Your Effects Pedalboard * Pics *

[Spudman***]

Another pedal board trick:

I have used plumbing strap and/or bailing wire (mechanics wire) to hold pedals to the board.

For this example we are using a wah pedal and the plumbers strap. For Boss and some other pedals you'll need the wire. Boss pedals and other small pedals will only use 1 screw on each side.

Example

You've got a piece of wood (the board) - take a short wood or drywall screw and put it through a hole in the plumbers strap. Then with your pedal located where you want it screw the screw most of the way into the board at the left rear corner of the wah pedal.

Next take the strap across the back of the pedal (under the movable part) and bend it to contour to the wah pedal and over to the board on the right back corner of the wah pedal. Insert another screw through the strap and tighten into the plank. This should hold the rear of the pedal in place. Repeat the procedure for the front of the pedal.

For pedals that don't have the room for plumbers strap use the wire. In this case screw the first screw partially into the board - then wrap a couple of turns around the screw with the wire. Pull the wire across the pedal over to where your next screw will go. Partially screw the 2nd screw into the wood then wrap a turn or two of wire around it. Tighten both screws.

If you do this right you can vary the strap tension on the pedal by how far you screw in the screws.

The pedals don't come off unless you remove the screws. In the case of the wah you only have to remove 2 right or 2 left strap screws to remove the wah to change the battery.

Using this method you don't have to glue anything to the bottom of your pedal. If you want to keep the pedals from getting scratched where they contact the wire then slide a length of hollow plastic tubing over the wire before screwing it down.

It may not look extremely pretty (I spray painted my strap black), but I did this on my road pedal board and they stayed put for years. Obviously this wont work with plastic pedal boards, but if you are making your own with wood it works well enough.

[tremoloman***]

I got this stuff like works like velcro but is as strong as screwing it down from McMaster-Carr. You have to twist it for it to seperate. I HIGHLY recommend it. Trust me, your pedals will NEVER come off unless you want them to!

[Spudman***]

I got this stuff like works like velcro but is as strong as screwing it down from McMaster-Carr. You have to twist it for it to seperate. I HIGHLY recommend it. Trust me, your pedals will NEVER come off unless you want them to!

Is that stuff hard-ish plastic or cloth like the regular Velcro?

Still one of the problems I had with any Velcro type fastener was gluing the pieces to the back of the pedal and to the board. Not only did I have a hard time making them stick I felt crappy about getting glue all over my Japanese good pedals. They hold their value well if they aren't really messed up.

[Tone2TheBone]

Well ok....here's my officially put together the right way pedal board. Special thanks to Spud for his pedal attachment ideas. *clinks glass* Only thing is that I'm not sure where to put the Micro Amp pedal. I was thinking to put it last to boost pedal sucked signals but when I used it a moment ago...it didn't really seem to help. I'm now wondering if I shouldn't put it as the first pedal before the wah wah...or actually maybe after the wah. I'm pretty dang sure the Danelectro pedals are the ones taking little bites of pure tone away from the guitar. I use the FAB Echo Chorus as a Leslie and by itself it works great....in line with the other pedals it's slightly muffled. The FAB Echo....I have set for a quick '50s slap back so that I don't have to adjust my DigiDelay. Works ok....but not like it does by itself.

Hmmm....

Anyone have anything to say about making the setup more efficient? I've never been much of a pedal dude and I see why now. BUT it's cool having all of them at my feet to step on anytime I want. Plus they're not laying all over the house. It doesn't sound THAT bad I'm probably exaggerating. Anyway here is the pic.

Attachment 690

[Spudman***]

That looks nice Tone.

I'd put the Micro Amp right after the Wah. This will give the rest of the pedals a nice hot signal to do their magic to. Sort of like you now have a $4000 guitar with active electronics.

Any noises in your system will be more amplified if the Micro amp is at the end. Also, if one loads a wah input too much it sounds bad to me. I think the wah has the best sound with the guitar going directly to it.

