I returned from a dental appointment and did what I have increasingly found myself doing lately: I picked up Lady and played.
No more searching. No more buying. No more trying to solve Dorcas on paper.
Just Lady, Dorcas and the two tube amps.
I ran the new Dorcas through both the Fender Pro Junior IV and the VHT Special 6 with the Orange PPC108.
It was an enjoyable session.
The two amplifiers could not have sounded more different.
The Pro Junior’s voice felt more mature and warm. There was a sense of age and fullness to the sound that made the little amp feel bigger than she actually is.
The Special 6, coming through the small PPC108, sounded younger and more direct. Less mature perhaps, but still pleasant in her own way.
Neither needed to win.
They simply had different voices.
And Dorcas was happy to work with both.
All five pedals had their chance to make music.
By the end of the session, I had learned two things.
First: The Acapulco Gold is noisy
This was not exactly news.
The Acapulco Gold is a one-knob fuzz/distortion machine, and noise comes with the territory. I already knew this from the earlier auditions with Beano and Tchula.
What was interesting was how much the new physical arrangement helped.
With Dorcas no longer sitting inside the Joyo trolley with the Mosky MPT-10 and its collection of cables, the overall noise seems more controlled.
The AG is still the noisy child in the family.
But she is now noisy in a way I can live with.
Even when I brought Beano and AG together, the noise remained low enough in the new setup that it did not dominate the playing.
So for now, AG stays.
At S$65, with one knob and a sound I genuinely enjoy, she has earned the right to remain.
Second: Special Request does much more than I thought
This was the real discovery.
I originally thought of Special Request as a simple utility pedal.
Boost.
Shape.
Help control the noise from the AG.
Useful, certainly.
But perhaps replaceable.
Today’s session changed that.
I paired Special Request with the Acapulco Gold.
She made the AG sound better.
Then I paired her with the Tchula.
Again, better.
Then I paired her with the Beano.
Once again, better.
Three very different gain voices.
Three different characters.
And Special Request somehow improved all three.
The original idea was:
Special Request → AG
because the Special Request could push the AG and help tame some of her unruly noise.
But now I am hearing something broader:
Special Request → Beano
Special Request → Tchula
Special Request → AG
She seems to be the little stage manager behind the gain section, quietly helping everyone else perform.
That makes her much harder to replace.
It also gives the five-pedal Dorcas a clearer internal logic.
Beano → Tchula
is one gain relationship.
Special Request → AG
is another.
But Special Request can also step forward and work with either of the first two whenever the music calls for it.
She is not simply another dirt pedal.
She is the pedal that seems to make the other dirt pedals happier.
Dorcas, again
After all the buying, selling, trading and auditioning of the past week, I think I am finally seeing what Dorcas is supposed to be.
Not a board where every pedal has one isolated job.
Not a collection of expensive solutions looking for problems.
Rather, a small number of simple tools that interact well.
Beano gives me her Rangemaster voice.
Tchula gives me edge of breakup and overdrive.
Special Request boosts, shapes and enhances.
Acapulco Gold gives me distortion and fuzz.
DynaTrem gives me tremolo, reverb, short ambience and another useful boost.
Five pedals.
One line.
A handful of sounds that can be combined without making the system complicated.
And today, for the first time, I wasn’t thinking about what Dorcas might become.
I was simply enjoying what she already is.
Perhaps that is the real end of the consolidation.
Not having the smallest possible pedalboard.
Not having the fewest knobs.
Not owning the newest or cleverest pedal.
Just having a board where every pedal earns its place when the guitar is plugged in.
Today, Special Request made her case.
And I heard it.