Pedal Board Arranging

[koula901]

Hi Guys,

 

I attached the power supply to the PT 2 and put the pedals down, before I velcro, to see about spacing, placement, patch cord issues, etc.

Here's the pic of the preliminary arrangement:

 

 

PEDAL ORDER and building in FLEXIBILITY:

 

1) The chain obviously goes from right to left, i.e., guitar into the chi wah, tuner, dirt pedals, EQ, and up to the second tier with reverb and delay. Sometimes, I may want to throw on a tremolo/flange/chorus, etc. after the dirt pedal (not all at once, of course, probably just one of those). How would you build in the flexibility to throw on one of those pedals from time to time? Would you put the EQ on the second tier with the verb and delay? If so, might you shift the EQ/verb/delay to the far right of the board and put the trem/flange/chorus on the left side of the second tier?

 

PATCH CORD considerations:

 

1) See the awkwardness of the connections between the Chi Wah Wah, Peterson Tuner, and yellow Super OverDrive. Very awkward -wonder if there's a more elgant way of handling that mess. Also consider, I'll be getting patch cords from Steiner, and those patch cords are a little bit thinner and more supple-so they might work better here. Should the jacks be right angles or what. It appears as though the patch cords connect those pedals should have a right angle on one end, and straight on the other, and that would be from chi wah to peterson and from peterson to super disotrtion.

 

2) Patch connections between the yellow Super Distortion to the purple Plextortion to the EQ -- I think those pedals can be close together. Is there such a thing as a double male jack to connect those, or at least a super short chord - like a 1" or 2"? What do you think?

 

3). Connecting pedal from first tier to the second tier: it seems to me that one would simply just use an extra long cord here. Do you go underneath the board for that connection, or on top?

 

Thanks for your suggestions! : )

[smurph1]

I have several of those awkward connections on my pedalboard too..i will probably replace them eventualy with shorter cords to clean up the look a bit..i would say just experiment with it till you find your sound..and this is just one mans opinion, but I have never found a use for an eq pedal, not saying you won't, but for me, all it did was add noise..As always my 2 cents and YMMV..

[DetroitBlues]

Just to make it easier on yourself, place an entire strip of velco down each line. I would also staple it in place just in case it sticks to the paint instead of the wood. Next remove all decals from the back of the pedals so the velcro sticks to the pedal housing itself. This will allow you to mix it all up and not worry about having pedals to close or too far. Just cover the strip from left to right with one solid strip of velcro.

 

As for cables, they will look a little ackward, but if you twist them in a loop on the odd angles, it helps clean them up. (The way you have your SD from the Peterson is about right). As for one tier to the other, you're right by asking for a slightly longer patch cord. Usually a standard patch is 2", you can get one or two 3" patches for going to tier to tier.

[pegleg32]

Katy, instead of patch chords, you might try straight jacks like these:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/...=item1e625ff343

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/1-4-OFFSET-JACK-JACK-Connector-Patch-EFFECT-PEDAL-1361-/390178054942?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item5ad86ca31e

 

I use them and really like them on my pedal board. (this is an old pic)

[smurph1]

Katie..Yes there are double male jacks for pedals that you need to have very close together..

[koula901]

Katy, instead of patch chords, you might try straight jacks like these:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/...=item1e625ff343

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/1-4-OFFSET-JACK-JACK-Connector-Patch-EFFECT-PEDAL-1361-/390178054942?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item5ad86ca31e

 

I use them and really like them on my pedal board. (this is an old pic)

 

now those are very cool - I could use a few of those - thanks for the info, will defenitely buy a few.

[tulk1]

One thing I like to do is start the second tier on the right side of the board, same as the first tier. That leaves you with your guitar going in on the right bottom, out on the top left. Easier for me, just sayin'. And there are additional tiers (pedal booster) available for adding to the Pedaltrain if you need more toe tap room. Nice to see the chi wah actually on a board. I sure missed my wah Saturday afternoon.

 

Pedal Boosters for Pedaltrain boards

[111518]

I don't know much about the wah you have ... perhaps it is touch sensitive, like an envelope filter or autowah? If so, then it makes sense to come first, but, if not, I'd suggest that the overdrive pedals come first, and the most touch reactive of the two come first of all. I'm not sure about where I'd suggest the tuner go --maybe next after the drives? It might at the least be worth experimenting with the order before you velcro commit. I find a big difference in the responsiveness of overdrive and fuzz pedals depending on their place in the signal path: they respond much more to changes in attack and guitar volume if they see the guitar signal first.

[Genericmusic]

Katy, instead of patch chords, you might try straight jacks like these:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/...=item1e625ff343

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/1-4-OFFSET-JACK-JACK-Connector-Patch-EFFECT-PEDAL-1361-/390178054942?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item5ad86ca31e

 

I use them and really like them on my pedal board. (this is an old pic)

 

I like these. Nifty idea. Thanks for posting.

[DetroitBlues]

Katy, instead of patch chords, you might try straight jacks like these:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/...=item1e625ff343

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/1-4-OFFSET-JACK-JACK-Connector-Patch-EFFECT-PEDAL-1361-/390178054942?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item5ad86ca31e

 

I use them and really like them on my pedal board. (this is an old pic)

 

You might be able to get Stiener to make these too....

[Guest HRB853370]

Here is a good example of a well organized properly wired up board! Very clean, both in appearance and functionality.

[zguitar71]

I first arranged my pedals in the order in witch I like them to be tonally. I considered routing the cables and power cords under the surface but then decided that I wanted fast access in an emergency on stage if something goes wrong. I have a power supply under the pedals on the top left and power some pedals directly from it and other through a daisy chain depending on the amp needs of the pedal. I Watch a T-rex video on youtube and they said a daisy chain was better than a separate connection for each pedal. I have a Fuel Tank JR. that has 5 outlets and powers 10 pedals and so far so good, it has survived lots of gigs. I have the pedals as far from one another as possible and not interfere with the case they go, I do that for easier access. I have has to do some pedal repairs in the past and learned that access is very important.

 

[koula901]

Here is a good example of a well organized properly wired up board! Very clean, both in appearance and functionality.

 

That looks pretty good, Slammer. I'll be working on mine today, as well.

[koula901]

I first arranged my pedals in the order in witch I like them to be tonally. I considered routing the cables and power cords under the surface but then decided that I wanted fast access in an emergency on stage if something goes wrong. I have a power supply under the pedals on the top left and power some pedals directly from it and other through a daisy chain depending on the amp needs of the pedal. I Watch a T-rex video on youtube and they said a daisy chain was better than a separate connection for each pedal. I have a Fuel Tank JR. that has 5 outlets and powers 10 pedals and so far so good, it has survived lots of gigs. I have the pedals as far from one another as possible and not interfere with the case they go, I do that for easier access. I have has to do some pedal repairs in the past and learned that access is very important.

 

 

Those are interesting considerations. Is one of your full tones a volume pedal, the other a wah?

[zguitar71]

The bigger white Fulltone pedal is a uni-vibe pedal and the other is the wah.