Hmmm. There is something awfully familiar about that vintage CS1.

[Tone2TheBone]

Thank you Spudster. I knew I could depend on your expertise. I actually took out that long straight cable and replaced it with a new one. After experimenting with the patch cables and each pedal I found that the cable was a good one some 20 years or so ago when I first bought it but here in 2006 and on my pedal board, it sucks...literally. Out it came and now everything is nice and bright and strong. I'll move the Micro just next to the Wah. Thanks!

[Tone2TheBone]

Spud - The Micro Amp after the wah was a good idea thanks. I replaced the DigiDelay with a Marshall Echo Head. I put the upper pedals in reverse order to eliminate a long diagonal stretch of patch cable. The upper pedals go from left to right now. Much cleaner sound that way because of the shorter Live Wires. I like having a pedal board now, especially with the 2 different OD pedals for different tones...the Monkey being warm and dark while the Guv'nor 2 spanks it tough and bright.

[Spudman***]

I like having a pedal board now, especially with the 2 different OD pedals for different tones...the Monkey being warm and dark while the Guv'nor 2 spanks it tough and bright.

My favorite too, and imminently logical (raising eyebrow). Live long and prosper.

[Tone2TheBone]

Here's my new and improved pedal board. I mentioned to Spudman that I was going to rearrange everything because it was awkward stepping on the RC-2 looper while it was on the top row. He suggested I put it on the bottom row instead. I also put the pedals closer together using small eyehooks and cloth covered rubber bands to hold them down this time. This facilitates easy release and manipulation of the cable plugs PLUS it gives me more room to add a shiny new Marshall Reflector Reverb pedal (soon).....

Attachment 752

You will notice I tried to match the pedal colors and rubber bands. I can toss the pedal board up in the air and they don't move. And now I can easily step on my looper pedal/FS-5U footswitch without losing my balance. Attachment 754

[Robert****]

I have a pretty crowded board these days. I think I'm gonna replace my Rocktron X-tune with a smaller tuner to save some space.

Tone, you still using your pedal board?

[duhvoodooman***]

Hey, Tone--we need an updated photo, too! I don't see anything bright yellow in that photo two posts back!!

[Tone2TheBone]

Hey, Tone--we need an updated photo, too! I don't see anything bright yellow in that photo two posts back!!

I don't even use that board anymore! I made a big long one out of 1x12 wood plank, painted black. I'll take a pic this week.

[Justaguyin_nc]

I don't even use that board anymore! I made a big long one out of 1x12 wood plank, painted black. I'll take a pic this week.

Im with you Tone.. to many pedals..
I had the wood and some grey padding to cover it that was actually for boom boxes..
velcro sticks nice to it.. but might screw them down this time..
I am finally tired of all the pedals scattered..
this week's project I think..
maybe just the 1x12 with a 1x2 running underneath to add a bit of a tilt to the board..
then spray/glue the covering down.

Would like to find the hardware elvad used on his corners..nice job there!
(might try lowes)
Im no good at angle cutting.. or would stand it up..
hmmm might anyways..need to hide a powerstrip someplace.. or add the second level..

hmmm got a couple walwarts to use on a few things.. (Electric Mistress etc)

Im thinking I need 63 inches long ..umm..but will try around 38..

I don't think I will be carrying it anyplace so I guess it don't matter. Just want to make it look a little neater in the corner.

[stingx]

[elavd]

Would like to find the hardware elvad used on his corners..nice job there!

Thanks Justaguyin_nc

I bought these metallic corners from a hardware store (wich sells screws, nails, etc) and use them on my pedalboard:





Of course, now my pedalboard is EMPTY, since I got a TONELAB SE and sold ALL of my pedals!!!

[Tone2TheBone]

Voo - your wish is my command!


