ScottG • Full Chain Wet/Dry • Maximum Exploitation

Every Pedal. Every Combination. Two Amps.

AC+ and SD-9 in front. Mobius and Timeline in the loop. Badger 18 dry. Mesa 5:25 wet. Seven tones that use everything you own in ways you haven't tried yet.

Guitar→ AC+→ SD-9→ Badger 18→ FX Send→ Mobius In→ Mob R Out→ FX Return→ Badger Spk | Mob L Out→ Timeline In→ TL Out→ Mesa 5:25→ Mesa Spk The order change: AC+ goes BEFORE the SD-9 this time. Why? The AC+ in boost mode pushes the SD-9's input harder, changing how the SD-9 distorts — fatter, more compressed, with extra low-mid body from the AC+ Boost switch. This is the Landau approach: the Jan Ray (your AC+) was always before the SD-9 in his chain on some boards. It gives you a different flavour from SD-9 → AC+. The AC+ also buffers the guitar signal before the SD-9, which changes how the SD-9's input impedance interacts with your pickups — slightly brighter, slightly more open. Both orders work. This one gives you more control over how the SD-9 responds.

Badger 18 — Locked for all 7 presets (Power Scaled for night, amp on the edge)

Power

Drive

Gain

Bass

Middle

Treble

Boost

Off*

The amp sits at the edge of breakup. Gain 5 + Power 4/Drive 5 = the EL84s are contributing real tube character. Bass 3 per Henderson. Mids 6 for vocal cut. The amp responds to your guitar volume AND to how hard the pedals push it. *Boost is your wildcard — stomp it on any preset for extra gain.

Mesa 5:25 — Ch1 Clean, 5W Class A, Gain 2, Bass 4, Mid 5, Treble 5, Reverb 3, Contour off. Timeline Mix = 100% wet always.

1 — Pure Silk

Both pedals off. Nothing between you and the amp except wire. The Badger 18 at the edge, cleaning up at vol 6, breaking up at vol 9. The raw amp tone with warm delay floating from the Mesa. The test tone. If this doesn't sound good, nothing else will.

AC+ / SD-9

AC+Off (bypass)

SD-9Off (bypass)

Mobius → Badger

TypeBypass

Timeline → Mesa (100% wet)

TypedBucket, Double range

Time / Rpts / Filter400ms / 10 o'clock / 1 o'clock (dark)

Grit / Mod9 / 10 o'clock

Neck Vol 6–9 (ride it) Tone 7 Both pedals true bypass = straight wire to amp. Warm analog echoes from the Mesa with tube reverb. The purest expression of your guitar → amp → room.

2 — Landau Session

AC+ Channel A as always-on buffer/warmth. SD-9 off. Chorus shimmer from the Badger, crystal delay from the Mesa. The 80s/90s session clean — wide, three-dimensional, professional. Arpeggios and chord pads.

AC+ / SD-9

AC+Ch A — gain min, vol noon, tone 11, boost OFF

SD-9Off

Mobius → Badger

TypeChorus dBucket

Speed / Depth / Mix9 o'clock / 1 o'clock / 35%

Tone11 o'clock (warm)

Timeline → Mesa

TypeDigital

Time / Rpts / Filter375ms / 10 o'clock / 12:00

Grit / ModMin / 9 o'clock

Pos 4 Vol 7 Tone 8 Fingers Chorus from the Badger speaker. Crystal delay from the Mesa across the room. Your actual wet/dry rig doing exactly what Landau's does.

3 — Honey Boost

AC+ Channel A with Boost switch pushing the Badger past its edge. SD-9 still off. The amp is now in light crunch from the AC+'s +3dB low-mid push alone. Vibe adds liquid movement. The Landau warm-push tone with the amp contributing breakup — the Henderson/Landau cross.

AC+ / SD-9

AC+Ch A — gain 10, vol 1 o'clock, tone 11, boost ON

SD-9Off

Mobius → Badger

TypeVibe (Chorus mode)

Speed / Depth9 / 11 o'clock

Headroom / Low End2 o'clock / Medium

Timeline → Mesa

TypedTape — 350ms / 9 o'clock / filter 11 / grit 9

Neck Vol 7–8 (ride) Tone 7 The AC+ Boost switch is doing the work — pushing the Badger's preamp past the threshold. Subtle Vibe from the Badger, warm tape from the Mesa. Roll guitar vol to 5 for clean, push to 9 for crunch. One-knob dynamics.

4 — Burning Landau

SD-9 on at the Landau setting. AC+ off — the SD-9 drives the amp alone. The documented tone: SD-9 tone at 8 o'clock, level dimed, into a clean-ish amp. Raw, direct, heavy crunch that cleans up with guitar volume. No modulation. Just the SD-9 and the two amps.

AC+ / SD-9

AC+Off (bypass)

SD-9 Dist12:00

SD-9 Tone8 o'clock (almost off)

SD-9 LevelDimed

Mobius → Badger

TypeBypass

Timeline → Mesa

TypedTape — 400ms / 9 o'clock / filter 11 / grit 9

Neck or Bridge Vol 7–10 Tone 7 No AC+ buffer in the chain — the SD-9 sees your guitar's impedance directly for a slightly different, more raw interaction. The warm tape delay from the Mesa is the only spatial effect. Henderson's minimal philosophy. Ride the guitar volume: 5 = dirty clean, 7 = crunch, 10 = full bark.

