Opinions on consolidating multiple pedals into a single enclosure

[amonte]

AFter a long dormant break, I've gotten back into the swing of pedal building the last few weeks.  Knocked out a nice Fuzz Face build and a Crowther Hot Cake build.  Both sound great and I'm excited to start using them in my band. 

If there's one drawback to building so many pedals it's the real estate they take up on the pedalboard.  Not to mention the extra power requirements and patch cables to hook them all up and the notorious tap dancing it takes to turn them on and off.

So I got to thinking (never a good thing)...I've got a very nice rather large LB Heeger enclosure that I haven't used yet.  It would be the perfect candidate for taking two pedals (possibly even three since it's pretty big) and putting them into one enclsoure.  But is this really a good idea?  There's something nice about each pedal being its own package - much easier to pick and choose that way.  Still, putting two or three pedals into one enclosure could free up a TON of space. 

So what do you guys think about this?  More of a general question than a technical one (though I am sure there are technical aspects to doing something like this as well). 

[nocentelli]

I've planned many multiple pedals, but have always ended up putting them in separate boxes: Main reason is that you can swap the order around morer easily. Second reason is that if you want to allow plenty of separation between footswitches, you need a fairly large box: Two small pedals (especially with top-mounted jacks) don't take up much more room than one large double pedal.

Having said that, if I had a simple three pedal rig, and was convinced it was going to stay that way, I might be tempted to build a single three-in-one pedal in a largish enclosure and forget about using a pedalboard (some hope...)

[earthtonesaudio]

I agree, if you know your rig will not change it makes sense to combine pedals.  Fewer jacks makes for higher reliability, etc.

[Mark Hammer]

Some considerations for "multiples":

• Are you satisfied with the order of the pedals?  Can you foresee wanting a different order at some point or inserting something between them?  If so,I would recommend inclusion of send/receive jacks, using closed-circuit jacks to provide a "normalized" connection scheme for your default order (i.e., if nothing is plugged into those jacks, circuit A is automatically connected to B and B to C
• Will you have enough room in/on the enclosure to put everything you need?  Enough space for knobs and toggles?  Enough space for the requisite footswitches, so that yu can hit B without accidentally hiotting A or C, or requiring you to aim carefully and take your mind off playing?
• High gain circuits have a tendency to leak signal and produce oscillations.  And even though the status LED says "off", they are NEVER off until the power is removed, so risk of leakage into clean signal remains.  Can you isolate your signal lines, and wiring to controls/switches to make sure these circuits don't accidentally bleed into each other?
• What is the total current requirement for the unit?  If you have a trio of things that each use at least 10ma, and there is a possibility that 2 could be on at once, then plan around adaptor-only power.

[amptramp]

This can work to your benefit.  Pedals are generally designed to be able to be used with any other pedal.  If you have one pedal always feeding another one, you can simplify the interface between them so that the large electrolytic capacitor used for output coupling is deleted, since there would be another coupling capacitor at the input of the subsequent pedal.  Since you know the impedances involved, you can simplify things.  This is not necessarily a good idea for a newbie, but if you know your way around design, getting rid of unnecessary coupling caps may be worthwhile.

[diydave]

I've build a multiple unit with 7 fx. Total space for it: 50cm x 17cm.
positive: 1 powerinput, no hassle with hookup-cables, no hassle with jacks coming lose, and looks neat and tidy on the pedal-board.
downside: I only use 3 off them intensly, the others...
Changed a few times some units. Result: a real mess of wires and a chaotic arrangement of boards inside.
I've made the mistake off putting things in that I 'thought' would sound great, but weren't off any use in the band I'm playing. This mistake I won't make again.
I'm redesigning it to the fx I really (can) use + downsizing it to 5. And I will be using switched jacks to have the possibility off plugging something in the chain, or be able to change the order. Kinda like building your 'own unique tone' into one box.
 

[squidsquad]

I took that thought too far. 
Found a chrome base from a stand up fan. 
Built *The Mothership*.
Had treble boost...full boost...fuzz & 2 speed trem & looked like a UFO.
Everywhere I went people marveled.
But I hated it.
At 2 feet in diameter It wouldn't even fit in my large travel bag.
Hard to carry...sort of in the way on stage.
For me...less was better.

On the other hand...I put an ROG Omega boost + Axis Fuzz w/tone control + ROG splitter into a reverb tank.
And THAT I like...hehe.

[R.G.]

I did some speculating here:http://geofex.com/Article_Folders/FXRack/fxrack.pdf

[Quackzed]

I used to use a tube screamer and a blues driver as my main od-dist combo. some thick sustainy leads via the ts, and some bluesy crunchy rythem with the bd-2 .
at the time, i just used what i had and was usefull for me and my quazi clean tones needs. i was and am 'usually' a pretty low gain dude...
but i used those 2 pedals for 7+ years. along with an analog chorus and a delay here and there... now if i had put all those pedals in one box i could have been satisfied for all those years. seriously. if i look back at all the gigs i did with that basic pedalboard it would have made a ton of sense to just slap em all in one box w/ one dc jack... and so, my 2c...
if you know your needs, if you have a sound that you rely on as a guitar player.
if you know your musical style isnt transitional
if your happy with your tone and want to lock it down.
go for it ! its not a bad idea at all, in fact its perfectly sensible. IF you said yes to all three criteria AND you're willing to do it in a way that isnt halfa$$ed.
if you do the 'all in one' go the extra mile and build something you're proud of. don't skimp. make it as robust, solid, bulletproof, reliable, pretty as you can and make it personal. its your sound so make it look and feel how YOU want it!
...then post some pics / clips and inspire us all!!!