Pics of indie bands' pedalboards, guitars, amps, etc.

[calaverasgrandes]

dood judgin people is FUN.
try this experiment

go to starbuck/peets and order a coffee. drink it.
kinda boring?
Now go to a starbucks/peets, order a coffee, drink it while making fun of everyone that comes in.
Way more entertaining!
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[BrontoSoreAss]

[calaverasgrandes]

I guess I got a bit of sour grapes going on.
I am just pissed because previously uncool obscure gear is now the new vintage.
Hands off my Moog MG1!
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[Jeff White]

[calaverasgrandes]

hey, more shoes=less likely to get foot fungus!
I never wear the same shoes two days in a row.
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[Snarl 12/8]

I'm trying to figure out why all the guitarists I've jammed with in recent memory have showed up with huge pedal boards and I cringe. I'm just turned off by it. I think it's a residual feeling from being a kid playing with other kids and all the jam sessions that were fairly pointless because the guitarist didn't know how to get a good sound out of their pedals and would spend the whole time dicking with them. All the recent adults I've jammed with have sounded really good and spent almost no time dialing in tones on their pedals. But I still have a knee-jerk reaction that I'll admit might not be warranted in the majority of cases.
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Carl Keil

[vivalastblues]

I've just found that in my experience bands that use less are able to do more, with IDEAS rather than tools.

A band like Lightning Bolt does well using a bunch of delays and other cool shit, because it complements their sound and they KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING. But assholes with 2 pedal boards full of distortions and delays that become so complicated they couldn't possibly know what the hell is going on (and anyone who plays music can tell that they don't) are just annoying and perpetuate this pedal obsession that seems to have started around the time Radiohead started using that many pedals.

It's fine to have a delay and a wah and a distortion, but I've found as a general rule, the more pedals the band spends an hour setting up to use, the less engaging the band is. Not always true - I've recently seen two great bands that used a bunch of pedals, but they didn't rely on them. They were just recent additions to their rigs, and both bands can run perfectly well without them.

I understand the sentiment of 'experimenting' and whatever, but I also think that time is sort of over and if you're not using the tool in a meaningful or significant way then you just shouldn't use it.

[vvv]

[dave watkins]

the blog is really great, thanks for sharing!

also, sometimes minimal gear can be awesome, sometimes tons of gear can be awesome.

also also, i love that the volume knob for the tempo guide is taped down in the first picture, i can't tell you the amount of times i've seen folks do live sets and go for a loop and some cheesy drum beat comes through the amp.
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the tape is rolling, the ones and zeros are... um... ones and zeroing.
http://www.davewatkinsmusic.com
http://www.colloquialorchestra.com

[Mudcloth]

Thanks for posting the blog link, very cool.

Giant pedal boards can be kind of obnoxious, yes. I played with a guy who had two gigantic pedal boards. He played a Balalaika.

I used to only use a tuner, an overdrive and a boost and one of the bands I was in asked me to not use so many pedals. It didn't look cool.

My board right now has a tuner, fuzz (rarely used, unless I've had a few beers), overdrive (usually on the lowest drive setting) boost, phase 90 (rarely used), vibrato/tremolo, delay ( almost always used as slapback).
Some gigs I only use the tuner and maybe the boost. Depends on the band, depends on the music. They're tools. Sometimes a song calls for a little vibrato. Nice to have it when the song wants it.

I also occasionally use a capo. I like the sound of ringing strings sometimes. Can I play in the key of G without a capo? Yes. Can I capo the third fret and let it ring? Yes. Also a tool. If all I had was a guitar and an amp (without reverb or vibrato) and a cable I could get through just about any gig because I know how to play the guitar. That's a nice feeling.

I have been surprised before listening to a band that dresses funny and has beat up, shitty gear.
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Matt Giles
Austin, Tx


http://www.mattguitargiles.com
http://www.myspace.com/mattguitargiles
http://www.thedrakesband.com/

How much is a stamp? I'll buy the goddamn stamp.

[younglungs85]

*bump*
Lots of new gear posted! (St. Vincent, Acid Mothers Temple, Nada Surf, Local H, Olivia Tremor Control, Joseph Arthur, Bear In Heaven, Wye Oak, Agalloch, Wild Nothing, Sharon Van Etten...)

http://OtherBandsStuff.com

[Darlington Pair]

[Nick Sevilla]

I love my pedals.

And I understand why in a live setting you need a bunch...

If you need 15 different sounds and don't want or can't change settings every song really quickly, having more pedals means getting to the next song/sound faster.

Cheers
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The Song. Nothing else really matters.

[Smitty]

To the OP: MOST EXCELLENT BLOG. You literally just made my whole day with it. I am totally that guy who always wants to know what people are using, down to the little nitty-gritties. Please keep it up!

[younglungs85]