I finished my latest rework on my board, sharing it with my buddy, and uploading it to my records and all that. I decided to compile a collage of all my boards (major changes) from the past few years.
This is a nice little collage that I put together that goes over “ya know,” personal growth.
The picture reads left to right, top to bottom.
 2015: I didn’t have a board prior, just used whatever drive pedals (DOD and Boss) I had into a solid-state amp. Additional effects used were anything I felt like using that were built into the amp. This was the year I was getting into acquiring and upgrading my gear. (Epiphone Sheraton II; Fender Blues DeVille)
2016: Got a Pedaltrain Classic Jr., isolated power supply and started figuring what effects I liked and didn’t like. Pretty sure the Pedaltrain’s size was partially the factor to limiting space…. But that’s hindsight. (Peavey T-60; Fender Blues DeVille)
2018: I think I compiled whatever pictures I had from 2017 between my “2016” and “2018” folders (I think my only purchase that year was the EHX Pitch Fork). This is the year where I got into stereo and another decent amp to use. The DD-500 was a gift from my brother in the end of 2016 and I don’t think I can ever take it off my board. It stops me from wanting to buy or put on additional delays. (Peavey Stereo Chorus)
2019: This is the year I got into buying a lot of parts and building pedals. The main driving reason was that my BD-2 and Hoof started acting up to a point where they occasionally were not functioning. I had little experience with soldering guitar electronics and repairing joints on other electronics. I made majority of the classic drive and fuzz pedals because they were simple to make. My favorites were the Voodoo Lab Spark Drive (TS with blend), JHS Angry Charlie, and Fuzz Factory (I made one with an EQD Tentacle w/ order switch). This was the year I probably had the most fun by myself learning, playing, and experimenting. (I got an SX Ursa 2 [Jazz Bass copy], I think it was this year); Peavey TNT 130)
2020: This was a fun year. I actually slowly phased out of buying supplies and building pedals because of import/export and pandemic restrictions. I think the last batch of pedals I made were a series of HM-2 clones, EQD Speaker Cranker, and a bunch of bass oriented effects. Instead, I bought a larger pedal board, synthesizer (Novation Bass Station II), and another guitar (Squier ’51) that I fiddled around with mods. A lot of the pedals I added to my board were from my building projects during 2019. My biggest limiting factors when I set up my board were mapping out where I’d put everything when my big box Boss pedals had top mounted outputs (I didn’t prioritize making a junction box or point on my board as I didn’t consistently play mono or stereo [wet/dry, wet/dry/wet]). This was probably my “tap dancing” year. (Squier ’51)
2021: I got a Ct5 in the end of 2020 and that was probably my last “big” purchase for a little bit. I do keep picking up some nice little brands from Amazon (Ditto looper clone that was <$40, mini expression pedal). I’ve been using a VP Jr. with TRS cable whenever I needed expressions, but it’s nice to have a nice little mini one dedicated to the function. I’ve taken on and off my CTL footswitch for my DD-500 and I’m glad I have it back on. I simplified my drive section after keeping a consistent Boost>Fuzz>OD combo, that I’m fine with. Guess I’m a liar too… I just ordered a Sonic Research Turbo Tuner Mini.
TU-2 > Buffer > Pitch Fork > Tone Press > Speaker Cranker > DRV > 6 Band EQ > [ABY] > DD-500 > Ct5 > Polara > Looper
 Sorry, but I’m a real loner and terrible about recording my sounds.
