How many pedals before a pedalboard?

mkandolf · #1 07-23-2008, 09:19 AM

Quick question: How many effects pedals did you have before you put them together on a pedalboad?

I've carted a couple pedals back and forth to gigs and even that seems like too much work. I'm ready to buy a small Johnson pedalboard or make my own. Am I lazy?

rakirksey · #2 07-23-2008, 09:22 AM

Well I can't say whether you're lazy or not, but if you feel like carting individual pedals and setting them up every time is sapping the life force out of you ... get a pedal board and save yourself.

fuNKmaster83 · #3 07-23-2008, 09:23 AM

i have 40+ and i still don't have a pedal board... but i have nice cases that i put all of my efx in!!! its all up to you...

i will get a pedal board when i am sure i am finished with the set up of my efx!!! i hope this will be some time soon

rhcp32291 · #4 07-23-2008, 09:24 AM

I got tired of carrying around a distortion and a wah, so after 2.

jucas · #5 07-23-2008, 09:30 AM

Too many. Should've done it way sooner.

tomvelsor · #6 07-23-2008, 09:31 AM

i never bring more than 1 to a gig, because i dont have a board. i own i think 15 right now.

Bassbasixx · #7 07-23-2008, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fuNKmaster83

i have 40+ and i still don't have a pedal board... but i have nice cases that i put all of my efx in!!! its all up to you...

i will get a pedal board when i am sure i am finished with the set up of my efx!!! i hope this will be some time soon

40 + I think you may be a effects junkie lol
I currently only have 3 but plan on adding a tuner,a octave and a power supply and maybe a wireless. Then I will get the board so I know what size and everything fits nice and tidy

pointbass · #8 07-23-2008, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkandolf

Quick question: How many effects pedals did you have before you put them together on a pedalboad?

The minute I had to kneel down more than once to connect the pedals .....

Now it's just set down the board, plug in and play ....

bigchiefbc · #9 07-23-2008, 09:43 AM

I had three pedals before I decided to build a pedalboard. I had a multi-fx and two boss singles.

kevteop · #10 07-23-2008, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fuNKmaster83

i will get a pedal board when i am sure i am finished with the set up of my efx!!!

You'll be too old to carry it.

nellie48 · #11 07-23-2008, 10:09 AM

Build one. You could go simple like a spraypainted piece of plywood with velcro. Or have fun getting creative. I made mine based off the PedalTrain design and it only cost me $15 bucks.

LarryO · #12 07-23-2008, 10:10 AM

If I were you I'd just build one anyway.......if you decide it was handy, continue to use it or buy one......I made mine for less than 20 dollars it works just fine and doesn't look stupid

bassman9 · #13 07-23-2008, 10:12 AM

I started using a board after 2 or 3 stompboxes, mainly due to not so much the practical side of the issue, but more the safer side. I saw a friend of mine have his stomp boxes and cables go flying after he tripped on them (not funny at the the time 'cause it was a live show

)... anyway I made my own board, 1/2 inch thick mahogany painted black. Actually its more of a box - my power supply and cables fit inside, and the top and front come off as one piece, so all i'm left with is the back, sides and base (no pun intended :P) so i can access the effects from the front - all lock together with locking clips into a "brief-case" style box. Handle on top and its good to go. Cost me about 25$ in parts (screws, locks, handles, power socket etc etc). Tough and sturdy too

oh and i velcro'd the stomp boxes to the base, so if i have to swap them or perform maintenance they're easy enough to take out but stick in place when needed. Took me about 3 days to plan and build. Definitely worth the effort though - one less thing to worry about on stage.

fuNKmaster83 · #14 07-23-2008, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevteop

You'll be too old to carry it.

i don't think so... or hope so...

i must carry my gear alone any way and every one else's!!! so i am use to carrying and in fact i love to set up stuff and put it apart again...

many drummers are amazed that i can put any rig up just as they want it(that is with all the correct cymbal and drum heights) but it takes me only 20% of the time it takes them... i have my 40+ efx line up put up and a drummer and then some in half an hour... many stage menegers didn't believe me but now most bands that i go round with don't need to be there on sound check... we just come 20 min before we are on and its go time!!!

it took a whole year before they where cool with the bands not going to sound checks... its stupid any way if you have a big festival and have like more than 5 bands all the settings won't matter when you are on cuz it will be messed with like a million times... and i love the thrill i get when things are under pressure...

any way i got way off topic...

havening a pedal board even if you have 3 pedals is practical... but if you are a hyper maniac that can lift very heavy objects and move fast around stage then don't get it!!!

even i will have to get a pedal board some day

Sparkdog · #15 07-23-2008, 11:25 AM

For me, by the time I had 3 pedals I was using regularly it took too long to plug in all the connectors and power transformers (I never run them on batteries) so a pedalboard saved me set up time.

But my advice to you is KEEP IT SMALL. There are 2 reasons for this.

1. A big ass board like a Furman SPB-8 takes up a lot of real estate on a stage. When I had one I had people tripping over it and cussing me out.

2. The bigger the board the more likely you are to feel the need to FILL IT UP. I'm not really much of an effects guy, but I ended up with about 12 pieces on the Furman, many of which I ended up selling because I never used them.

Now I use a small Core board that closes up like a suitcase and is exactly the same size as my gig case that holds all my cables and stuff.

It will only hold about 6 pedals max, so if it won't fit on the board, I don't buy it.

If you are as compulsive as I am, this will save you a small fortune!

The other thing you should know is that once you start building a pedalboard you will never actually be DONE with it. It will forever be a work in progress as you search for just the right pieces, move them around to find the best layout, and endlessly wire and rewire it to make it as neat and functional as possible.

Get ready to spend a lot of time on your knees

wazzel · #16 07-23-2008, 12:38 PM

Three pedals were enough for me to justify a board.

coreyfyfe · #17 07-23-2008, 01:03 PM

When I added my third I got a board, but it started simple with a small metal briefcase type thing which I got on ebay for $20 and added a power supply.

Tnavis · #18 07-23-2008, 01:17 PM

I carried around three or four pedals in a bag for years, and then about four years ago, finally built a small plank covered in felt with some non-slip padding on the back of it to hold them. They still shifted too much, so I bought one of the metal Core pedalboard cases. That still didn't feel quite right, so I sold that and picked up a Pedaltrain PT-2 and couldn't be happier. Now I can switch around my pedals depending on the gig, and the big padded case has enough space in it for a stand, a music stand, extra cables, and even music. I personally like the stability that a pedalboard adds to my setup. I even wound up making a smaller board out of scrap plywood for the times I just need my volume wah and tuner.

mkandolf · #19 07-24-2008, 09:18 AM

Thanks, gang! I am going to buy one of those Johnson powered pedalboards for 6 or 8 pedals, and just put on pedals I regularly use. If I need a different setup it won't be hard to swap one or more out.

One advantage to the Johnson is that it looks pretty similar to the softcase I carry back and forth to work. Easy to sneak pedls home with!

ehque · #20 07-24-2008, 12:47 PM

3 pedals and i got a board. 2 could fit into my bass bag, but the third one would not, and the cabling and power supply got irritating.