Today we are going to get into Ariel Posen's latest pedalboard setup we recently finished.  We're going to get into the nitty gritty.  The details only the pedalboard aficionados are going to really care about.  Pedals, Signal Chain, Midi Control and more.   

I need to tell you at the outset, if you want to HEAR this board in use by the man himself, check out this Pedal X Pedal (interview) we did with him shortly after we finished wiring his board.  This thing sounds awesome. It might have something to do with how Ariel plays guitar as well, but that's a topic for another day. 

Let's start with the big picture.  

Ariel wanted to get this board done mainly with studio work in mind.  The brief was creating a board that was very versatile and easy to use / create sounds on the fly, all while being compact and easy to travel with.  

The foundation of this board is a Schmidt Array platform.  Not only are these boards as rugged as they come but they are functional, easy on the eyes and a pleasure to build a board with! 

The next often ignored but crucially important aspect to this rig is the Cioks Power Supplies.  These lightweight, quiet, isolated power supplies have configurations for days.  9, 12, 15 or 18 volt outlets across the entire supply make these a dream to work with.  

Alright.  We now know what pedalboard and power supplies Ariel is using and that he also has a great sounding board and most likely is a very skilled guitar player.  

Now let's talk signal chain.  Again, if you want to hear these pedals in action check out our Pedal X Pedal (link above) but to know the specs of this board, read on. 

SIGNAL CHAIN

Guitar 
Schmidt Array Patch Panel (right side of board) 
TC Electronics Polytune Mini 
Morningstar ML5 (midi controlled true bypass looper)
Loop 1 - King Tone Octaland (octave fuzz)
Loop 2 - Secret Machine Dan Drive (fuzz)

INSERT - We modded Ariels ML5 to have an insert (always on loop) between loops 2 and 3.  In this loop Ariel has... 

Chase Bliss Audio Preamp MKII 

Loop 3 - King Tone Duellist (Dual Overdrive) 
Loop 4 - Hudson Electronics Broadcast-AP (Ariel Posen Signature Overdrive)
Loop 5 - Keeley Hydra (tremolo / reverb)

ML5 Output

Chase Bliss Audio Thermae (Pitch Shifter / Delay) 
Poly Effects Beebo (Modular Multi Effects Pedal) - Signal now in stereo
Chase Bliss Audio CXM 1978 Reverb

Schmidt Array Patch panel (right side) in stereo. 

Midi Controller - Morningstar FX MC8

Midi Chain: 

Morningstar MC8 
Morningstar ML5
MKII Preamp 
CXM 1978
Poly (5 Pin to 3.5mm TRS)
Thermae (TRS out of MC8)

Midi Programming

Now that you've had a sec to digest Ariels Signal Chain, let's talk about the basics of how he has his midi programming set up.  He talks about this in a bit more detail in the interview we did with him but the highlights are essentially allowing the MC8 to control the ML5 and midi with easy access to Ariels favourite sounds. 

He has a dedicated page mapped out on the MC8 for the MKII Preamp, Thermae, Poly and CXM 1978.  

This essentially means he can have 8 instant access presets (or sounds) for each pedal.  

The midi on this board was meticulously planned by Ariel and we went through a few iterations of how he would easily move between options on his midi controller (Morningstar makes this very customisable and easy).  Ariel decided he would largely use hold functions to navigate around the different pages on the Morningstar MC8.  

I know this board looks small, but it packs a punch.  The hardest part is using your creativity on a board like this to access the myriad sounds on offer from the pedals enclosed in this board. 

As always, if you have questions, want to look into a custom setup / junction for your own rig or just need some cables send us an email - info@goodwoodaudio.com