Powered Pedal Boards - Worth It?

[Conroyfootball]

I am building a collection of effect pedals and I feel the need to have them on some sort of board to keep them organized and powered if possible. I see a bunch of powered boards out there ranging from $35 to $350. Are any of these really any better than just getting a piece of wood, screwing a power strip to it and velcro-ing my pedals down? Let me know what you guys do.

Rock on.

[korovamilkdud]

Re: Powered Pedal Boards - Worth It?

I found a 2.5' by 2' slab of wood in my dormitory lobby one day and said "perfect!" Painted it, built a second level with some wood lying around in my parent's house, glossed it, screwed on a pair of metal handles you can get at any hardware store. From there it was velcro and a Godlyke power supply, along with a wall wart. I do have a noise suppressor too though, usually if you go this route you might want either some kind of noise filter or power conditioner.

[B Bent]

Re: Powered Pedal Boards - Worth It?

I just built a nice enclosure that would hold up well for next to no $$ and velcroed the pedals down and spent the best $170 ever on a Pedal Power II to power everything with. IMO it IS worth it to buy a good pedal power.

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Powered Pedal Boards - Worth It?

I agree with B Bent. Spend the money on a Voodoo Pedal Power II. Then, use any non powered pedalboard that has a lid......even if you make it yourself.

The problem with a plank and a power strip is that all your pedals will be sharing the same ground, as well as your amp, and maybe all the other things in the room. That's where all the ground gremlins and hiss come from.
The PPII has isolated jacks with mini transformers, which makes everything run silent and clean. They aren't cheap, but they're worth the money.

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Powered Pedal Boards - Worth It?

I got a NYC Pedal Board, which is NON Powered and on the advise of Gearjoneser got the VooDoo Labs Pedal Power II+ and hav never looked back...

[Bludave]

Re: Powered Pedal Boards - Worth It?

I made my own also... although I don't use the pedal power thingy I use a one spot. The power supply you will need will depend on the effects you use some will be able to be powered with a daisy chain type of device which is ultimately what the one spot is. I use a Boss Ce2, a DD3 and a TS9 and thats pretty much it. These are all pretty basic pedals. If you use a lot of High tech pedals you may have to go in another direction like the pedal power. You have to become familiar with the pedals and understand what power requirements each have to determine which power supply will work best.

As far as the board..... make it yourself. I used an old shelf board, I drilled a few holes, used some spray paint and velcro and there it is!! Not hard at all, but I guess it depends on how complex your board will need to be.

[RevJToad]

Re: Powered Pedal Boards - Worth It?

A tip for holding the pedals down: I use a piece of plywood, and got a big bag of those plastic Zipties, drilled holes under the pedals and use the zipties to hold them in place. It's not pretty, but I never have problems with velcro losing its grip, and the pedals don't have anything stuck to them.

Building a better plank with a lid and getting a proper power supply are future plans.

[Mincer]

Re: Powered Pedal Boards - Worth It?

i use a visual sounds 1 spot, which powers 5 pedals, even the Line6 DL4...cost me $40. Worked perfectly for years with no noise at any time.

[Telesexual]

Re: Powered Pedal Boards - Worth It?

i dont use pedals at the moment so I may not be an expert but it seems like one of those parts of your rig you would want to buy on ebay. You can always sell it for what you bought it for

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Powered Pedal Boards - Worth It?

Yep, while it's expensive, I bought the Voodoo Labs Pedal Power II + and never looked back. My Furman power bay failed on me after a year and a half (I had the SPB-8 powered pedalboard), so I took the power bay off and put on a Monster Cable power filtering power strip and PP2+. I'm just as happy with this setup as the "all-in-one" Furman offering (and hopefully this setup will be more reliable).

[darkshadow54321]

Re: Powered Pedal Boards - Worth It?

Is it worth the difference to get a Voodoo Labs Pedal Power II over the original version? When I looked at the specs the difference didn't seem to be that much. The only real difference was the dying battery emulator thing, which I really don't need.

[darkshadow54321]

Re: Powered Pedal Boards - Worth It?

BTW, whatcha think about this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pedal-Case-Pedalboard-Locking-Aluminum-Pedal-Board-New_W0QQitemZ7384661266QQcategoryZ1288QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Cheap, and seems to be quite well built. The locks aren't that great, but it's a decent deal for 40 bucks.

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Powered Pedal Boards - Worth It?

Is it worth the difference to get a Voodoo Labs Pedal Power II over the original version? When I looked at the specs the difference didn't seem to be that much. The only real difference was the dying battery emulator thing, which I really don't need.

It all depends how many pedals you have and what kind of current draw you'll need for some of them. Stuff like the Line 6 stuff needs the 2+ (the 2 and first PP won't work). The new 2+ has a constant draw for inputs 5,6 and it's at 200mA instead of the 100mA that the other models use.

The PP stuff is great, you get the first 4 inputs are switchable between 12v and 9v (great for those pedals, like some Pro Analog or Boss stuff that sound better with a bit more juice). 7,8 have the cool variable voltage setting to emulate the dying batteries and 5,6 are the powerhouse inputs on the board. I haven't had a problem powering anything I use and I use some demanding stuff like my DLS Echotap.

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Powered Pedal Boards - Worth It?

I have a Furman Pedalboard, after years of using a nice piece of oak plywood, velcro, and a DOD PS.

The Furman is nice, though the Velcro did come unglued after a outdoor gig in 105F heat. Furman was great and sent me a new bottom plate. The bag is very handy for carrying it. No problems with noise, at all.

One other problem I've had is with the Furman powering my Boss TU-2. The TU-2 would tune sharp--so I switched to the Boss PS for that one pedal, and everything is fine.

I found a second used Furman PB, and bought it to use with my Martin and Taylor acoustics. Compressor, tuner, chorus, a new MXR 10-band EQ, and a JDI direct box. Very nice.

My experience with the Furmans overall is very good; but with a little sweat, and some ingenuity, you can do very well.

Bill

[MDS]

Re: Powered Pedal Boards - Worth It?

I run an MKS Pedal Pad with built in power supply. The power supply is quite similar to the Voodoo Labs supply. 10 isolated 100ma outputs plus 2 120v AC outlets. It is integrated with a patching/routing system and all my wiring goes under the pedals. The case is super ballsy and can handle the road. They're expensive, but I have hundreds invested in my pedals, so the protection is important to me and the convenience and professionalism is definitely worth it.

Mike