Bernardsville · NJ · est. in the keys corner

The Control Room

Pedalboard

One chain serves three keyboards via the Lehle 3at1. Order matters: dynamics and dirt up front, modulation in the middle, time and space at the end — the Topanga's output sets the DI gain into the J48.

The chain

Lehle 3at1 out → … → Radial J48 in

01
Dunlop Cry Baby Wah
Filter sweep
02
Boss CP-1X Compressor
Dynamics
03
Ibanez TS808DX
Overdrive
04
EHX POG 2
Octaves
05
Walrus Fundamental Phaser
Modulation
06
Dreadbox Komorebi
Chorus / flanger
07
Fairfield Shallow Water
Lo-fi warble
08
Way Huge Supa-Puss
Analog delay
09
Boss DD-3T
Digital delay
10
Catalinbread Topanga
Spring reverb
01 Dunlop Cry Baby WahFirst in line so it sweeps the raw pickup signal. Essential clav voice — park it half-cocked for a fixed formant.
02 Boss CP-1X CompressorEvens out clav spank before the drive stages. Keep comp low for the Prophet — its VCAs already breathe.
03 Ibanez TS808DXMid-hump warms the Model D into lead territory. Boost side alone fattens without hair.
04 EHX POG 2After drive so octaves track a fatter signal. Sub-octave under the clav = instant bass part; attack fade for organ swells.
05 Walrus Fundamental PhaserSlow 4-stage on the Prophet strings. This plus clav is the Billy Preston zone.
06 Dreadbox KomorebiAnalog chorus widens mono synths before the dirt of Shallow Water. Flange mode on the D6 for tape-y drama.
07 Fairfield Shallow WaterK-field vibrato + dynamic LPF. Late in the chain so it degrades the whole voice. Small doses — it owns everything it touches.
08 Way Huge Supa-PussUp to ~900ms, dark repeats. Tap in dotted 8ths from the Clock Lab table. Self-oscillation as a transition FX.
09 Boss DD-3TClean, exact repeats after the murky Supa-Puss. Short slap (80–140ms) on clav; tap tempo for synced quarters.
10 Catalinbread TopangaLast, so everything lands in the springs. Feeds the J48 — its output level sets your DI gain staging.

Recipes

Combinations that have earned names

Clav FunkClavinet D6 (Lehle 1)
Cry Baby (rocked live)CP-1X (medium)Topanga (low mix)

The Superstition rig. Wah does the talking; compressor keeps every 16th even.

Model D LeadMinimoog (Lehle 3)
TS808DX (low gain, boost on)Supa-Puss (dotted 8th)Topanga

Gilmour-brain applied to the Moog. Filter does the sweep, delay does the size.

Prophet HazeProphet-5 (Lehle 2)
Phaser (slow)Komorebi (chorus)Shallow Water (subtle)DD-3T (quarters)

Currents-era wash. Poly pads through slow modulation and clean repeats.

Broken TapeAny (best on Prophet)
Shallow Water (deep)Supa-Puss (long, high feedback)Topanga (drippy)

Boards-of-Canada decay. Print it wet — this one is the sound, not an effect.

Octave OrganClavinet D6
CP-1XPOG 2 (sub + octave up, attack fade)KomorebiTopanga

The D6 impersonates a Continental. Attack fade removes the pluck entirely.

On the bench

Off the board, ready to swap in

EHX Micro Q-TronOn the bench. Swap in before the CP-1X when the clav needs auto-wah instead of foot wah.
Boss RC-1 Loop StationOn the bench. Drop at the very end of the chain for practice loops; keep out of the recording path.
Boss TU-3 TunerOn the bench. Grab it for guitar days — the synths tune from the panel.