Electric Trumpet - Pedalboard walk through
What’s My Set-up?
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
I have been experimenting with using guitar pedals with my trumpet for sometime now. I have used them on a few gigs and have gotten great response from both the crowd and the band.
As I was compiling my pedal collection and building my pedal board I was amazed that there were no youtube videos featuring trumpet players demonstrating their set-up and the sounds they got. There are thousands of guitar videos, but no trumpet. So.... Here is my first video walking you through my set-up.
Pedals:
Pigtronix - Disnortion - Octave/ Fuzz/ Overdrive
The two Pigtronix pedals are the newest additions to my set-up. Thanks to the guys at Pigtronix for the support, as I am now a proud artist endorser for this cutting edge pedal company. It is very evident as soon as you try a Pigtronix pedal that the company is obsessed with tone, great tone, super fat and super warm tone.
The Disnortion pedal has been a great addition to my board, replacing a traditional overdrive and distortion pedal. This pedal interested me because the fuzz and overdrive are wired in series, which allows me to use them together, where combining individual overdrive and distortion were uncontrollable. The added bonus of the octave was a pleasant surprise as I use it with the fuzz to create a real lively and dynamic distortion effect. The octave is also amazing combined with the envelope filter and it adds more definition to the Q and more qwacky funk which I am looking for.
Pigtronix - Envelope Phaser (Bernie Worrell Edition)
Where is the funk? Look no further than the Pigtronix Envelope Phaser. I was first attracted to effects for trumpet when I heard Roy Hargrove on the RH factor album using an envelope filter with his trumpet. I have now owned three different envelope filters and the Pigtronix provides the most dynamics, interesting and funky envelope tone. The personality of the sound is amazing, and I am always surprised by the small nuances of sound that I hear.
Combine this amazing envelope filter with a phaser that will blow your mind, and you have a pedal that will never leave my board. The more time I spend with this pedal the more intrigued and blown away I become. A few minutes in the practice studio quickly turns into hours as I am swept away by the great funky and swirling tone produced my this pedal.
The custom paint job on the Bernie Worrell signature edition has gotten a lot of attention and compliments.
Dunlop 95Q - Wah Pedal
I was attracted to this pedal as it functions quite differently than the traditional wah pedal, but maintains the traditional wah sound. This pedal sits in the open position and engages as soon as you depress it. It does not have to be pressed all the way down to turn it on, and turn it off again. I love this function, combined with the controllable boost and Q settings, this is the perfect wah pedal for my needs.
EHX Pog 2 - Poly-octave generator
This pedals ability to provide one and two octaves above and one and two octaves below the source is amazing. It tracks very precisely and instantly with the trumpet, including all natural inflections in pitch and phrasing.
At first I thought (as many trumpet players would) that having access one and two octaves above would be amazing, but I find myself using one octave below the most. Combined with fuzz, overdrive and wah, the octave below adds amazing depth and real intensity to the effects.
The individual octave controls, attack control and the presets make this pedal an amazing addition to my arsenal of sounds.
This pedal was a subtle but welcome addition to my set-up. I found that the ‘effected’ sound of the trumpet ended unnaturally and very abruptly without reverb. I needed something to provide a more reverberant and live sound. This pedal was the answer. It has lots of great reverb sounds and provides the ability to control many parameters. For the sound that I like I leave it set to ‘room’ with just a slight reverb. It is on all the time and I don’t change it. I might need to adjust it I was playing in a room where I needed to match the natural reverb of the space, but so far I have not needed to change it.
I acquired this pedal mostly because of it’s boost function. My clean sound was considerably quieter than my ‘effected’ sound so I needed to find something to boost the clean. This pedal was the answer. It works perfectly for a clean boost. I also roll off the lows to help reduce the valve sound that is picked up by the microphone.
I have the boost on for all clean playing, as well as with phaser and wah. My wah does have it’s own boost, but that boost is negated by the compression, so the EQ boost is perfect to give my wah sound more punch.
MXR Dyna Comp - Compression
This pedal is magical for me. I have placed my compression after all of my tone altering effects and before the EQ, delay, and reverb. I know that most guitarists will put a compression pedal early in their pedal chain, but for me having it later in the chain after my tone altering effects is perfect as it allows me to control the output strength of the prior effects. This is a major advantage to me as distortion, overdrive and envelope signals are very temperamental when using a microphone input. The MXR compressor has allowed me to tame those beasts.
I don’t find that compression removes my ability to alter the dynamics of my playing. I can still naturally alter my dynamics as I would acoustically. The compression really ensures that my ‘effected’ sound is consistent with each pedal and combinations that I choose.
The compression combined with a slight boost from EQ and some reverb gives me the best clean sound as well. Before I added compression my clean sound less full and could be thin. The compression really beefs up my clean sound and gives it lots of presence.
TC Electronic Flashback x4 - Delay and looper
Combination pedals that work well are amazing, and this pedal does not disappoint. This pedal has great delays, three presets, tap tempo delay, online customizable delays, AND a looper. What more do I need to say?
Gear:
What can I say, amazing cables. They are cut to any length, space saving, they look great, AND most importantly the SOUND great. I have never been faced with no sound and had to resort to checking every connection because these cables always work and they stay connected.
These are to only cables I use, and I am proud to be an endorsing artist for George L Cables.
Audio-Technica PRO-35 - Clip on microphone
Great clip-on bell mic. I use it with trumpet (and mutes), and flugelhorn. I find that it gives me a great sound and does not compromise the bottom end. I like a dark trumpet sound, so it is important to me not to have the microphone sacrifice that.
Samson S-Phantom - Phantom power supply
Simple two channel power supply box. It accepts two XLR in and has two XLR out, as well as a 1/4 inch out, making is perfect for running into a pedal board.
Yamaha Stagepas 150m- power speaker with mixer
Perfect portable PA and mixer. I love that the mixer can be removed from the back of the speaker, making for easy access to controls and inputs. I dial up my sound and use it as a personal monitor. I can take a 1/4 out to a DI box and then straight to the main broad for the gig. This gives me an extra level of control over my sound.
Pedaltrain PT2 - pedalboard and soft case
Simple, practical and looks great. This board is the perfect size for me as 24x12. As you can see I have no extra space, but all my pedals fits. It hides all the power and connecting cables well, and I even have a power-bar mounted underneath out of sight. I like a clean and tidy board, and this is the perfect product for me.
Godlyke Powerall - Power supply
This powers all my 9V pedals. It has room for 11 on the daisy chain, but I’m not using that many. It can power up to 2000mA which gives lots of room for a variety of pedals. Perfect for me. Lifetime warranty as well.
