“A bass overdrive gives me more control over which frequencies push forward when I want to take more risks”: Yvette Young spills the secrets of her pedalboard – and names the one stompbox she could play an entire show with

“I organize everything by stereo, just in case I want to run stuff in stereo. It’s nice to have a device to point to on my pedalboard where I know it won’t reduce things to mono. Most of my stereo effects are at the end of my 'board so I can experiment. But in general, having my gain and modulation pedals at the beginning of my 'board – and the reverb and stuff later – is nice.

“I have an EarthQuaker Devices Warden optical compressor. From there, I’ve got a D’Addario TC20 tuner, followed by a Beetronics Fatbee Overdrive and ZVEX Mastotron [silicon] fuzz. Next is the Ground Control Audio Noodles, which is like an EQ and gain combined; I use that when I’m looking to push specific frequencies. 

“Then I have a Boss OC-5 Octave, which leads to my Electronic Audio Experiments Longsword, a bass overdrive that gives me more control over which frequencies push forward when I want to take more risks. That, and the little boost, adds grit to my delay. I also have a great modulation pedal, the Caroline Guitar Somersault Lo-Fi Modulator, followed by the Walrus Audio Julianna chorus/vibrato.

“I have a ton of delays, but the MXR Carbon Copy Deluxe is my favorite as far as analog goes. I also love the EarthQuaker Devices Avalanche Run V2, a more pronounced rhythmic delay, and a Boss DD-3 Digital Delay. That brings me to my Meris Mercury7 Reverb and Hologram Electronics Microcosm. I use that for transitions and granular stuff, but the multi-delay is nice too.”

“That’s the main stuff, but I do have a Universal Audio Galaxy ’74 Tape Echo & Reverb; I use that for stacked delay stuff. And I have a bunch of DigiTech stuff, like the Whammy Ricochet and the FreqOut. The Ricochet is my newest addition; I use it when I want to make my pitch plummet or go off the deep end. The FreqOut is for when I want some controlled feedback.”

If I had to choose one pedal for a full show...

“The EarthQuaker Devices Avalanche Run V2. While I love my delay pedals and my Warden compression pedal, I could use only the Avalanche Run and still be able to make everything sound pretty. I’d use it subtly and keep it nice and low in the mix.”