Box Layout opinions

[soggybag]

I'm starting a new project and I'm still undecided about whether I like the jacks on the top or the sides? What's your opinion?

[aaronkessman]

i prefer the top, but i have no problem with the sides or any other place if it makes more efficient use of space.

[Sic]

bleh, i posted for top on accident...

i prefer the sides or the back, depending what it is...

[petemoore]

I like the front side for jacks, unmarked but left input, right output and inbetween them on the top, the switch. Usually in Raco's theres actually room along the front side for another [4th] jack or switch, but holes must be marked and drilled very accurately or a 'clash' for room happens, and it's impossible to move a drilled hole over.
 The reason I like front jacks, is so when I pedalboard boxes, the jacks/plugs will always be right in front, not taking side to side room up on the pedalboard.
 Otherwise I like my 'longpanel' multieffect units, which lend themselves or limit themselves to topmounted jacks.

[Mike Burgundy]

cute, left input is exactly the reverse from the rest of the world
I'm not voting - depends on the box orientation. I prefer the long sides of the box, which can be the top, or the sides.. I do go right in, left out.
There is one exception: if I use a 1590B on its side (landscape) I may prefer side-to-side, short sides. It all depends on the front layout, what I can or have to cram in there, etc.

[smashinator]

cute, left input is exactly the reverse from the rest of the world

You know, every pedal I build I deliberately think to myself "don't forget that the input goes on the RIGHT" and every build I do it backwards.  Well, I'll get it right eventually....

[petemoore]

cute, left input is exactly the reverse from the rest of the world
I'm not voting - depends on the box orientation. I prefer the long sides of the box, which can be the top, or the sides.. I do go right in, left out.
There is one exception: if I use a 1590B on its side (landscape) I may prefer side-to-side, short sides. It all depends on the front layout, what I can or have to cram in there, etc.

>>>well you're right. I just figured left to right is easy to remember. but yes that BOSS RV-3 is backward, which makes the knobs and 9VDC more accessible [also vulnerable], the foot pad's a little harder to get to also, but I don't actually never use the 'bypass' on that, the only factory floor stomper I have.
 So for everyone else, I recommend thinking about that, I doubt I'll go in and invert the in/outs at all the switches though.

[lovekraft0]

Anybdoy know where that unusual conventio came from? I mean, on all my schematics (and all I can ever remember seeing, except a few Randall Smith creations), signal runs from left to right - how come pedals wire up "backwards"?

[Travis]

The cable comes out of a right-handed guitar on the right side.  If the pedals ran left to right, the cable would have to cross at the feet of the guitarist.

[Connoisseur of Distortion]

they should thus make lefty pedals!  

[Paul Marossy]

they should thus make lefty pedals!

Roll your own dude!  :wink:

[Pimens]

Top, saves space inside a pedalboard...

[vdm]

sides for me... because i just like the look better.

Travis:
I understand where you're coming from... but doesnt it seem at all odd to you guys that every commercial pedal (bar zvex) has the pots in the opposite order!!!
volume is always on the far right.. and drive to the far left.... that's extremely backwards to me. hence why i originally assumed they went left to right, until i came across my friends boss pedals and had to swap all my ins and outs  :?

trent

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

One of my pedals is the 'other way' from the rest :oops:
it isn't the first thing one thinks of when checking out the board.
I usually have the input on the left, because most of my customers are usign samplers etc rather than guitars & doing stuff on a table. And I mount the sockets at the back, whihc helps with stuff like the Resonator where there are the control voltage inputs as well & you might want to run splitter cables around between various sockets.

[gtrmac]

I have been doing all mine with the jacks on the sides, mostly because it's a cinvention. I have been designing a custom enclosure though and this one would have the jacks on the back so that you could put the units right next to each other in the pedalboard. this would make things more compact and I could maybe one more pedal in my case.

[Paul Marossy]

doesnt it seem at all odd to you guys that every commercial pedal (bar zvex) has the pots in the opposite order!!!
volume is always on the far right.. and drive to the far left....

I always put volume on the left and drive on the right. That is what makes sense to me. But in the end, it doens't really matter which side they're on  as long as it's clearly marked as to what the controls are and that you can tweak it to your liking.  

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

Hell, I can remember when you plugged your guitar into the BACK of the amp! (because, you stood BEHIND it! :lol: )

[SirPoonga]

Depends on the box I'd think.

[object88]

I like the idea of putting the jacks on either the rear (say, where the DC-in is on a Boss pedal) or the top.  You can get more pedals cramped side-to-side that way.  (OTOH, perhaps that's bad, if they're too close together and you're toggling a lot.  Might accidently switch the pedal's neighbor.)

I never thought about the guitar-output-on-the-right aspect, and I guess it makes more sence to have the stompbox input on the right, but it seems backwards to me.  Like signal flow is supposed to go left-to-right.

Regarding the schematics, I supposed that if you build your layout to follow the schematic, you could install it in your stompbox upside down, which would then match up the inputs and outputs.