# Nels Cline Pedalboard 2018: Full Gear & Pedal List

> The 2018 Nels Cline pedalboard, pedal by pedal: Arpanoid Polyphonic Pitch Arpeggiator, Fuzz Factory and 14 more. Signal-chain order, settings and cited sources.

- Canonical page: https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/nels-cline/pelican-case-travel-rig-2018/
- Machine-readable index of the archive: https://pedalboardarchive.com/llms.txt
- Evidence and reconstruction conventions: https://pedalboardarchive.com/methodology/

## At a glance

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Artist | Nels Cline |
| Board | Pelican-case travel rig |
| Date | 2018-10-01 — October 2018 (month precision) |
| Context | New York City |
| Scope | Exact board snapshot |
| Signal path | 16 units · Guitar to amplifier |
| Routing | Serial path |
| Unit evidence | Documented |
| Order evidence | Reconstructed |
| Status | Artist-demonstrated · reconstructed order |
| Audited | 2026-08-15 |
| Sources | 2 |

Nels Cline's travel rig is the board he carries for his own music rather than Wilco: two small boards stacked in a Pelican case with a Fuzz Factory, a Whammy, a Boss CS-3, an 805 overdrive, a Waterfall chorus and a DD-3, plus three hand-worked units on the lid.

## Signal chain

**Order evidence — Reconstructed.** No source publishes this sequence; the order is reconstructed. The units are evidenced; their sequence is the archive's inference from the convention below, not an observation. Do not report this order as documented.

Reconstruction convention: Tuner → Wah and filter → Compressor → Overdrive, distortion and fuzz → Modulation → Delay → Reverb → Amplifier. A documented routing zone always overrides it.

| # | Unit | Role | Zone | Unit evidence | Position evidence | Catalog page |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Arpanoid Polyphonic Pitch Arpeggiator | Opens the signal chain, the one position on this board the source states outright. | Integrated board | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/arpanoid-polyphonic-pitch-arpeggiator/ |
| 2 | Fuzz Factory | Supplies the unstable fuzz voice Cline patches directly after the Arpanoid. | Integrated board | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/fuzz-factory/ |
| 3 | Whammy | Adds octave drops and interval clusters, the iteration Cline calls his favourite. | Integrated board | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/digitech-whammy/ |
| 4 | CS-3 Compression Sustainer | Compresses the clean tone before the overdrive section. | Integrated board | Tentative | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/cs-3-compression-sustainer/ |
| 5 | 805 Overdrive | Serves as the main overdrive on the board the Klon Centaur is too large for. | Integrated board | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/805-overdrive/ |
| 6 | Soda Meiser | Provides the harsher, more broken fuzz voice alongside the Fuzz Factory. | Integrated board | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/soda-meiser/ |
| 7 | Vyagra Boost | Lifts level ahead of the modulation and time effects. | Integrated board | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/vyagra-boost/ |
| 8 | VB-2 Vibrato | Bends pitch under sustained lines, carried over from Cline's Wilco board. | Integrated board | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/vb-2-vibrato/ |
| 9 | Waterfall | Supplies chorus and vibrato width, in a one-off version carrying the "Nels Cline switch". | Integrated board | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/waterfall/ |
| 10 | Stereo Pulsar Tremolo | Adds amplitude pulses between the modulation and delay sections. | Integrated board | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/stereo-pulsar-tremolo/ |
| 11 | DD-3 Digital Delay | Provides Cline's familiar compact digital delay, with settings recalled from long use. | Integrated board | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/boss-dd-3-digital-delay/ |
| 12 | FV-500H Volume Pedal | Shapes swells and overall level, a pedal Cline describes himself as constantly using. | Integrated board | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/fv-500h-volume-pedal/ |
| 13 | 16 Second Digital Delay | Builds the on-the-fly and reversed loops Cline has used since 1985. | Table effects chain | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/16-second-digital-delay/ |
| 14 | Count To Five | Produces the burbling, glitched loops Cline sets running alongside the 16-Second Delay. | Table effects chain | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/count-to-five/ |
| 15 | Kaoss Pad | Smears the loops with tape-delay textures by hand, sitting second-to-last in the chain. | Table effects chain | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/kaoss-pad/ |
| 16 | Context | Closes the chain with the reverb Cline prints rather than leaves to the room. | Integrated board | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/context/ |

