Pedalboard suggestions

Drew Howard · Post by **Drew Howard** » 4 Feb 2006 1:22 pm

Normally I use only a DD-3 in front of either a SF Twin or a 63 Bassman, but I'm doing more multi-axe gigs and need a board for four or five boxes (DD-3, EQ, Tremolo, OD, a DI).
Something where I can stash a powerstrip underneath the pedals.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

thanks,
Drew

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Drew Howard - website - Fessenden guitars, 70's Fender Twin, etc.

Steve Hitsman · Post by **Steve Hitsman** » 4 Feb 2006 1:47 pm

Drew,

I've got one of these:
http://www.zzounds.com/item--SKBPS15

that I'd like to sell.

Jon Light (deceased) · Post by **Jon Light (deceased)** » 4 Feb 2006 3:48 pm

Drew--I'm constantly working on efficient options. I have some stuff to show you but I've got to run right now. Soon as I get a chance I'll give you some neat ideas to consider.

Stephen Gambrell · Post by **Stephen Gambrell** » 5 Feb 2006 4:59 am

I bought one of those cheap Johnson pedalboards on eBay, about 40 bucks. It's a backup, but it still powers a Visual Sound Route 66 OD/compressor, Boss TU-2 tuner, Cry Baby, and one more pedal (chorus, phase, or a Voodoo Lab tremolo.

Ben Jones · Post by **Ben Jones** » 5 Feb 2006 7:24 am

Here is mine for rock 6 string and lap steel. I can wear a 6 string around my neck, the AB box allows me to switch to lap, or send a single instrunment to two different amps. The second teir is raised. Velcro keeps everything inplace. It is a routed peice of pine i found, which fits perfectly into a $5 thrift store hardshell suitacse, along with chords, tools, etc. The Boss tuner powers the whole rig.

most of these effects are used for 6 string, but the wah sounds killer on the lap.

I am not very good with a router

so i guess my suggestion, since this is an unusal gig for you Drew, is to get a hunk of wood (forget routing it for now), some velcro for the effects and screw a power strip to the wood. If you have some 1 inch soft foam laying around anywhere tack a one by one foot or so section of that onto the audience end of your board and when the gig is done, flip it over the pedalboard and wrap it up with the power chord. No case needed.
Total cost about $10 or less.
[This message was edited by Ben Jones on 05 February 2006 at 07:40 AM.]

Jon Bergh · Post by **Jon Bergh** » 5 Feb 2006 7:32 am

I got one of these and I'm pretty happy with it.
http://www.pedalpad.com/PedalBoard-Pedal-Pad-Products.htm

I made a bunch of George-L's cables with angled ends and velcro'd the pedals down. Nice and easy. Fast setup at gigs and stuff. Built-in power supply runs most of my pedals and there are one or two regular outlets for some non-9volt pedals.

Not cheap but decent.

Jon Light (deceased) · Post by **Jon Light (deceased)** » 5 Feb 2006 7:32 am

Yep. Stephen's idea where I was headed.

The Johnson sucks. It is cheap, it is poorly made and it will fail the following ways:

--the carpeting that is supposed to hold velcro only just barely holds it.
--the carpeting is poorly adhered to the board.
--a rubber strip on the bottom (non-skid foot, as it were) will come right off.
--the screws that affix the power strip to the board (cheap particle board) will likely strip out.
--the D-rings that hold the strap to the case are under sized and will straighten out and open up with a bit of weight.

So guess what. I bought another. At this price, every one of these issues can be addressed for a couple of bucks. The power strip works. No hum issues. I stripped the carpet off of one of them and 'invested' in some heavy duty velcro. I replaced the D rings. Oh yeah--the zipper handle broke on one case.

What I really like is that the boarde fits between the legs of my steel. I have a spare volume pedal that I have velcro'd to the board. Setup is real simple with all cords already in place, ready to got to steel, to amp.
One of my personal things is that I play in an assortment of places with an assortment of performers. Some gigs are steel-to-amp types, some are tiny bandstands, some require an assortment of whiz-bangs----I like to have sort of 'prefab' rigs to suit the gig. So this photo shows a Johnson board (stripped of fabric) with an amp, reverb, delay, distortion, etc.

Add an ultralight Marrs speaker cab and you have a great small room & rehearsal portable rig. With a shoehorn I can fit a Rotosphere in there.
I can also move the volume pedal towards the center of the board and slide the board much farther under the steel with stomp boxes on either side of it. This saves floor space on tight stands.
Mounting the volume pedal on the board does raise it about a half inch.
Search ebay for "pedalboard" and you will see this and some other options.

