Boss SY-300

“The best thing about this invention is that you don’t need one of those Roland Hex pickups. It uses the same technology as the [TC Electronic] PolyTune, picking up each individual string which separates everything – it’s polyphonic, like the [Electro-Harmonix] POG2.

“Guitar synth pedals have usually been monophonic, and somehow they managed to sort it out with this one. As soon as I saw it on the Chappers and The Captain YouTube channel – I think they’re very funny, by the way – I instantly knew it would be perfect for Pendulum. It’s pretty new on my pedalboard, I can’t wait to get using it more.

The fact you don’t need a special pickup really opens things up - those things are a pain in the arse!

“I’ll be bringing out the same rig for my Faithless sets, too, so I know this will come in handy. It tracks perfectly, and I can use my amp sound to double up underneath. You can get some amazing pads out of this thing. It’s fun for playing those Queen riffs with that trumpety sound, like Brian May’s leads on I Want To Break Free.

“It’s been a great investment already, but this is just the first version! I can’t wait to see what else they’re going to come back with for version two or three. The fact you don’t need a special pickup really opens things up - those things are a pain in the arse! You need to screw them in or maybe use double-sided sticky tape, then have a 13-pin lead, which they don’t make wireless units for… no-one wants that.”

Electro-Harmonix POG2

“Electro-Harmonix are very clever people! This pedal can create that 12-string effect, but it’s almost like 18-string because you can go two octaves above.

“I’ve always been a fan of making the guitar not sound like a guitar. Don’t get me wrong, I love how guitars sound, but I find myself drawn to more synthetic sounds. You can also use the POG as an octave pedal - I can go two octaves below to the point where the PA can’t handle it! It’s a very creative pedal and actually a great tool for songwriting.

“I’m not into using too many pedals at once. When you do that, your tone goes to hell – it sounds like a bloody mess. I’ll have a compressor, the POG, some delay and that’ll be it… I don’t like going beyond that.”

Line 6 M9

“There’s an effect on this Line 6 pedal called The Growler that I absolutely adore. The harder you drive it, the more the frequency overloads… which can transform your guitar into something close to an analogue synth. It’s really dynamic and responsive in that sense. I also use the pattern tremolo to cut my signal up as another special effect of sorts.”

TC Electronic BodyRez

“My PRS P24 has a great piezo pickup in it, but it still sounds like a normal DI’d acoustic out front, and remember, even if you put a £10,000 Martin through a PA, that’s inevitably what it’ll sound like. So the TC Electronic BodyRez really helps me tap into more of that wooden body resonance. God knows how they do it: one knob and that’s it. It’ll make any piezo sound more like a mic’d-up acoustic, plus you still get to use your whammy bar!”

Ernie Ball VP JR 250K (Passive)

“If you only use the knob on your guitar to control your volume, it limits how much you’re able to do on the fretboard. These pedals are also very handy for changing guitars on stage as well - no-one wants to hear that jack lead clunk in between songs!

“The Ernie Ball feels like the most solid one I’ve come across, and I’ve tried a lot of them. The Morley is pretty good, too, but there’s no tuner out on it. I’ve got one of the miniature ones, which are great for pedalboard real estate!

“The Ernie Ball models are just solid… the pots are connected by string mechanisms, so you really can’t break them. I find the other ones that are physically connected are more prone to damage.”

DigiTech Drop

To tell you the truth, it didn’t replace anything on my pedalboard – it replaced four guitars!

“There are probably other similar pedals out there, but DigiTech knows exactly what its doing when it comes to bringing pitch up or down. I’ve had this one for about a year and, to tell you the truth, it didn’t replace anything on my pedalboard – it replaced four guitars!

“We tune to Eb, but in the past I’ve needed extra guitars for songs in D. The Drop shifts it for me and has cut my rig down from six instruments to two, which as you can imagine, makes life a lot easier!”

Audio-Technica System 10

“This is the wireless system that receives my signal. I’m actually wearing two packs on stage – one for acoustic and one for electric. The electric signal is split first – the guitar runs into the amp, as well as through the pedalboard then the PA. I can do whatever I want with either side of it.

“I can have a DigiTech Whammy going over a distorted chord behind it. So altogether, there’s the amp sound, the DI modelled sound and then the final acoustic out. Our sound engineer gets to blend it all together.”

Line 6 Helix

“The Helix is mind-boggling and I’ve only just begun to scratch the surface with what it can actually do. I saw a video of [British guitarist and demonstrator] Paul Hindmarsh explaining the idea behind it and as soon as I watched that, I realised I needed it in my life.

“With Pendulum, we have this massive crossover thing going on – we’ve done Download Festival three times, as well as the more mainstream ones. So I take different influences from different people, of course, but I like experimenting with whatever I can.

“It’s not a new thing: look at the weird sounds Robert Fripp was getting back in the day. But I do see this kind of equipment as part of a new generation. My rig is very much a work in progress – I’m making it up as I go along. I just watch YouTube clips thinking, ‘I want that and that!’ and put it all together to see what it sounds like. It’s pretty mental!”

TC Electronic PolyTune

“The PolyTune mark one is still the most important pedal I own out of them all! Being in tune is definitely important. Before you even get to the sound, you’ve gotta make sure your guitar’s in tune… otherwise you’ll sound like a dick!”

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In pictures: Pendulum's studio and live setups