School me on pedalboards

MattM · #1 01-19-2009, 07:38 PM

I have been packing my electric gear around in a blue gym bag for too long now. As I have added more pedals, the advantage of the ubiquitous pedalboard have become obvious. I have about 4 pedals that run on 9V (all powered off a 1-Spot with a daisy chain) and one that runs off a 12V adapter. What are the best brands to check out? Are there different options to pick from? How is powering everything up handled? I basically know nothing about this topic.
PS I do not plan to fly with it or travel much, just getting back and forth to church mostly.

JedimasterPaul · #2 01-19-2009, 07:45 PM

I got a pedaltrain. They are lightweight, and made entirely of metal. What I like about it is you can replace the velcro tape when it gets worn out.

They come in different sizes.

Also, they come with mounting brackets for the Voodoo Labs pedal Power

also comes with a carry case.

southpaw pete · #3 01-19-2009, 08:00 PM

I am now using a Boss BCB60 case. My fav part is the layout of cables and power - has a nice little U shaped piece of metal that you lay all of the cables and such in, threading out to get to the various pedals, and has a cover for the "U" that you put on with thumb screws.
And then you have a plug in jack at the top right for your guitar, and an output jack on the right side... so tidy! And it includes all of the cables and daisy chain power as well. The "floor" of it has foam, with cut outs that can be removed to fit Boss pedals nicely, but you can leave them in, or cut out your own shapes to fit other sizes. It will hold up to 6 Boss units.
Definitely worth checking out!

Taylor007 · #4 01-19-2009, 08:13 PM

Hey MattM -
I was in the same boat as you a while back.
The overwhelming suggested board was Pedaltrain.
I got one for Christmas along with the VooDoo Lab power source. I've gigged with it twice and its a nice upgrade to what I was using. The total investment on mine was about 300 bucks. My only complaint is that you have to apply the Velcro yourself and drill holes in them to mount the power source. You don't have to use VooDoo lab, but like Pedaltain, VDL got almost universal stellar reviews elsewhere on the web. In a nutshell, non powered pedal boards are simply boards to place your pedals on. I did some web searches on how to build your own and found all kinds of crazy concoctions. One girl made hers out of a toolbox. Since I'm not much of a handyman, I decided to just shell out the $ and get something decent. If I had the time, I would flirt with making my own.

drjordan · #5 01-19-2009, 08:23 PM

If you're not going to be traveling extensively with your board, why not just make your own? I only carry two pedals now (a Barber EQ and a Fulltone OCD), but I used to carry several. I made my own board that I could angle and run the cords under the board. Here's my first board:

First, my father-in-law gave me a laminate shelf that he bought from either Home Depot or Lowe's. I put the pedals on the board and cut the excess off so it would be any longer that necessary. I also marked where the inputs for the pedals would be. I put a wedge on the front and on each side so it would angle toward me and have space for the cords. I spray painted the sides and front black.

I drilled holes where the cords could be wired through the board (use a cord and make sure the holes are big enough).

I bought a cheap, high-traffic carpet (cheap carpet that's not too thick is best) and glued it to the top. I cut holes in the carpet, ran the cords through, and attached the hook side of velcro to the pedals. Here's the pedals on the finished board all wired with patch cords and One Spot power cord.

JimLin · #6 01-19-2009, 08:25 PM

I just bought the Furman SPB-8 (see below link). It has a power strip with built in 9v adaptors ... works great with my setup. I like NOT having to deal with wall warts.

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...ard?sku=541961

I have an OLD (over 10 years) pedal board by SKB -- a cheapie model ... anyway about a year ago I was having problems with my sound cutting out during a gig. I traced the problem to bad 9v adaptor cables. So, I contacted SKB by email requesting replacement cables ... they responded by sending me a dozen replacements at NO CHARGE. Nice ... The Pedal board is okay ... it does the job, nothing special, but the customer service deserves high marks.

trpullen · #7 01-19-2009, 08:33 PM

I use the Pedaltrain. Done mean, nasty things to it and never a dent. Awesome product.

vbf · #8 01-19-2009, 08:42 PM

I'm going to get on of these Furman SPB8C pedalboards very soon. This looks to be perfect for my needs:

http://http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Furman-SPB8C-Powered-PedalBoard?sku=150137

I gig a little so the hard shell case, wheels, and telescoping handle should be idea. I like the built in power conditioner, "patch bay", and size. I just hope I can get all my pedals on it.

I currently have a boss pedalboard that holds up to 6 pedals. I like it real well but I need something bigger with more flexibility.

makikogi · #9 01-19-2009, 09:04 PM

I'd be willing to sell you my pedalboard its this one: http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...ard?sku=541961
I should tell you though I want to sell this cause I want to get an NYC pedalboard. I'll be honest with you, this pedalboard and others like it are very heavy. I would much rather go the non powered route and get something like the voodoo labs power supply to power up all my pedals.

Check out NYC pedalboards, all custom to fit your exact need. They even have templetes that will work with pedals that you may have with rubber feet and things like that. http://www.nycpedalboards.com/ also their tiered pedal board has enough space underneath to fit a voodoo labs or even BBE supa charger power supply. I know case an electric guitarist I work with has it and he both power supply units under the top tier.