After playing a couple of years and a couple of hundred shows on her two-pedalboard setup, Erja Lyytinen and us thought it was time for an upgrade. During the shows with the dual board setup a need had arisen for a simpler and easier to manage setup. Also it was the time to update the old wireless system, along with a couple of pedals. 

Initially, in in its earlier incarnation, the setup was designed so that the first board would include the necessities that could get Erja through the show, and the second board was more special effects-oriented. This way Erja could just get the board n.o 1 if logistics didn't allow taking two boards. Because of this, the signal was traveling back and forth between the boards. However, the shows played after this made it clear that both of the boards were needed at all times. A lot of the new material Erja had written took a bit of distance from the blues tradition and included a lot of soundscapes, so a simpler setup wouldn't cut it anymore. 

To start things out, we tore the old boards apart and discussed which of the pedals were currently really needed and which ones we could get rid of. The guidelines for the project started to take form: Erja wanted to bring back the possibility for a two-amp setup, reduce cable clutter between the boards, update the wireless system, find better-sounding alternatives for some of the pedals, and finally re-design the power distribution so that the board could be used easily overseas. The result also had to be light enough for fly-in shows. 

We started to clear the setup by re-planning the effect order, adjusting it so that in the end there were only one guitar cable and a single power cable between the boards. A Shure GLXD16 wireless system was included on the first board and the signal chain from that on was designed so that if a cable was ever needed, Erja could bypass the wireless and connect straight in to the Fulltone wah, which is the first effect after the wireless. Another new addition was Wampler's Fuzztration, which replaced the cool but rather fickle Fulltone Ultimate Octave. In the end of the chain, a Lehle Little Dual was reinstated to split the signal into two amps whenever possible. 

Because Erja is currently playing lots of shows abroad, we also needed to update the power distribution. A Cioks DC7 for each board was an easy option, as you only need to have a suitable power adapter on the cable loom's power cable. No more messing around with step transformers or voltage switches which tend to be forgotten on a wrong setting all too often after returning from a tour. The cable loom's board end is a 3-way schuko, which distributes power for both of the power supplies in the boards. 

In the end both of the boards resulted in weighing just under 9 kilos each, so the two combined it's just enough to fit under the 23 kg limit of most airline companies.