Sell me on pedalboards ???
I've got a piece of wood, velcro strips, a 1 spot daisy chain, and a power adaptor, why would I need a pedalboard.
I've had 5 different boards over the years. Here's my latest:
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/bren1973/DSCI0026.jpg)
16"Lx23.5"W Fits perfectly inside a Samonsite suitcase from the 70's-80's. Those kind you find in Goodwill stores for like $11.
Here's some older versions:
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/bren1973/DSC00114.jpg)
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/bren1973/4-18-07003-1.jpg)
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/bren1973/DSC02684.jpg)
More of the suitcase:
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/bren1973/PC070083.jpg)
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/bren1973/PC070084.jpg)
Another nice thing about boards is that pedals stay put and you can get all those wires tied down. Faster set-up too. I can set up and be ready in about 15 secs.
My buddy's board:
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/bren1973/Matamps007.jpg)
Another Mem Man DLX I modded.
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/bren1973/MMDLXEXP2004.jpg)
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/bren1973/MMDLXEXP2003.jpg)
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/bren1973/MMDLXEXP2001.jpg)
This was a two-stage board I did for a buddy. The Mem Man was on a seperate board that could be pulled off and made more room for other pedals.
Your set up sounds fine. If it works for you, stay with it. I went that route for a while, but grew weary of the bulk, the time still needed for set up, dealing with remembering a power strip, crowding the power strip with the adapters and still having to remember batteries for the pedals that didn't use adapters up. I whined about it long enough that Santa brought me one of these SKB-PS-45s;
(http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t274/stokedmofo13/pedalboard.jpg)
It's durable, has plenty of A/C outlets and even has an adapter for pedals that usually only run on 9 volts. Kinda pricey (especially compared to diy), but my set up time is virtually the same as if I didn't have pedals. Also having everything covered while transporting saves on unexpected surprises occuring during transport.
The surprise factor is no joke. I lost that MXR fuzz due to carrying it to a buddies in a nice, soft backpack. The footswitch broke and I had already modded the fuck out of it. Keep 'em in a hardshell case for sure.
Quote from: Hemisaurus on April 28, 2011, 04:30:54 PM
Sell me on pedalboards ???
I've got a piece of wood, velcro strips, a 1 spot daisy chain, and a power adaptor, why would I need a pedalboard.
Hey Hemi,
That's probably the best way to do it for us experimental types. I had a pedal board years ago with everything locked down nice and neat but now I can not go more than a few months with wanting change something or re-arrange things.
I have found I like stacking my pedals on top of my amp head so I can tweak them easier but it makes switching during a song kind of hard.
Quote from: spookstrickland on April 28, 2011, 05:29:00 PM
Quote from: Hemisaurus on April 28, 2011, 04:30:54 PM
Sell me on pedalboards ???
I've got a piece of wood, velcro strips, a 1 spot daisy chain, and a power adaptor, why would I need a pedalboard.
Hey Hemi,
That's probably the best way to do it for us experimental types. I had a pedal board years ago with everything locked down nice and neat but now I can not go more than a few months with wanting change something or re-arrange things.
I have found I like stacking my pedals on top of my amp head so I can tweak them easier but it makes switching during a song kind of hard.
steve kimock does that.
Quote from: Hemisaurus on April 28, 2011, 04:30:54 PM
Sell me on pedalboards ???
I've got a piece of wood, velcro strips, a 1 spot daisy chain, and a power adaptor, why would I need a pedalboard.
well you HAVE a pedalboard, its just that you made it yourself and ditn buy it pre-assembled.
add a thrift store hardshell suitcase and your are set.
i never understood it either, why pay for something that you can make a customized version of cheaper?
The thrift store suitcase deal is a great idea.
Some creative/smart folks around here.
Quote from: black on April 28, 2011, 06:14:51 PM
The thrift store suitcase deal is a great idea.
Some creative/smart folks around here.
buy the case first, then cut your board to size. $3-$5 should get you a nice hardshell mini suitcase at goodwill.
