Making Music

[Mel81x+]

1 hour ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

The Sentry’s first in the chain for me for a few reasons. But long story short, with my 6505 & my Joyo (which replicates a 6505/5150 sound) - putting it after my OD pedal & the pickups I’m using on my E-II & my SG (both have really REALLY high output pickups, especially the E-II) meant a lot more unwanted noise was coming through. And using that 4 cable method I’ve always put the noise gate first in the loop as well because that pre-amp hiss is something I want to do before the time based effects kick in.

That wasn’t that short of an explanation lol. The real short answer is my need for the noise gate is primarily due to too much feedback from the guitar rather than noisy pedals. I think that’s due to the nature of the music I mostly play 98% of the time - because it’s pretty common for metal players to put the noise gate first.

That makes sense now. I figured it had to do with a hot pickup config and then I realized when it comes to Metal music at times people will drop a noise-gate in the middle of the chain to clean up the noise and cut the effects before it goes through the rest of the chain. 

1 hour ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Also re: that MS-3 order... VERY NICE. I hadn’t looked into them that much until you mentioned them as an alternative to the other 2 switchers you mentioned. I thought you said you wanted the ES-6 though what changed your mind? Is it because the MS-3’s got onboard effects as well.

This was the exact reason. My reasoning was that I can remove a lot of pedals - Fuzz, Delay, Reverb, etc and just replace them with the MS3 and gate everything through the pedal. In this case now, I have lots of config options.

1. PEDALS -> MS3 -> PEDALS
2. PEDALS -> MS3 + PEDALS -> PEDALS
3. MS3
4. MS3 + PEDALS
5. PEDALS

You get the drift. And with the MS3 I have loop options too

1. ONBOARD - PEDALS - ONBOARD
2. ONBOARD
3. PEDALS - ONBOARD

So now I can shape the tune anyway I want and I also get the compactness of an FX pedal. Plus I can now loop stuff out of the pedal into the AMP And back in or do it in front or behind. And the other reason is that BOSS said they made this for both guitarists and bassists and I said well dang thats just what I was looking for. I also have an FS-7 (dont know if you've ever used one of these but they are superb) and it works with the MS3 or any Boss pedal plug product (RC3 Loop Station as an example) so I can do presets and use the FS7 to run the volume, gain, etc etc. and theres more expression pedal functionality too. I also don't lose the fact that I am essentially a person that tries a lot of pedals so I can always dump any of medals in the 3pt LOOP and then use them anyway I see fit.

1 hour ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

So after fucking around with my rig for a big just noodling in between my posts and having a fun time with just trying to make some heavy sounding riffs and some soloing that I’m sure was very shite... I think I’m gonna go get a reverb pedal tomorrow. I’m thinking a Hall of Fame mini or the Boss digital reverb - I’ll fuck around with both before I buy one. I might grab a Spark mini too, because I’m liking the sounds on the YouTube demos I’m seeing and... well it’s fucking cheap

The Spark Mini is super cheap and it sells out really fast. There is another buffer pedal made by JHS which is so much better but not as cheap as the Spark. I almost considered getting that over the Spark just because it keeps the tone up during the buffer process but in the end I chose the Spark for a boost instead. As for Reverb, you can't go wrong with either of those pedals. I have a HoF and I think its great but that Boss Reverb is just as good. Once I get the MS3 I think I'll retire the HoF just because I'll have reverb on the pedal itself.

[Dr. Gonzo]

1 hour ago, Mel81x said:

That makes sense now. I figured it had to do with a hot pickup config and then I realized when it comes to Metal music at times people will drop a noise-gate in the middle of the chain to clean up the noise and cut the effects before it goes through the rest of the chain. 

This was the exact reason. My reasoning was that I can remove a lot of pedals - Fuzz, Delay, Reverb, etc and just replace them with the MS3 and gate everything through the pedal. In this case now, I have lots of config options.

