After years of constantly swapping pedals and rearranging my board, I've decided to take a new approach - what I'm calling my "commitment pedalboard." This board represents all my core sounds while balancing versatility, size, weight, and overall mojo. It's the setup I keep coming back to time and time again, so I'm making it official to save myself the headache of endless experimentation.

The Board and Power

Board: Mono Rail Small - fantastic, very light with curved edges that I truly love
Power: Cioks DC7 (currently sharing some power outlets to avoid using an extension, but may add the Cioks expander if needed)

Signal Chain Breakdown

1. Boss TU-3 Chromatic Tuner

I've always been a fan of having the tuner first in the chain - just a personal preference that's stuck with me.

2. Xotic Effects RC Booster

This is a special pedal to me - I own four different iterations of it! This particular one is from the middle production run (you can tell by the Comic Sans-style font, the rounded labels circling the knobs, and the LED at the top rather than middle). One of my all-time favorites.

3. Ibanez TS-808 Tube Screamer (with Tamura Mod V1)

I was never a tube screamer fan until getting this one with the Tamura V1 mod. It's a little “flatter” than standard tube screamers and works perfectly as a crunch enabler for my next pedal. It's also built like a tank - probably the heaviest pedal on this board.

4. Snouse Black Box Overdrive 2

This Blues Breaker-style pedal took me nearly a year on a waiting list to acquire, but it was worth it! It's incredibly versatile - I could use just this pedal alone without the others if needed. The way it responds to my guitar's volume knob gives me precise control over my sound.

5. Boss DM-2W Delay

One of my favorite pedals of all time. Despite owning many delay pedals, I always return to this Boss. My sweet spot settings: Repeat Rate at 10-11 o'clock, Intensity at 1-2 o'clock, and the Echo level aligned with the “max level dot” of the Rate knob. Perfection.

6-7. Reverb Options (Redundancy by Design)

EchoFix Spring Reverb Tank: A great modern short-tank spring reverb, though it can get quirky when the stage has lots of vibration
Catalinbread Topanga Spring Reverb: Set to sound nearly identical to the EchoFix, giving me a backup if one doesn't work well in a particular venue. The Topanga's volume knob doubles as a boost, which can drive my preamp if needed.

8. Mad Professor Mellow Yellow Tremolo (Handwired)

This wonderfully emulates an amp bias tremolo, matching the circuit in my Victoria Chicago Lux (based on a 5F11). I've set it nearly identical to my amp's tremolo, providing consistency if I need to switch amps.

9. 29 Pedals OAMP

This recent addition has become essential on all my boards. It serves as an excellent buffer and "sweetener" with presence and volume controls that solve cable length issues. It also contains a built-in loop for pedals that are sensitive to buffers.

The Commitment

The name "commitment pedalboard" comes with a promise: I will not change this board unless something breaks or truly mind-blowing comes along. I've wasted too much time swapping pedals only to return to this same setup.

This board covers all my core sounds:

Multiple gain stages for versatile overdrive options
Different boost possibilities
Redundant spring reverb approaches
Options for tremolo via pedal or amp
Backup plans (like using the delay as reverb if needed)

I'll still have other "exploratory" pedalboards for experimentation, but this is my go-to reliable setup that I'm committing to long-term.

My Commitment Pedalboard: Core Sounds Without the Constant Swapping