My pedalboard build project

[GuitarIv]

Thanks Gwem!

Haha, I'm not fond of signature gear either. Will do some shoot outs before I decide which one to order, the CAE or the 535 (or something) Q which seems good as well without screaming fanboy.

So, the courier pulled over today, saw his car, he ringed the wrong doorbell (my parents apartment) left a notification and drove off. Grrrr. I'm gonna go ask at the storage shop if they received the package already or if the knucklehead is still doing his rounds around the city. If DHL, UPS and other big delivery corporations would pay their drivers some decent wages instead of treating them like slaves and only be on the lookout for profit, maybe the workers would actually give a damn about their job. Not the first time something like this has happened.

Anyway, fingers crossed I get the package today so I can get to work and share the build, otherwise I'll have it tomorrow and post pics on sunday since I'm working the weekend.

[Dave Sloven]

On the difference between the wahs, look at it this way.

The 535Q is a good pedal.

The DB-01 Crybaby From Hell is a step up from the 535Q, but has a cheesy paintjob.  To be honest I don't use the extra knob.  Not sure of the 535Q has the on indicator light.  That is useful.

The MC404 CAE wah is a step up from the DB-01 in terms of features, and has a lovely look.  I believe though that the features accessible via outside knobs on the 535Q and DB-01 are internal trim pots, which might be a pain.

[GuitarIv]

The 404 sounds like a great upgrade to the standard wah. I will however get into this matter again when I have the cash, cause I've blown everything on the pedalboard which is finally DONE!!! 

I was lucky enough to get the package yesterday, granted I had to walk to the pick-up store twice but it was worth it, cause I spent the rest of the evening starting and finishing the build and it's such a gratfiying feeling having everything up and working :)


So the next few posts are gonna be picture heavy with comments, thoughts and findings. Enjoy!


First of all the size of the package. I ordered 6 meters of cable and 22 right angle plugs (needed 32 in total but was lucky enough to find ten of them for a lower price on my local auction site). I was somewhat sceptic when I carried the little box home, how the hell would this fit so much cable?

Opening it up answered my question: the George L cable is as thin as everybody on the internet tells ya. I made a shot comparing it to a pen. Unbelievable.

I was suspicious about the lenght since it looked so small, so I unrolled the cable on the floor and measured. Yup. 6 meters. Looks like less on my kitchen table, no?

[GuitarIv]

So next up were preparations. A clean kitchen table so I have space and a surface to work on, a wet rag to whipe all surfaces clean removing dust from the pedals and the board so I have no issues with the velcro and I drew up my signal path so I have less thinking to do if I get stuck. Good planning and preparation is half the job I tell ya!

[GuitarIv]

So time to get started. First of all we put all the pedals in front of the board and do some thinking on proper placement. I made sure to leave enough space for all the patch cables to go underneath, all the power supply cabling to reach the pedals and put all the stompboxes I use often in front. Leaving out space for the FX loop cables coming out of loop 5 was important as well. Once I was set on the placement I took a picture and made a to do list.

In the last picture you can see my NS-2 and my TU-3 with the serial codes, explanation follows.

[GuitarIv]

So next up we cover the serial number stickers with electrical tape. Why? Because that stuff does stick, but not violently like the velcro strip, it's easy to remove and if you decide to sell a pedal and take off the velcro, that way you will rip off the electrical tape and not the serial number. :)

Having some Tool blasting in the background I treated myself to my first beer. Who needs food in a fridge when you can store good Czech lager in it? Hahaha

Next up you see my progress with the mounting of the pedals. I read online that velcro isn't as tough as 3M Dual Lock, but for now it will serve it's purpose. Depending on how much I'll gig in the future I'll probably upgrade, but turning the board around didn't send any of the pedals flying so I guess it's all cool.

[GuitarIv]

Time to make my first patchcable ever, time to screw up my first patch cable ever! I guessed the length of the first cable and it turned out to be too short. Oh well. At least testing it with a multimeter showed no interaction between ground and tip, so I could have used it in another place, unfortunately it was too short to reach any other pedals.

So leason learned, it's better to make the cable too long and still be able to trim it down rather than having to throw it away because of insufficient length. I redid the whole process, tested with a multimeter and was good to connect my first pedal.

I attached a picture of the first cable, I don't know how well you can see it but basically by screwing in the top of the plug you cut through the insulation and it connects to the ground. Very clever and well thought out system, easy to do as well although I will mention that pliers and some elbow grease are required in order to make a solid and sturdy connection. My fingers still hurt a bit, but in the end that's no wonder after making 16 cables haha.

Last picture you see my progress.

[GuitarIv]

So, time to open another beer and have a fag before I continue. This stuff is more tiring than I would have thought.

After gathering some strength I finally had all the connections down. If you take a look at the board you will notice how little space the plugs take up, routing all the cables underneath the pedaltrain makes them invisible leaving you with a clean look. Well played George L!

So time for a quick test. I connected all the "fussy" pedals like the Looper, the Delay, the Reverb and the Fuzz to dedicated outlets and my only 18v pedal, the MXR 10 Band EQ to the corresponding out. Daisy chained all the others with a somewhat worried feeling.

Connected the main power to the Fuel Tank and booom! Everything is working perfectly, zero noise and no pedal showing signs of missing any power. T-Rex, I'm impressed.


I'm considering on upgrading from the Chameleon model to the Goliath cause I'd gain another dedicated 9v out that way, but for now the power supply seems to be working perfectly without any trouble. I'd like to thank forum member Dave Sloven at this point, his posts were the ones that made me go for the T-Rex Chameleon :)

p.s.: activating the buffer switch on the Octaswitch made the Fuzz sound a lot better. Just some food for thought

[GuitarIv]

So, time for the last post!

I started working on this around half past ten (beeing a barkeeper and student my energy levels are way higher in the evening/night). I was done by four. That might seem long, but this being my first pedalboard build ever and a quite large one for that matter I took as much time as I felt I needed and did every step very carefully.

So I obviously couldn't just go ahead and crank the amp, I connected everything, used the 1 Watt setting on the Ironheart, left it at the clean channel and toggled through all the pedals to make sure I have no faulty connections. Out of the 16 cables I did and tested with the multimeter I had 2 where the tip and the ground made a connection, all I had to do was to snip off the cable up to the point where the insulation was cut, redo the jack connection and the problem was gone. This won't be the last time I order George Ls, although only time can tell how well the cabling handles abuse.

I am happy now. I have my pedalboard done. All that's left to do is to use cable fastener and take care of the mess underneath the board, but that's no big deal.

I will most likely upgrade to better pedals as time progresses, but for now I'm playing the shiteee out of it. I hope you enjoyed the thread, feel free to ask questions and have a good time! 

Rock on and cheers!

p.s.: I used up all (!!!) six meters of cable

[Dave Sloven]

You're not mounting the Chameleon underneath?  I bought a 'universal mounting kit' from Pedaltrain and it goes under very nicely.  Saves a lot of room on top on the board.

http://www.pedaltrain.com/brackets/

[GuitarIv]

Hey Dave, no as I don't require more space right now, will do that though once I upgrade to the Goliath. Thanks for the link!

Cheers