Considering a new pedal board

[RW James]

Previously, I had a standard aluminum case pedal board, with a Furman power conditioner (a must for the dirty power we have around here) and a Godlyke power supply. When I add the price of all that up for a replacement setup, I'm getting into the range of powered boards.

So I'm looking at the Furman SPB-8 Pedal Board

In addition to the built in power, it also has an interesting signal routing system which I believe is designed to accommodate pedals in a loop and/or before the amp. It can also output the signal in stereo which would be nice for those occasions I want to run two amps.

Anyone have any experience with this board? Any other similar board you would care to recommend?

Also seriously considering the SKB StageFive:

 

[jmh151]

Re: Considering a new pedal board

I just bought the SKB Stage Five pedalboard. Compared it side by side with the Fuhrman. The SKB has more power, more power options, and you can route all the cables underneath the board for a much cleaner, less cluttered setup.


http://www.skbcases.com/music/products/proddetail.php?f=&id=431&o=&offset=1&c=85&s=75

One problem- some EH pedals do need seperate power for their wall warts, the SKB power doesn't work on them. I just velcroed a power strop to the top to fix that problem.

I suggest the SKB over the Fuhrman

 

[RW James]

Re: Considering a new pedal board

It's $100 more - but it looks well worth it (I checked out the video and was very impressed).

As far as the EH pedals, I think the only difference is it uses a 1/8" jack instead of the standard 9v plug. My Godlyke setup had a conversion plug that worked very well. I could probably use something like that.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[jmh151]

Re: Considering a new pedal board

No, the problem with my EH Holy Grail and POG is that they need precisely 500 MA to work. The SKB has 100ma outputs, and 1300ma- not powerful enough, the other too powerful, to power those pedals.

The 9 0ther pedals on my board - run fine

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Considering a new pedal board

Any ideas on the new pedals you'll be buying?

 

[RW James]

Re: Considering a new pedal board

No, the problem with my EH Holy Grail and POG is that they need precisely 500 MA to work. The SKB has 100ma outputs, and 1300ma- not powerful enough, the other too powerful, to power those pedals.

The 9 0ther pedals on my board - run fine

Okay. The only EH pedal I have is the Small Clone. I understand.

Any ideas on the new pedals you'll be buying?

I would like to replace my Weeping Demon. Thanks to formula73, I have a Small Clone. I'll be getting a Bad Monkey soon and a Boss DS-1 from Gr8Scott. Greg has offered to rebuild my Switcheroo. I have a Boss Tuner (TU-2). I want to get a Tremolo - I had a Rocktron and liked that a lot. Probably a Delay. Oh, and I picked up a Yamaha Compression pedal for cheap at the local music store. I don't know if it's any good, but I thought it would be fun to try. I have a Boss Octaver OC-2 - but since I don't play lead anymore I haven't used it.

That's about it for now - but I'm a pedal junkie. I'm sure something else will come along.

 

[some_dude]

Re: Considering a new pedal board

Most people who own a Furman don't bother to use the patch bay... something to think about if you were wondering about that option.

Myself, I use a piece of wood and a Pedal Power 2. I have a Furman PL-Plus that I use to feed both the amp and the pedalboard. If I was looking at a pre-fab board I'd get a PedalTrain Jr.

 

[RW James]

Re: Considering a new pedal board

Most people who own a Furman don't bother to use the patch bay...

Why would that be? I don't understand the correlation.

Myself, I use a piece of wood and a Pedal Power 2. I have a Furman PL-Plus that I use to feed both the amp and the pedalboard.

I've been down that road. I still have my original plywood pedal board, though my son is using it now. I had a lot of gear in a lot pieces, which is why I always left my gear at the church, which is why I lost it all in the fire.

Not that I'm anticipating another fire, but I was always concerned about theft or even people playing with my gear when I wasn't there.

So I want something that is easily portable - so something like the Furman or SKB boards seem very attractive to me right now.

If I was looking at a pre-fab board I'd get a PedalTrain Jr.

Yeah, but I want the power on board. I can run an extension cord back to the amp easy enough.

Thanks for input - I really appreciate the advice.

Right now, the SKB seems to be the new front runner.

 

[millsart]

Re: Considering a new pedal board

Why on earth would Furman have a board with such a horrible wiring job in a promo imagine ?

I'm obvisouly a fan of some of the choices they used pedalwise, but look at the wiring!

Not only is it a mess, but its using like 20 feet of cable between each pedal for crying out loud. Who wants to drive their amp with a 100 foot cable run ?


