The Journey x The Mission

 

Guitar Pedal (X) = GPX

 

GPX¹ = The Guitar Pedal Xperience

 

GPX² = Guitar Pedal Xploration

 

GPX³ = Guitar Pedal Xperimentation

 

GPX⁴ = Guitar Pedal Xtra

 

I -  Stefan Karlsson am a Guitar Gear Enthusiast / Aficionado / sometime Guru and the author of this site. I am particularly fond of Guitar Effects Pedals and the majority of features here will be on Pedals, although I do touch on Guitars, Amps, related Gear and Maintenance from time to time. My first journeys into sound / guitar in the mid 1980’s were largely unsuccessful - as I found it difficult to recreate at home the various core sounds / tones of my then favourite guitar heroes.

 

Just a few years ago I was encouraged to revisit and rekindle my guitar passion, and I discovered that I could now with relative ease - replicate pretty authentically those tones I tried so hard to achieve in the 80’s. When I started up again, my first inclination was to keep things simple - with a quality guitar and a decent practical and versatile modelling amp.

 

I am still delighted with my very first acquisition then - which was my now much loved Whale Blue Smoke Burst PRS CE - the first in a while to feature a bolt-on neck, as well as giving you access to that celebrated PRS USA Core Instrument quality for nearly half the price of a Custom. Many argue about whether you should buy a more expensive guitar or more expensive amp - I say the guitar comes first - as that is the most essential interface which you need to live with, and if it manages to blend in wholly seamlessly with your playing - then you have achieved nirvana for that particular aspect. For me, an essential characteristic of Guitars, Strings and Picks / Plectrums is that you sort of forget they are there - they just feel like a totally natural extension of yourself, and you don’t need to think or adjust your stance or grip to play - it just all happens naturally and effortlessly.

 

I went through a few amps before arriving at my current preferred stereo setup with a solid-state / DSP Boss Katana Artist II (EL34 Emulating) on the left channel and a Carvin V3MC all-tube amp (EL84) on the right channel. The progression to stereo rig kind of happened naturally too, and everything along the way seemed to lead me towards that solution. I am fully intending to stick with a Katana on the left, and maintain a Tube amp on the right - where I am still very happy with my Carvin, but think I may one day try out a MESA/Boogie 5:50 + Express or similar - unless something more suitable comes around. I also really like the new PRS MT15 Head and Cab - which is unusual for me - being an avowed combo player.

 

I have to say here that I am still mostly a ’hobbyist’ and a home player with no pretensions of musical celebrity - but where I do persistently apply the scientific method. I live in a pretty compact house - in effect having a music corner - or back-wall more specifically in the upper lounge of the house - which means that space is finite. I also live in close proximity to neighbours on every side sort of - which means again a finite degree to which I can run the volume at most times.

 

All players will have certain limits and restrictions they need to operate within, and it’s important that you are wholly aware of your environment. So for me, space is of a premium, and I need to be able to achieve harmonically rich and searing saturation at relatively low volumes. This in itself really meant that I had to / have to go the ’Pedal Platform Route’ - applying effects pedals on top of sparkly clean amp channels. Within the ’Pedal Platform’ dynamic it is critical that you provide a versatile environment that makes it easy to plug in any effects pedal in sequence and be able to stack and alternate / rotate to produce a highly satisfactory output.

 

I did not set out to have up to 45 pedals in my chain at one time - but you can read the story of how that evolved on this site. In fact you might think of my rig as being more of a studio setup - as it would be nigh on impossible / impractical to replicate on-the-road. In any case, the mission has been to acquire a veritable ’Spice Rack’ of tone components which I can freely, easily, instantly and successfully blend together to achieve almost any tone imaginable.

 

Over the years, I have evolved distinct methodologies - such as ’The 12 Degrees of Saturation’ where I try to pinpoint different flavours of gain and establish where they best fit within the chain. I will note here also that I often mention ’9 or 12 of the Best Pedals...’ for a particular category, where most pedal categories really have dozens of viable options - so there really is no ’Best’ overall, simply what’s ’Best for Me’ or what truly works optimally for specific conditions, context and criteria as such for each person.

 

My aim is to keep exploring and experimenting in a never-ending quest (ToneQuest) to find the absolute best pedals for me - for each of my now circa 45 pedal category slots in my existing pedal-chain. I welcome you all to join me on this journey - our exact tastes won’t necessarily match all the time, but hopefully I will open your eyes and ears to something you weren’t previously aware of, and you yourself will be better equipped to also find the very best pedals and gear for your own needs.

 

Pedals come in all shapes and sizes - and while I like the larger workstation pedals, and have had a thing or two for Mini pedals at various stages, my absolute favourite form factor is the standard / compact enclosure - as initially pioneered and popularised by pedal-makers Boss and MXR. My current favourite form factor for a pedal is a twin-footswitch compact enclosure with a signficant number of tone-sculpting dials and switches, and ideally some semblance of presets onboard. I’m also a huge fan of the analogue-signal / digital-control methodology - which is why I like Chase Bliss Audio pedals so much in particular.

 

As with everything though - there is always room for improvement, and I continue to seek out improved versions of key pedals which don’t just sound better, but all-round work smarter and offer more possibilities and more versatility. I endeavour to keep everything positive on this site - I will never feature something that I don’t personally like in some way, and I will endeavour to steer clear of negative pieces. I’m all about expanding people’s horizons and encouraging you all to be more open-minded, experimenting more and helping you succeed in your own ToneQuests.

 

It must be noted that I don’t mind constructive input, I will not though tolerate Trolls or disrespectful and abusive behaviour. By visiting this site you are in my house now - so just as I am when I happen to be a guest - please can we all be on our best behaviour!

 

The vast majority of articles on here will be about pedals in some way, although I do focus on guitars, amps, accessories and other components from time to time, as well as general maintenance and upkeep. This site plots my own journey and endeavours to explain how I came to make my various decisions. I do hope you enjoy this journey with me and find some benefit from these resources.