1. PEDALS -> MS3 -> PEDALS
2. PEDALS -> MS3 + PEDALS -> PEDALS
3. MS3
4. MS3 + PEDALS
5. PEDALS

You get the drift. And with the MS3 I have loop options too

1. ONBOARD - PEDALS - ONBOARD
2. ONBOARD
3. PEDALS - ONBOARD

So now I can shape the tune anyway I want and I also get the compactness of an FX pedal. Plus I can now loop stuff out of the pedal into the AMP And back in or do it in front or behind. And the other reason is that BOSS said they made this for both guitarists and bassists and I said well dang thats just what I was looking for. I also have an FS-7 (dont know if you've ever used one of these but they are superb) and it works with the MS3 or any Boss pedal plug product (RC3 Loop Station as an example) so I can do presets and use the FS7 to run the volume, gain, etc etc. and theres more expression pedal functionality too. I also don't lose the fact that I am essentially a person that tries a lot of pedals so I can always dump any of medals in the 3pt LOOP and then use them anyway I see fit.

The Spark Mini is super cheap and it sells out really fast. There is another buffer pedal made by JHS which is so much better but not as cheap as the Spark. I almost considered getting that over the Spark just because it keeps the tone up during the buffer process but in the end I chose the Spark for a boost instead. As for Reverb, you can't go wrong with either of those pedals. I have a HoF and I think its great but that Boss Reverb is just as good. Once I get the MS3 I think I'll retire the HoF just because I'll have reverb on the pedal itself.

That MS-3 is going to be incredible. It’s like the best of a multi-effects/modeling unit & real pedals and a real amp. 

As someone who didn’t know technology like this existed with switchers I am genuinely shocked at what it’s capable of.

[Mel81x+]

On 08/02/2020 at 14:10, Dr. Gonzo said:

That MS-3 is going to be incredible. It’s like the best of a multi-effects/modeling unit & real pedals and a real amp. 

As someone who didn’t know technology like this existed with switchers I am genuinely shocked at what it’s capable of.

I am curious how it works when it comes to me because I think i'll spend a lot of time just learning to set things up.

[Dr. Gonzo]

On 09/02/2020 at 11:59, Mel81x said:

I am curious how it works when it comes to me because I think i'll spend a lot of time just learning to set things up.

Honestly, I would not be surprised if Boss has some videos up on YouTube to explain how to do pretty much everything you'd want to do.

I'm sure it'll take a while to set up everything up and learn how to use everything properly... as that's a serious bit of technical kit and there's going to be shite like editing the parameters of the built in effects, which on multieffects units is either a piece of piss... or it can be tremendously difficult.

I think it'll be relatively smooth sailing for you though. The English language portion of the manual's only 20 pages long - that's substantially shorter than the manual for the Boss GT-1000. Granted, I did see on the first page there's a secondary manual for just parameters.

So it seems like the 3 pedal spots on it are actually 3 pedal loops. Does that mean if you wanted to kick on delay and reverb at the same time, you could have them on their own loop... and then kick both pedals on at the same time? That's pretty cool. Although tbh, I'd probably go with the built in effects for delay/reverb... which you can probably already kick on at the same time.

It looks really cool, you've got to give me an update when you've got it and you've explored what it's capable of.

[Dr. Gonzo]

@Mel81x are you aware of anything like what you’ve just bought... but much simpler? If I could have all my pedals I use for my leads (the bottom row of my board basically) kicked on/off with a just one switch... I’d fucking love that. 1 switch vs hitting 3 quickly would be super convenient for my jam seshes.

Btw my Small Stone has officially been relegated from my board. I ended up going with the Boss RV-6 because they didn’t have any TCE HOF’s in stock. I’ve spent most of yesterday (and will spend most of tonight) messing around with different reverb sounds - it’s pretty great so far. Loving the +Delay mode tbh. Gotten some hilarious results with that in conjunction with my delay pedal.

Oh by the way... where the fuck does reverb go in the signal chain? After delay or before? Right now I’ve got it before the delay - but I think default on the Helix/Ge200 delay comes before reverb?

 

[Mel81x+]

22 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

@Mel81x are you aware of anything like what you’ve just bought... but much simpler? If I could have all my pedals I use for my leads (the bottom row of my board basically) kicked on/off with a just one switch... I’d fucking love that. 1 switch vs hitting 3 quickly would be super convenient for my jam seshes.

You know I was looking for something simpler and it just didn't make sense. Read somewhere that Line6 wants in on this too and in some ways the Helix does it but they have are trying to get in this space too. Boss just did it first and now others will follow. I fully expect Zoom to get in here too. Mooer has a nice simple pedal which is relatively cheap but I hear that the signal coming out gets changed so I wouldn't even bother.

