New Pedalboard Build -- Update: Complete

[Tweaker]

Hey guys,

I am on a mission to create (hopefully) my last pedalboard...not in regards to the pedals on the board, but the board itself. I have a little side gig making cabinets and I have some extra birch plywood in the garage...some prefinished, some unfinished. I use CNC for cutting the cabinet panels, so as another little side gig I do custom CNC work. Somehow it took me forever to put the two together and design and make myself a legit pedalboard.

My plan is to construct it from wood, with or without crazy joinery. I'm not opposed to a well placed screw.

So, my hope here is to get as much insight from all of you as possible, in every aspect of the build, but largely in the design. I'd love to hear about anything you've really liked about your pedalboards as well as anything you've hated. For example, here is what I'm working with right now:

What I love about this design:

-The step-feature. I don't hit knobs with my feet nearly as often, which always drove me crazy on my last angled board.
-Easy cable routing. I can very easily hook everything up and move pedals around.
-Velcro. Some people aren't into velcro on their pedals...I dig it.

What I hate about this design:

-It's butt-freaking-ugly. Its a total hack job and I put maybe 20 minutes into the stupid thing.
-Way too dusty. I hate how dusty everything gets.
-Sheet metal. I've cut myself a number of times on the sheet metal. It's a stupid design but I had to use it for the velcro adhesive.
-Cable management. It's convenient but also contributes to the butt-ugliness.

So, the design aspects I think I need:

-The step feature.
-Easy cable routing, and CLEAN cable management.
-Velcro...without sheet metal. (Velcro adhesive will stick nicely to prefinished plywood, so definitely will use ply for that part)
-Attractive fit and finish. (Paint, stain, clearcoat, etc?)
-Some sort of dust prevention...probably a lid? (This would mean the pedals would be recessed a bit so a lid would sit flush)

What else do you guys recommend?

I am in the CAD drawing phase of the design, but haven't gotten far. I don't want to get too deep until I have a solid gameplan. As I make progress I will post pictures.

Thank you for any and all suggestions, I look forward to hearing what you all have to say!

 

[jaycoyoyo]

Think about how you want to mount your power supply. Aesthetically it's nice to have it under the deck of the board. Plan on enough room to utilize a nice isolated power supply.

Also many of the modern boards have dedicated / mounted input and output jacks. If you use a wet/dry rig, consider spots for multiple output jacks.

Hope this helps.

 

[Tweaker]

Very helpful. I hadn’t considered leaving space for an isolated power supply. I don’t have one but will likes upgrade to one eventually.

Regarding dedicated/mounted input and output jacks...I’m having trouble visualizing this. Can you give me some brands that do this so I can check it out?

 

[jaycoyoyo]

Very helpful. I hadn’t considered leaving space for an isolated power supply. I don’t have one but will likes upgrade to one eventually.

Regarding dedicated/mounted input and output jacks...I’m having trouble visualizing this. Can you give me some brands that do this so I can check it out?

Jacks on the side

Schmidt Array Taurus pedalboards

Pedalboards to fit Roland Boss ES8 switching systems

www.schmidtarray.com

SA450 pedalboards

Innovative custom and standard two level pedalboards for guitar effects pedals and accessories. Designed in England hand built in Germany.

www.schmidtarray.com

 

[Tweaker]

Ohhh ok I see. Instead of plugging my guitar directly into pedal #1, I plug it into the board itself. Likewise on the output.

I like it, very clean. Makes it feel finished and complete.

 

[Grenville]

Get rid if the sheet metal if you cut yourself on it and replace with wood. Velcro sticks to wood planks too.

On my own main pedalboard I installed a clip like one of these, so I could keep a small flashlight handy:

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A $2 car clock is useful too. Plus an old hair product container to keep picks, earbuds, etc.

Another thought: I keep my "almost always on" pedals at the back of the board and ones I need to turn on and off frequently at the front of the board. I have an "always on" buffer that's underneath the board.

The order you lay out your pedals on the board may not be the same as the actual signal path.
E.G.:

https://imgur.com/AalzVrH

 

[scooter500]

Well, if you have a cnc then what about if you made the pedal mounting surface to resemble a guitar neck? And the sides to resemble lion's paws? That'd be cool.

 

[Tweaker]

I dig the lions paws idea but I’m struggling to visualize the guitar neck mounting surface...I still need to model everything so maybe it’ll make more sense once I draw everything in CAD.

 

[Robert Parker]

I made mine from scrap mahogany and finished with poly. Works great for holding the velcro. I used a slanted/angled design. I don't have too many issues hitting other switches or knobs, but then I rarely hit pedals during songs when I have to be fast on the switch.

