5 Guitar Pedalboards You've Heard In Christian Music
It is no secret that church electric guitarists obsess over tone.
From the uplifting intro in Lion and the Lamb (Bethel Music & Leeland) to all the ambient goodness in Oceans (Hillsong United), these songs are synonymous with pristine tone.
It’s no surprise then that worship guitarists find themselves looking at guitar pedals and effects at some point in their music journey.
That being said, we’re going to save you the trouble of scouring the internet in your quest for the ultimate worship guitar tone. Even if you're not into worship, that's all good! These boards are definitely worth an ogle.
Here are the 5 Guitar Pedalboards You’ve (probably) Heard In Christian Music.
JAMES DUKE (Guitarist for Matt Redman)
(Photo: @gearsupplyco Instagram Account)
Some staples pop up here like the JHS Morning Glory and EHX Micro POG, but check out that stunning line-up of THREE delay pedals!
Along with his “workhorse” Boss DD-20 which nails that dotted-eight delay so heavily featured in Christian music, Duke also boasts the EHX Deluxe Memory Man with Tap Tempo and the discontinued Boss DM-2 for that dark bucket-brigade delay.
His latest modulation go-to's are the Walrus Audio Julia (Chorus/Vibrato) and the Cusack Tap-A-Whirl (Tremolo) to make lush tones that much more luscious!
WOTB (what’s on the board):
MXR Dyna Comp
EHX Micro POG
Teletronix Mulholland Drive
Ibanez Tube Screamer TS808 Handwired
JHS Morning Glory
Ernie Ball Volume Jr
Walrus Audio Julia
Cusack Tap-A-Whirl
Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner
Boss DD-20
Boss DM-2
EHX DMM with Tap Tempo
Boss RV-5
Rock Stock Pedal Co. The Bright Switch Barefoot Buttons
MICHAEL POPE (Bethel)
(Photo: @saint_pope Instagram Account)
Our first of 2 boards from a worship team that is arguably at the forefront of modern Christian songs: Bethel Music.
Pope’s handsome board is stacked with options and controlled via the RJM Mastermind PBC Loop Switcher.
Naturally, the highlight of this board is the Strymon collection (this photo's missing a BigSky Reverb which Pope plans to add). Not only does the Strymon holy trinity (Mobius, Timeline, BigSky) cover a library's worth of effects, he also sports a Brigadier for good measure. This inclusion lets him stack delays with the Timeline, giving extra texture especially for ambient swells and oscillations.
Pope also sports two dirt pedals not commonly seen on worship pedalboards- the RML Electron Fuzz Custom and a Vintage Reissue Big Box ProCo Rat.
Both pedals cover vastly different sonic ground, particularly the RML Fuzz, which goes from a range of classic fuzz territory to an almost wooly synth-like sound.
Together with the transparent Emerson EM-Drive and the medium-gain JHS Superbolt, this board has a huge variety of gain on tap.
Honourable mention to the Keeley Compressor Pro, which offers studio quality compression and tweakability (if that’s your thing) for days!
WOTB (what’s on the board):
Sonic Research Turbo Tuner
Keeley Compressor Pro
RML Electron Fuzz
Custom Emerson EM-Drive
JHS Superbolt
Vintage Reissue Big Box ProCo Rat
EHX POG2
Vertex Boost
Goodwood Audio Custom Junction Box
Vertex Volume Pedal
Strymon Mobius
Strymon Brigadier
Strymon Timeline
Strymon BigSky (not in picture)
DAVID HISLOP (Bethel)
(Photo: @davidhislop_ Instagram Account)
Another Bethel board, this time from David Hislop.
Featuring the 3 Strymon heavyweights again, but this time with the El Capistan (Tape Delay) instead of the Brigadier (Analog Delay).
This board also sees the JHS Kilt make an appearance.
The Kilt is a familiar sighting on many church pedalboards as it was designed with Stu G from Delirious? and it covers a huge range of dirt sounds. With 4 individual toggle switches, 4 knobs, and 2 independent channels that can be switched in the signal chain, the JHS Kilt is an insanely versatile pedal suitable for all worship overdrive tones.
Another highlight here is the Walrus Audio Deep Six Compressor in a limited edition copper finish - A studio grade compressor with a small footprint, a user-friendly controls and, of course, amazing graphics.
