I am looking for some fresh ideas to improve my gear.
Looking for Ideas on Changing My SOTB Setup… Any Suggestions?
Hello everyone, I hope you’re all doing well! I’m reaching out from Korea!
I have a pretty simple amp-less board and I’m quite happy with most of it, but I’m not satisfied with the drive side of the Aria. I’ve struggled to get good sounds from both high and low gain settings. I want to replace it with something I can leave on in the front.
I was thinking about adding a blues breaker or a clone, but I’d love to hear your ideas!
My setup is: Tuner → Aria → Soul Food → Woodrow (live setting is boost) → Galaxy. I sometimes add a Boss TR-2, but I’m not very familiar with using modulation effects.
The guitar in the picture is my main one, and I also use a strat from time to time.
(I play twice a week in an Americana group and two times a week in my wife’s church band. I hope that helps with your suggestions!)
Have you thought about adding a wah pedal? The new Hotone Soul Press looks really interesting and can also function as a volume and expression pedal.
Keats said:
Have you thought about adding a wah pedal? The new Hotone Soul Press looks really interesting and can also function as a volume and expression pedal.
It’s a solid pedal, I have it on my board too. It has a compact size but is big enough to use easily. Plus, it’s really versatile.
@Fallon
That’s awesome to hear! I’ve been looking at the Hotone tuner press too because I’ve had some issues with my Walrus tuner.
Reese said:
@Fallon
That’s awesome to hear! I’ve been looking at the Hotone tuner press too because I’ve had some issues with my Walrus tuner.
I used the Polytune Mini 3 Noir for years until I went wireless with the Shure GLXD16+ (which has a good tuner included). The Polytune never gave me any trouble during that time. I also used the original Polytune for a long time before that.
@Fallon
I’ll keep that in mind! My wife got me the tuner as a gift because she wanted me to add her picture to the display screen, lol. I have an old Boss chromatic tuner lying around, so maybe I’ll go back to that or try the Polytune.
Keats said:
Have you thought about adding a wah pedal? The new Hotone Soul Press looks really interesting and can also function as a volume and expression pedal.
I really like that idea! I was actually checking it out recently. Thanks for the suggestion!
Keats said:
Have you thought about adding a wah pedal? The new Hotone Soul Press looks really interesting and can also function as a volume and expression pedal.
Are there any wah pedals with rainbow colors?
That’s a nice, straightforward board! What do you think of the Woodrow?
Zion said:
That’s a nice, straightforward board! What do you think of the Woodrow?
I love it! It sounds amazing and is super versatile if you’re aiming for that tweed deluxe tone. The room feature is really impressive too. I ran Tuner → Woodrow → Galaxy for a while before wanting to add some gain stages.
Honestly, the biggest benefit has been saving space since I have two kids… and I can practice with headphones while they sleep too. My AC15 is just collecting dust for now.
@Reese
By the way, I’ve never had any issues with the app like some people have reported. I use it pretty regularly for presets and find it quite useful.
Reese said:
@Reese
By the way, I’ve never had any issues with the app like some people have reported. I use it pretty regularly for presets and find it quite useful.
That sounds great! Thanks for sharing your experience!
Cool setup! I’m not sure what to suggest for the overdrive pedal… It really depends on the sounds you’re after. You might want to check if there are any specific threads about the Woodrow in this forum and see which drive pedals others like to pair with it. Or ask if anyone knows why the Aria isn’t working as expected.
I have an LA Lady OD pedal that can do a fantastic range of boost, drive, distortion, fuzz, EQ, and gate. Not sure how it pairs with the Woodrow, but if it does, you’ll have a lot of options to explore.
If your tuner is acting up, I have the Peterson Strobostomp and I recommend trying the new mini version.
Lastly, since you’re not satisfied with your compressor/drive and sometimes use a tremolo, have you looked into the Source Audio Ultrawave pedal?
It’s an overdrive/compressor/tremolo pedal that includes smart noise gates and EQs, plus two stackable channels with space for six user presets… I don’t own it, but I’ve read good things about it. It looks pretty advanced, but knowing Source Audio, they likely made it user-friendly, and it comes with a full suite of presets and community presets. It’s a bit different but could be worth checking out.
@Morgan
Good idea! I’ll see if there are any known compatibility issues.
I’ll definitely check out the LA Lady! And regarding the tuner, I feel bad since it was a gift, but the Strobostomp was always reliable.
Thanks for your help!
@Reese
No problem! I added another suggestion in my last comment. Both the LA Lady and the Ultrawave are often available second-hand in good shape.
I bought my LA Lady used and it was like new, complete with the original box, cable, power supply, etc., for about 60% of retail. I also got the Source Audio Collider second-hand for a similar low price… Source Audio gear is top-notch with lots of cool features. They tend to offer more than what you expect, but their marketing doesn’t really do their products justice, so they don’t get as much recognition.
@Morgan
Honestly, based on what you’ve described, the Ultrawave sounds like a great fit for me. This is just what I need, thanks a lot! I probably wouldn’t have considered Source Audio otherwise.
Your special guitar looks beautiful! Is that a vintage cherry?
Oli said:
Your special guitar looks beautiful! Is that a vintage cherry?
Thanks! I think they call it vintage Cherry Satin since it’s a tribute model, but I suspect it will turn to gloss after I play it a bit more!
If you want something small and like the idea of a wah, I use both a Way Huge Attack Vector (which is a great envelope filter/phaser) and an EQD Spatial Delivery, which lets you switch between a preset and live mode. This makes it really useful.
If you’re looking to improve your drive section, I recommend the Plumes. It’s fantastic on its own and for stacking.