George L's cable kit are great for pedalboards too IMHO. i know others will disagree but they allow you to make exactly the right length connections to keep your pedals organized and neat and ive never had one fail on me.
You can make your own A/B and routing boxes easily too and customize them for your needs. I made this one so i can switch between steel and guitar wiht the toggle switch and for routing all cables to one spot on my pedalboard for easy breakdown and setup. Since it didnt need a footswitch (i never switch instruments mid song) i was able to put it under the second teir to save space.
(http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c130/E9th/Pedlaboardab.jpg)
second tier folded over to reveal power supply...hi-tech!
(http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c130/E9th/pedalboardrack.jpg)
I'm into the home made pedal boards too... I can't believe anybody would spend a couple hundred dollars (on just the board) unless you were in a professional band that was touring all the time.
I'm into the hardshell suitcase, and pine boards from Home Depot (painted black). I hate velcro, but if a pedal already has it attached then I use it (I buy most of my shit used).
I like to attach my pedals using bicycle chain links (flat metal piece shaped like an 8 with two holes). One side, you unscrew the backplate and rescrew with the 8 attached. The other side of the 8 gets screwed into the board. I got mine on Ebay but if you're into bicycles you can probably roll your own.
Some pedals have recessed screws (Digitech) so I drilled holes into the board, and looped 'em into place with zip ties.
George L's are great. Cut 'em exactly to fit, the cables are skinny and can make tight turns. Neatness counts, if you are trying to troubleshoot something going wrong. The ony time I don't like George L's is when you don't use a board - IMO you don't want to be constantly plugging the George L's in and out (handling them a lot), to avoid potential cable failure.
Before I got a board for everything, I would spend maybe 25 minutes getting everything plugged in, and 15 minutes unplugging and putting shit away. 3 practices a week and that added up to two hours a week, just plugging and unplugging effects boxes. Plus shit would get routed wrong (duh) and I'd waste time trying to figure out why shit wasn't working like I planned. Now everything is locked in, and I haven't had to troubleshoot anything in like two years... Board has changed slightly since this pic, but basically this:
(http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/qq143/Bloater/suitcase-1.jpg?t=1304035522)
Quote from: spookstrickland on April 28, 2011, 05:29:00 PM
Hey Hemi,
That's probably the best way to do it for us experimental types. I had a pedal board years ago with everything locked down nice and neat but now I can not go more than a few months with wanting change something or re-arrange things.
I have found I like stacking my pedals on top of my amp head so I can tweak them easier but it makes switching during a song kind of hard.
Yeah, that's where I'm at right now.
I'm moving away from the
have the pedal on full all the time to
have the pedal be able to be switched on and off, without having to look for patch cables, batteries or PSU's etc. :-\
NB I haven't actually built the pedalboard yet, like I said I have a 1 spot chain, velcro, power strip etc. I didn't see the point of getting a proper pedalboard.
I do love that shag carpet one. I wish I bought that Peavey bass rig a couple of years back
that was covered with red shag, it looked cool ;)
I never thought of putting my mixer and theremin on it too, I did used to use a mixer to run vocals through my bass rig, but it's larger than that one.
I like lumpys board. it's pretty rad.
It's so easy to build your own pedal board. Why buy one? The thirft store suitcase is a classic. I use an office carpet on my board. I just staple it down. Thought about making a second tier, or making it wider. I'd rather go for a smaller footprint, so E9th/Chovies is a possibility I would consider. If I've got a couple of pedals that don't fit, it's no biggie to set them on the floor off of the board. The board keeps most of your shit together, but some things like a wah are easier to jump on if they're set aside on their own so you don't step accidentally step on another pedal. I've used that a couple of times on stage and it's great.
It's also so easy to make simple switch boxes. Why buy one?
(http://loud-art.com/pedalboard411.jpg)
The carpet wasn't hard to do, just time consuming. Chovie gets pedalboard of the year. I haven't made the second tier on my current board. I added a 4" 2x4 block to raise my tuner up. The bicycle chain links are legit, my old base player did that. I'm still waiting to sell my S.U.F. Rat/Muff clone and nab a Mem Boy and plug that into my Moog exp. pedal.