### Identification notes

- **1. Arpanoid Polyphonic Pitch Arpeggiator:** EarthQuaker Devices name the Arpanoid as the first device on the floor and describe it feeding the Fuzz Factory and Whammy in the Anthony Braxton collaboration.
- **3. Whammy:** Cline specifies the first-generation Whammy, "still my favorite of all the Whammy iterations".
- **4. CS-3 Compression Sustainer:** EarthQuaker Devices list a CS-3 on this board; thirteen months later Cline refers to "my usual Boss CS-2" for the same role. The two sources disagree on the model number, so the compressor is recorded as the CS-3 the board photograph supports while the discrepancy stays flagged.
- **5. 805 Overdrive:** Named by both sources. Cline says he alternates between the 805 and an SMS Earth Drive at home because the Klon will not fit this board.
- **9. Waterfall:** EarthQuaker Devices describe it as a "custom JamPedal Waterfall with the 'Nels Cline switch'". Cline has said of the pedal, "Don't call it a chorus!"
- **11. DD-3 Digital Delay:** EarthQuaker Devices and Guitar.com both identify the DD-3. In the latter interview, Cline describes recalling its settings from years of use, but does not supply a delay time for this board.
- **12. FV-500H Volume Pedal:** Both sources name the Boss volume pedal; Cline specifies the FV-500H variant.
- **13. 16 Second Digital Delay:** Cline dates his use of the unit to 1985, "after Bill Frisell showed me his".
- **14. Count To Five:** EarthQuaker Devices list the Count To Five twice, once among the hand-reachable units on the case lid and once among the floor pedals. Only one unit is recorded here, placed with the hand-operated group; whether Cline carried a second on the floor is unresolved.
- **15. Kaoss Pad:** In Guitar.com's interview, Cline identifies the processor as a Korg Kaoss II and leaves only one stage after it in his chain. EarthQuaker Devices identify the Kaoss Pad family without a revision, so the II designation remains artist-reported rather than independently resolved.
- **16. Context:** Named by both sources. Cline: "Reverb that I printed was from a Red Panda Context."

## Reconstruction note

EarthQuaker Devices filmed this board in New York and Cline gave a first-person account of the same units to Guitar.com thirteen months later. Between them the two sources fix the inventory but only two positions: the floor chain "begins with the Arpanoid", and the Korg Kaoss is "second-to-last in my chain". Everything between those anchors follows the archive's published reconstruction convention and is drawn as inferred, not observed. The Red Panda Context is placed last because the convention puts reverb at the end and because that placement is what leaves the Kaoss second-to-last; it sits on the floor boards, not on the case lid. Size, not taste, defines this board — Cline notes his Klon Centaur "is frankly too large for my non-Wilco board", which is why the Wilco rig's overdrive is absent and the Seymour Duncan 805 takes its place. The two sources disagree on whether the compressor is a CS-3 or a CS-2, and EarthQuaker Devices list the Count To Five in both the floor and lid groups; both discrepancies are recorded on the pedals rather than resolved.

## Questions

### What pedals did Nels Cline use in 2018?

This dated entry lists 16 units: Arpanoid Polyphonic Pitch Arpeggiator, Fuzz Factory, Whammy, CS-3 Compression Sustainer, 805 Overdrive, Soda Meiser, Vyagra Boost, VB-2 Vibrato, Waterfall, Stereo Pulsar Tremolo, DD-3 Digital Delay, FV-500H Volume Pedal, 16 Second Digital Delay, Count To Five, Kaoss Pad, Context. This is the recorded inventory, not a claim that every connection or model identification is confirmed; see the evidence and routing notes.

