I'm newbe in the harmonica amplification field and I need some advise for the pedals order in my pedalboard.
I have, in ORDER:
Keeley Compressor pro LoneWolf harp break LoneWolf harp octave Eventide H9 (mainly used for space/ambience) BBE Maximizer Mini Palmer PDI09
I'm a bass player. Normally, I use the compressor as first pedal. With the harmonica, the Keeley seems sound good, do not alter the sound and stabilize the volume. With the harmonica, if the pedal is in the first position, this alter the harp octave and break sound. The break and octave volume have to bee set a lot higher than normal and the saturation isn't good.
I'm doing something wrong or the compressor have to be placed after the break and octave? Or soon after the BBE or H9?
I think @mooncat puts his compressor between the Harp Break and his Octave. This vid (and another of his about pedals/gear) really helped me find my happy place with pedals.
Nice tips, thanks! As I verified, the harp break don't want the compressor before. He use an octaver after the compressor, but at this point, I think I have to place the lw octave before the compressor itself. The lw octave is a "strange" octaver, it's between an octaver and an "overdrive" which gives a "dirty" sound...I'll try some configuration, but I'm in the right way I think :D
Ah, yes. The LW Octave works more like a boost (I think. I don't have one), where the POG is a different type of octave effect. The compressor will help effects like a POG, Wah, even Reverb be more clear. Probably not what you're after with the LW Break or Octave.
Your mic might impact this too. If I use my stick mic, my pedal board becomes much more friendly than it does if I use my bullet mic.
Ok, the Audix is a high quality mic, but it is VERY clean and has no proximity effect, no matter how tight you cup it. Now, using a clean mic with no proximity effect into distortion boxes is not necessarily a bad idea, as it counterbalances what the distoration effects do and can make a decent sounding combination. But adding a compressor probably doesn't help your sound with this set up.
Of course, you can turn up the post (output) volume on the Keeley to drive the Harp Break and Octave harder, but what's the point when you can accomplish the same thing by simply taking it out of the chain. Personally, I would put the Octave before the Break. Also, do you really BOTH the Octave AND the HB?
Another thing you could try is putting the Keeley AFTER the Octave and the HB or BETWEEN them. See how that sounds. But as you probably know, you have to be careful with all your settings on the compressor or it will adversely affect the dynamics of your sound.
You have some really nice equipment. The Octave and the HB are not as sophisticated as your Keeley and your Eventide. Also, I find the Audix to be somewhat bright, but you can compensate for that with tone control settings. Hope this is of some help.
Last Edited by hvyj on Aug 16, 2017 4:24 PM
Audix Fireball V as I said, directly into a scarlett 2i4.
Definitively, compressor work well after the two lone wolf. In true, HB and LW Octaver are a truely different pedals. Today I've made some recording test and with HB+Octave we are able to obtain a lot of different sounds. LW Octaver alone add some "fat" to the sound (without exagerate with the blend, in case the sound become "too sharp"). HB add a carpet of crispy distorsion. It's not simple to me to find a good balancing point, I have to test others configurations but it's the right way.