(http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/2452/20110403193857826.jpg)
Gigantic pedal case from Rondo. Velcro. I'm gonna add a second tier to get that fucking POG out of the way, to make room for the Cathedral and deluxe memory man...
You can put that second tier on a hinge like the guy from Jet, in the Fuzz movie. Those older EH pedals take up so much real estate, that POG is a killer pedal though.
Quote from: SunnO))) on April 28, 2011, 09:16:33 PM
Gigantic pedal case from Rondo.
Rondo's pedal board prices aren't totally insane. Are they sturdy?
Added movie to Netflix que, no instant stream :(
Seen the Fuzz doc twice. It's a killer flick.
Yeah, they're damn sturdy. Aluminum. You can't quite stand on it, but I've definitely set my A Jcm800 and a beta lead on top of it, so they weren't on the floor, once.
http://www.rondomusic.com/pdc410i.htm (http://www.rondomusic.com/pdc410i.htm)l
http://www.rondomusic.com/product3996.html (http://www.rondomusic.com/product3996.html)
WAT? Man, fuck, It's so tempting to buy this, bandsaw the headstock, ditch the bullshit hardware, and use the shit out of that thing...
You want a headless Les Paul ???
I have two pedal cases from Rondo. One of them is awesome and the other one is kind of chintzy.
The ones that look like this are great, nice sturdy hinges:
(http://www.rondomusic.com/photos/pedal/pdc4100etn3.jpg)
The ones like this blow:
(http://www.rondomusic.com/photos/pedal/pdc410gssl1.jpg)
Mine seriously broke before it ever left my practice space. It is as un-gigworthy a piece of gear as I have ever owned. The first though I cannot recommend enough. I was also pleased w/ a rack case I got from them.
$69.95? Does it come with wheels?
Neither of mine has wheels.
Skateboarding ruined my back, so I gotta have wheels on everything.
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/bren1973/PC070077.jpg)
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/bren1973/PC070082.jpg)
I bought a pedaltrain nano a few weeks ago
I guess I could have DIY'ed something together.. but.. it wouldn't have been THAT much cheaper.. and I'm not that handy so by the time I worked out what parts I need, took the time to buy them all, borrowed some power tools and put it all together then it would have taken me 17 times as long as it would to just earn the money to buy the fucking thing
they're pretty bloody cheap anyway
Hit up a Goodwill, Salvation Army, or second-hand store and get a suitcase for it. Soft-cases always lose fights with gravity and speaker cabs.
I bought a non powered hard shell(diamond plated no less) pedal board about 4 years ago from Musicians Friend( I think?). I can't remember the name but it was under $50 and has lasted. I use the 1 Spot and honestly have yet to find a better power source for cheap. I ran all of my wires underneath the top piece of plywood and drilled holes to expose them for the pedals. I can fit about 5-6 pedals including a Wah on it nicely. The top comes off like a road case too which is a bonus aginst just using a suitcase.
My only complaint is that my pedals are all stacked in rectangle formation. I personally would rather have them in a straight line, one after another. I plan to build one like that but use the one i currently own as my guildline because it is built so well.
I only use a few pedals anyway so I just string 'em up and throw 'em down.
Tables (and furniture in general), what's the point? Why not just get some pieces of wood and a couple of nails and build your own? ;)
Hey, up until you get married or move in with a girl (or boy) I agree. I never bought furniture until after I was married.
My bedside table is an 18" speaker cab. If I were ever to get divorced, I imagine a pair of Peavey 2x15's on their side, with a board across, and a futon mat, would make a good bed. 15" folded horns with cushions can be couches, smaller cabs for end tables.
Quote from: Hemisaurus on May 04, 2011, 03:56:37 PM
Hey, up until you get married or move in with a girl (or boy) I agree. I never bought furniture until after I was married.
