Pedal Boards Really Expensive!, Is it feasible to build one at home? Options

[Becca]

Greetings Groovy GMC Guys n Gals.
i just read Audiopaal's great topic in this forum on his pedal board set up ,which looks GREAT. And then I looked at the train wreck that I call my pedal board and now I am deeply depressed.
Those of you who have read my previous posts will be aware of how my board looks.(I will put a picture up at the end of this piece for illustrative purposes).
To be fair It ain't a board as such but an Electro Harmonix gig bag. It measures around 70cm x 30cm but has curved shoulders, cutting down on usable space. The main drawback is all the jack cables and power cables have to share the same floor space as the peds. No niftily running the cables beneath the board for neatness. Add the fact that I use Planet Waves patch leads (bulky but noiseless) and it cuts down on space even more. I have a Vox BritBoost pedal that lives in its box under my desk due to lack of space on my "board". Add to this the fact that every time I zip up the bag to move the peds always shift a little.They never remain neatly square to each other no matter how much Velcro I use.
I have been looking at generic pedal boards like PedalTrain and Swann. Gasp! The price!!
A PedalTrain 3 which is 61cm x 40cm approx is kicking £250 here in the UK. The gig bag version is admittedly less than £200 by some way, but Man that is lot of cash for a basic aluminium frame. and a bag or box to tote it around in.
I plan on getting a loop switcher to save my tap dancing tootsies (as recommended to me by a cool GMC member) and MAYBE a chorus pedal. My Memory Man has a decent Chorus sound I saved in its presets so not vital.
So my friends. Is it feasible and cost effective to build one at home. Have any of you done just that ? Is it possible to have it so that my Power supply can live underneath and all cables run out of sight ? My channel switch for the amp needn't go on it so maybe I could use my Vox pedal again. If I list all the pedals I have and intend to get it is there a magic formula to work out the size board I need, allowing for the odd impulse buy that we musos are so prone to.
Is there a standard size range for flightcases that I should bear in mind to fit the board into?
There you see? All those questions. I am not demanding much am I?
Between all you good folks out there is a Gold Seam of experience and knowledge. I am sure some of you may have already either done this or looked into it andfor whatever reasons not gone ahead.
List of Pedals I would like on board following picture of my gigbag.
Peace People

MXR Noise Clamp, Rothwell Tornado OD, Dynacomp clone. EHX Pulsar trem, Korg GT3 tuner,Morley Power Wah. EHX Memory Man, EhX Riddle, Vox BritBoost pedal. Those last four are quite large pedal so will take up some room. I have a Soundlab power supply which I would ideally like to place under the board and I plan on getting a Loop switch pedal.

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[SeeJay]

First off, I would say, BE EXCITED!

I break my board apart and put it back together all the time. Rearranging the order sometimes, adding new pedals, trying new cables. It's all fun! It's one of those things where if you learn the rules of how to do it, then you throw away the rules and discover new things along the way

2nd, I would say, the BENEFITS of having a well thought out, well put together pedal board are more like this:

• Your equipment is better cared for.
• With good organization you tend to have less technical problems.
• Pedal boards with a solid layout, where the pedals are held into place well leave you dancing around less to try and hit pedals.
• Setup and break down is less complicated

WHY would I say this? Only to get you to get in the mindset that a well organized pedalboard is more of a mechanical and organizational thing.

Don't feel like you HAVE to have a really nice pedalboard setup because you see people post pictures of their boards.

Take no shame is your current setup. You've got pedals that you feel help accomplish the sounds you want to make. What we can do is organize your setup to get the technical stuff locked in and out of the way from letting you be the artist you want to be.(It's a whole left brain vs right brain thing)

You don't need to spend lots and lots of money on this kind of thing.


Here's an easy strategy:

• Layout your pedals in an order of how you want to use them (You've got a good amount of pedals, So I would recommend have 2 rows like you currently kinda have)
• Sketch out how big you think you think you need a board.
• Get a piece of wood, spray paint it black, cover it in velcro, place your pedals, velcro them down patch them together
• BOOM you got a pedal board.

It can be as easy as that. Don't be intimidated.

There's LOTS of DIY Pedalboards out there. Design something that matches YOU!

HERE'S A GOOGLE IMAGE SEARCH FOR DIY PEDALBOARDS FOR SOME SOLID IDEAS

Here's a YouTube clip of making a pedalboard out of IKEA furniture. (Start here and go down the YouTube Rabbit hole)

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[SeeJay]

Put any more thought into this Becca? I'ld love to see a post with you putting together a pedal board!

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[Becca]

Put any more thought into this Becca? I'ld love to see a post with you putting together a pedal board!

hi SeeJay, sorry not got back to you sooner, working the night shift at the hospital so I am either at work or sleeping this week
Yes I am still keen to my pedal board sorted out. The gig bag I use is pretty crammed and having all the cables lying alongside the pedals just makes it so cluttered.
I am looking at different loop switchers so until I get one I wont know my size requirements for the board. There is a company here in UK called Diago who make a Showman model which looks about the right size but it doesn't seem to allow cables to be routed underneath for neatness. It is however, under a hundred pounds which makes it quite appealing. My significant other reckons the cost of lightweight materials plus finding a case to put the board in for transport, makes it uneconomical to build at home unless he can find salvage stuff to recycle as an useable board. He had some MDF board but it weighed a ton! So basically I can wait a few weeks to see if he can find some sutable bits to make me one, or just go for the Diago model and find a way to keep those pesky cables running smooth and neat.
Hope all this makes sense, I am really tired....

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