Any tips for my homemade pedal board?

[ledzepp29]

Hey guys, I'm making a pedal board out of an old suitcase like this one. http://www.adclassix.com/images/68americantourister.jpg

I plan on making a plywood surface for the pedals to be mounted on so I can have the choice of removing or keeping the pedals in the suitcase. I'm not sure how I should mount the pedals to the plywood? I've never had much luck with velcro so thats out. I was thinking of maybe using those plastic zip ties somehow but I'm not sure how I would secure those to the plywood.
I have fulltone OCD, homemade fuzz clone, crybaby wah and I plan on adding a boss tu-2 pedal tuner, and maybe a boss delay.
I could drill 2 holes in the wood on both sides of the pedal then string a zip tie through it and around the pedal. That way I could just cut the zip tie if I need to take the pedal off. Any input?

 

[joelap]

Re: Any tips for my homemade pedal board?

The zip tie approach is interesting and different, but what if you change the orientation fo your board? You'll have holes all over after a few years. Not to mention, if you've ever want to take one pedal out for whatever reason, you'll need to cut and refasten with a new tie. How have you had bad luck with velcro before?

 

[Skarekrough]

Re: Any tips for my homemade pedal board?

Zip ties will work, but it will require drilling through the bottom of the board.

I'm in the process of building a pedal board out of wood for myself. It's a clamshell design and when it's done I'll tolex it and it will look like a small amp without any frill cloth.

Affixing the pedals to the board I'll probably go with small plate cutouts for each pedal affixed into place with an epoxy. Underneath the plates will be a flat cloth ribbon with a eyehook on each end. To keep the pedal there I'll use a rubber peice with a hook on either one. In my mind I know how I want to do it, so if it sounds odd I'm not surprised. It will make more sense when it's completed.

Lately I've been pretty minimalist with my pedals. I've been contemplating something that would sit on top of the amp and hold the tuner and an overdrive.

 

[Brow]

Re: Any tips for my homemade pedal board?

When I build my new board, I plan on screwing the pedals to the board by using the figure of 8 sections from a bike chain to 1st screw to the pedal and then to the board.

It should work great and everything will be securely fastened down.

 

[muttonchopsrule]

Re: Any tips for my homemade pedal board?

When I build my new board, I plan on screwing the pedals to the board by using the figure of 8 sections from a bike chain to 1st screw to the pedal and then to the board.

that's probably one of the best ideas i've heard for securing pedals to a board. let us know how that works out!

 

[CapoFirstFret]

Re: Any tips for my homemade pedal board?

I have a pedaltrain pedelboard and the velcro is pretty horrendous...I need a new method for attaching my pedals to my pedalboard

anyone got methods that work on a pedaltrain?

 

[hareek]

Re: Any tips for my homemade pedal board?

I would put a power strip under your plywood where you can plug in AC adaptors for all your pedals. Cut a notch at the top edge of the wood to allow the wires to pass through to the bottom neatly. Also make some sort of access where you can run an extension cord to the power strip so that you can put your pedal board at almost any location. That way you only have one wire running across the stage that you can tape down. I hate a mess of wires so I'm always trying to keep mine organized.

As for securing your pedals, I would definitely go with the zip-ties. They are the most secure. Plus you have to think about how often you switch your pedals around. Later on if you've found you switched them around a lot and you have a ton of drilled holes in the wood, its not like plywood is that expensive. You could easily run back down to Lowe's and get a new piece. You could also get some sort of durable fabric/material that you can cover the plywood in. It will make it look better and cover old drilled holes.

 

[ledzepp29]

Re: Any tips for my homemade pedal board?

I didn't have much to do yesterday so I went ahead and built the whole thing, it turned out well.
Here's some pics

and heres a little extra pic of the gibson ga40 frankenstein head I got yesterday as well

this thing sounds absolutely amazing, like a 20 watt plexi, just huge

 

[cvansickle]

Re: Any tips for my homemade pedal board?

When I build my new board, I plan on screwing the pedals to the board by using the figure of 8 sections from a bike chain to 1st screw to the pedal and then to the board.

It should work great and everything will be securely fastened down.

I did this to both the big and small boards when I rebuilt them earlier this year. It's working out great for me, as I don't plan to swap any pedals anytime soon. Everything is tight to the board, nothing wiggles under my foot when I stomp it. Feels good and solid and I love it.

Even on this one, where I can only connect to the board on one side of the pedal, the bike chains and screws hold securely:

 

[Aceman]

Re: Any tips for my homemade pedal board?

Dig up some info on Zakk Wylde's board. Personally I don't think three pedals warrants a need for one, but Akk does - so why not you...