When I think to use guitar pedal effects as outboard, in a recording setup, I have a very slick setup (IMHO!): I use one or two Radial Engineering EXTC500 interfaces that I have wired as ADAT IO in my studio. It’s really slick! I can send any DAW track (mono or stereo) out to a pedal for treatment. Externally I could even use chains of effects, and buffered splitters etc to make more complex sounds – and even use other DI boxes for additional returns. I love the flexibility.
But I was inspired by this recent SOS magazine podcast – on just this very topic – to build some super simple passive attenuators.
They are literally a 250k dual-gang log pot wired in a box. Segway – I hate hand wiring cables and connectors – but it’s a useful skill. Kudos to the amazing fuzz box builders out there!!
Anyway, the idea is to use these directly on the hot outputs of synths and drum machines.
Really simple, and a quick custom enclosure and print job (well why not!?) makes for a useful studio tool…