Pedal-board setups

[Mark Hammer]

For those with gear-lust in their hearts, here is a link to a thread on another forum that is dripping with pictures of people's pedal-board setups.

My first thought is "Damn, why didn't I buy Switchcraft stock when it was cheap!!"  There are a whole lot of plugs and jacks in these pics.  Also interesting to see some of the different approaches to organizing effects, how people keep it compact, or cheap, or flexible, or accessible, or whetever their priority happens to be.

http://63.151.115.106/board/showthread.php?s=bf7632ec450503e433cc6d4be803b6a7&threadid=27345

[nightingale]

thanks mark~
i think that it is interesting how many people use the "step over" method... rather than using a step or a riser for 2nd, and 3rd row boxes to eleminate accidentally turning another effect on with your heel when you go for one of the effects at the top of the board... if this makes any sense?

[Mark Hammer]

I suspect the "step-over" becomes an accompaniment to having a pedal-board that ultimately turns into a suitcase/briefcase item you can carry around easily.  A nice compromise might be to have a collapsable riser for the "back row" that provides step-up instead of step-over but still breaks down into a briefcase-like thing you can easily carry.

On the other hand, if you *have* a pedal-board, one of the reasons you do so is to have a setup that is reliable and durable.  As such, what you'd expect in terms of reliability from a collapsable riser would rarely be the sort of thing you'd make at home.  I think as well, it's hard to anticipate the specific of how high it ought to rise, given what you plan on having in the front and back rows.  That's probably why so many people opt for a flat-pack layout, and route everything to a set of master switcher controls in a single central location.

[Eric H]

oboy a chance to post my beast:
http://users.abac.com/ehensel/stompbox/
it looks different now (need to update) it's full, for one thing;)

-Eric

[Paul Marossy]

I don't like the two-level type of pedalboard. They are just too big and bulky for me. I never have any problems with accidentally turning on/off stuff. I keep all my most commonly used pedals in the front and the lesser used ones in the back. It works pretty well for me.

Here's a picture of mine:
http://www.diyguitarist.com/DIYStompboxes/NewPedalBoard.htm

The pedals on there have been rotated now, but the basic layout remains unchanged...

[Mike Burgundy]

Mark: Lotsa George L stuff in there as well. Very compact, I'm thinking of using it too. My guitarist has been using it for years in his (waaay too extensive) boards and racks (I have pics if anyone wants em) without *any* problems, which is probably more almost anyone can say of their rig. I used to heartily distrust screw terminals, but this seems to work great.

Eric H: Nice work. "This an't a hairpiece" - LOL!

[Sic]

mike, i'd love to see some pics

Odiopopulis at Hotmail . com

i keep hearing things about the geroge l cables and don't really know what the buzz is about...

im still a newb in the fx world, but im learning... these past few weeks have been more learning about electricity and what each parts does and WHY instead of building them... cause if i don't knwo WHY it does it... whats the point.

I've been practicing my soldering too... i modded my mouse on my computer... added another momentary switch to the side which is the same as the mouse wheel button... so i can hold down that button and still left and right click... (for a computer game) my soldering on that is AMAZING... i was walking around with it all day showing people... it was such an accomplishment.

any... lol i'd love some pics

[bwanasonic]

Good time for me to see this stuff. I'm planning a board now. I plan on going with www.nycpedalboards.com and getting a 2 level board. For me, the step is for  getting more room under the riser for power supply, etc. I often play on very crowded stages, so I don't have the luxury of too big a footprint. I use 4 effects in my loop, and at least 4 in front, preferably 6 (or 10!).

Kerry M

[keko]

where's that drewling emoticon? I've been looking for those pics for about an hour already.

Paul, great idea on those two piece hinges. I currently own an aluminium suitcase, and have been looking for a way to take the cover off...now I have a start point. Thanks!

[Ben N]

I have a flat board, and two of my organizing principals relate to this:  
(1) Low profile boxes/switches go in front, higher profiles in back.  E.g., Dan-echo, with its sloping front and flat switch, goes in front of a Rat II, all other things being equal.  
(2) Stuff you don't stomp much goes in back.
And corollary A: Stuff that is in a switched loop, see (2), above, i.e. if the loop switcher is in front, the pedals can go in back.

Ben

[Ben N]

BTW, no pics, but my current board:

The board is one of those wooden boards w/ carpet covering and a padded cordura case that are going for ~$50 on ebay these days--supposed to be for 6 pedals.  I power the whole thing off a generic 800ma wall wart.

Guitar >> Boss TU-2 >> Marshall ED-1 >> Boss Line Selector

Loop A = Boss CE2 >> Boss DD3

Loop B = Crybaby >> Rat II >> Ibanez PH-7 >> Sansamp GT-2 (or OD pedal) >> Danecho >> Guyatone flanger

From the line selector it goes to a booster and back to the amp.

It's a tight squeeze, but it's workable, and the proportions make a lot more sense for me than my old roadcase monstrosity.

[psst]

I have one of those "two levels" suitcase, and I'm pretty happy with it.
I put a power supply for the pedals below the second "level", it has +9V DC output with a fork in the cable for multiple pedals, a -9V DC with a fork too, and a 9V AC for the whammy.

It looks like this:



Now there's a DynaComp - Ross compressor just before Phase 90, and a bypass switch for all the pedals.
For the future, a DIY Ring Stinger (if we can get the schematics) and maybe substitute Phase 90 by a Small Stone with "Univibe" switch.

[Peter Snowberg]

where's that drewling emoticon?

Right here. ==>

Nice pics everybody.

take care,
-Peter

[Mark Hammer]

Just out of curiosity, does anyone have any sort of "sequence-reordering" switch in their setup?

I'm asking because "the correct order" is something people always ask about, and although the answer has only a few hard and fast rules, most pedalboards seem to be set up with everything in a fixed serial order.  

I have a few extra holes in my wah shell (it used to be a stereo volume pedal in a previous life) and was wondering about using those for a loop so that I could stick distortion before OR after the wah by means of a toggle on the wah itself.  Although some of the pedalboard setups shown at the other forum have loop-switchers, these seem to be of the type used for redirecting signals with respect to amps, or simply selecting a series of pedals in group fashion.  I don't immediately see anything that seems to suggest an easy means of  reordering effects.  Of course I understand that's not everyone's cup of maté.

[dosmun]

Here is a pic of my board.  This is an old pic and my Homebrew stuff is starting to replace some of the other peds.

[Paul Marossy]

Glad I could be some inspiration to yoy Keko.  

My pedalboard has been working out very well for me, and the best thing is that it cost me next to nothing.