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Pedal boards - educate me :)


Bennyboy-UK

Question

Posted

Ello you lot!

As I've started to accumulate a few pedals (accelerated over the years!) and started to use them a bit more often in various combinations. I've started to get a bit annoyed with packing them all up, taking them all out, plugging it all in and finding the PSUs, batteries, all that kind of nonsense.

Some kind of board might be useful to me, as when I want to have a quick play with all of the bits, it's taking more time to set it all up than is much fun any more!

I've done a bit of looking and can see various things, some with a big power supply and lots of adaptor options including a 9v battery adaptor which is a pretty good idea.

Some stuff goes up the front of the amp, and some stuff goes into the loop.

What do you chaps do and use, and what should I look for? Any recommendations/ pitfalls?

As historically a guitar into amp person, if there is some way to exclude all of the electrictrickery from the signal, that might make me feel like I can get back to basics quickly.

If I'm ever invited out to play this would also make it easier and quicker to set up )

Although this lot would not be used at the same time, what I've got is:

In the front of the amp - phase 90 (batt only), Morley Wah, sansamp Gt2, Tech 21 XXL, MetalZone

The amp is an Express 5:25 so to be honest the drive sounds are all good to my ears, so some of the above could probably go whistle !

T go in the loop TC electronics Flashback (battery eater so have a PSU for it)

If you could give me the benefit of your experience, it would be much appreciated!

Cheers,

Benner

Recommended Posts

Posted

I'm just about to build one mate! I use a 1-Spot for power (£35 off eBay with all the extra's) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Visual-Sound-1-SPOT-Combo-Pack-Power-Supply-/330904393492?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item4d0b705714 (that's the exact one I bought & it's great). I'll be buildng mine over the next few weeks so if you need any advice/tips/(fu*k ups), just buzz me ;)

Posted

Basic board with 1 x multi-fx processor (Korg AX3000G) 'in the loop' I think. All other FX pre-amp (Distortion/ABY Splitter/Noise-Gate). Trying to get it to a size I can build a case for (might even try & get a cheap keyboard case & build it into that)...



In fact, ignore that^^^ = I aint got a fkn clue mate hehe

Posted

Love the Gator hard case. I have the small one (to prevent "pedal creep", as in, "Hey, i have an open spot on the board. I should buy another pedal...", then buy a bigger board, etc...). It doubles as a stand when you take the top off, but i gutted mine and made a trap door to hold a spare power supply, a mic, a small tool kit, spare strings, ebow, etc. So that eliminated the gig bag.

I have the older style (from BCRGreg), but it's something like this:

DV019_Jpg_Regular_545853_closed_horizont

GGBJRTSAX_ip.jpg

The thing i love about it - don't have to be gentle. Grab it, plop it in the trunk, don't need to worry about if it's upside down or if something else lays/falls on it. etc.

As far as a bypass to get you back to guitar-cable-amp, a simple A/B switch will do it. There's a hundred of them out there, but if you're good with a soldering iron and mounting hardware into project boxes, this is about as easy as it gets. :)

Hope that helps. Good luck!

Posted

I just bought 1 of these ABY boxes cos I wanted my tuner to run on my board (without affecting my signal). It's perfect...

You can get 'em on Amazon UK for £35 delivered (mine cost £30 from USA but I got stung another £11 import fkn duty)...

275618.jpg

Posted

£35 delivered on Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/Electro-Harmonix-Switchblade-Channel-Selector/dp/B006M42ZM4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365870304&sr=8-1&keywords=switchblade+plus

You have two outputs + 1 independant out for the tuner (it will not affect your signal). My Tuner is a Korg CA-40 & I didn't want my guitar signal to run through it. Then you have 2 outputs. 1 can go to your board & the other straight to your amp. You can run Channel A/B independently or both together. Neat box...

B000EE8YPK-1.jpg

Posted

I just bought 1 of these ABY boxes cos I wanted my tuner to run on my board (without affecting my signal). It's perfect...

I went that route on the crudely homemade ghetto board:

0420009.jpg

Posted

Crudely homemade ghetto is the way forward. I got some chunks of wood knocking about in the garage of our new (rented) house so I may knock something cruder/ghettoier up...