22 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Btw my Small Stone has officially been relegated from my board. I ended up going with the Boss RV-6 because they didn’t have any TCE HOF’s in stock. I’ve spent most of yesterday (and will spend most of tonight) messing around with different reverb sounds - it’s pretty great so far. Loving the +Delay mode tbh. Gotten some hilarious results with that in conjunction with my delay pedal.

Congrats. I think either one of those pedals is great.

22 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Oh by the way... where the fuck does reverb go in the signal chain? After delay or before? Right now I’ve got it before the delay - but I think default on the Helix/Ge200 delay comes before reverb?

This is a very existential question haha. If you put the reverb before chain you get a nice clean tone depending on the reverb. When you put things like Hall after the delay FX you get this really creepy sound but it works for some more melancholic pieces. I like my delay after the reverb in most cases.

[Mel81x+]

@Dr. Gonzo

 

It looks simpler on the surface and only has two loops. I'd say the Boss's footprint might be more suitable to a lot more pedal board setups.

 

[Dr. Gonzo]

33 minutes ago, Mel81x said:

@Dr. Gonzo

 

It looks simpler on the surface and only has two loops. I'd say the Boss's footprint might be more suitable to a lot more pedal board setups.

 

I thought the Helix might have had something similar. I never used it though, I probably should have tried out out... although it might have led to more of my shit being stolen from me that day.

I think this might be what I’m looking for though:

 

[Mel81x+]

2 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I thought the Helix might have had something similar. I never used it though, I probably should have tried out out... although it might have led to more of my shit being stolen from me that day.

I think this might be what I’m looking for though:

 

How nice is that little nifty device. Basically it creates a loop and then you can put the rest of the pedals in the chain? 

[Dr. Gonzo]

20 minutes ago, Mel81x said:

How nice is that little nifty device. Basically it creates a loop and then you can put the rest of the pedals in the chain? 

Looks like it. This might be better because it’s got more flexibility and another loop (and is from a company we both know and love, as opposed to that one from a company I’d never heard of): https://www.boss.info/us/products/ls-2/
 

Problem there is I’ve got space issues on my board already... and the patch cables I’ve got also aren’t the best for space saving but I don’t want to buy the nifty flat headed ones 

I’ll continue to tap dance for now, three switches real quick in succession isn’t too bad tbh. And right now it’s just the one switch.

[Mel81x+]

4 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Looks like it. This might be better because it’s got more flexibility and another loop (and is from a company we both know and love, as opposed to that one from a company I’d never heard of): https://www.boss.info/us/products/ls-2/
 

Boss FTW. I can't think of a pedal they make that can't compete to some extent with everything else out there.

4 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Problem there is I’ve got space issues on my board already... and the patch cables I’ve got also aren’t the best for space saving but I don’t want to buy the nifty flat headed ones 

You know this is why I never bring up cables, its because no matter how many you buy you will always find a fault with the setup you have. One day you're walking around and step into a store and see a pedal thinking "okay I like this" or "ah you have this" then you take it home and find out that the cables you have just dont cut it so you go buy new ones. Then you find out that you need better insulators or flat headed ones or slim ones or better braids for top slotting. So, I have just given up and said ill buy 16 patch cables and just make it work. 

4 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I’ll continue to tap dance for now, three switches real quick in succession isn’t too bad tbh. And right now it’s just the one switch.

Yeah its when you have to turn them off that a problem may come up but even then you get so used to it sometimes it wont matter. A switch imo makes a lot of sense when you have to engage and disengage often and even then its a juggling act at times because you may want to change pedal states in the loop you just created so you're still dancing.

[Dr. Gonzo]

@Mel81x now all of my google ads on here are for Boss pedals, especially that MS-3 you have on the way to you 

[Dr. Gonzo]

Also holy shit @Mel81x - I think I’ve decided hall reverb is my favourite. Spring comes a close second.

I was considering upgrading my delay pedal at some point... but now I’m pretty happy with my lead tone (when I’m playing just by myself) using the reverb and delay in conjunction to add a bit of subtle spaciness to my leads. Which is cool because I think this new pedal has just given my shitty digital copy of an analog delay a whole new lease of life. I’m looking forward to my EQ pedal coming back so I can finish off this board (until I get something that lets me kick on everything in my effects loop).

