Bahamas is on tour this year supporting his new record “My Second Last Album” with a brand new pedalboard system built by Nice Rack Canada.
Two album cycles ago we built Bahamas his first Nice Rack Canada pedalboard system. For this album cycle new effects were added and signal paths were created.
Building systems for Bahamas is a joy. Afie is one of the kindest, nicest humans who writes great songs, has an awesome band and fantastic guitar tone.
During the course of a Bahamas show, the pedalboard is used for Acoustic and Electric guitar signals. To achieve seamless changes between instruments and gain structures, Nice Rack Canada built some custom circuits that are a unique reflection of the guitarist and their preferred ergonomics.
Among the client criteria for the system build was a desire to have the pedalboard itself maintain the smallest left to right footprint possible, Electric and Acoustic guitar input switching, Acoustic pre-amp and DI, Shared effects pedal path, 2x Amplifier outputs with ground isolation and phase inversion for amp #2.
The signal path is a simple, series wired system that allows the user to select between 2 input signal chains; Electric Guitar into a Nice Rack Canada “Adjustable” buffer set to 1MegΩ input and 7.13KΩ output, or a Nice Rack Canada “Sunny Days” buffer into the Grace Alix Pre-Amp In / Effects Send.
The signal coming out of the Input Selector circuit is sent in order through an AnalogMan King of Tone, Boss DM-2, JHS Artificial Blonde Vibrato, Malekko Spring Chicken Reverb, Nice Rack Canada Clean Boost, Nice Rack Canada Effects Buffer with a constant output to the Peterson StroboVue Tuner, and switched outputs to the Grace Alix Effects Return / PA system, Amp #1 and Amp #2, with switchable phase inversion for Amp #2.
To maximize the ergonomic comfort of Bahamas during a performance we built a custom switcher to control the System input source, Effects pedal’s on/off state, Silent tuning, and Output Active/Mute state.
We added our 3D printed rigid gaskets for each effect’s pedal. These gaskets provide a space for us to mount a small circuit board that can control the pedal’s on / off state and accepts control input from a remote location.
The Boss DM2 supplied to us by Bahamas is a vintage piece that required a 12VDC power supply. We performed an “ACA to PSA” conversion on the pedal allowing it use standard 9VDC system PSU’s.
Power for the pedals and switcher is provided by 2x Voodoo Lab Pedal Power X4 expanders, receiving their 12V source voltage from a master PSU module in the system interface.
For the custom switcher Bahamas requested and received a livery both practical, and whimsical. The text for the switches was made as large as possible and easy to read in low stage light.
With this type of switcher enclosure having disappeared from the market, we had to be resourceful. We reached out to the previous owner of the company that made the enclosures to see what inventory he may have personally retained.
We were happy to discover that he had one 16 switch unit available. Unfortunately we only needed 12 switches for the build. Fortunately fiber lasers can make clean cuts in aluminum without heat dissipation problems.
With the enclosure cut to length we were able to build out the circuits inside the unit and wrap the exterior with a vinyl decal.
When we first discussed the system build, Bahamas expressed a desire to use a Sunrise Acoustic Pickup and it’s matching buffer.
Sunrise Pickups have long been the standard setting magnetic soundhole pickup. Used by countless artists since the early 1980’s to develop good acoustic guitar tone in amplified music settings.
Part of the Sunrise tone equation that is the Buffer/Pre-Amp that is sold as an accessory for $468 USD. The Buffer/Pre-Amp is designed to be powered by 2x 9V battery to provide a ±9VDC supply to the LF441 JFET integrated circuit chip.
In our pre-system build testing and inspection of each device in the system, we opened the Buffer up to see how we could work around the 2x 9V batteries by supplying voltage from the system power supply unit.
Inside the Sunrise Pickups SB1 Buffer
We observed a small circuit board built on generic perforated board and wrapped in heatshrink and the output coupling cap soldered to the output jack. Curiously this electrolytic was also installed in a “reverse polarity” position.
Sunrise Pickups SB-1 Buffer Pre-Amp Circuit Board
The Sunrise Buffer/Pre-Amp adds +12db of gain to the signal, which is nice when the signal path is Guitar —> Buffer —> DI. But not so practical when trying to achieve a unity gain matched to the electric guitar’s gain structure at the input to the effects stage of the system.
We decided to clone the Sunrise audio circuit and add some practical features to the circuit board to make it more pedalboard system friendly.
Nice Rack Canada Sunny Days Buffer Pre-Amp Circuit Board top side
Contained in the custom system interface for the pedalboard we installed our “Sunny Days” Buffer/Pre-Amp that runs on 1x 9VDC tap from the system PSU with a DC-DC converter circuit supplying ±9VDC to the supply rails of the JFET IC.
With our buffer running on a constant power supply, we were able to spec the higher current draw TL071 JFET for better audio fidelity and to avoid the sonic inconsistency of battery current drain.
To maintain the same boosted functionality of the circuit we left the +12db gain stage in place, and added a passive 250KΩ Output Level control, that allows the user to match the level of the Sunny Days buffer to other instruments output levels before entering the effects and amplification stages of the system.
Nice Rack Canada Sunny Days Buffer Pre-Amp Circuit Board under side
Pictured above is the Sunny Days Buffer circuit which we can sell as a standalone item or as part of a system build. Users of Sunrise Pickups will find our 1590A sized buffer a welcome addition to the live rigs for the compact & pedalboard friendly size as well as the ability to use the buffer with a system PSU.
Players using other brands of magnetic sound hole pickups will have their tone fattened in the most pleasant way that has become a hallmark of players such as Leo Kottke, Richard Thompson and Emmylou Harris.
We offer our buffer at $300 CAD + tax and shipping as applicable, a substantial savings compared to $468 USD.
Bring us your unique list of criteria for a pedalboard and we’ll fabricate a system beyond your imagination built tough for life on the road.
Luca helping us plan this system on the first day of production.