Building a pedal board

[Standbyoperator]

Hello all, I am just looking for input/suggestions about how to move forward with this new project I want to work on.

I’ve never had a pedal board before, and over the years I’ve been actually using less and less pedals. My favorites are reverb and delay, and if money was no factor I’d probably own a heck of a lot more than I do now! But I also have my favorites (in the picture) and those are usually the only pedals I use for day to day playing and recording.
 

anyway, for years I usually just plugged each pedal into a power strip individually, but I’m sick of all the wires and tangles and also using multiple power strips when I want to use more than 4 at a time. 
 

I found this old shelf in my parents basement and it’s a good size for what I want. Not sure the type of wood but it is somewhat heavy, a few lbs and approximately 2-3 ft long. I want to say it may be oak. Was thinking of putting some door stops on the bottom to prop it up at an angle and also carving/dremeling some slots to put the cables through.

Money is a bit tight and I’d rather just buy a power supply than both the power supply and a “professional”pedal board from a company and save a couple hundred bucks.

My questions are:

1) is this a good idea? Or is this stupid? And please believe it is ok to tell me it’s a stupid idea!!

2) what power supply do you recommend? I’m looking at the voodoolab pedal power 2 or 3 plus but am very open to suggestions

3) should I carve out a couple slits so I can put the power cables in underneath and keep wires from being on top of the board?
 

4) there’s a few pedals not in this picture I will most likely use - an mxr phaser, an EHX synth 9, mxr flanger 18V maybe… a blues driver or another 9V OD/fuzz pedal. Maybe leave a spot for something else but in all likelihood any other pedals would just be swapped out. 
 

I’ve never done anything like this before and just looking for some guidance and suggestions. I have some basic experience with wood carving and own a dremel, that’s about all I got as far as woodworking goes! This isn’t going to be happening quickly, but over the next couple months. 
 

Sorry for the long post and I appreciate taking the time to read! Here’s a picture of what I got so far:

Thank you again and all the best to everyone here!

[kbp810]

Def not a stupid idea, and I'm always a big supporter of DIY solutions... however, I'm also not a big pedal user, so not much help from me on power supply or layout recommendations. 

Look forward to seeing the end result though!

[Standbyoperator]

6 minutes ago, kbp810 said:

Def not a stupid idea, and I'm always a big supporter of DIY solutions... however, I'm also not a big pedal user, so not much help from me on power supply or layout recommendations. 

Look forward to seeing the end result though!

Thanks! Yeah, it’s kind of funny to me that I’m doing this now when I’m basically using either a delay or reverb and sometimes both most of the time and nothing else. But I’ve acquired a few throughout the years and there’s a part of me that just wants to hear what it sounds like when everything I want is turned on, without taking 20 minutes to plug in everything. 
 

I’ll definitely post a picture of the end result! 

[DetroitBlues]

I’m a big pedal board fan myself.  
 

I’d suggest you Swiss cheese the heck out of the board to allow cables to pass in and out.

Next is to raise it off the ground enough to keep a power supply from touching the ground, have it angled to allow more ergonomic positions.

Finally, get some good Velcro.  
Vertex effects has some great YouTube how-to videos if you want to check that out in regards to cable management.

I have an MXR Isolated power supply brick that has up to 8 connections if you’re interested.  Think I have a Gator as well.

 

 

[big bob]

I love pedal boards! 

[Standbyoperator]

20 hours ago, DetroitBlues said:

I’m a big pedal board fan myself.  
 

I’d suggest you Swiss cheese the heck out of the board to allow cables to pass in and out.

Next is to raise it off the ground enough to keep a power supply from touching the ground, have it angled to allow more ergonomic positions.

Finally, get some good Velcro.  
Vertex effects has some great YouTube how-to videos if you want to check that out in regards to cable management.

I have an MXR Isolated power supply brick that has up to 8 connections if you’re interested.  Think I have a Gator as well.

 

 

Hey, thank you for the input and advice! And do you mind if I PM you about the mxr block? 

[DetroitBlues]

13 hours ago, Standbyoperator said:

Hey, thank you for the input and advice! And do you mind if I PM you about the mxr block? 

You're welcome.  And by all means, send me a message.

[ElNumero]

The Boss ME80 might be a cost effective way to get ALL your effects in one box. 

[Standbyoperator]

11 hours ago, ElNumero said:

The Boss ME80 might be a cost effective way to get ALL your effects in one box. 

