Pedalboard Building Lessons Learned

[pmjos]

Spoiler

Share your hard learned lessons setting up pedal boards over the years

I'm on my Nth reincarnation of setting up my pedalboard and I have been looking for guidance and the wisdom of ages on the Internet so I can incorporate the best practice. I realised I should be asking you guys. What I''m interested in is:

• Signal chain, pedal order  i.e. compress first or last, which effects before others, what doesn't work, what does
• Cables & leads best worst and tricks cabling
• The old nutshell, pedal fixing methods, velcro, alternatives, boots, corners, six inch nails....
• Board format, types of boards, makes of board
• best & worst power supplies
• Problem pedals and reverse polarity issues
• Earth loop fixes
• Best way to lay out

OK that's enough................. Spill the beans, I'd like as much feedback as I can get before I set about rebuilding my board again.

 

[itu]

If you need to build your board smallest possible, the cable/effects changes are a chore. How to override a non-functional pedal?

The carrying bag may limit the board dimensions or changes: length, width, height, weight...

If you have only certain cable lengths, try to think, where to put the slack. Velcros/ty-raps are your friend.

I build my (slightly Holeyboard type) boards with ty-raps. They keep the effects in place better but all changes are slower and slightly harder to do. Placement seems to be limited, but it is not. And come on, millimeter movements are not reasonable.

I try to think the dangers while playing: liquids (put some feets under the board), kicking and stepping the board accidentally (connections like DC and signal should not brake), dropping the unit while moving stuff from car to the stage (attachment of the effects and cables).

Some things to consider, like the usage (can I put some pedal behind another and still push it on), and settings (paint marker, tapes, Stompshield, 3D printed covers). Colors or labels of the cables may help to find connections.

The board should have contact information - just in case.

I tend to write down the serials as I buy pedals - just in case.

[Skybone]

I would argue that you need to figure out your pedals & pedal order before building a pedal board.

Are you going to be using a power supply, or batteries?

Where do you place the PSU?

Do you want the board to have a slope?

Will the PSU connectors reach the pedals? 

Will you be adding other pedals to your "essential" pedals?

What sort of patch leads are you using?

How big are your feet, this could determine the space you need between each pedal?

How big are your pedals?

Will your board have a "lip" on the base, or will the base be flat?

Is it worthwhile looking at a commercially available alternative?

Etc.

I had one custom built for my guitar rig years back, it was 600 x 300mm, I was running 5 pedals from a 5 output PSU. It was big and heavy, but it was sturdy and didn't move on the stage. Before that I used an EHX Pedal Bag, which was actually seriously good (should have kept it!).