Crooner
July 29th, 2010, 12:11 AM
We've all heard the warnings... "Careful, man, pedals are like crack... they can get outa control fast. Watch out."
I tried to keep this in mind as I set out to build a board for myself.
Here's the modest gear I started with:
9297
As I mentioned in another thread, I went with one of the Gator boards that came with a power supply screwed to the bottom of the board, as well as a case. Very nice construction, cool way for power cables to come up from below to get to the pedals.
I thought it had more than enough room.
I thought...
And so I began to get a feel for the layout:
9298
Then the first spree occurred and suddenly all that extra space was filling up fast, with other pedals waiting to be added:
9299
Further acquisitions took the situation from tight to messy to physicality impossible.
Serious action was necessary or the final board would look something like this:
9303
With budget still in mind, I found LyT boards. I also liked NYC Pedalboards, as they have a second tier, the board *is* the bottom of the case, and they seem solid. They also, however, bring one into the over $200 range quickly.
The LyT boards have a tier which is slanted - which I likey - and are separate from the case. Getting one with a bag came out to less than $100. I'll be able to migrate the power supply from the Gator board for time being. When I need something better, I'll go for what seems to be *the* "go to" brick, the Voodoo Pedal Power.
I did the whole laying out tape on the floor, trying to keep things as tight as I could while still leaving room for future insanity. After several attempts and a full roll of masking tape - not the special blue tape I use when replacing a bridge on a git, mind you - I took a cold hard look at the offerings in terms of size and just said, "Farg it!"
Here's what arrived today:
9301
There is plenty of room under the tiers to put power and route cabling. The board itself is very thin, and has some give to it, but is still solid and holds up to being stomped on. The bag that came with it is well padded and has good, room pockets, plus, a hard case which will essentially become part of the board's bottom can be had easily.
This brings us to the first draft of putting the chain in order. I haven’t committed things to Velcro yet, but that time is coming soon. :D
The next addition will be one of the many excellent wah-wah suggestions you've all given me.
http://idisk.me.com/crooner/Public/g-t/IMG_0199.jpg
Some things I learned that will help anyone embarking on the same journey:
Don't get a ton of short cables straight away. Wait until you have a good idea of what you'll be working with. Spend the extra bucks and get something like George L's DIY cables. They use thin cabling and have the smallest right angle plugs you'll ever find. You can cut to desired length and you won’t need to solder anything. I wish I had done this.
Choose a good board with plenty of room. Put tape on the floor and mark off spots for every box you'll want. Measure that and then get something a little bigger to account for cable routing, odd sized pedals, etc.
It took me two tries to get this.
I won't say to limit yourself to only three or four pedals. That would hypocritical and, frankly, unrealistic. Unless you are truly roots - guitar > cable > amp (possible Nocturne in there) - look deep into your soul, and honestly come to terms with the degree to which you will sink into addiction. What with a large collection of Jets that's still growing, with a couple of hollow body Juniors and a Martin (not to mention a Fender and a Hofner bass), I knew I was a serious danger to myself and society at large.
This has been a serious learning experience, and one I know that - like guitars and amps - will continue to evolve until, well... forever.
Finally, choose pedals that will always let anyone know they are hearing a Gretsch!
I tried to keep this in mind as I set out to build a board for myself.
Here's the modest gear I started with:
9297
As I mentioned in another thread, I went with one of the Gator boards that came with a power supply screwed to the bottom of the board, as well as a case. Very nice construction, cool way for power cables to come up from below to get to the pedals.
I thought it had more than enough room.
I thought...
And so I began to get a feel for the layout:
9298
Then the first spree occurred and suddenly all that extra space was filling up fast, with other pedals waiting to be added:
9299
Further acquisitions took the situation from tight to messy to physicality impossible.
Serious action was necessary or the final board would look something like this:
9303
With budget still in mind, I found LyT boards. I also liked NYC Pedalboards, as they have a second tier, the board *is* the bottom of the case, and they seem solid. They also, however, bring one into the over $200 range quickly.
The LyT boards have a tier which is slanted - which I likey - and are separate from the case. Getting one with a bag came out to less than $100. I'll be able to migrate the power supply from the Gator board for time being. When I need something better, I'll go for what seems to be *the* "go to" brick, the Voodoo Pedal Power.
I did the whole laying out tape on the floor, trying to keep things as tight as I could while still leaving room for future insanity. After several attempts and a full roll of masking tape - not the special blue tape I use when replacing a bridge on a git, mind you - I took a cold hard look at the offerings in terms of size and just said, "Farg it!"
Here's what arrived today:
9301
There is plenty of room under the tiers to put power and route cabling. The board itself is very thin, and has some give to it, but is still solid and holds up to being stomped on. The bag that came with it is well padded and has good, room pockets, plus, a hard case which will essentially become part of the board's bottom can be had easily.
This brings us to the first draft of putting the chain in order. I haven’t committed things to Velcro yet, but that time is coming soon. :D
The next addition will be one of the many excellent wah-wah suggestions you've all given me.
http://idisk.me.com/crooner/Public/g-t/IMG_0199.jpg
Some things I learned that will help anyone embarking on the same journey:
Don't get a ton of short cables straight away. Wait until you have a good idea of what you'll be working with. Spend the extra bucks and get something like George L's DIY cables. They use thin cabling and have the smallest right angle plugs you'll ever find. You can cut to desired length and you won’t need to solder anything. I wish I had done this.
Choose a good board with plenty of room. Put tape on the floor and mark off spots for every box you'll want. Measure that and then get something a little bigger to account for cable routing, odd sized pedals, etc.
It took me two tries to get this.
I won't say to limit yourself to only three or four pedals. That would hypocritical and, frankly, unrealistic. Unless you are truly roots - guitar > cable > amp (possible Nocturne in there) - look deep into your soul, and honestly come to terms with the degree to which you will sink into addiction. What with a large collection of Jets that's still growing, with a couple of hollow body Juniors and a Martin (not to mention a Fender and a Hofner bass), I knew I was a serious danger to myself and society at large.
This has been a serious learning experience, and one I know that - like guitars and amps - will continue to evolve until, well... forever.
Finally, choose pedals that will always let anyone know they are hearing a Gretsch!