To board or not to board...

[Din Of Win]

Just a quick question...

For those of you that only use 3 or so pedals for live use, do you have a small board/mount for them?

I feel bad bringing my entire pedal board to shows in one of my bands where i'm only using 2 or 3 pedals and was wondering if it was worth it to buld a lil board or just have them on the ground.

Any small-board DIY examples would be sweet! My main board was an Ikea Gorm thing that has worked marvelously so far.

[scotch]

If I'm only using one or two pedals (say a tuner and preamp), I usually just set them on the floor. If it's 3 or more, I have a few pieces of velcro-covered luann plywood (about 1/4" thick) that I'll use. Most of the time, with the artists I work for, I bring my whole full-size board. I never feel the need to use all of the pedals on it, but it's there when called for.

For me, it's about speed/ease of setup/teardown. Plus, I almost never rely on battery power live- so a simple pedalboard helps to make using a 1-spot or other ac adapter supply easier.

"Mini" boards (threw a tuner on there for size reference):



What I usually use (minus the chorus pedal):

[Jimbob Jones]

My old Board:





I'm currently building the updated version...much bigger.

[Din Of Win]

Originally Posted by Jimbob Jones

I REALLY like that. Did you build it or buy it?

[JimmyM]

i absolutely use a small board for 3 pedals. the less i have to plug in at the gig the sooner i can go eat the complimentary sandwiches and donuts before soundcheck.

[jmattbassplaya]

I'd make a small board. I actually started a thread about a year ago talking about how to make your own board and there was some good stuff that came up between conversations. I'll see if I can find it.

[kaputsport]

I always take my full board every gig. Threason is the board was designed to provide sounds I use. If I choose to use them, they are there. My bass sounds different through my board (I like it that way) and want a predictable tone to work from.

Plus, I can tap into any effect if needed. You never know when the moment might strike you to jump into something.

If you only have 3 to 4 pedals anyway, you should take them. I'd imagine chorus, envelope, octave and tuner are standards. Why not take them?

[bassbrad]

I have a big board, a medium board and a couple of small boards. I generally board stuff if only to make set up easier, faster and my stuff does not move around.

[Din Of Win]

Originally Posted by kaputsport

I always take my full board every gig. Threason is the board was designed to provide sounds I use. If I choose to use them, they are there. My bass sounds different through my board (I like it that way) and want a predictable tone to work from.

Plus, I can tap into any effect if needed. You never know when the moment might strike you to jump into something.

If you only have 3 to 4 pedals anyway, you should take them. I'd imagine chorus, envelope, octave and tuner are standards. Why not take them?

This is sound advice. But, i have different sounds depending on the band. I'd never want my sound in the pedal-using band to be like the sound in my 3 pedal band.

My full board is chock full of modulation and my weirder effects... the 3 i'd be using are Fuzz, OD and a tuner... possibly a chorus, but probably not. No reason for all my delays/loops/flange/phase/envalope etc.



@JimmyM:
Damn... that makes so much sense. Small board is a-go-go. Need my donuts!!

[varunkapahi]

i have been carrying tuner+ vt+power for too long often i think about getting or making a tiny board but am lazy

[Jimbob Jones]

Originally Posted by Din Of Win

I REALLY like that. Did you build it or buy it?

I built it.

Pretty simple, just 24mm ply for the board, 12mm for the lid.

I'll post in more detail if you're interested.

[Din Of Win]

Originally Posted by Jimbob Jones

I built it.

Pretty simple, just 24mm ply for the board, 12mm for the lid.

I'll post in more detail if you're interested.

I really am, if you wouldn't mind. (or a link if you've posted it before)

Portability is my biggest issue with my current board (a big honking Ikea Gorm board.

[Jimbob Jones]

Yeah sure! I still have the board around somewhere; I'm never gonna use it again, so I'll strip it down and take some pics and do a reverse build thread!

[Din Of Win]

Awesome!! Thanks Jimbob!