The blend knob sets the Deep Six apart from much of its competition, allowing you to dial in some of your original signal into the compressed signal. It also boasts an internal voltage doubler that gives you more headroom. It’s no wonder the Deep Six is making more appearances with guitarists who demand sustain and clarity.
WOTB (what’s on the board):
Walrus Audio Deep Six
TC Polytune Mini
EHX POG2
Rainger FX Dr Freakenstein’s Dwarf Mini Fuzz
JHS Superbolt
JHS The Kilt
Ernie Ball Volume Pedal
Cusack Tap-A-Whirl
Strymon Mobius Strymon El Capistan
Strymon Timeline
Strymon BigSky
Disaster Area Effects DPC8
Disaster Area Effects DMC4
JEFFREY KUNDE (Jesus Culture)
(Photo: @gearsupplyco Instagram Account)
We now enter the realm of indulgence with this rig from Jeffrey Kunde.
Where do we even begin?
The almost-obligatory Strymon BigSky and Timeline are unmissable, as well as the Walrus Audio Deep Six and JHS Superbolt that we’ve seen appear on the other pedalboards as well.
Instead of the EHX Micro POG, however, Kunde uses a Matthew Effects Modified EHX Nano POG which has a smaller footprint and an additional preset function that makes it one of the most formidable octavers out there right now (its price tag is pretty formidable as well).
The real showstoppers are the gorgeous Bondi Del Mar overdrive and the pair of Chase Bliss Audio pedals.
Bondi Effects have enjoyed a huge following amongst P&W guitarists for both their Sick As and Del Mar. On this board, Jeffrey Kunde runs the Del Mar as a clean always-on pedal at the front of his chain.
Chase Bliss Audio have been doing insanely great things with their products and the Gravitas (Tremolo) and Spectre (Flanger) are no exception. Not only do they achieve their intended effect brilliantly, these boxes are literally a dashboard of toggles, knobs & dip switches that can take you as far 'out' as you wish with sounds that are difficult to even describe.
Don't believe us? Check out the Knobs demo of the Spectre because hearing is believing:
Kunde’s utility pedals are definitely not to be overlooked either. This whole board is tied together by the RJM Mastermind PBC, Selah Effects Quartz and the Sonic Research Turbo Tuner Mini.
This board = Absolutely monstrous.
WOTB (what's on the board):
Bondi Del Mar
Walrus Audio Deep Six
JHS Superbolt
Mad Professor Little Green Wonder Overdrive
Keeley Modded ProCo Rat
Hilton Volume Pedal
Sonic Research Turbo Tuner Mini
Selah Quartz
Matthew Effects Modded EHX Nano POG
Old Blood Noise Endeavours Reflector Chorus
Chase Bliss Audio Gravitas
Chase Bliss Audio Spectre
Strymon Timeline
Strymon BigSky
RJM Mastermind PBC
Goodwood Audio Junction Box x 2
NIGEL HENDROFF (Hillsong)
(Photo: @goodwoodaudio Instagram Account)
Finally, what is a worship guitarist list without including, arguably, the most iconic worship guitarist today?
The Droff.
Now this was a tough one because this legend is CURRENTLY (re-)building his rig and with none other than the amazing folks at Goodwood Audio.
Back in February, Reverb put out a video/article of Droff's rig and it came with this cute little graphic:
(Photo: Reverb.com)
Two weeks back, Goodwood Audio shared a sneak of an incomplete Droff board on their Instagram account (see first image), BUT JUST A FEW DAYS LATER, THIS SHOWED UP ON THE INTERWEBS:
(Photo: @droff Instagram account)
It does appear that the only boxes to stand the winds of change so far have been the Selah Scarlett Love, Selah Quartz Timer, RJM Mastermind PBC, Dunlop DVP1XL and the Jackson Audio Prism (we can't believe he considered having TWO at one point).
While it's certainly too early to say anything conclusive about this board's final form, it's exciting to see the man explore new gear.
Meris has been making waves with its latest 500 series and here we see the well-received Mercury 7 make its debut.
Chase Bliss Audio also makes an appearance in the form of their latest & first drive offering - Brothers.
The Strymon Zuma looks likes it's ready to take main powering duties, although secondary PSUs may pop up at some point - it is a big board.
What we're really excited about? Finding out what those four custom Goodwood Audio junction boxes lining the sides are possibly for.
No WOTB for this entry yet. What do you think will end up on Droff's board? Let us know!
