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Pedalboard / 101

Joni Mitchell

Mitchell used the VG-8 as the live center of her many-tuning guitar system, changing programmed tunings and modeled sounds without changing instruments between songs.

Board
UCLA V-Guitar path
Context
Pauley Pavilion, UCLA, Westwood, California
Board date
Evidence
Documented equipment · 3 cited sources
Order
Source-described
Scope
Core signal path
Routing
Serial path
Audited
Signal
1 unit · Guitar to amplifier

Signal path / A

UCLA V-Guitar path

Performance-documented modeling processor

InputGuitar
OutputAmplifier

Documented equipment · Source-described order · Serial path

Multiple eyewitness accounts preserved in the Joni Mitchell Archives identify the VG-8 in use at the May 22, 1998 UCLA performance and describe its handling of Mitchell's alternate tunings. Guitar technician Andre Cholmondeley independently explains that Mitchell adopted the original VG-8 in the mid-1990s so one divided-pickup guitar could cover her many tunings. Roland's product archive confirms that the floor unit combines per-string pitch shifting, guitar and amplifier modeling, reverb, chorus, delay and EQ. No source documents an additional floor effect or the exact patch numbers used that night, so this snapshot is limited to the performance-confirmed processor rather than claiming a complete backstage signal system.

Cited sources

  1. Joni Mitchell ArchivesMay 22, 1998 - Pauley Pavilion, UCLA
  2. BOSS ArticlesBehind the Board: Andre Cholmondeley with Pat Metheny
  3. RolandVG-8 V-Guitar System