Posted

If I were going to put together another board, I would get one or two items from here:

http://www.thegigrig.com/acatalog/Shop.html

No affiliation. Just seems like a good solution, especially the preset volumes on the pro and midi boards (I run into alot of volume issues with certain combinations of pedals). If I would have seen this, I would have got this instead of the Roland VG-99. I had too many volume issues with my pedals for gigs. I love the VG-99 and it works great and has tons of flexibility even without the 13 pin pickup (just got a 13 pin installed and can't wait to change tunings on the fly). Anyway, using pedals, the gigrig stuff seems to be the best pedal management system out there, short of getting a rack based management system.

Oh, and I got this board to carry and use my pedals (and using for the VG-99 and pedalboard).

http://www.rondomusic.com/pdc410i.html

It works good and priced well.

Posted

That pedal case is brilliant! BUT... we live in England & something like that would cost well over £100 $160) here. If we imported it, add on postage & import tax & you're again looking at £100+

That's the thing I hate about this place (UK). In the US, things are soooo much more inexpensive to buy but now with import duty + VAT + postage, it's no longer cost effective (in any way/shape/form). And who makes the money? That's right = the fkn govt! I used to import most of my gear from the US until about 18 months ago...

Posted

Sorry about that. Maybe there is another importer in U.K. of this same stuff as Rondo stuff is all made in Asia.

Gigrig is based in U.K. though.

Posted

No need to apologize dude ;) Gigrig is great gear yes but we are looking for cheap and cheerful. We are not serious enough to warrant shelling out 100s for a pedalboard. I personally think you can build cheap so long as you plan it out carefully. Thanks for your input :)

Posted

Crudely homemade ghetto is the way forward. I got some chunks of wood knocking about in the garage of our new (rented) house so I may knock something cruder/ghettoier up...

Yeah, I had a couple slabs of faux concrete laying around from a bathroom remodel. Liquid Nails'd 'em together, carpet remnant on the bottom, sparkly fabric that Velcro adheres to on the top. Love it but it weighs a ton. When I realized I had accumulated a second assortment of pedals for no good reason (all from the HFC, btw) I bought a basic powered board w/carrying bag from Musicians Friend. A better solution for bouncing to the occasional basement jam, which is all I do these days.

Posted

A thread a read a while back. This has some great advice on building a cheap pedalboard: http://www.tdpri.com/forum/stomp-box/153763-my-do-yourself-ikea-pedalboard-build-thread.html

Posted

I went to a site that calculates VAT and got this result

Notes on duty & taxes rates
  • Case has an import duty rate of 3.7% and VAT rate of 20%.
Notes on import taxes due
  • Duty result is nil because the total value of your products does not exceed £135.00
  • Please note that your shipping provider may add an additional handling fee

So if this is correct, you could buy from Rondo Music and have no duty since value is under £135.00. Not guaranteeing but you may want to look into it.

Posted

That's not right mate. Royal Mail (yes, the fkn ba**ard queen) charges £8.00 for anything coming in no matter how much it costs (handling charge they say). I bought a £30 pedal last week & was charged £11.13 fee on top & I had to drive 15km to pick it up from Royal Mail depot. I have no idea what the other £3.13 was for (I didn't bother to ask). The duty fee shouldn't apply to anything under £38.00 (not £135). I've been doing this long enough to know that british customs & excise/royal mail/the queen are a bunch of money grabbing ba**ards.

3 things outta the last 4 I orederd from USA, I have had to pay an £8.00 royal mail handling fee & £3 for fk knows what. Sometimes, it gets by customs altogether but not 75% of the time recently. I will no longer order anything from the US...

Posted

And the above post is in no way against the US. I've always preferred to shop in the States but now, it's just not worth it (2 of my last 5 guitars have been imported from USA). I'll just have to look in the EU for better prices & NO fees in future...

Posted

Well I apologize. I did try to find that brand in a UK shop, no dice. I only found a link to where you could order direct from the manufacturer in China but I would guess that wouldn't help either as you would probably have to buy a "case" of cases for that to work.

Sorry.

Posted

No need to apologize (again). I read the same info myself in the past but I don't see where it ever applied. They have many hidden/different rules on the subject. That's just the friendly BS. If it's not a 'gift' those rules don't apply. I've been stung many times in the past importing guitars/FX-Processors. It's a bitch when you get stung nigh-on 30% (erasing the initial 30% saving). It's how 'they' work it...

