order is mostly set here - with the first introduction of the JA Prism ahead of the Compressor, while I'm obviously still experimenting with the TCE Mimiq at that stage - which appears here at the end of the chain!

We've largely set the final overall running order here - of course bar the TCE Mimiq.

This is only two away from the final current arrangement of 41 - and we see the first introduction of the Origin Effects RevivalDrive.

Also the combination of Barefoot FX Emerald Green and Dr Scientist Elements which were a favourite paring for a long time.

Lots of classic pedals here that have stood the test of time - including the first appearance of the favourite Keeley Freak Fuzz Modded Boss BD-2 Blues Driver.

Here are also the beginnings of my Spaceman Effects obsession!

I remember this arrangement very fondly - this was a great sounding setup which really set the mould for things to come!

Note also the addition of the Eventide H9 Max here, and the Source Audio Ventris. Also the two Mu-Trons at the start of the chain which defined the ongoing placement of octave and auto-wah pedals!

There are a number of further notable pedals here as the total number goes up to 40.

At the end of the top row we see the now staple trio of JA Prism, JA Bloom, and Germanium Boost - where the last mentioned was eventually displaced by the ThorpyFX Heavy Water - that trio of tone components has pretty much been essential since that time. Last in that row is also the first appearance of the amazing Decibelics Golden Horse Mini.

Towards the end of the chain we also see the addition of the Empress Zoia - which was very exciting back then, but turned out to be a not particularly ideal 'Stompbox' as such but rather a tabletop device. Still in the collection and inevitably cool, while I see it very much as V1 type device - which will surely evolve and become more practically usable over time! It has already evolved into a distinct Euroburo edition which caters to the modular synth-heads. And I feel inevitable the core version will need to add a few knobs / controls - to be properly usable as an actual stompbox!

Here we really see the establishment of the full order of service - which has largely been retained to this day.

We see the arrival of the Keyztone EXchanger, DigiTech Whammy Ricochet and Meris Hedra in the first row - all long-term favourites now. Also probably my all-time favourite Octave Fuzz - the Anasounds Crankled Bitoun edition.

We also see the arrival of the amazing Demon Pedals Kondo-Shifuku and BYOC Crown Jewel - two of the best overdrives of all time.

Finally, in the bottom row we see the long-serving Strymon Volante for the first time, and the TC Electronic Mimiq - which has finally found its perfect spot.

Note also that my favourite Tech 21 NYC RotoChoir has been displaced by the JHS Pedals Unicorn Uni-Vibe - as Uni-Vibe then became my 5th favourite Modulation - above Rotary.

There's also a cameo here from the Red Panda Particle 2 Granular Delay - which puts in an occasional appearance, but where that slot is really owned by the Boss DD-200..

Here is the first of the 'Class of' series when Pedal-Chain updates had become a more regular occurrence.

We see the introduction of favourites - Boss SY-1, ThorpyFX Heavy Water Dual Boost, Sinvertek N5+, Boss OD-200, ThorpyFX Camoflange, Boss DD-200, and Boss RC-10R.

The Pedal-Chain has reached 41 Pedals too - which is largely the maximum number - except for the very occasional special arrangements - when I squeeze in one more mini. Generally there is not enough space for any more than these particular 41 sized enclosures - while we've yet to see the arrival of two more now essential pedals!

Note also the cameo of the Chase Bliss Audio Edition of Generation Loss - and the appearance of yet more perennial favourites - the Beetronics Swarm PLL, Sitek Wuffy, and Redbeard Red Mist MKIV.

There's a few more heavy hitters here - as the Dr Scientist Dusk, Expresso FX Custom Ge/Si Bender, Chase Bliss Audio Automatone Preamp MKII, and an assortment of Buffalo FX pedals feature for the first time. Note that the number of pedals shrinks now with the addition of the large format Automatone Preamp - this is the very essence of pedalboard Tetris and governs what 'Fits' in!

I was expecting the Buffalo FX Reticon Flanger to arrive any day then - before Steve Painter did a Lord Lucan and disappeared off the face of the earth. That's only very recently been rectified by the arrival of the exceptional PastFX Reticon Flanger - so it oddly kind of worked outing the end - while I did have to pay twice for the privilege!

