Paul Gilbert Pedalboard
Full effects breakdown — core pedals, signal chain order, and budget alternatives
Paul Gilbert's signal chain centres on 2 essential effects: Overdrive, Delay. The resulting sound: Ibanez PGM signature (DiMarzio pickups) into a Mesa Boogie Mark series or Laney amp. 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 overdrive is typically set with gain near zero and level above unity — it pushes the amp's input stage rather than adding its own distortion. The result is an amp-driven tone rather than a pedal-driven one.
Essential Pedals
These effects are non-negotiable for Paul Gilbert's tone. Skip any one and the signature sound is lost.
Optional / Contextual Effects
Paul Gilbert 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: Alex Turner
Pedalboard at Every Budget
The effects chain scales with budget — budget tiers keep the essential categories intact with less expensive alternatives.
- EQBoss GE-7 Graphic EQ
- OverdriveKing Tone Duellist OD
- DelayStrymon Timeline
Signal Chain Order
Delay last in the chain (or in the effects loop) ensures the repeats are clean reproductions of the effected signal. Running delay before drive would create driven, distorted repeats that accumulate into an indistinct wall.
- Guitar
- Drive pedals (Overdrive)
- Delay (after modulation, before reverb)
- Amp
Related Gear
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Head-to-Head Comparisons
FAQ
Paul Gilbert Pedalboard — Common Questions
Paul Gilbert's pedalboard includes: Fulltone OCD Overdrive, Strymon El Capistan. The core effects in Paul Gilbert's sound are Overdrive, Delay.
The standard signal chain for Paul Gilbert's pedalboard follows the professional convention: guitar → tuner → wah (if used) → compression → overdrive/distortion → amp → modulation (chorus/flanger) → delay → reverb. Delay last in the chain (or in the effects loop) ensures the repeats are clean reproductions of the effected signal. Running delay before drive would create driven, distorted repeats that accumulate into an indistinct wall.
Paul Gilbert uses the Fulltone OCD Overdrive as the main overdrive pedal. This pedal is placed before the amp input in the signal chain.
Building a Paul Gilbert-style pedalboard depends on budget. At £200 you can cover the essentials (~£298 for the full rig). At £500 the pedalboard includes Joyo Vintage Overdrive. At £1,000 (full rig: ~£946) all the key pedals are covered.
Paul Gilbert'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.