Its like they had someone who's never used a board put together that shoot. 4 Dirt pedals in a row seems sort of crazy as well come to think about it

 

[some_dude]

Re: Considering a new pedal board

Why would that be? I don't understand the correlation.

I think it's because it's two extra patch cords just to use to use the patch panel when it's just as easy to plug them into the first and last effect.

Yeah, but I want the power on board. I can run an extension cord back to the amp easy enough.

You can mount a Pedal Power 2 underneath the PedalTrain board... not that that will help you if you need filtered power.

 

[some_dude]

Re: Considering a new pedal board

Why on earth would Furman have a board with such a horrible wiring job in a promo imagine ?

I'm obvisouly a fan of some of the choices they used pedalwise, but look at the wiring!

Not only is it a mess, but its using like 20 feet of cable between each pedal for crying out loud. Who wants to drive their amp with a 100 foot cable run ?


Its like they had someone who's never used a board put together that shoot. 4 Dirt pedals in a row seems sort of crazy as well come to think about it

Two of the pedals aren't even plugged in....

 

[RW James]

Re: Considering a new pedal board

Two of the pedals aren't even plugged in....

What I think is really funny about that picture (besides the wiring mess) is that none of the pedals are powered. I mean, providing 9v power is what the Furman is all about, but not a single power lead in the whole mess.

 

[kjrocks]

Re: Considering a new pedal board

I just picked up a SKB PS45 used and its a tank. Bigger than I imagined and probably more than I need for the few pedals I might use. None the less, it is a pretty nicely set up board and seems very rugged.

 

[jmh151]

Re: Considering a new pedal board

The only other problem with my SKB is it's HEAVY. Their site says 25 lbs. **** near bulletproof though.

Oh- if you get it- don't use the cheap velcro they supply. Go to Home Depot and pick up the industrial strength stuff. Your pedals will never move.

 

[guitfiddle]

Re: Considering a new pedal board

Dude, its a great pedal board, and if you need different current levels, you can use the pedal's power supply in the outlets. Get a power strip and plug it in and you've opened up more options, and the power to the strip is regulated.

With the patch bay you could run out to a whole rack of other stuff, then back and into the loop, and an AB/Y box lets you run to either channel of an amp, or two different amps, or both at once.

In this shot I still have the ME-50 on there, but it's gone now, and I have the Tuner>>Austin Gold OD>>Blue Tube OD>>CryBaby>>Morley Volume instead.

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Considering a new pedal board

My SPB-8 crapped out on my after a year of light use, I hope yours doesn't present any problems guitfiddle


Now I run a more complex setup and have a separate power supply (PedalPower 2+) and a large Pumaboard.

 

[jmh151]

Re: Considering a new pedal board

Why would that be? I don't understand the correlation.


I've been down that road. I still have my original plywood pedal board, though my son is using it now. I had a lot of gear in a lot pieces, which is why I always left my gear at the church, which is why I lost it all in the fire.

Not that I'm anticipating another fire, but I was always concerned about theft or even people playing with my gear when I wasn't there.

So I want something that is easily portable - so something like the Furman or SKB boards seem very attractive to me right now.


Yeah, but I want the power on board. I can run an extension cord back to the amp easy enough.

Thanks for input - I really appreciate the advice.

Right now, the SKB seems to be the new front runner.

The SKB has a patch bay too, to run some of your pedals through the effects loop in stereo.

 

[guitfiddle]

Re: Considering a new pedal board

My SPB-8 crapped out on my after a year of light use, I hope yours doesn't present any problems guitfiddle


Now I run a more complex setup and have a separate power supply (PedalPower 2+) and a large Pumaboard.

It's been the shiz, so far, bro. Thanks!

PS...in that first picture, the cord going to the input of the wah is from the "from pedal" input for the right channel of the board.lol

 

[Farkus]

Re: Considering a new pedal board

I was thinking about a Pumaboard myself. You may want to check him out.

 

[RW James]

Re: Considering a new pedal board

I saw the SKB 45 and the SPB-8 side by side at Guitar Center. The control boxes are identical - even the screen printing is the same. I have to believe that Furman at least made the guts. The only difference between the boards is the case - the Furman (SPB-8) is a padded nylon case (at $199) - the SKB is a molded case (at $229).

I can't say for the SKB StageFive...

I looked at the Pumaboards again - very nice. I'm not sure what the total price would be after I get everything I need on there. Anyone with experience using these?

But I'm really attracted to something that will work for me off the shelf.