Patrick Breen’s Pedal Playground: Why Plugins Are Jealous

Patrick Breen wastes no time smashing the myth that pedals are just for guitarists. Right out of the gate, he’s running everything from keys to vocals through his pedalboard, chasing that elusive analog texture plugins can only dream about. The point? These little boxes aren’t just for live rigs or guitar tracking—they’re secret weapons for any audio source.

He’s upfront about his pedal stash: some bought, some sent, none sponsored in spirit. The focus is on how pedals inject character, saturation, and width into tracks, making your DAW feel less like a spreadsheet and more like a sweaty club night. If you’re stuck in plugin land, this is your wake-up call.

First up is the Chroma Console, splashing keys with vibrato, phaser, and just enough drive to make things interesting. Patrick’s not shy about tweaking—some drives are too much, but a touch of Sweden (yes, really) hits the spot. Then it’s over to the Strymon Deco, a tape machine in a box, perfect for saturation and double-tracking chaos. The Deco’s double-tracking side gets wild, adding width, delay, and a healthy dose of dirt.

The UAFX Del-Verb gets a reality check: it’s not the deepest reverb/delay out there, but its simplicity is its strength. Plug-and-play, instant ambience, and with the app, you unlock a stash of presets. For those who want total control, the Meris Mercury X is the polar opposite—every reverb flavour under the sun, plus filters, pitch, and modulation. Patrick runs through presets that go from classic to bonkers, showing how each pedal brings its own flavour to the mix.

Bass gets the mono treatment with the Cali76 (1176 in a box), JHS 424 (Tascam Portastudio vibes), and the JHS Colour Box V2 (Neve 1073 in pedal form). Each pedal adds punch, grit, or studio polish, making it clear that pedals aren’t just for guitars—they’re for anyone who wants their tracks to slap.

Patrick gets tactile, running guitar, drums, and vocals through his pedalboard in real time. Processing guitar post-recording? No problem. Drum bus through pedals? Instant attitude. But it’s the vocals that steal the show—mono compression, stereo effects, and a vocal sound dripping with vibe and harmonic content.

Watching Patrick twist knobs and slam switches is half the fun. The tactile experience of hardware just can’t be faked in software, and the results speak for themselves. If you want to hear how these pedals actually transform a mix, you’ll need to watch the video—words can only take you so far when the real magic is in the sound.