I’ve seen this before, it is cool. I would be interested in doing a side by side comparison especially with the reverb, echo and delay. I like that it has a built in wah. 
 

i just have so many pedals that have built up over the years, and I like them all for very specific reasons, yet also use them for specific reasons or have bought them because I wanted a certain effect on a song.. back in my splurging days! 
 

im making progress on this… hopefully will have some cool pictures soon!

side note - the Catalinbread Tape Echo pedal is one of my favorites, along with the mxr delay. Just very solid pedals that do what they do very well. 

[ElNumero]

12 hours ago, Standbyoperator said:

I’ve seen this before, it is cool. I would be interested in doing a side by side comparison especially with the reverb, echo and delay. I like that it has a built in wah. 
 

i just have so many pedals that have built up over the years, and I like them all for very specific reasons, yet also use them for specific reasons or have bought them because I wanted a certain effect on a song.. back in my splurging days! 
 

im making progress on this… hopefully will have some cool pictures soon!

side note - the Catalinbread Tape Echo pedal is one of my favorites, along with the mxr delay. Just very solid pedals that do what they do very well. 

I have a Boss pedalboard, the one that you can put 6 pedals on. I switch pedals out frequently. I was thinking about getting a Boss OC5 Octave pedal, it is pretty versatile in what it can do!

[Gianluca]

building a pedal board is not trivial
thanks for sharing this because it's a good interesting topic ?

you mention the VoodooLab PP3 or PP4 but none of them has 18V
maybe a CIOKS 8 (or similar) could do better if money is first driver? (used of course)

Example: used Pedal Train pedal boards are nice price on Facebook MarketPlace (just a little patience)
you can find a lot of power suppliers options there too

I would mock up something around that simple approach, power brick under and all power connections routed under the pedal plain too

[Standbyoperator]

12 hours ago, ElNumero said:

I have a Boss pedalboard, the one that you can put 6 pedals on. I switch pedals out frequently. I was thinking about getting a Boss OC5 Octave pedal, it is pretty versatile in what it can do!

Cool! I have to check out that boss octave pedal. I used to have a boss harmonist pedal many years ago, sold it or traded it for who knows what. Curious to how the OC5 and harmonist compare! The harmonist was a fun pedal. I think I traded it to pay for some guitar, which I also eventually sold..

thank you for that recommendation though I’m gonna check it out! 

[Standbyoperator]

12 hours ago, Gianluca said:

building a pedal board is not trivial
thanks for sharing this because it's a good interesting topic ?

you mention the VoodooLab PP3 or PP4 but none of them has 18V
maybe a CIOKS 8 (or similar) could do better if money is first driver? (used of course)

Example: used Pedal Train pedal boards are nice price on Facebook MarketPlace (just a little patience)
you can find a lot of power suppliers options there too

I would mock up something around that simple approach, power brick under and all power connections routed under the pedal plain too

I love that picture, and I want to create something like that with what I have.  That is a great picture and I’m definitely going to take that picture mock up into consideration as far as where to carve into what I’ve got and have space for cables, a brick or multiple bricks underneath, etc. 

also regarding the 18V issue, so I only have a couple pedals that are 18V, and if I get a connector to a brick that can supply 18V, or have a plug in thing where it takes two 9V and powers an 18V, I’m good with that if that makes sense. It may be limiting at the moment, but, down the road it’ll just be tweaks and upgrades once I get the main thing down.

thank you! Awesome stuff, I’m getting closer and I’ll post some pictures soon!
 

also too, while I posted this thread as a question and looking for help, which I’ve gotten tons of help and advice.. I would love to see some other pedal boards! So please feel free to show off what you got! Would love to see what pedals everyone uses, what you like, what you don’t, set ups, etc… so this can totally become a pedal board show off thread too! 
 

and for those who just plug direct into the amp… I have interest in that too, and maybe that’s another topic, or I just gotta dig deeper in the forum. But would be very interested to see the method and what is being played by just you guys and gals plugging right into your amp with no pedals. I have a great appreciation for both methods. 

 

[TalismanRich]

I don't have an extensive pedal board,  just a PedalTrain with a OneSpot attached underneath.   There are a few pedals that are sitting on the sidelines, for various reasons.   These are the ones that I like to have.    There's a spot for a phase pedal if I ever grab one.  

[Standbyoperator]

46 minutes ago, TalismanRich said:

I don't have an extensive pedal board,  just a PedalTrain with a OneSpot attached underneath.   There are a few pedals that are sitting on the sidelines, for various reasons.   These are the ones that I like to have.    There's a spot for a phase pedal if I ever grab one.  

