“I do the old metal trick where there’s some semblance of a Tube Screamer on all the time”: What’s cookin’ on the Skillet pedalboards? Korey Cooper and Seth Morrison reveal all

This month, we catch up with Tennessee rockers Skillet for a pedalboard tell-all, discussing the guitar effects pedals guitarists Korey Cooper and Seth Morrison cannot do a show without, and those they really cannot do without – and this is required reading for any player whose touring schedule has just moved from intense to elite.

As Morrison admits, once upon a time it was an all analog, WYSIWYG operation. But there are too many shows, too many setlists, and some digital switching magic is required.

Seth Morrison

We used to be all analog, no switchers, no anything. But we tour so heavily, and it’s hard to set aside time for your rig like that. We added Boss ES-8 MIDI switchers, making life much easier. It does like half a dozen things; that’s the brain of our rigs.

To walk you through the chain, I used a Boss TU-3S tuner, a Jim Dunlop JP95 John Petrucci wah and a DigiTech Whammy [DT], which has the drop-tune side, so it can do a lot. After that, I do the old metal trick where there’s some semblance of a Tube Screamer on all the time. I’ve tried a lot but settled on the Fortin Hexdrive.

Skillet - O Come, O Come Emmanuel (Official Music Video) - YouTube

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I also use the Cusack Screamer V3 Overdrive for some things. It’s kind of a fuzz and a Tube Screamer in one pedal that you can blend in and out. I’ve just added a JHS Muffuletta, which has the circuits of an EHX Big Muff.

I’ve got a signature distortion through Westminster Effects, but I’ve also got a Westminster Edwards [Overdrive V2]. After that, I’ve got a Wampler Terraform [modulation multi-effects] and a Source Audio Nemesis delay. Lastly, I’ve got a Source Audio Ventris dual reverb.

Korey Cooper

Seth and I are similar in that the Boss MIDI switcher is the brain. It’s pretty much a crispy, crunchy, loud tone for me. I’m not clean very often. Well, I’m clean, technically, never. I pretty much stay heavy and throw on some effects for feeling, hooks and the washy kinda sounds.

My chain starts with the Boss TU-3W Waza Craft Tuner. I’ve got a DigiTech Drop, a Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor and a Tube Screamer that I’ve pretty much got on everything. Below those, I’ve got an EQ2 [Programmable Equalizer] and a Source Audio Atlas Compressor.

Next, I’ve got a Source Audio Vertigo Tremolo, a Source Audio Nemesis Delay, a Source Audio Ventris Reverb and Strymon BlueSky V2 reverb. I’ve also got a second and separate area of my board with a different tuner, a TC Electronic Polytune. I have another DigiTech Drop and a Keeley Roto Sonic Rotary Speaker.”

If I had to choose only one pedal for a full show...

Morrison: Probably my wah. I use it for a lot of leads. The Whammy would be a close second.

Cooper: I’d choose the Nemesis Delay. It adds a lot. I need that feel, and I use a lot of that wash.

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