Justa - I did the same thing that you mentioned. I used a piece of 1x2 on the top to raise it some from the floor. This board is 1x12 pine and is 36 inches long. I'm not taking it anywhere either so I didn't care about portability. I like having my pedals in line with each other instead of staggered. I get way better signal from the short patch cables. I also took off the little power strip from the old board and attached it to the top of this one so that I'd have even more connections. I run most of the pedals off the TU-2 and I use the old strip for my 1/8" mini connectors (the MXR Micro Amp). I could still put more pedals on there if I wanted to but I still don't want to stagger.

Attachment 1152

I run a 1 foot patch cable from the looper to the FS-5U switch but it's not there in the photo. Again I attached the pedals to the board with a simple eye hooks and cloth covered rubber band system. Easier for me to disconnect the pedals and they stay on the board without coming off as they did with velcro. I thought about covering the board with some of that material that you talked about Justa but I remember that my other board with the fuzzy velcro material used to get wicked dusty and would stick to the fuzz real bad...that's why I just spray painted it black. Easy to dust off.

[duhvoodooman***]

Voo - your wish is my command!


Justa - I did the same thing that you mentioned. I used a piece of 1x2 on the top to raise it some from the floor. This board is 1x12 pine and is 36 inches long. I'm not taking it anywhere either so I didn't care about portability. I like having my pedals in line with each other instead of staggered. I get way better signal from the short patch cables. I also took off the little power strip from the old board and attached it to the top of this one so that I'd have even more connections. I run most of the pedals off the TU-2 and I use the old strip for my 1/8" mini connectors (the MXR Micro Amp). I could still put more pedals on there if I wanted to but I still don't want to stagger.


I run a 1 foot patch cable from the looper to the FS-5U switch but it's not there in the photo. Again I attached the pedals to the board with a simple eye hooks and cloth covered rubber band system. Easier for me to disconnect the pedals and they stay on the board without coming off as they did with velcro. I thought about covering the board with some of that material that you talked about Justa but I remember that my other board with the fuzzy velcro material used to get wicked dusty and would stick to the fuzz real bad...that's why I just spray painted it black. Easy to dust off.

Cool! Geez, I gotta make me one of those! I just have everything sitting on the floor in front of my amps. I don't move things around that often, but it's still sloppy looking and a pain everytime I want to juggle positions or put a new pedal in the chain.

BTW, where'd you get that cool yellow one in the middle?? Everybody oughta have one of those!!

[Tone2TheBone]

Cool! Geez, I gotta make me one of those! I just have everything sitting on the floor in front of my amps. I don't move things around that often, but it's still sloppy looking and a pain everytime I want to juggle positions or put a new pedal in the chain.

BTW, where'd you get that cool yellow one in the middle?? Everybody oughta have one of those!!

I think I paid 5 or 6 bucks for the 1x12...3 bucks for the spray paint. I already had pieces of 1x2s laying all over the backyard. I figured out my pedal layout and cut down to 36 inches. Perfect and cheap and it looks good PLUS it will keep your pedals nice and neat. Mine were all over the place too...even when I had the other board. I can still swap out pedals though but at least the current line up will be all on one board. Make one man!

That wicked chicken yellow pedal with the classy blue LED was made by this crazed mad scientist dude. Asked me what I wanted in a pedal and well, he delivered! I figured I better jump on that magical boutique box before the prices went up!

[Justaguyin_nc]

Justa - I did the same thing that you mentioned. I used a piece of 1x2 on the top to raise it some from the floor. This board is 1x12 pine and is 36 inches long.

Good to see.. looks like 36 inches is the right size!

looks like it is also possible to double the pedals in each row.

I was thinking maybe adding a hole every 5 inches to run the powercables thru..

Your right about the material collecting fuzz... but seeing I have it laying around.. Going to try spray gluing to see how well I do..

Now, has anyone seen anything like these: http://cgi.ebay.com/Make-your-own-Pe...QQcmdZViewItem
at a lowes or homedepot?

Im thinking just using screws will wiggle loose sooner or later.. maybe something with tiny nuts and bolts would be better..