5 — The Full Stack

AC+ pushing INTO the SD-9. This is the new combination you haven't tried. The AC+ boost fattens the signal before it hits the SD-9, making the SD-9 distort differently — thicker, more compressed, with more low-mid body. Then the SD-9's output hits the already-on-the-edge Badger. Vibe from the Badger, reverse delay from the Mesa. Singing fusion lead.

AC+ / SD-9

AC+Ch A — gain 10, vol noon, tone 11, boost ON

SD-9 Dist10 o'clock (lower than #4!)

SD-9 Tone9 o'clock

SD-9 LevelDimed

Mobius → Badger

TypeVibe (Chorus), speed 10, depth 1–2, headroom 1 (gritty)

Timeline → Mesa

TypeReverse — 500ms / 11 o'clock / filter 1 / smear high

Neck Vol 10 Tone 7 The key insight: with the AC+ BEFORE the SD-9, you need LESS distortion on the SD-9 (10 instead of noon) because the AC+ is pre-amplifying the signal into the SD-9's input harder. The SD-9 clips earlier but more smoothly. It's a different distortion character — fatter, more liquid, more sustain. The gritty Vibe from the Badger + reverse delay ghosts from the Mesa = Hendrix-meets-fusion lead. This is the combination that justifies owning both pedals.

6 — Holdsworth Liquid

The sax tone. AC+ with tone rolled dark + boost ON for body. SD-9 at ultra-low gain as a sustain engine. The amp at the edge. Subliminal chorus from the Badger. Warm dBucket delay from the Mesa acting like a piano sustain pedal. Notes float, bloom, and sing.

AC+ / SD-9

AC+Ch A — gain min, vol noon, tone 10 (dark), boost ON

SD-9 Dist9 o'clock (barely on)

SD-9 Tone8 o'clock

SD-9 Level2 o'clock

Mobius → Badger

TypeChorus dBucket — speed 8 / depth 10 / mix 20% / tone 10

Timeline → Mesa

TypedBucket Double — 440ms / 11 o'clock / filter 1 / grit 10 / mod 10

Neck Vol 7 Tone 6 Legato, no hard picking This is The One Tone from the previous session — everything dark, warm, liquid. The AC+ boost adds the 200–800Hz horn/sax body. The SD-9 at barely-on provides sustain without distortion. The subliminal 20% chorus adds width you feel but don't hear. The dBucket delay from the Mesa floats prior notes in the background. Guitar vol at 7 for the Holdsworth sweet spot. Roll to 5 for glass clean, push to 9 for singing lead.

7 — Event Horizon

Full gain stack. AC+ A+B reversed (B→A) pushing the SD-9 hard. SD-9 pushing the Badger hard. Badger Boost ON. Barber Pole phaser rising infinitely from the Badger. Ice delay with -25 cents detune cascading from the Mesa into a gravity well. Maximum everything. The sound of entropy across two amps. The climax preset.

AC+ / SD-9

AC+A+B (B→A) — gain A 11, tone A noon, boost ON / gain B noon, bass 9, mid noon, treble 1, Hard

SD-9 Dist10 o'clock

SD-9 Tone10 o'clock (brighter — feeds the phaser)

SD-9 LevelDimed

Badger BoostON

Mobius → Badger

TypePhaser BARBER — RAMP (rising), speed 9, depth max, regen noon

Timeline → Mesa

TypeIce — 1200ms / rpts 3 o'clock / interval -25 cents / slice long / blend 80% ice / smear max

Anywhere Vol 7 (ride to 10 for peaks) Tone 5 Four gain stages: AC+ A → AC+ B → SD-9 → Badger Boost. But each at moderate gain — the stack creates density without any single stage being maxed. The SD-9 tone at 10 o'clock (not the usual 8) gives the Barber Pole phaser more harmonic content to work with. The -25 cents Ice detune from the Mesa creates that slow sickening pitch drift as repeats cascade. From the Badger: your overdriven guitar with an infinitely rising Shepard tone illusion. From the Mesa: pitch-detuning echoes dissolving into tube reverb. Two amps painting entropy from opposite sides of the room.

What each combination unlocks

Both pedals OFF (#1): Pure amp + guitar + delay. The reference tone. If this doesn't inspire you, change the amp settings.
AC+ only (#2, #3): Landau territory. Buffer, warmth, body, subtle push. The amp does the heavy lifting with gentle pedal shaping.
SD-9 only (#4): Henderson/Landau raw drive. The SD-9's character dominates. No buffer, so the guitar-to-pedal interaction is more reactive and raw.
AC+ INTO SD-9 (#5): The new territory. The AC+ pre-amplifies and shapes before the SD-9 clips — different distortion character. Fatter, more compressed, more liquid. Less SD-9 distortion needed.
Both pedals at low gain (#6): The Holdsworth zone. Neither pedal is obviously distorting. Together they add harmonic density, compression, and sustain that no single pedal achieves alone.
Both pedals stacked hard (#7): Maximum gain density from multiple moderate stages. Each pedal adds its harmonic signature without any single one being pushed to its ugly limit.

The AC+ before the SD-9 vs. after: When the AC+ is first, it controls what the SD-9 "sees" — a hotter, more shaped signal. The SD-9 clips earlier and more smoothly. When the SD-9 is first (like your earlier presets), the SD-9 sees the raw guitar and the AC+ shapes the result. Both are valid. Having tried both, this order (AC+ → SD-9) gives you a more liquid, compressed, Holdsworth-adjacent drive character. The previous order (SD-9 → AC+) is more raw, more Henderson. You could even swap the pedals physically between sessions — both are true bypass so the order doesn't affect your clean tone when they're off.