I think the next big task is rearranging all of this shit on the board so I get more space for that line selector pedal 

[Mel81x+]

So it came in today and man is it small. I just put it on the board minus some other pedals and it’s so compact it doesn’t really take any space. Gotta say I am well pleased and I’ve taken it through some paces already. All I can say is hats off to Boss what a device 

I'm just trying to figure out how I want to place it first then I'll start planting things down and getting it setup. Think I'll have the power block at the top left so I can just have one place for everything to connect but I now have to wait for the power extenders I ordered which should be here before the end of month.

[Mel81x+]

4 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Also holy shit @Mel81x - I think I’ve decided hall reverb is my favourite. Spring comes a close second.

I like hall a lot for acoustic sets. It really brings out melody work and makes the chords sound fuller. Spring is good for rock music imo but even hall has its place there too.

4 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I was considering upgrading my delay pedal at some point... but now I’m pretty happy with my lead tone (when I’m playing just by myself) using the reverb and delay in conjunction to add a bit of subtle spaciness to my leads. Which is cool because I think this new pedal has just given my shitty digital copy of an analog delay a whole new lease of life. I’m looking forward to my EQ pedal coming back so I can finish off this board (until I get something that lets me kick on everything in my effects loop).

I think your pedal board is great for travelling. Its small, has the right amount of pedals and all it needs is a little TLC and you'll be good to go. They haven't told you how long it will take for the EQ pedal to come back? 

4 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I think the next big task is rearranging all of this shit on the board so I get more space for that line selector pedal 

We are at the same place haha.

[Dr. Gonzo]

11 hours ago, Mel81x said:

So it came in today and man is it small. I just put it on the board minus some other pedals and it’s so compact it doesn’t really take any space. Gotta say I am well pleased and I’ve taken it through some paces already. All I can say is hats off to Boss what a device 

I'm just trying to figure out how I want to place it first then I'll start planting things down and getting it setup. Think I'll have the power block at the top left so I can just have one place for everything to connect but I now have to wait for the power extenders I ordered which should be here before the end of month.

That's way smaller than I thought it would be! That's pretty fucking cool.

Glad to hear it's working as intended. I don't know if I've ever had a Boss product I didn't like - they really are fucking great.

I think if you can have the power supply under the board... that's probably the most ideal way to do it - more space up top for pedals. But my power supply just won't stay on the bottom (although I might try strapping it onto the bottom with Velcro at some point if I do get that line selector).

Did I ever ask you why you do the OD after the distortion? Or now that you've got the MS-3, are they all "moveable" so you can put them wherever in a preset? Or does the DS-1 just stack nicely before an OD? And does it not have a tuner then? I see the tuner's still on your board.

I've got some good news as well - my EQ is on it's way home... or it will be at some point today. I got an email saying they're all done, have boxed it up, and it's getting shipped out today. They're probably using a flat rate USPS box so fuck knows when I'll get it - probably anywhere from the next couple of days to in the next 2 weeks. But I'm excited to be getting it back. With this new board setup + my little lunchbox amp, I've got a great setup for both practice at home (with all of the effects I'd use) and I can take it quickly to go jam with my friends and run it through a 2x12 or a 4x12 and turn the volume up a bit and it's the same exact setup I fuck around with at home... but loud enough to keep up with a band.

[Mel81x+]

16 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I think if you can have the power supply under the board... that's probably the most ideal way to do it - more space up top for pedals. But my power supply just won't stay on the bottom (although I might try strapping it onto the bottom with Velcro at some point if I do get that line selector).

There is a holding cage under the board but the PowerSupply I use is too small to fit properly in the cage. I have velcro straps and double-sided tape so I'll just use those. I am thinking of getting a OneSpot under the block but I'll do that in April when I really need it.

16 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Did I ever ask you why you do the OD after the distortion? Or now that you've got the MS-3, are they all "moveable" so you can put them wherever in a preset? Or does the DS-1 just stack nicely before an OD? And does it not have a tuner then? I see the tuner's still on your board.

The OD was just always there I never considered it too much with distortion but if I did put the two together I think id get square clipping from the distortion and the Over-Drive would create the muddy tune with a nice sustain. I have used it once just for shits and giggles and it didn't sound to bad but I never use them together much anymore. You can move them around in blocks (L1-L2-L3) but you can't move the pedals around in the loop. 

