SHIFTING GEAR
RICH ECKHARDT
Build It and They Will Come
Like most guitarists, I’ve acquired a great
number of stompboxes over the years. Some
have remained in vogue, while others haven’t
stood the test of time. I’ve gone through
a number of wah pedals, including Jax,
Crybaby, and Vox models. I’ve also used my
fair share of overdrives and distortion pedals, ranging from the very old-school MXR
Distortion+ to the more current-sounding
Sweet Honey Overdrive by Mad Professor. All
of them have their virtues and their place in
time, and certainly in my heart. Once I started
using rack effects, many of my pedals found a
new home in my attic or tucked away behind
the ThighMaster in my garage. Many times
while recording, I’ll pull out my octaver or
flanger and try it out on a song or two. This
always involves having to dig the pedals out
of storage and hook them up in line before
giving it a go. Although the experimentation
is always fun, the task can be quite tedious.
I have recently started a project of pulling
together the best of these pedals and combining them with some new additions to design
a pedalboard for my session work. I’ve gone
through all of my pedals, which turned into a
mini trip down memory lane. Each pedal held
memories of some particular gig, a session,
or where and when I bought it. I rediscovered
some old favorites in the process.
held up were my Boss DD- 2 Delay, TR- 2
Tremolo and OC- 3 Super Octave. My tech, Bill
“Ripp” Mayes, has a few old favorite pedals
of his own that we’re going to incorporate,
including a Boss Super Phaser, MXR Stereo
Chorus, and a Vox wah. The new pedals
that we’ll be adding are the Mad Professor
Sweet Honey Overdrive and Forest Green
Compressor, a Dean Markley PT- 13 tuner, and
a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power power source.
The Stomps of Days Gone By
I bought an MXR Flanger in the early ’80s.
When I first got it, I started learning all the
songs that the pop acts of the day were using
it on, like Pat Travers’ “Snorting Whisky” and
Heart’s “Barracuda.” This unit predates the
concept of having an On/Off power light, but it
still sounds amazing. I also bonded heavily with
a Tube Works Real Tube Overdrive pedal that
I bought in 1991. It houses an actual 12AX7
tube. The difference between it and the natural
drive of my tube amp was negligible. Many of
my old pedals were ready for the great beyond.
Some crackled and popped, while others just
crapped out completely. I was surprised to find
that I no longer had any type of chorus pedal
in my arsenal. They were once all the rage.
I seem to remember loaning my Boss CH- 1
Super Chorus pedal to a buddy in the late ’80s.
Friend, if you’re reading this, keep it!
The Session Pedalboard
The real heart and soul of this project will be
the Loop Master 11-Loop Effect Switcher.
This made-to-order loop switcher can be
found at loop-master.com. It has instant true-bypass capabilities, which will reduce noise
in my signal chain, avoid the loss of volume
common in all multi-stompbox rigs, and
allow me to preserve my original tone. Its
tuner output will permit me to tune silently
by bypassing the signal path. With the Loop
Switcher, I’ll have in line only the effects I
want when I want them, so I won’t be stuck
having 10 effects running constantly through
my signal chain. It will be a kind of hi-tech
version of going into my attic and digging
out the stompboxes I want to use, only
everything will be right there, conveniently
hooked up and ready to electrify any client or
artist. Once it’s completed, I’ll be able to run
one cable to any guitar amp and have all my
favorite effects at my foot tips!
able to instantly produce a great number of
tones, ranging from gigantic Marshall power
chords to timeless Waylon Jennings pure
phaser swirls. The next step in perfecting this
rig will be to include an amp switcher so I can
use all of this stuff on several different amps
without having to unhook or rewire anything.
That will be the definitive session rig. To do
that, I will need a system that allows me to
access all my amp heads while keeping a
load on each one, then to merge that signal
to one common cabinet. The best thing I’ve
found for that is the Egnater amp switcher. It
can accommodate up to four amps—perfect
for my application. Some other units, like the
Radial Headbone SS or Headbone VT, are
really good too. But they will only split two
amps—that won’t be quite enough for me.
There’s nothing worse than showing up to a
session unprepared and disorganized. When
this project is complete, I’ll be able to tackle
any session size—from a songwriting demo to
a full, master-scale album with confidence.
Keep jammin’!
In addition to the MXR Flanger and Tube
Works overdrive, the older pedals that really
Recording sessions in Nashville go fast. Time
is money, and players are expected to be
Rich Eckhardt
Rich Eckhardt is one of the most sought after guitarists
in Nashville. His ability to cover multiple styles has put
him on stage with singers ranging from Steven Tyler
of Aerosmith to Shania Twain. Rich is currently playing
lead guitar with Toby Keith. His new album Cottage City
Firehouse is available at his website and CDBaby.com