Nice! I dig it man thanks for sharing! 
The MXR phaser is a very reliable/cheap option if you ever want a phaser. Super simple to use and sounds good. Your board looks really good and very close to what I’m going for. 
 

haven’t had a chance to work on it this weekend but this week I plan on getting some stuff done.  
 

Out of curiosity how big is that board dimension wise? 

[TalismanRich]

It's a PedalTrain Classic 2.    24 x 12.5 inches.   One thing that I like is that it came with a nice gig bag type case which holds everything with the pedals on it.   The few times I've taken it out, like to PSP,   that has been handy.  

It's gotten a bit pricier since I got mine years ago, just like everything else,  I guess.   

I like the Holeyboard layout as well.   It's modular, so you can buy the parts you want.

 

[bobmeyrick]

Many years ago I built a pedal board inspired by an article I'd seen in a music magazine. It involved one of those metal coated equipment cases like this - 

Remove any foam lining, and modify or replace the hinges so that the lid can be completely removed. A piece of wood is cut so it fits snugly inside the lid, and this becomes the base on which you attach your pedals. I secured the wood inside the lid by screwing four rubber/plastic feet onto the lid, with the screws going through into the wood. The main part of the case now becomes the lid, with your pedals attached to the old lid (which is now the base). I hope that makes sense...

I also found this video which may be of use - 

 

[big bob]

[Standbyoperator]

On 4/21/2022 at 9:58 PM, big bob said:

Dude, very nice! And you have the mxr phaser and carbon copy! I swear, I love the mxr carbon copy. It’s just such a good, simple yet versatile pedal. Definitely a top 3 pedal

[Standbyoperator]

Board is still in progress, the next step is either A ) carving out on this plank or  getting some wood and just piecing it together myself. My biggest thing was getting a brick. And I got an awesome brick, again thank you so much Josh… 

I realized I didn’t have enough patch cables to connect all my pedals together. I need to buy more to hear what I really want to hear, but at the same time, only being able to connect 4 or 5 together has been a bit eye opening in terms of what I really want on the board. 
 

anyway! Trying to upload an ambient thing I did but can’t do it with the iphone, the file is more than 1.5… but here’s a snap shot, and I think it sounds cool if you are into ambient-ish stuff! 

Voc wah, mxr carbon copy, belle epoch, big sky strymon, ditto looper. If there’s a better way to upload videos let me know! 
 

and once again, Josh, thank you. All the best to you and the family

 

 

 

 

 

[rockabilly69]

I have a few pedal boards each for different purposes. I use at least two in my 5-6 days a week gig schedule. Besides the fact that I use each board for different things, it's nice to keep two boards in the car just in case of a failure. Even my most minimal board will get the job done. AS long as I have a volume pedal, tuner, and EQ I can gig!

This pedal board is centered around my electric guitar playing in bands (I mostly play acoustic solo or duet)...

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Minimal acoustic guitar gigging board (sometimes I do two gigs in a day and have one pedal board setup in each place to save time), Keeley Delay Workstation on the left (it does reverb and delay)...

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My current dual source pickup acoustic guitar board (I have two pickups in my two main resonator guitars that I do original music showcases with)

(Krivo magnetic humbucker on the neck, Highlander active reso pickup on the spider under the cover-plate!

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My current single source pickup acoustic guitar board, which is totally programmable for time based (trem/delay/reverb) FX and special EQ. I have all songs requiring special FX programmed into this. The JHS colorbox and MXR compressor are to shape the tone, and control the peaks of the piezo pickups before they hits the HX Stomp, and the radial DI is for final EQ and to balance the signal.

 

 

[DetroitBlues]

You're welcome!  Glad you are getting it all together.

Your dilemma of what pedals stay and what goes is the same problem I had.

That power supply was replaced because I didn't have enough power on my board for all my pedals.  Some of my Boss pedals can be used to power other pedals, but I don't like to daisy chain (noise and a bad pedal can blow up other pedals as I discovered years ago).

I've taken so many pedals my board even after doubling the board size, I created a whole second board.

[Gianluca]

@rockabilly69
interesting PBs there
I wonder how that SexDrive(and not only) performs
?

[rockabilly69]

6 hours ago, Gianluca said:

@rockabilly69
interesting PBs there
I wonder how that SexDrive(and not only) performs
?

The Sex Drive is a pedal that I use when I want more gain/sustain for slide guitar solos. It performs well

[Gitfiddler]

1 hour ago, rockabilly69 said:

The Sex Drive is a pedal that I use when I want more gain/sustain for slide guitar solos. It performs well

Dang, that reads like a Viagra commercial!