Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: prozacbear on April 22, 2008, 09:13:56 PM

Title: Help! I need a new pedalboard
Post by: prozacbear on April 22, 2008, 09:13:56 PM
And they said the weeks of playing Tetris were wasted :roll:

(http://www.padfoot.plus.com/img/pedalboardhelp.jpg)

But seriously I really need a new board.

It needs to hold at least the amount of pedals shown (and some growing space). But floor space is an issue so I can’t go really big. It will not get moved around much so does not need to be super rugged.

So basically something that will fit the most pedals for the smallest foot print.

Am I asking too much?

If anyone has any ideas they will be most appreciated :)
Title: Help! I need a new pedalboard
Post by: goddamn electric on April 22, 2008, 09:42:58 PM
try www.flightcasewarehouse.co.uk not sure if its what your after but they've got some pretty decent pedal boards on there for the money, i've got one and its pretty good if you're not looking for super durable.
Title: Help! I need a new pedalboard
Post by: Antag on April 22, 2008, 10:06:49 PM
A Pedaltrain?  It's designed to hold 2 "banks" of pedals.  How wide is the current board?  IIRC Pedaltrains come in 18, 24 & 32 inch widths with a choice of soft or hard case...
Title: Help! I need a new pedalboard
Post by: Doctor X on April 22, 2008, 10:11:39 PM
I've got one of these:  http://www.spider-engineering.co.uk/music/typeproducts2.asp?id=3124-2672

(http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh277/ct64394/DSC01059.jpg)

I previously had a Diago which was good but I think you'll need the biggest one they offer if you're panning to get more stuff, so it'll be pricey.
Title: Help! I need a new pedalboard
Post by: Will on April 22, 2008, 10:18:24 PM
Cheap / customisable: a lump of plywood at homebase, paint it whatever colour, cable tie (or use Tom's bike chain method) pedals to the board, attach rubber feet

I think it may however be cheaper to just not use so many pedals :P
about a year ago I stopped using any FX, just overdrive, its the way forward :!:
Title: Help! I need a new pedalboard
Post by: Doctor X on April 22, 2008, 10:27:00 PM
Quote from: Will
about a year ago I stopped using any FX, just overdrive, its the way forward :!:

I agree completely.  I'm in the process of shedding a few pedals at the moment.  A weekend of plugging straight into the amp has made me realise how little I need these things.  

However, I think the whole 'exploration of effects' thing is a worthwile journey for any guitarist.  There are many interesting sounds to be found if you have the musical creativity to use effects in innovative ways.  Sadly I do not and just ended up doing poor Jonny Greenwood impressions instead!   :(
Title: Help! I need a new pedalboard
Post by: opprobrium_9 on April 22, 2008, 11:47:46 PM
Well you asked for a suggestion, so here it is.  I say that you sell a couple of those ODs and Distortions; YOU HAVE SOOOO MANY!  That will clear up some room nicely.

I dunno if they will get as big as you like but Furman makes GREAT products, and you get power backup to boot:

http://www.furmansound.com/product.php?div=01&id=SPB-8C

this might be something of the size you are after, i dunno.
Title: Help! I need a new pedalboard
Post by: hamfist on April 23, 2008, 07:49:49 AM
Haha, I knew you'd be wanting a bigger board at some point. I didn't realise it would be so soon though !

Seriously, if you don't want a monster pedalboard, I think Will's suggestion of pruning the pedals is probably the most logical. I certainly understand that floor space is at a real pemium at your place.
  As you know, my pedalboard is not small, but as I use it more and more I find myself using fewer and fewer of the pedals with any great frequency.  Maybe try and decide on the absolute "must have's", then put up a list of " like very much's" etc.
   I am amazed that you find you need 5 dirt pedals, considering that you play one of the best, and most versatile amps on the market.
  Maybe it's time to get serious and start trimming !!!
Title: Help! I need a new pedalboard
Post by: Catalyst77 on April 23, 2008, 09:44:15 AM
I had this problem; i just built my own, got a piece of plywood cut to size, put some wedges on it, got some velcro off Ebay - job done.  It prob cost me about £25.

 :idea:
Title: Help! I need a new pedalboard
Post by: prozacbear on April 23, 2008, 12:34:22 PM
Quote from: hamfist
Haha, I knew you'd be wanting a bigger board at some point. I didn't realise it would be so soon though !

Seriously, if you don't want a monster pedalboard, I think Will's suggestion of pruning the pedals is probably the most logical. I certainly understand that floor space is at a real pemium at your place.
  As you know, my pedalboard is not small, but as I use it more and more I find myself using fewer and fewer of the pedals with any great frequency.  Maybe try and decide on the absolute "must have's", then put up a list of " like very much's" etc.
   I am amazed that you find you need 5 dirt pedals, considering that you play one of the best, and most versatile amps on the market.
  Maybe it's time to get serious and start trimming !!!


Where’s the fun in that  :!:  :evil:  :o  :D
Title: Help! I need a new pedalboard
Post by: ToneMonkey on April 23, 2008, 12:52:04 PM
Mount them to a wall so you can give them a good kick to turn them on and off  :lol:

Actually, depending if the signals pass through the footswitch or if this is just a relay, I have thought about what would happen if you put the switch in a new box on the floor and ran a wire to the main box which could be mounted somewhere else (like on top of the amp so it's less of a pain in the arse adjusting the effects).

I'm sure there's electronics savy guys on here somewhere that could tell you if it's possible, but it certainly doesn't sound like too hard a job if it is.

