A 'board as majestic as Ardan's Flagship should have a fascinating backstory, and it certainly delivers - take it away, Ardan…

“I am a musician from Italy, deeply interested in sound experiments. Since I started to play guitar, I realised that there were tons of sound possibilities within the instrument, so I built my first pedalboard.

“Meanwhile, I went deep into electronic and noise music, working with signal-processing software such as Max/Msp and Pure Data. The main problem was that in order to control so many parameters, I needed a huge control surface. Not to mention the CPU consumption.

“So I decided to design a whole new 'board, which would allow me to process my guitar sound straight before it reaches the computer.

“And here comes Flagship, my main pedalboard!

“The main structure is made with bent/riveted aluminium, while the two lateral removable footboards are made of wood. All covered with white carbon-fibre film. The black pedal support is made of semi-transparent perspex.

“On the right side, I have five female plugs (input, output, send, return and tuner out), while on the left side I have placed three tap-tempo and five expression inputs, plus a powercon for electric current.

“As you can see in the photos, Flagship is backlit, and there are 2 powerful LEDs on the two footboards' internal sides. This light system is completely separated from the power supplies, and both have independent on/off switch and fuse.

“All the pedals are powered by two Cioks power supply, for an average consumption of 4200mA.

“Concerning the cables, I used seven meters of Sommer LLX with G&H plugs to ensure the best possible signal transparency. I can guarantee that the signal passes easily through the whole chain with ridiculously low loss.

“This 'board comes out from almost eight years spent working around pedals, searching for the best effects, best functionality and best matching, and it took me seven months to complete it.

“Hope you'll enjoy.”

Enjoy it we have, Ardan. Head over to the guitarist'sFacebook page for more FX madness.

Signal chain: Z.Vex Fuzz Factory (modified) - Keeley 4k Compressor - Moen GEC9 - Custom Audio Wah - Subdecay Prometheus DLX - MXR 6-band EQ - Eventide PitchFactor – Electro-Harmonix POG2 - BRBS True Drive (custom) - Suhr Riot Reloaded - Analogman SunFace - One Control Mosquite Blender - Copilot FX Arrow Airwaves - WMD Geiger Counter - Subdecay Vitruvian Mod - Mooer Slow Engine (modified) - Dawner Prince Starla - Dr. Scientist The Elements - Road Rage Looper - Hotone Wally - Empress Buffer+ - Ernie Ball VPJR (modified) - Vinteck Killswitch (custom) - MXR Analog Chorus - VFE Enterprise - TC Electronic Vortex Flanger - T-Rex Replay Box - Empress Superdelay - Strymon Blue Sky