Tech/maintenance Effects Pedals for Saxophones

[PigSquealer]

Yep

 

[InWalkedBud]

Oh, and wah pedals too. Forgot to mention how much fun a wah can be, which makes some sense, since that effect emulated a trumpet mute originally. It takes a while to get used to using your foot for phrasing, but can be loads of fun.

 

[davidk]

Behold my massive board of pedals:

The signal path goes from right to left:

1. Zorg Blow! - This takes an XLR input from a microphone and converts the signal to one suitable for guitar pedals. The remaining pedals on the board form a loop with the signal going through each in turn (right to left) with the left most pedal being plugged into the return socket of the Blow!. Then an XLR cable takes the audio into a mixing desk.
2. Boss Harmonist PS-6 - I use this to convert single notes to chords. The key of the tune to be played is set on the pedal. The note going in is then output as a chord in the given key. It could also be used as a pitch shifter, but I have a dedicated pedal for that later on.
3. Strymon Cloudburst - This is an ambient reverb. It is a step beyond a shimmer reverb, adding what sounds like a choir to the saxophone sound. It works well with or without the previous harmoniser pedal engaged. I use it as an additional harmoniser, and have a dedicated reverb / delay effect later on.
4. Electro-Harmonix Deep Freeze - This holds the note / chord going into it as a drone, over which the saxophone can be played.
5. DigiTech HammerOn - This is a pitch shifter. It can change the pitch of the drone coming out of the freeze pedal, or can be used stand-alone to produce sounds above or below the range of the saxophone. A rapid sequence of notes can be programmed, this emulates a rock guitarist hammering on the strings for fast runs.
6. Electro-Harmonix 360+ - This is a looper pedal, it holds a loop of audio up to 360 seconds in length. Click the switch, play a phrase and click the switch again. The phrase will repeat over and over until stopped. Additional phrases can be recorded layered on top of each other to build up a backing. It can be set to fade earlier loops as new ones are added. It also has a fade out setting which can be set to a given number of seconds.
7. EarthQuaker Dispatch Master - A combined delay and reverb pedal. I have it after the looper so that long delays aren’t truncated at the end of a loop.

All of these pedals are powered by a Cioks DC-7 power supply mounted under the board. The board itself is a D’Addario XPND 1.

I’ve been using this setup as a practice tool, I need more practice before using it live. It takes a lot of coordination, particularly starting / stopping the looper at suitable points.

 

[wakyct]

How do you like the blend of the acoustic and amplified sound? This has always seemed tricky to get right at shows I go to.

 

[davidk]

How do you like the blend of the acoustic and amplified sound? This has always seemed tricky to get right at shows I go to.

I need to make sure I have the PA volume set to match my sax otherwise the sax can dominate. This is why I use mainly pitch and time based effects, as they can still be heard. I tried distortion, it got lost in the mix.

 

[PigSquealer]

This has always seemed tricky to get right at shows I go to.

The band should have a mixing board to balance everything. To set yourself, use a sound reflector to hear yourself better. Let the engineer balance the sounds. First song someone grabs the tablet a makes setting adjustments from back of audience area.
Recheck done shortly after by another player. Room fills, check it again.

 

[wakyct]

I guess it depends on the room and how loud the rest of the band is, but by blend I also mean the tone of acoustic vs. amplified. A lot of times to my ears the tone of one doesn't really match the other if that makes sense. As I play electronic instruments as well I think it has to do with getting the timbre of the electronics to fit well with the horn's acoustic sound.

 

[PigSquealer]

Nice demonstration of some effects pedals.
9:14 - 33:00

View: https://youtu.be/tMYcNZJm2Io?si=t5ULYguirYEHAGsF

 

[PigSquealer]

*

 

[Tuppertn]

Funny how he talks about not wanting to go the EWI route. An EWI is still far more versatile than a sax can be even with a hefty pedal setup. Probably cheaper, too. I mean, he's got about $1200 worth of gear at his feet. I paid less than that for my AE-30.

Definitely less organic, though. Playing a computer doesn't feel anything like playing a real horn.