It does have a tuner I just left that there because that thing has been places with me and the MS3 won't be the first pedal in the loop anyways. I'll eventually get rid of it but that BOSS tuner is imo the best thing you can buy for your money as a first pedal, i'd even go so far to say it outshines the PolyTune pedal. But I use a clip tuner during performances so I can just focus on tuning without the instrument volume on and there is only one clip I ever seriously recommend to anyone anywhere and that is the PolyTune from TC Electronics. I have gifted so many people that clip and its the best guitar clip tuner I have ever used. Good for Bass too.

16 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I've got some good news as well - my EQ is on it's way home... or it will be at some point today. I got an email saying they're all done, have boxed it up, and it's getting shipped out today. They're probably using a flat rate USPS box so fuck knows when I'll get it - probably anywhere from the next couple of days to in the next 2 weeks. But I'm excited to be getting it back. With this new board setup + my little lunchbox amp, I've got a great setup for both practice at home (with all of the effects I'd use) and I can take it quickly to go jam with my friends and run it through a 2x12 or a 4x12 and turn the volume up a bit and it's the same exact setup I fuck around with at home... but loud enough to keep up with a band.

Well as long as its fixed thats all that matters. I like that mini setup of carrying a little lunchbox amp around as it makes taking your sound with out easier. Often times you'll put hours into your work and then the amp at a studio or a jam room will just sound garbage.

[Dr. Gonzo]

25 minutes ago, Mel81x said:

Well as long as its fixed thats all that matters. I like that mini setup of carrying a little lunchbox amp around as it makes taking your sound with out easier. Often times you'll put hours into your work and then the amp at a studio or a jam room will just sound garbage.

Sometimes it needs minimal tweaks in different places - but I think the amp having barely any controls to it & my setup being relatively simple means moving a couple of controls around just a touch and I can adjust to a different sized room and all of that. I absolutely love that little amp though, it's great having a tiny little head that with the turn of a knob turns into a roaring beast of an amp.

This thread makes me wish I wasn't at fucking work so I could be fucking around with my guitar & amp & pedals  

[Mel81x+]

@Dr. Gonzo just to give you an idea how the pedal board lays out when connected to a PC.

This is the pedal assignment block

This is the Expression Pedal Assignment block

I only put this in here because the thing that is interesting is how we always spend so much time trying to figure out how to get the expression/control pedals to work right and now they've given us a nice little way of saying okay you want to do XYZ with the pedal you can do it here. Also, no one ever shows this in any videos and I think it helps when you're building the sound you want to emulate or create your own tones. The interface on the pedal is nice and all but I think this just makes it easier, I've got my Bass plugged in and I can actually hear the sound and shape it directly like I would with Logic X.

[Dr. Gonzo]

20 minutes ago, Mel81x said:

@Dr. Gonzo just to give you an idea how the pedal board lays out when connected to a PC.

This is the pedal assignment block

This is the Expression Pedal Assignment block

I only put this in here because the thing that is interesting is how we always spend so much time trying to figure out how to get the expression/control pedals to work right and now they've given us a nice little way of saying okay you want to do XYZ with the pedal you can do it here. Also, no one ever shows this in any videos and I think it helps when you're building the sound you want to emulate or create your own tones. The interface on the pedal is nice and all but I think this just makes it easier, I've got my Bass plugged in and I can actually hear the sound and shape it directly like I would with Logic X.

Looks a lot like the Katana Tone Studio. Yeah they're software is great, much easier for fine tuning all of the parameters for each effect than manually doing it on a tiny screen (or no screen, like the Katana).

Very cool - looks incredibly useful. And with those built in effects, the 3 pedal loops allowing you to use your own pedals in conjunction & presets all fitting in a nice little package that goes onto that board pretty nicely... that really is pretty perfect for what you're trying to do with this board.

Congrats, very cool toy you've got there for yourself. Looks like a seriously impressive piece of kit.

