makin your own pedalboard

[runmikeyrun]

I have outgrown my pedalboard.  I'm sure most of your here can identify with that!  Anyhoo, i don't want to shell out the big bucks for an oversized or custom made one.  I am good with woodworking but i'm not one to strike out on my own without a little background on what i am doing.  Does anyone know of any plans or online tutorials for such a thing?  How to apply the carpeting?  Where to source the latches? If not i can figure out how mine is built and try to copy it, but it'd be nice to have a little help.

Thanks!

[formerMember1]

i found this link online, that might help, it helped me alittle,...

http://members01.chello.se/pastorn/fx/mods/cases.htm

It is nice to have a lid/closed case for your pedals, i used to just use a piece of plywood, with velcro, but soon found out that it was harder to carry the thing to a gig, and it took up more room than my amp and guitar in the car.    Becuase the pedals weren't protected they would get wet, and could easily be swiped off the board,...

good luck,

PS:paul marossy made a nice pedalboard out of an old guitar case, looks like it works great,....

[petemoore]

  I gave up on 'em for the time being. I figured out they're gonna get swapped, taken off and modded...
  I use a 'tray box', either leaving most of them in [I like having the reverb up by my amp so I can twist level easily], or removing them in pairs [I just leave say a HD 12'' cable connected and kind of drag 'em off in twos].
  I like it when it's just a 3 connector affair to swap 'em, for different occasions different Fuzzes [for instance] just work better.
  But I was gonna make something that's basically just frame enough for mounting and a bag to stick that in.
  I've seen some pics of nice PB's, perhaps now that I've got a nice flexible lineup that I know works great and haven't been tempted to mod so much, I'll revert back...always seems like I want to add one more or need room for another cable without super packing the box to get it latched !!!...that starts to get huge, one layer over the other with cable padding is the way I've been doing it.

[Processaurus]

I've seen some people use a metal grate/ heavy mesh thats set up off the ground a little by a wood frame, and zip tie their pedals to the board, so its harder for one to disappear at shows.  Thats more for people that can leave them in the same order for more than a week.  Double decker is a good way for a bunch of pedals, or a have two boards that fit together with latches to make a fat box.

[dosmun]

For the actual board I make a box the size and heighth I need then cut it inhalf and you have your top and bottom.  1/2" or 5/8" plywwod work best for me.

For Latches, Carpet , Corners and 3M Super 77 glue to hold on the carpet I go to www.partsexpress.com

[R.G.]

I have a contrarian opinion on pedalboards. To me, a pedalboard must not only work, but be really easy to transport and protect my pedals. If you have the funds, the Pedaltrain pedalboard is incredibly useful and the ATA style cases they have made to fit are the best possible transportation.

If you either don't have the funds or are intractibly DIY-ed, go buy yourself a used hard-shell suitcase at Goodwill. Take it home and cut a suitable piece of plywood to fit inside the suitcase, then cover with carpet, etc. If the suitcase is thick enough, use one side for the pedalboard and cut a piece of masonite to fit the other side right at the hinges to make a second compartment for cables, cords, extra tubes, picks, and other ephemera.

[BDuguay]

I'll admit,'ephemera' has me runinng to the dictionary
Further to R.G.'s approach, the idea of a removable board from a suitable case is what I've been using for years to a great degree of success.
B.

[Fp-www.Tonepad.com]

If you have the money, SKB makes some nice cases, I've seen them used to transport all sort of stuff. They're not pedalboards, more like keyboard cases, you'll need to cut a piece of plywood (look for 12" wide already cut in hardware stores, sold for shelving) and cover it with carpet or buy the self adhesive backed velcro, they sell an industrial kind that works perfectly.

Fp

[PeterJ]

The easiest thing for me was to use a piece of plywood. I cut a couple of oval grooves running horizontally so I could tuck the wiring below the board (using cable clamps. The whole thing goes in a RokSak gig bag that has a main compartment for the board and two large zippered pockets for accessories. If you had a huge board, this might be cumbersome, but I can fit 8-10 pedals (DOD size or smaller) on an 18" x 11.5" board. Power adapters are off-board, plugged into a power strip that I carry in one of the pockets.

[PharaohAmps]

I have (wait for it...) 6 pedalboards.  Three of them are "shop" boards - either MDF or plywood covered in black Formica, available from your neighborhood home improvement superwarehouse.  They contain a small linear power supply (7809 or LM2940-10) and are all 12" x 18".  They're pretty small, good for about 4 pedals, and I use them for testing various effects combinations and for loaning out to musicians interested in trying out my pedals.  They're cheap and sturdy, but lack a lot of the niceties you'd want in a proper gigging board.

Pedalboard #4 consists of a 12" x 22" piece of 3/4" marine ply, edged with aluminum U-channel.  This sucker is big and heavy, and lives in a VERY large Anvil case.  The case is about twice as big as it needs to be, but I can put a guitar stand, power strips, cables, and other junk in the unused area of the box.  I used to use this board as my only board when I was gigging a lot.  It's been through the mill, and it still solid.  Hell, it got left outside for four months one winter (whoops!) and is still OK.  That's over-engineering for ya.

Pedalboard #5 is an Electro-Harmonix pedal bag.  These things are great, but are a little too floppy stock.  I put a piece of 1/4" plywood on the back / bottom of the bag, covered in black Tolex.  It adds a lot of rigidity to the board without adding a ton of weight.  I think the inside dimensions of the bag are 10" or 12" by about 28" - it's large enough for a pretty complicated setup, and has hook and loop strips on the inside.  It also has these little flappy things to let your cables pass through the sides.  I'm an EHX dealer, so if anyone wants one of these things, let me know - they run under $40.

Pedalboard #6 was a gift to me - it's a RockOn Pedalboards PedalPro.  It's 12" by 20" and has a riser on the back half.  I like it a lot - I think it's made of Sintra or a similar PVC foamed composite, it's very light.  It's also pretty tough - I can stand on it, and I'm no lightweight.  Comes with a decent little gig bag for under $100.  I have my favorite "mass-market" pedals on this one:  Ernie Ball volume (with a built-in buffer,) Boss TU-2, Ibanez MT-10, STL, and FC-10, Line6 MM-4 and Echo Park.  It's also got a 3-output power supply under the riser, with 2x9VDC and 1x12VAC outs.  The ToneCore pedals HATE to be run from a daisy-chain.  I blame Jorge

Matt Farrow

[Gladmarr]

I've been trying to piece together my own pedal board for months now.  My biggest hangup is the hinges.  I want to get some sturdy, lightweight hinges that will split so the lid can be taken off and the bottom half is the pedal board.  I found some at a DJ case supply place six months ago and they've been out of stock for this entire time!  Does anyone know of another source for separable hinges?

[PharaohAmps]

www.partsexpress.com

[Yun]

i made my own out of a thrift-store-special suitcase, man.  i took ply wood and covered it with black velvet for the lid.  Works pretty good, dude:

[tiges_ tendres]

i made my own out of a thrift-store-special suitcase, man.  i took ply wood and covered it with black velvet for the lid.  Works pretty good, dude:

I love how the levels on your fuzz pedals are maxed out!

rock on!