First Pedalboard--Ideas for the Board

[DRay521]

Hey everybody. I know there are a lot of threads about powered vs. non-powered boards, and so on, so I thought I'd make this easy for everyone. I'm ordering the pedals listed below and need some input as to what board to get. I've been looking at a few powered boards (Pedal Pad, Furman, etc) and some non-powered (Pedaltrain), or I could have one built. If you recommend a non-powered, please also recommend a good power supply like the Voodoo Labs or something equal. Thanks a lot.


I'm ordering the following:

Ibanez AD9 Analog Delay
Ernie Ball 25k Active VP Jr.
Micro QTron
EBS BassIQ
EBS Octabass
and eventually a Moog BassMurf, but that'll be the last thing to go on.

[fishtx]

I use a pedal pad, but not the power supply that came with it. For power I use the Voodoo labs Pedal Power 2 plus. They are kind of pricey, but provide Isolated power...and a sag option if you like the drained battery thing on some pedals. I have a guitar player buddy that uses the sag function for something...a tube screamer maybe...can't remember...but I don't use it...

[assboglin]

Everything but the BassMurf could fit on a Pedaltrain Jr. with a power supply (I use a DC brick) velcroed on the front of the board in front of the volume pedal. The BassMurf is pretty big so if you plan on having it, you'll definitely need something bigger than a Pedaltrain Jr. I have a larger pedaltrain as well as a Jr, and sometimes I'll put a larger separate pedal on the floor off to the side of the Jr. because the Jr. is so clean and concise; I prefer it.

[bassgod0dmw]

I use Pedaltrain boards and Voodoo Lab Pedal Power II+ power supplies. They work great. The pedaltrain is such a sturdy board with great routing capabilities, and the PPII+ is great as well.

[dancehallclasher]

I don't see why you would get a Pedaltrain Jr when you can get an NYC Pedalboards Gigman -- more space, with a riser, and with a more convenient design IMO -- for a hundred bucks less. If anyone wants to explain it, I'd like to hear it myself, because I'm thinking about buying one and it seems to be a very easy choice.

edit: that's $100 less than the Pedaltrain w/ hardcase, btw

[98dvl]

Originally Posted by dancehallclasher

I don't see why you would get a Pedaltrain Jr when you can get an NYC Pedalboards Gigman -- more space, with a riser, and with a more convenient design IMO -- for a hundred bucks less. If anyone wants to explain it, I'd like to hear it myself, because I'm thinking about buying one and it seems to be a very easy choice.

edit: that's $100 less than the Pedaltrain w/ hardcase, btw

Got any pictures of the Gigman with cables routed to the pedals?

Can't seem to find any on the site... Everything looks nice, but you really have to compare how things look with the cables (power and patch) routed. That's the advantage of the Pedaltrain, is that everything can be routed underneath the main board surface for a clean look.

[dancehallclasher]

Originally Posted by 98dvl

Got any pictures of the Gigman with cables routed to the pedals?

Can't seem to find any on the site... Everything looks nice, but you really have to compare how things look with the cables (power and patch) routed. That's the advantage of the Pedaltrain, is that everything can be routed underneath the main board surface for a clean look.

There are a bunch in the customer photo gallery on the site (WARNING: MAY INDUCE SERIOUS GAS)

I guess you have a point there, but assuming you have all your pedals aligned in order of the signal chain and use short patch cables, it shouldn't be very messy. If you have a complicated looping setup, that'd be another thing...

[DRay521]

ok so everyone seems to be going with the non-powered route. one thing i worry about with a power supply like the voodoo labs or the dunlop brick is whether or not the outlets will be compatible with the pedals, specifically ebs who i think requires their own special wallwart power. that being said, i need some more thoughts on voodoo labs pedal power vs. dunlop dc brick vs. other pedalboard supply units.
also, what do you think about having my woodworking friend build me a board with the rails like the pedaltrain, so i could still keep things clean? thanks again for all the help fellow tb'ers.

[johans]

if your pedals aren't too much variants .. I would go 1 Spot simply for easier and nicer small settings .. unless you have pedals with 9V, 12V and 15V somewhere .. then you need VL 2 plus indeed..

if you have some 18V .. DC brick may or may not handle it ..

other than that T-Rex Fuel Tank may seems to be in the league too

[syciprider]

Your pedals are by and large very easily powered by a $25.00 Visual One Spot or GodLyke. Use the money you saved to get an upscale delay like the new Memory Man or env filter like the Maxon.

If you are handy with tools and have about an hour and $30.00 you can build a wooden board with slats for routing like a Pedaltrain and you can build it to your specifications.

[DRay521]

well from all the advice on here, which i appreciate by the way, i think i'm going to go with a dunlop dc brick, which will power all the pedals i'm getting.
now on the board, i still need a little help. I could have one built with no problem, with the slats as suggested, or get the pedaltrain jr. however, with either of these options, i won't have a hard case for them. so i'm considering the nyc six shot. thoughts?

[tycobb73]

Originally Posted by syciprider

Your pedals are by and large very easily powered by a $25.00 Visual One Spot or GodLyke. Use the money you saved to get an upscale delay like the new Memory Man or env filter like the Maxon.

If you are handy with tools and have about an hour and $30.00 you can build a wooden board with slats for routing like a Pedaltrain and you can build it to your specifications.

It will be about $60 as the velcro needed will cost you $30 by itself. I actually tried this route as I could get the velcro from my dad's work for free, but then I didn't have a bag with a shoulder strap. Did it for 2 weeks before I bought a Pedaltrain 2. If my unibass would fall off and hit the floor as I was carrying my board and broke, I wouldn't be happy. Plus, the shoulder strap frees up your hand to carry something else. Also, because of a handicap I'm not too good with balance and always have to hang onto a railing when going down stairs.