The well-loved GFI Synesthesia puts in its first appearance too - as does the fairly short-lived (in my chain) EHX Oceans 12 - which would a little too soon be displaced by the Strymon NightSky.

Note also the killer pairing of Menatone Top Boost In a Can and King of the Britains pairing - which set the mould for the Pettyjohn Electronics equivalents to come.

Another stellar end-of-year selection. Featuring new Boss OC-5, Chase Bliss Audio Bliss Factory Fuzz, Shnobel Tone Daily Driver, EQD Life Pedal 2, ThorpyFX Field Marshal Fuzz, Redbeard Honey Badger Sub-Octave Fuzz, Toneczar Openhaus EQ Super High Gain Distortion, and KMA WurHM Ltd Edition HM-2 style distortion.

In the penultimate row we have the Boss EQ-200 for the first time, CTC Cylone Phaser, Cooper FX Arcades Multi-FX, and Boss GT-1000 CORE Multi-FX - principally used here as a Multi-Modulator.

The Strymon NigktSky kind of prematurely ends the EXH Ocean 12 innings - I was just too excited to get stuck into Strymon's new 'Build-a-Reverb' pedal!

So this is another key stepping stone in the evolution of the chain - with the Pettyjohn Electronics exploration just under way, the entirety of the CTC Constellation Trifecta, and 3 notable entries from Zander Circuitry.

But most importantly this marks the arrival of the very uniquely awesome Jack White Signature Coppersound Tripplegraph Dual Octaves and Kill-Switch / FX Loop engage triple effect.

This is the first time we hit the now consistent magic formula of 41 pedals - which is likely set to be the standard from hereon in. Just a perfect balance of flavours and functions!

In honour of the first 'Boss Month' - which will likely be a biennial event / every other year - where I attempted to populate the chain with as much Boss as was applicable / possible.

Boss is the brand I have most pedals for by a country mile, and it's the only single brand which could pretty much create this entire chain by itself. While even Boss doesn't produce every conceivable effects pedal - meaning that there are several pedals for which there really isn't a suitable like-for-like Boss alternative. For near enough everything else Boss has a great solution.

This particular chain also combined the HM-2 Theme - in celebration of the launch of Boss's HM-2W Waza Craft Heavy Metal pedal - so that there are no less than 6 HM-2 variants in the chain at that time!

Of course during normal running - Boss is pretty much king too - with near enough half a dozen permanent representatives in the chain.

'Boss Month' was a pretty neat exercise - but one which took enormous effort, so it is unlikely it will be repeated again in this exact format. Note also that the RE-20 Space Echo arrived a little too late for these proceedings - while today of course I own all 3 varieties of Boss Space Echo!

The Class of 2021 again has numerous exceptional additions - where a number of those have become semi-permanent nowadays.

They include appearances by the Boss SY-200, Spiral Electric Demhe, Redbeard Angry Rhubarb, Pete Cornish GC-1, the dual majesty of the Pettyjohn Chime II and Gold II, Kuro Exegol, EQD Hizumitas, Tsakalis Room #40, Sinvertek N5+ 3D Gold, Drunk Beaver Heavy Bat, Blackhawk Sauron, and Klirrton Oh My Goat.

Also Spaceman analog modulations, and the introduction of the superb DryBell Vibe Machine 3, Demedash T-60 , and Strymon Zelzah.

Finally the Amplitube X-Space becomes possibly my favourite Reverb of all time - although pretty much equalled by the Neunaber Illumine. While I haven't had too much use out of the Boss IR-200 - so that one's back in the staging area!

The very recent explainer article gave me the opportunity to bing some of the absolute favourites back into circulation.

This is pretty much an ultimate arrangement of most, but not necessarily all of the favourites, up to that point.

There really are some killer pedals featured which are just way out there on their own - and I'm so delighted to have so many of them in my reference collection and in the chain. There's just innumerable highlights here where it's difficult to single out individual pedals.

While the two multi-drives next door to each other on slots #15 and #16 are probably my 2 favourite pedals of all time for their usability and versatility - while of course the Silver Linings could really do with presets! Which is why the Automatone Preamp MKII is to-date my all-time favourite pedal - its versatility and ease of use is just second to none - where it's only weakness really is its size!