Eric Gales Pedalboard
Full effects breakdown — core pedals, signal chain order, and budget alternatives
Eric Gales's signal chain centres on 2 essential effects: Overdrive (Ibanez Tube Screamer), Wah. The resulting sound: Fender Stratocaster (played upside down, strung for left-hand) into a Fender or Marshall amp at moderate to high gain. The overdrive functions as a signal booster and light overdrive rather than a heavy distortion source — it pushes the amp's input harder, causing the amp's own tubes to clip. The pedal adds focus and sustain while the amp provides the tonal character. The Ibanez Tube Screamer is typically set with gain near zero and level above unity — it functions as a transparent signal booster that pushes the amp's input stage rather than adding its own distortion character. This is what gives the tone its smooth, amp-driven quality rather than the harder-edged sound of a gain pedal.
Essential Pedals
These effects are non-negotiable for Eric Gales's tone. Skip any one and the signature sound is lost.
Optional / Contextual Effects
Eric Gales uses these situationally — great to have but not required for the core sound.
£1,000 Pedalboard Breakdown
Specific gear recommendations at the £1,000 budget tier.
Also used by: Joe Satriani
Pedalboard at Every Budget
The effects chain scales with budget — budget tiers keep the essential categories intact with less expensive alternatives.
Signal Chain Order
For Eric Gales's signal chain, the order keeps the tone responsive at each stage — each effect receives the right input impedance and signal character from the preceding stage.
- Guitar
- Wah (before dirt for classic wah-wah sound)
- Drive pedals (Overdrive, Fuzz)
- Amp
Related Gear
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FAQ
Eric Gales Pedalboard — Common Questions
Eric Gales's pedalboard includes: Vox V847 Wah, Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer. The core effects in Eric Gales's sound are Overdrive, Wah.
The standard signal chain for Eric Gales's pedalboard follows the professional convention: guitar → tuner → wah (if used) → compression → overdrive/distortion → amp → modulation (chorus/flanger) → delay → reverb. For Eric Gales's signal chain, the order keeps the tone responsive at each stage — each effect receives the right input impedance and signal character from the preceding stage.
Eric Gales uses the Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer as the main overdrive pedal. This pedal is placed before the amp input in the signal chain.
Building a Eric Gales-style pedalboard depends on budget. At £200 you can cover the essentials (~£298 for the full rig). At £500 the pedalboard includes . At £1,000 (full rig: ~£986) all the key pedals are covered.
Eric Gales's delay is handled by a dedicated delay pedal placed at the end of the signal chain (or in the amp's effects loop). Common choices include the Boss DD series, TC Electronic Flashback, or MXR Carbon Copy.