[Mel81x+]

@Dr. Gonzo

So, after playing with it on various instruments this is my take and why I think this is going to kill a lot of pedals on my board

Electric Guitar - Fender Strat

• OD/DS - The overdrive/distortion is good its the Boss one and you can really get some great noises out of it. Pedals like my OD/DIST are now going to disappear
• Fuzz - Its weak but hey it works and if you like the sound it makes thats even better but I will get something like a Mufuletta instead and then use that for all the green fuzz I want which I like
• Clean - There is barely any audible tone here when you put all the pedals off but the Noise Suppressor does take some fiddling with to get a nice clean sound
• Reverb - All the usual suspects from the Boss line in here and its good. Like really good.
• Delay - The true star of this little gem. Their delay settings are so easy and while I love my Strymon I am going to put it away unless I really absolutely need some exotic because this thing does it all and it does it well.
• Acoustic Guitar - Its brittle but then again there really isn't a pedal to emulate an acoustic with an electric I have seen or heard of that comes close to delivering what a real acoustic does.

Acoustic Guitar - Yamaha - APX 500

• Reverb - Adds some nice depth to playing if you want to add things like Hall or Open space sounds. But, I think this is more to do with the fact that the actual guitar needs to have a decent pickup system on it.
• Delay - Once again just stellar. I played Shine on you Crazy diamond and the little fills with rhythm sound ridiculously good.
• Octaver - It's good as you'd expect from a Boss device because its the same stuff they sell in their pedals but I believe (and I could be wrong) that a solo pedal would do better here

Bass - Fender Jazz/Squier Precision

• Fuzz - Makes me think that the EHX is the better option here. That fuzz is just unbeatable and the one from Earthquaker Devices (Hoof V2) has a much nicer Fuzz sound to it so I'll put one of those in the mix.
• OD/DS - I am not ditching my Darkglass pedal yet because Boss's Bass OD/DS isn't half as good and the tone is remarkably not as punchy
• Octaver/Sub-Octaver - I have a TCE Sub N Up and I really wish Boss had more options for this because I believe you could even get rid of the mini pedal if they allow customization on the board itself

Classical Guitar - Yamaha NTX700

• Reverb - Now, this one is a weird one. The reverb actually allowed me to do less in Logic and more in the Boss Studio. I felt like if you really want to get the feel of a room spacing this is the best AIO for this kind of music. The Hall Reverb in particular brought out the notes so well and even hard strums sounded nice and rich.
• Delay - Just a smidgen of this to most pieces and you get an almost dreamy feel especially with pieces like Asturias. The guitar also picks all this up quite well.

All in all, I'd say its a brilliant piece of kit that is small and versatile enough to take gigging without breaking your back and carrying stuff around like a donkey. I am even tempted to leave the entire pedal board behind over the weekend when I hit practice sessions to see how this thing stands up with a full band. The things I didn't like were so minimal that I can fix them over the course of a year with some new pedals and fine tuning in the pedal. I didn't go over the expression pedal but I'd recommend anyone to get an FS-7 with this and a nice Cry Baby if you're going to play a lot of electric guitar and then you're pretty much set.

 

[Mel81x+]

@Dr. Gonzo thoughts ? 
 

 

[Dr. Gonzo]

8 minutes ago, Mel81x said:

@Dr. Gonzo thoughts ? 
 

 

Looks nice & clean!

[Dr. Gonzo]

So what’re your 3 loops? Spark + Compressor, SD-1, & suboctave?

I think it’s very cool how you get a high quality switcher and also built in multi-effects. That’s some serious kit there

[Mel81x+]

1 minute ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

So what’re your 3 loops? Spark + Compressor, SD-1, & suboctave?

I think it’s very cool how you get a high quality switcher and also built in multi-effects. That’s some serious kit there

The loop has two in it.

• L1 - Sub N Up
• L2 - Empty - I am leaving this open for other options when I need it
• L3 - Super OD

Now, I can do all kinds of monkeyness, like add another OD, DIST, Octaver depending on the situation. I can then have my own little loop however I want it and I always like my own OD in there whether its Blues or just regular OD or Super OD.

This is the chain now 

Tuner -> Darkglass Vintage -> MS3 [OD + EMPTY + Sub'n'Up] -> Spectra Comp -> Spark

Now, I can let the DG bypass run a guitar (acoustic/electric) in there and then use the Super OD with the guitar + FX or the Sub'n'Up with bass and the onboard FX block then the Spectra Comp works with both and the boost is mainly for guitar. I also have room to expand whatever I want and I have enough patch cables to make another three pedals fit on the board too if they are minis like my HoF or Corona or Tube Screamer Mini or put them in some kind of internal loop mix as well. Spent this morning jamming with a friend before our practice tomorrow and he said he wants one too because it just opens up so many possibilities.