Anyway, finger joints look nice, and I built it tall enough to hold the power supply and cable runs underneath. As nice as it looks to have input/output jacks on the board itself, I don't think it's really necessary.

 

[Liquid State]

Lots of good suggestions. If you incorporate all that you will have a sweet board.

One thing to consider is a spot for volume or wah pedal. With current config you could mount a mini wah on the top step, but I imagine that would be awkward to use. A wah or volume usually get located on the right side of a board (due to signal chain). I think it you make the lower step longer than top step so that it sticks out past the top step on the right side, you could mount a wah on the bottom step and have room to work it with your foot.

 

[Tweaker]

Finally got around to designing something here. I've been making a lot of kids furniture lately, assembled without hardware. I've incorporated that into this design...no screws or glue necessary. Just a rubber mallet. Each piece has a tab or a slot to receive a tab, and everything taps into place. I haven't drawn slots for cable management yet, or power/inputs/outputs. I wanted to get a basic design first and then add that stuff later.

The top tier is 5.5" deep and the bottom is 11" deep. I decided against leaving space to include a power supply under the unit because I have a rack mount power filter that I use for my music gear. If I decide to use an isolated power supply dedicated for pedals later, I can mount it to the back of the unit. I will have holes and slots in the back for wiring. I believe the space between the tiers is around 2 3/8". I have 1.5" below the bottom tier, to make sure I have enough space to mount input/output jacks and power plugs.

I'll sit on this design for a little while and see if I start hating it. If not, I'll add wiring channels and machine it.

 

[SWeAT hOg]

Finally got around to designing something here. I've been making a lot of kids furniture lately, assembled without hardware. I've incorporated that into this design...no screws or glue necessary. Just a rubber mallet. Each piece has a tab or a slot to receive a tab, and everything taps into place. I haven't drawn slots for cable management yet, or power/inputs/outputs. I wanted to get a basic design first and then add that stuff later.

Make it with no space under the bottom tier.

 

[Tweaker]

Speedy reply! I edited my original post to explain the space below the bottom tier. I suppose I could run power between tiers through the back..?

 

[SWeAT hOg]

Speedy reply! I edited my original post to explain the space below the bottom tier. I suppose I could run power between tiers through the back..?

Yes, or make a few holes. My homemade board has the board on the floor at the front and about 3" at the back. Hard to see in this pic. I suppose it might not matter unless you need a front line for easy stomping while performing.

 

[Tweaker]

OK yeah I see what you're saying...so your board has a bit of an incline on it. I tried that on a previous board and to be honest I couldn't get used to it. I kept bumping knobs on the upper row of pedals with my foot, which is why I went to the tier'd design.

I want to keep all the inputs on the side of the unit so that it can sit flush against the wall. I'm not a gigging musician, all my playing is done at home these days. I was thinking behind the first row of pedals, between the two tiers, would be good storage space for extra pedals, but maybe I'll use that space to run my wiring for power/input/output. In fact, I think I'll still have storage space for pedals there even with wiring across that back wall. Time to adjust the design a little bit.

 

[Tweaker]

The latest iteration. I held back on a ton of wiring channels and holes because after thinking about it, I don't think I'll need more than what is pictured. The holes on the right side are for input, output ,and 9v DC. I don't use anything that needs 12v/18v/24v/whatever else is even an option these days. If I need to add another hole I can easily add it by hand.

 

[Chadd]

Looks nice. On the velcro thing, I've always put some staples into the velcro to hold it in place if/when the adhesive starts to give out. Then I use a paint pen to color the staples black.

 

[Tweaker]

That's a good tip...never thought of that. Another bonus of using prefinished plywood! Can't exactly staple into those aluminum boards

EDIT: Another iteration. This time just future proofing myself. I added slots to insert a piece down the road that would allow me to modify the design. I would remove the top tier, insert the piece that fits the slots (not designed yet), install a shorter top tier, and open up room to place a wah at the front of the chain. I will add pictures when I get those parts designed, but for now here is a picture of the slots so you can kind of picture what will go where:

 

[Tweaker]

Design with space for wah:

I think I am getting close. Likely will cut all the parts just to have them on hand for if/when my tastes change and I decided to get a wah/volume pedal.

 

[Tweaker]

Cut everything and assembled it this morning. I don't have velcro so that will be the last thing to do. It is just barely not long enough to fit everything I'm using, so I'll have to sacrifice a couple of pedals. No biggie. I also wish my wiring channels were wider, but it works. When everything calms down in the world and we can all work again I can buy more plywood and make a better one.

So much cleaner than my previous unit. My slots were cut just a hair too narrow so I really had to tap everything into place, which is great unless I ever want to disassemble it. Ah well. It is a significant improvement and can be checked off my to do list.

Just need to decide if I want white or black velcro..