### What order were Nels Cline's pedals in?

The complete order is reconstructed, not observed. The layout follows the cited routing constraints and the archive's signal-chain convention where the sources are silent. See the diagram and routing notes for the separate paths and any unconfirmed connections.

### Is this Nels Cline's full guitar rig?

No. This dated entry covers 16 units in the effects path, not every piece of gear Nels Cline owned or used. Floor pedals, rack units and routing devices are included only where recorded; omitted equipment and uncertain connections are explained in the notes. It is not a complete or current rig inventory.

### When and where was this pedalboard used?

October 2018. New York City. This is one dated setup as documented, not a career-wide gear list.

### How does the archive know what was on this pedalboard?

2 cited sources, listed above with the date each was read, including EarthQuaker Devices, Guitar.com. Among them a rig rundown and an interview. The units are recorded as documented equipment, and the page was last audited on 2026-08-15.

## Sources

2 cited sources across 2 independent groups. Two sources sharing an independent group report the same observation and count once.

1. [Board to Death Ep. 18 - Nels Cline (Wilco, the Nels Cline Quartet)](https://www.earthquakerdevices.com/blog-posts/board-to-death-nels-cline-wilco-the-nels-cline-quartet) — EarthQuaker Devices (Primary source · rig-rundown), published 2018-10-11, accessed 2026-08-15, independent group `earthquaker-board-to-death`. Filmed with Cline in New York. Describes "the big one" as two small pedalboards stacked inside a Pelican case whose lid doubles as a table for the 16-Second Delay, Count To Five and Kaoss Pad. States that the floor chain begins with the Arpanoid, then lists the remaining units without giving their order.
2. [Nels Cline of CUP breaks down four songs from their new album, Spinning Creature](https://guitar.com/features/interviews/nels-cline-cup-new-album-spinning-creature/) — Guitar.com (Primary source · interview), published 2019-11-01, accessed 2026-08-15, independent group `guitar-com-cup-track-by-track`. First-person track-by-track account of the CUP record. Independently names the 805, compressor, FV-500H, Red Panda Context, DD-3, Whammy 1, 16-Second Delay, Count To Five and Kaoss, and supplies the only order statement beyond the Arpanoid: the Kaoss is "second-to-last in my chain". Also states the Klon Centaur "is frankly too large for my non-Wilco board", which is why no Klon appears here.

## Related pages

- Every documented board by Nels Cline: [Nels Cline board history](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/nels-cline/)
- [Nels Cline — Wilco straight-line effects rig](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/nels-cline/wilco-straight-line-rig-2011/): shares 16 Second Digital Delay, CS-3 Compression Sustainer, Fuzz Factory, FV-500H Volume Pedal, VB-2 Vibrato, Boss DD-3 Digital Delay, DigiTech Whammy
- [Tom Morello — Long-term effects-loop board](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/tom-morello/long-term-rig-2019/): shares Boss DD-3 Digital Delay, DigiTech Whammy
- [Adam Jones — Tool touring effects board](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/adam-jones/tool-dunlop-tech-board-2010/): shares Boss DD-3 Digital Delay
- [David Gilmour — PULSE / Division Bell rig](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/david-gilmour/pulse-division-bell-rig-1994/): shares DigiTech Whammy
- [Chris Buck — Dual Schmidt Array touring system](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/chris-buck/schmidt-array-touring-system-2024/): no shared unit; a comparable signal path (Multi-effects & Modeling, Dynamics, Reverb & Ambience, Routing & Control, Modulation, Delay & Echo, Gain)
- [Billy Strings — Four-drawer MIDI touring board](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/billy-strings/four-drawer-touring-board-2023/): no shared unit; a comparable signal path (Multi-effects & Modeling, Dynamics, Pitch & Synth, Reverb & Ambience, Routing & Control, Modulation, Delay & Echo, Gain)
- Previous board in archive order: [Neil Young — Red board and vintage effects rig](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/neil-young/electric-tour-red-board-2009/)
- Next board in archive order: [Nels Cline — Wilco straight-line effects rig](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/nels-cline/wilco-straight-line-rig-2011/)