Note that the soft case is, of course, not road worthy.

I also have a huge board made by http://www.nycpedalboards.com/
but I don't know what I was thinking when I bought it. It is large enough to hold just about everything I own and I expect that I will never use it. Bought it one day when I had far more money than brains, I imagine. [This message was edited by Jon Light on 05 February 2006 at 07:34 AM.]

Ben Jones · Post by **Ben Jones** » 5 Feb 2006 7:43 am

Jon Light and everyone else. The old thrift store slimline hardshell suitacses are your freinds

For about 5 bucks and a little patience you can usually find one to fit your pedalboard exactly, plus they have exra room and pouches and stuff and are generally tough as nails. A liitle one inch soft foam for padding and your set.

I can fit an extra beer or two in mine

[This message was edited by Ben Jones on 05 February 2006 at 07:45 AM.]

Jon Light (deceased) · Post by **Jon Light (deceased)** » 5 Feb 2006 8:00 am

I am most interested, Ben. Please define "thrift store". Do you mean second hand Goodwill places or $.99 stores or what? I am always working on better solutions.
I admire the tidiness of your rig.

Ben Jones · Post by **Ben Jones** » 5 Feb 2006 8:30 am

Jon i mean Goodwill Salvation Army, St. Vinnies, etc. I used to live in Bkyln (willysburg) but cannot remember the names of the excellent thrift stores that abound there. There is a HUGE one on south Kent St. in Williamsburg. As you probably know the days of good thrifting are long gone now that hipsters are into retro clothing and furniture , even the trash has been marked up, but these old hardshell suitcases are still around for cheap most of the time. They are usually (thankfully) smaller than a modern suitcase, and are incredibly tough. Mine is I think wood covered with fabric.
Since you already have a board you like but seem disatisfied with the soft case, this might be a great solution for you (and cheap too).

Jon Light (deceased) · Post by **Jon Light (deceased)** » 5 Feb 2006 8:36 am

Actually, I have a Salvation Army nearly across the street (Atlantic Ave.) that I never check out. Now I will. One thing I didn't mention, though, is that the soft case has one good advantage---you can strap it over your shoulder. With my steel case on wheels, my Marrs speaker in the other hand and my rig hanging on a shoulder, I can do some serious <s>damage</s> I mean haulage in one trip from the car.

Ben Jones · Post by **Ben Jones** » 5 Feb 2006 8:46 am

yeah, I think it depends on the gig and how much you wanna haul. I took some photos of my old board and case (the new case aint here right now). This stupidly simple $5 set up did three US tours

This shows the foam attachment i was talking about Drew.

I had to do alot of shows where I had to get my gear off the stage quickly when i was done. With this you just wrap the foam around it and go.

fitting in the cae with room for chords and an extra beer...hehe

and finally the suitacse itself.

[This message was edited by Ben Jones on 05 February 2006 at 08:48 AM.]

Michael McCorry · Post by **Michael McCorry** » 5 Feb 2006 10:50 am

My friend makes what I think the best board that you can buy at the best price. I will post his Email so that you can talk to him yourself. He has standard configs, and will custom make anything that you want, any size, cased or not. I think you will be very pleased with what he has to offer. Here is his email, E-mail Address:
mlemieux@twcny.rr.com

His name is Michael, and just mention that "fishman" sent you and that you are a member of SGF..

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"He who sacrifices personal liberties for a real or imagined sense of security, deserves neither liberty nor security"
Thomas Jefferson
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Bob Cox · Post by **Bob Cox** » 5 Feb 2006 1:24 pm

Hey Joh I seen those little crate amp in musicians friend.Do they have the power they say they do in the magazine.?[This message was edited by Bob Cox on 05 February 2006 at 01:25 PM.]

Jon Light (deceased) · Post by **Jon Light (deceased)** » 5 Feb 2006 2:05 pm

Hey Bob--I stopped talking about the Crate here on the forum because it was a waste of time trying to go against people who had never tried it insisting that it was crap.
I have played several small room gigs with it and I declare it well worthwhile. It is a matter of personal decision as to whether the sacrifice in sound vs. the convenience it provides is acceptable. It lacks sparkle but I use an equalizer in front of it to regain a little tone. As to power---NO, absolutely not. That is----150w mono means 150 distorted watts. The amount of clean power before it starts breaking up? I don't know how to put a number on it. But I have used it in small rooms in a duet setting, no problem. And I have mic'd the speaker, even less problem. I would not use it with a full band. On the other hand I will be using it at a full band rehearsal soon and we will see.....
For the way that I use it, I have absolutely no regrets.