EDIT: Nice teddy
Title: Help! I need a new pedalboard
Post by: blue on April 23, 2008, 01:54:51 PM
Quote from: ToneMonkey
Mount them to a wall so you can give them a good kick to turn them on and off  :lol:

Actually, depending if the signals pass through the footswitch or if this is just a relay, I have thought about what would happen if you put the switch in a new box on the floor and ran a wire to the main box which could be mounted somewhere else (like on top of the amp so it's less of a pain in the arse adjusting the effects).

I'm sure there's electronics savy guys on here somewhere that could tell you if it's possible, but it certainly doesn't sound like too hard a job if it is.

EDIT: Nice teddy


the Monkey FX Otter Shocker does just this, a true bypass loop box with as many loops as the customer wants sits with the effects boxes. it has relay switches in it, and they are switched by a remote pedalboard.

http://www.monkeyfx.co.uk/routers.html

it's near the bottom of the page.
Title: Help! I need a new pedalboard
Post by: ailean on April 23, 2008, 02:18:38 PM
Quote from: hamfist
I am amazed that you find you need 5 dirt pedals, considering that you play one of the best, and most versatile amps on the market.
  Maybe it's time to get serious and start trimming !!!


In Sue's defence each of the distortion pedals is quite different to the others. The fuzz pedals are completely different to each other. The Metal Core has a unique mid scouped sound that we can't replicate with the EQ's on the other gear.

The only real overlap is the blackstar with the amp and blue boy. But the Blueboy can't take the Warpigs, and the pedal board as a whole needs to be plugged into the clean channel on the amp.

Did any of you notice how quickly my Blackstar went from the Peavey amp to Sue's pedalboard?  :roll:
Title: Help! I need a new pedalboard
Post by: hamfist on April 23, 2008, 02:26:42 PM
Quote from: ailean

Did any of you notice how quickly my Blackstar went from the Peavey amp to Sue's pedalboard?  :roll:


Yes, I did wonder what it was doing on there. :roll:
Title: Help! I need a new pedalboard
Post by: Roobubba on April 23, 2008, 04:24:07 PM
I'm surprised there isn't a 2 second delay between playing something and hearing it out of the amp with that much distance the signal has to go!

:)
Title: Help! I need a new pedalboard
Post by: prozacbear on April 23, 2008, 05:00:15 PM
Quote from: ailean


Did any of you notice how quickly my Blackstar went from the Peavey amp to Sue's pedalboard?  :roll:


I've only borrowed it, you can have it back whenever you want  :D
Title: Help! I need a new pedalboard
Post by: opprobrium_9 on April 23, 2008, 05:13:13 PM
prozacbear, what kind of amp do you have?
Title: Help! I need a new pedalboard
Post by: hamfist on April 23, 2008, 05:26:54 PM
Quote from: opprobrium_9
prozacbear, what kind of amp do you have?


The lady hath a Rockerverb 50.
Title: Help! I need a new pedalboard
Post by: prozacbear on April 23, 2008, 09:52:57 PM
Quote from: hamfist
Quote from: opprobrium_9
prozacbear, what kind of amp do you have?


The lady hath a Rockerverb 50.


Yep what he just said.

Also this may be a daft question but I looked at this

http://www.spider-engineering.co.uk/music/typeproducts2.asp?id=3125-2672

The power supply costs about £70 on its own, or £50 with the board . Is there any advantage to having something like this rather than just plugging multiple normal 3 pin plug 9v adaptors into a normal power bar/ plug adaptor thing (the sort of thing you get from Woolworths for £1.99)? Apart from the obvious less wires thing. :?
Title: Help! I need a new pedalboard
Post by: noodleplugerine on April 23, 2008, 09:59:40 PM
Less wires, often more stable current, much much more practical to have one plug - really.
Title: Help! I need a new pedalboard
Post by: hamfist on April 23, 2008, 11:01:54 PM
Quote from: prozacbear

Also this may be a daft question but I looked at this

http://www.spider-engineering.co.uk/music/typeproducts2.asp?id=3125-2672

The power supply costs about £70 on its own, or £50 with the board . Is there any advantage to having something like this rather than just plugging multiple normal 3 pin plug 9v adaptors into a normal power bar/ plug adaptor thing (the sort of thing you get from Woolworths for £1.99)? Apart from the obvious less wires thing. :?


It will probably be be no better than using a couple of reasonable 9V adaptors, from Maplins etc. with a couple of daisy chain leads to spread the power around. Personally I would go to Maplins rather than Woolies, as the quality of the PSU's will be better. They are about a tenner each if I remember rightly. I run my whole pedalboard from two such Maplin adaptors, and it's REALLY quiet. I would see no need to change except for neatness. I have run up to 6 or 7 pedals off one PSU, no problem (as long as the PSU can provide the milliamps required for all the pedals).
  A very important point about Multi power supplies like the Gator G-Bus 8 is whether each output is actually isolated from each other. If they are electronically isolated, then it is theoretically the best scenario, and is effectively the same as giving each pedal it's own dedicated PSU. The Gator G-bus 8 does not claim to have isolated outputs, therefore one has to assume that it probably doesn't have them.  Multi isolated output PSU's are generally fairly pricy.

  Another point to mention is that some pedals (Line6 pedals in particular) seem to be much quieter with their own dedicated power supply (or their own isolated output from a multi supply) compared to sharing a daisy-chained supply with other pedals.
Title: Help! I need a new pedalboard
Post by: martinw on April 24, 2008, 08:57:09 AM
I've found standard transformer type power supplies can cause hum when diasy chained up to supply a group of pedals (doesn't always happen though.)

If you get one of these http://www.rapidonline.com/Electrical-Power/Power-Supplies/Desktop-PSUs/12W-25W-DC-Miniature-desktop-switch-mode-PSU/71064 part number 85-2942 you'll find they are the same as the one sold by some pedal board companies, and all you have to do is reverse the polarity, an easy job for someone who can solder.