Tonefiend Forum

Ok, I'm a bit of an anachronism round these parts, as I went eighteen years without using a distortion device, wah or mod pedal on stage, and I still only regularly use a tuner, OD and analog delay for gigging, and these live on top of my amp. But lately (partly from hanging out with all y'all) I've been thinking about bringing more options to the party. I'm also getting really sick of replacing wall-wart power-supplies and connectors due to all the wear and tear of setting up and tearing down several times a week. So, I'm considering building a pedalboard, 'cause I'm waaaay too cheap to buy a pre-fab one, and wondering if any of you good folks have some experience building such things, and any advice regarding materials, design, execution, unmitigated disasters and so forth.

Thanks for bringing this up, 'cause I'm planning a post on pedalboards. I like the Chandler frames, and I just got this super-overkill model from SKB, but yeah, I've made many from plastic cutting boards and such. 🙂

The main thing is mounting the pedals. Velcro works well but leaves nasty residue on pedals and the velcro can slip off. I have used short pieces of plumbers strap and longer screws for the pedal case, then screw the other end of the plumbers strap to a board. Plumbers strap is a 1" wide metal strap with holes every 1/2" or so. This a great method for vintage pedals and wooden pedal boards.

These days I keep my pedal board on a heavy duty folding TV snack table. This way I can keep the pedals where I can reach them while standing or sitting. I had unsuccessful back surgery 6+ years ago it is impossible for me to bend over to adjust things (I can play longer if I don't try to bend down too much). I find if I am careful and manage my efforts I can play a set or two but if I don't I end up in bed for a week recupperating.

Good advice all around, lads! I've checked out the "Gorm" builds, and being a bit "gormless" myself (and critically short on power-tools), it's one the options I've considered, as is the cutting board (I'm a chef, also, so it would feel just like home!). Mwseniff, the plumbers strap idea is great, especially because some jerk fella' out there is trying to charge top dollar to sell you bits of bike chain that do the exact same job! And Oinkus, my extremely limited pedal collection (and even more limited live rig) pretty much saves me from the temptation to go BIG, although I recently had the joy of trying to fit my 335's case into a KIA Rio. Note to self: never buy a car that cannot accommodate a guitar case (not that I paid for my venerable Ford Taurus, God bless those who support the starving musicians).

Fun Gorm thread here: https://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?2162433-Official-IKEA-GORM-Pedalboard-Appreciation-Thread