Posted

PedalTrain+Pedal Power2=Awesomeness - 1 plug to wall hole, 1 plug to guitar hole, 1 plug to amp hole, done.

I used a Boss GT-3 for about 5 years in my previous band. In the year off between bands, I started dickin' around with pedals again. I pretty much went nuts swapping different gear in and out, so the PedalTrain/Pedal Power unit really made sense. It makes it pretty simple to try a variety of pedals, and takes about 2 minutes to set up and play.

Posted

+1 to hamerhead's view. I guess the thing about playing originals is that you play in shitty pubs and there'll be two other bands, so set up and get off FAST. Also when I got to the point some years back - gigging two or three or four times a week - that reliability is my number one criteria in gear choice.

I'd just recommend:

  • Get the sturdiest case you possibly can
  • Get the most mega-powerful Velcro® you can
  • Get cables that you can trim to custom lengths, carefully arrange your board, then cut the cables so they route neatly. George Ls and Lava and Planet Waves are the usual ones
  • Use zip-ties to secure the power leads so you don't have them flopping around. Ideally route all that stuff UNDER the board so you don't step on them and pull them loose
  • Get an A/B looper/selector if you have a lot of pedals and don't use them all at once
  • Be very careful before you get a 1-Spot. They work great unless you have some peals that need 12v or 18v or draw a shit-ton of current. And the Dunlop/MXR power brick is still one power supply. The T Rex and Voodoo Labs are a bunch of individual power supplies so they're isolated and can run different voltages and loads and not hum a lot

I'm building up a new board now. A Lyt brand in an ATA case. MXR two-loop selection box, one going through the usual effects, one going through the Fuzz Factory and the Kaoss Pad. Powered by a Voodoo Labs PP2. All Planet Waves connectors, which I LOVE. Got most of it used so it's pricey yeah but still way less than a Hamer :).

I learned the hard way that a crackly connection, a dead battery, a dodgy power lead, a pedal scooting across the stage when I step on it, are really embarrassing. Same reason I use strap locks!

Posted

Crudely homemade ghetto is the way forward. I got some chunks of wood knocking about in the garage of our new (rented) house so I may knock something cruder/ghettoier up...

Yeah, I had a couple slabs of faux concrete laying around from a bathroom remodel. Liquid Nails'd 'em together, carpet remnant on the bottom, sparkly fabric that Velcro adheres to on the top. Love it but it weighs a ton. When I realized I had accumulated a second assortment of pedals for no good reason (all from the HFC, btw) I bought a basic powered board w/carrying bag from Musicians Friend. A better solution for bouncing to the occasional basement jam, which is all I do these days.

I can attest to the fact that it weighs a ton. Geez that sucker is heavy - at least you don't have to worry about it getting away from under your feet.

My board is about the size of a rectangular bass hardshell case (I gotta lotta stuff, plus my amp's switchbox is about the size of a shoebox lid). Aircraft-grade aluminum, handmade by the HFC's "mindseye" Gray. Bulletproof but suprisingly light. I love this thing.

Posted

I really thought McC was being sarcadistic (an English word meaning what you think it should mean)...

Posted

I'm just a hack player who once in a while plays out. fwiw.

I have a smaller Pedal Train board with a tuner, chorus, compressor, looper, and volume pedal in that order. The power supply is a Dunlop DC Brick.

Set your pedals up on the floor in a logical pattern and see how big of a board you need. Don't get too small of a board. You might prefer a long thin board or you might prefer a more compact nearly square shape. Figure out what works well for you or you will hate your board rather than love it.

The velcro is great on the top side. Pedals do stay in place. I have found the patch stuck to the bottom of the pedal itself can come loose from the pedal if the pedals are peeled off of the board more than once or twice. So figure out where you want them before actually sticking them to the board. Put a piece of paper or something between the board and the pedal until you are certain where you want it.

The power supply fits underneath mine just fine, freeing up space on top. A nice feature to consider as you look at boards is whether the underside can hold your power supply.

The velcro is not adequate to hold the power supply to the underside. Use zip ties in addition to velcro.

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