[assboglin]

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...ase?sku=159514

It's backordered right now, but the Jr. is available with a flight case. It seems like a lot of money to spend when you could build a board yourself, but Pedaltrain makes top quality boards, and in my book, the price tag is worth it.

Also, what order are you planning on running your effects in? I'm just trying to picture in my mind how you're going to want to fit these on the board.

[dancehallclasher]

Originally Posted by assboglin

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...ase?sku=159514

It's backordered right now, but the Jr. is available with a flight case. It seems like a lot of money to spend when you could build a board yourself, but Pedaltrain makes top quality boards, and in my book, the price tag is worth it.

whoa, I must have been looking at the MSRP before. The actual price is much better.

[DRay521]

Originally Posted by assboglin

Also, what order are you planning on running your effects in? I'm just trying to picture in my mind how you're going to want to fit these on the board.

well i'm open to some experienced opinions on this, but for now i'm thinking

bass-->bassiq-->micro qtron-->octabass-->ad9-->vp jr.-->amp

when i get the bassmurf, i'll probably run it before the volume pedal

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by DRay521

well i'm open to some experienced opinions on this, but for now i'm thinking

bass-->bassiq-->micro qtron-->octabass-->ad9-->vp jr.-->amp

when i get the bassmurf, i'll probably run it before the volume pedal

I'd put the Octabass first, but other than that it looks fine.

And I know that the Dunlop Brick looks nicer, but otherwise I'm not sure why people would prefer that over something like the 1-Spot or Godlyke. IIRC the Brick is a glorified daisy chain itself.

[JanusZarate]

Originally Posted by DRay521

ok so everyone seems to be going with the non-powered route. one thing i worry about with a power supply like the voodoo labs or the dunlop brick is whether or not the outlets will be compatible with the pedals, specifically ebs who i think requires their own special wallwart power.

Not true - most EBS pedals work fine with a Boss-style power supply. I think the only exception is the EBS ValveDrive.

In additon... the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2+ will power ANYTHING between 9VDC and 24VDC that doesn't require a very high current draw (like the Line 6 modeler pedals, for example, which require 1000mA supply). If it doesn't come with all the cables you need, they sell custom ones, as do many of their dealers.

I recently ordered and received special cables from them to power two unusual pedals of mine - an MXR Blowtorch and EHX Bass Micro Syntheziser.

Now, regarding the DC Brick... I recently replaced that with the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2+. The DC Brick powers EBS pedals and most 9VDC and 18VDC pedals perfectly well - it just couldn't power my Bass Micro Synthesizer. And believe me, I tried... I started a thread about it, too, if you're interested in the results.

Looking at what you plan to buy... the DC Brick will work on everything except the Bass MuRF. The MuRF has a positive-tip jack... normally, it'd be fine with the right custom cable or adapter tip, but if I'm not mistaken, Moog pedals require isolated power supplies... so only a wall wart or a Voodoo Lab PP2+ will work.

Originally Posted by DRay521

also, what do you think about having my woodworking friend build me a board with the rails like the pedaltrain, so i could still keep things clean? thanks again for all the help fellow tb'ers.

Sounds like a good idea to me. One of our TBers did the same thing recently and started a thread about it.

Pedaltrain isn't just popular because of the rail design - it's also made of lightweight metal (aluminum frame, I believe); it's very durable and very light, with room to mount stuff underneath the rails if needed. Wood would be much heavier. That's why I went with a Pedaltrain Jr. - there isn't a comparable board on the market like it for the price.

[JanusZarate]

Originally Posted by TheBigO

And I know that the Dunlop Brick looks nicer, but otherwise I'm not sure why people would prefer that over something like the 1-Spot or Godlyke. IIRC the Brick is a glorified daisy chain itself.

The DC Brick's protection circuit seems to work very well, IME, and for people powering 18VDC pedals, it's an effective solution. Plus, it's compact and easily mountable underneath a Pedaltrain for extra space on the board.

I've never had the Brick die on me, but I have had a 1 Spot fail on me before, which I had to return to the store for an exchange.

But yeah, you do have one important point - the outlets are not isolated. Isolated outputs are the cream of the crop, no doubt!

The Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2+, BBE Supacharger, and a few expensive boutique power supplies are the ones with isolated outputs.

[DRay521]

Originally Posted by MysticBoo

Looking at what you plan to buy... the DC Brick will work on everything except the Bass MuRF. The MuRF has a positive-tip jack... normally, it'd be fine with the right custom cable or adapter tip, but if I'm not mistaken, Moog pedals require isolated power supplies... so only a wall wart or a Voodoo Lab PP2+ will work.

So if I'm going to hold off on the murf for a while, you think the dc is a good choice?

Originally Posted by MysticBoo

The DC Brick's protection circuit seems to work very well, IME, and for people powering 18VDC pedals, it's an effective solution. Plus, it's compact and easily mountable underneath a Pedaltrain for extra space on the board.

How would you mount it underneath the rails?

[JanusZarate]

Originally Posted by DRay521

So if I'm going to hold off on the murf for a while, you think the dc is a good choice?

Hmm... good question. That's up to you and your circumstances.

If you're only going to stick to 9V pedals until you get the MuRF, you should probably just save your cash and get a 1 Spot instead!

Originally Posted by DRay521

How would you mount it underneath the rails?

I'm glad you asked

The Pedaltrain's rails aren't perfect rectangles. From above, they seem like it, but underneath, they're "L" shaped rails.

Here's what I mean. I made the frame transparent so you could see what's going on with the rails:



All you need is really good velcro.

BTW... it's not really that high on the back. It's a bit shorter. I just made that image in a rush...

There isn't enough room to mount a Voodoo Lab PP2+... it's too tall and too wide.