My bedside table is an 18" speaker cab. If I were ever to get divorced, I imagine a pair of Peavey 2x15's on their side, with a board across, and a futon mat, would make a good bed. 15" folded horns with cushions can be couches, smaller cabs for end tables.
i would buy the whole "hemi" bedroom set.
I was thinking more of furnishing a double wide ;D
Pedal Boards are to guitarist, what drum risers are to drummer fucks I suspect - Hey, I'm one of 'em!
Drummer fuck that is.
...but I'm def...not opposed to just strewning'em out all righteous and incongruious like...beautiful
snakes of electric gas congealing to the mighty whims of a strong fucking hand.
Yup.
I have the Rondo board on the bottom of Frank's post and I'll agree, its a piece of shit. Not sturdy at all. I'm still using it but the cloth is coming up off the inside, the latch bent not long after getting it and the body is all dented from just gigging with it.
Aluminum dents, it isn't nine feet thick, and re-enforced with rebar. I think you guys are being crybabies.
I have the same line of case, and when the felt inside lifted, I contact cemented the shit back down. Big deal, for 69 dollars I have a pedalboard that keeps my pedals safe, holds all of my pedals and cables (safely) during transport, and... oh yeah, keeps my pedals safe. If you want a pedalboard made out of sheet steel, I can weld you one for 250 bucks, plus the 9000 dollars shipping because it weighs as much as a Yugo.
Wahh wahh wahh
I can only image what happens when the finish on one of your guitars chips because you slammed it on stage in a fit of rage when it wouldn't stay perfectly in tune after you laid the headstock on the floor and used your foot to play Eruption backwards.
/rant
How much to convert my Yugo into a pedalboard ;D
Be Happy, it's Friday ;)
I feel better now.
Quote from: SunnO))) on May 06, 2011, 03:11:32 PM
Aluminum dents, it isn't nine feet thick, and re-enforced with rebar. I think you guys are being crybabies.
I have the same line of case, and when the felt inside lifted, I contact cemented the shit back down. Big deal, for 69 dollars I have a pedalboard that keeps my pedals safe, holds all of my pedals and cables (safely) during transport, and... oh yeah, keeps my pedals safe. If you want a pedalboard made out of sheet steel, I can weld you one for 250 bucks, plus the 9000 dollars shipping because it weighs as much as a Yugo.
Wahh wahh wahh
I can only image what happens when the finish on one of your guitars chips because you slammed it on stage in a fit of rage when it wouldn't stay perfectly in tune after you laid the headstock on the floor and used your foot to play Eruption backwards.
/rant
The hinge on mine broke before I ever even gigged w/ it. It fell apart spontaneously when it was sitting on a keyboard stand in the corner of my practice space. For the money, I did not expect something I could drive a car over it but I did expect something that would do it's job one time, which the Rondo case did not do.
In short, I am sorry that you made the same bad decision we did in buying that crappy pedal case but I do think you will be better off in the long run admitting to yourself it's a piece of crap and not relying on it to do anything, specifically not relying on it to be a case for your pedals.
For the record, if Rondo made the heavy duty version in the same size as the one I got that fell apart, which is not too much more expensive for something that does it's job ten times better, I would buy it today. I've taken that one to dozens of gigs and it's as solid as the day I bought it.
Shut up, Frank. ;D
I was just jerking you guys around. I seriously do like my pedal case, though. Mine has had zero issues, and it always does me right.
Maybe you got a lemon? Maybe YOU are a lemon? Perhaps it was YOU, Not-so-logicalfrank?
:D
Your pedal board sucks and you suck!
Dont you play Peavey equipment?
;D
Hey I was just stating the facts. Don't deny it, its a piece of shit. ;D It was cheap though so I can't complain too much, you get what you pay for I suppose. It's still being used for now though but I don't see it lasting long.
Quote from: SunnO))) on May 06, 2011, 07:17:41 PM
Dont you play Peavey equipment?
;D
HEY! that's me . . .