Tonight, Lady met the newly rearranged Dorcas through the Phil Jones Bass X4C and my DT 770 Pro headphones.
The first thing I wanted to test was the unconventional part of the new layout. Secret Path now sits before the guest gain pedal, which tonight was the VOX Straight 6. On paper, it looks odd. Convention says reverb should come after gain. My ears disagreed.
Secret Path’s reverb into the Straight 6 sounded open and musical. No mud. No uncontrollable wash. Just a gentle ambience that became part of the guitar’s voice before it reached the overdrive.
After that, I deliberately ignored the rest of the board and focused on what is now my grab-and-go rig:
- JHS Legends of Fuzz Bender
- ThorpyFX Team Medic
- Black Country Customs Secret Path
The Bender, through Secret Path’s reverb, produced that familiar thick, unapologetic fuzz that first made me fall for it. If I wanted more definition, the Team Medic was waiting there to sculpt and tighten everything.
But tonight I chose a different route.
Instead of stepping on another pedal, I reached for Lady’s volume knob.
Rolling it back gently transformed the Bender. The thick woolliness relaxed, the notes separated, and the fuzz began behaving more like a responsive overdrive. It reminded me again why I enjoy old-school circuits so much. They don’t merely respond to pedals—they respond to hands.
That little moment reinforced something I’ve been discovering over the past months: the guitar itself is one of the best controls on the pedalboard.
More importantly, tonight affirmed the purpose of Dorcas’s new arrangement. The three pedals on the Ammoon train really are my core sound. Everything else simply extends the palette. If I ever need to leave the house with only a compact rig, I know exactly what to carry.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the evening wasn’t about pedal order at all.
It was the quiet realization that Dorcas is complete.
Not perfect—complete.
I don’t feel the need to chase another overdrive or another modulation pedal. If another pedal ever joins the family, it should have a good reason. It should be famous enough to have earned its reputation, inexpensive enough not to demand justification, and intriguing enough to teach me something new.
Until then, I’ll spend my evenings doing what matters more than rearranging pedals.
Playing.