Pedalboard infrastructure

alex1fly

alex1fly

Well-known member
Please tell me about your pedalboards! I see so many pedal boards that are huge, messy, and\or have spotty power and connections. So how do you all keep your cables tidy & secure, your power situation steady, and minimize the hassle of lugging the pedalboard itself around to rehearsals and whatnot?

Bonus points for achieving these goals without breaking the bank! What's worth the investment in quality (centralized power supply?) and what can you be cheap on?

Would love to see pictures too, but no pressure of course!
 
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For my large format pedalboard, I use cables no longer than the length necessary to get from point A > B, and use quality cables to avoid noise / duability in transit, etc. My power supply is an MXR ISO-Brick that's velcro'd right next to the pedals.

My small nano pedalboard only has 1 pedal and uses a 1-Spot.
 
Sounds luxurious.
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My board is neat and tidy from above, but a bit of a mess underneath. I cut all my patch cables to length, but the power cables only come in a handful of lengths and the extra can get a little jumbled.
 
I use either a Templeboard or Pedaltrain, and the cables all go underneath. The Templeboard can route audio and power to one side of the pedalboard, so the wires all exit one side. It is really slick, but the cost of the parts adds up.
 
Most of the small angled/elevated boards - even the cheap ones - come with a carrying case.

Velcro has a strong enough grip to keep pedals in place on top (though mini pedals sometimes get a little tippy).
For a power supply hanging upside down underneath I think dual-lock is better; it's a VERY secure grip.

Some have even used dual lock as security for expensive pedals that might be at risk within reach of the public.
There's no twisting a pedal off quickly with dual lock - you have to use an implement and really work at it.

IMO best not to cut corners on your power; true isolation really helps cut down on noise.
Power for most dirt pedals (and some other analog boxes) can be daisy-chained without problems.
But most digital effects will be happiest with their own isolated power feed.

As for patch cables, the shorter the better. The more effects you have, the more important that becomes.

Cables can be an unexpectedly hefty extra cost when putting together a pedalboard.
If using more than a few pedals, cable capacitance becomes a significant factor.
Look for comparison tests of various cable brands: more expensive does not mean lower capacitance.
Heavy-duty durability is less of a concern when they're not being unplugged and replugged every time.
That said, if you're gigging the board, wear is inevitable. Get good ones if you can afford it.
And keep a couple of spares.

If your pedalboard arrangement is going to be permanent, zip ties are great for cable management.
If the configuration needs flexibility, reusable velcro strips are available.
Even twist-ties can be made to work in a pinch.
 
I use dual lock on a Pedal Train, but I've also used zip ties, too. On the cheaper velcro, the glue fails more than the hooks or loops, leaving a goopy mess. The Temple Audio board has proprietary mounting plates which work really well, but they are a pain to remove and re-use.
 
Click image for larger version Name: 20459C65-1AAD-4797-93BB-06F60FF393E2.jpeg Views: 0 Size: 102.3 KB ID: 6029277 In my mind, spending on cables, power supplies and pedalboards suck, but they also are like investments. Once you have it all, you should be good for a long time.

Ideally I’d love to have isolated power for every pedal, ultra high quality patch cables, all custom length and perfectly routed.... however I have kind of done my best with what I have, and it’s optimized for how I use it. (Jamming with the band and practicing in the basement).

I use a TRex Chameleon that can do various voltages and high current, but I still daisy chain a couple of drives since I don’t have enough outputs. The cables are routed neatly but aren’t tie strapped, so if I have an issue I can diagnose pretty quickly. The cables are decent quality but not mogami gold, etc. (many are Lava solderless) Overall it works for me but I’m always planning a pro-level board, just can never get over the hump to buy all the stuff. :)
 
My shit is always tight. -top and bottom -only way to be reliable. redundant power etc.

This is an old one but a good example.
 

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Thinking of making my own one, of a pine board and velcro :). And some feet.

I've even got a garage/workshop I can borrow, aswell as tools :).

Let's just see If I buy myself some new pedals for christmas \m/ ;)
 
I've made several over the years. One of my current ones was made with a scrap of Home Depot wood (they gave it to me free) and flat black spray paint. I attached handles from IKEA and feet. It was a fun project, and I am sure I will do it again.
 
How many pedals are you looking to put on the board? Also, will some of the pedals need to use a proprietary wall-wart?
 
I'm using a Pedaltrain again with power and patch cables running underneath. Works for me. I discovered the other day that the power supply that is for the Tech21 Fly Rig 5 v2 has enough mA to power the rest of the board without issue. I'll go that route at rehearsals but at live shows, I'll most likely use the pedalsnake since I'll still use my amp as a reference monitor so will send power and signal to the amp through that.

Having tidy pedalboards is all well and good but when I look at some boards of top touring players, look at EVH's last board and what Neal Schon uses these days and even Jake E. Lee and Paul Gilbert, they are flat boards with pedals on top and things easily accessible. They are not tidy. My smaller cutting board turned pedalboard is like that when I use it. But I do like the Pedaltrain setup.
 
I appreciate the guidance and photos! Though now I'm reminded of why I haven't built a pedalboard yet in 20 years of playing - so many variables! I need a pedalboard consultant, lol.

I don't yet know how many pedals. Depends on if I phased out my digital multi-effects board. Effects I use regularly are wah, volume, 1 or 2 modulation, octaver, compression, a couple of delays, reverb, and a couple of dirt options. Plus a preamp. Many of those are available on the digi MFX board. If I kept the MFX board, I'd probably want to add a looper and a dedicated reverb/delay. So Preamp + MFX board + Looper + Reverb/Delay. Or just add a Fly Rig type deal which could replace my preamp and reverb, making my setup be MFX + Fly Rig + Looper. No idea about proprietary power supplies or other specific needs that pedals have.
 
Since you mentioned a Fly Rig, here's how I laid out my board on Saturday. Since I got my Fly Rig I hadn't really put it on the board until I had decided what overdrive(s) I wanted out front and such. Now that I've done that evaluation, it was time to finally get it together. My amp footswitch was on the top rail where the delay is so I was originally going to do a simple swap; Footswitch for Fly Rig but the profile is much lower than the Boss pedals so I had to move it all around. Makes more sense this way for me since I use the Boost function on the FR in post mode.
I may move the delay down next to the Overdrive but I left that room there for plugging a 1/4" cable in to the output. I might just put the Pedalsnake tail in place and leave it there but disconnect it from the snake when I don't need to use it. Sort of a modular setup. I want to be able to use the pedalsnake or not and I can do that now but have a few adjustments to make underneath. But it is fully armed and operational. :)
 

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I keep mine to the smallest I can get away with. Less that can go wrong. I also don't put the pedals so close together that I can't unplug them easily, since there will be a short 3 minutes before you start your set.
 
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