Quick Pedalboard Mod

[Spectrum]

This took me about a half hour to do and I thought I'd snap some pics and show it off, as stupid/simple as it is.

I bought an El Cheapo pedalboard w/ gig bag from MF on sale a few months ago, and as usual, you get what you pay for. I've never really been happy with it, the main reason being I hate the idea of sticking velcro on my pedals, especially if it covers the information sticker on the bottom. More importantly, it doesn't work very well. The velcro tape can come unglued and the pedals wind up migrating around the board. So I put it on the shelf for a while, and finally I decided to do something with it.

So I chose to use wire to secure the stomp boxes instead of velcro. I measured it out, drilled the holes 3/16", and installed lengths of insulated wire I had laying around. The insulation keeps the wire from scratching up the boxes, gives it a little more grip, and looks nice and clean.









The boxes aren't super tight, but they stay put and I tested it by picking the board up and shaking it vertically to make sure they all stayed in place.

Another thing about this board: it has room for eight pedals but the powerstrip on it only has 6 jacks! Fortunately I only have 5 pedals right now and really only use 3 of them, but, ya know?

Also the crappy power supply that came with it only supplies 500mA, and gets very warm when I start running more than 1 or 2 pedals, so I replaced it with a Radio Shack unit that puts out 1500mA, 50% more than even the OneSpot. Problem solved.

Next time I'm just gonna build my own board...

[mmbongo]

Just a couple of observations...

..velcro works fine on non-el cheapo boards. It might not work well on yours because the board itself is flimsy. I just about need a crowbar to get the pedals off my PedalTrain board!

...A OneSpot puts out 1700ma, so a little more than the one you have.

...If you have a power adapter, why are you worried about only having 6 outlets? You only need one.

[insomniac2295]

Originally Posted by mmbongo

Just a couple of observations...

..velcro works fine on non-el cheapo boards. It might not work well on yours because the board itself is flimsy. I just about need a crowbar to get the pedals off my PedalTrain board!

...A OneSpot puts out 1700ma, so a little more than the one you have.

...If you have a power adapter, why are you worried about only having 6 outlets? You only need one.

+1, +1, and +1

My pedals are damn near impossible to remove from my pedaltrain. All I use is regular old Velcro. It helps to remove any and all rubber from the bottom of the pedals. Not everyone likes that idea, therefore Velcro really isn't for everyone. Especially if you're worried about the information stickers. IMHO, who even needs those? All the pedal information is on the Internet anyways.

[icecycle66]

I like it.
I also hate velcro.

[mmbongo]

Velcro is good for covering up those 'Made In China' stickers on Digitechs

[Spectrum]

Originally Posted by mmbongo

...If you have a power adapter, why are you worried about only having 6 outlets? You only need one.

No, I think you misunderstood, you need one for every pedal. The power adaptor feeds the built-in power strip on the board, and that has six 1/8" jacks, each of which feeds a pedal. If you look at the board you can see the power strip at the top edge.

[mmbongo]

Originally Posted by Spectrum

No, I think you misunderstood, you need one for every pedal. The power adaptor feeds the built-in power strip on the board, and that has six 1/8" jacks, each of which feeds a pedal. If you look at the board you can see the power strip at the top edge.

Why not just get a One Spot? It can power around 20 pedals and only takes 1 outlet.

[Spectrum]

Originally Posted by mmbongo

Why not just get a One Spot? It can power around 20 pedals and only takes 1 outlet.

Again, I am using one adaptor, plugged into the board. The pedals are plugged into the board, which has six outputs.

I have a daisy chain cable if I need more than six, but it's neater to use the strip built into the board.

Look at the last photo, you see a red LED on corner of the board; that indicates that the board is pwered up, along with every effect plugged into it. On top of the Peavey amp is a powerstrip with the AC/DC converter plugged in; that converter is a Radio Shack unit but could be a OneSpot or whatever brand you use.

[coyoteboy]

I"m contemplating using zip ties in a similar fashion to the insulated wire in the OP. Course my board will be steel perf with bent down edges.

[HolmeBass]

Originally Posted by Spectrum

Again, I am using one adaptor, plugged into the board. The pedals are plugged into the board, which has six outputs.

I have a daisy chain cable if I need more than six, but it's neater to use the strip built into the board.

Look at the last photo, you see a red LED on corner of the board; that indicates that the board is pwered up, along with every effect plugged into it. On top of the Peavey amp is a powerstrip with the AC/DC converter plugged in; that converter is a Radio Shack unit but could be a OneSpot or whatever brand you use.

You can just daisy chain off one of the outlets on your pedal board, which wouldn't require using a One-Spot and would allow you to power more than 6 pedals.

[Spectrum]

Update.

Since pedals are like coat hangars and multiply when you're not looking, I need both rows.

And I noticed that hitting the switches on the back row is a real pain.

So I decided to get some scrap lumber and build an upper deck. It's held onto the board with zip ties so it's easily removed, and I drilled holes for the cable tie downs, and added some stick-on felt after a coat of flat black paint. And I left space underneath the upper deck to stash the cables and keep the rat's nest a little more under control. Works great.


This is what happens when an bored engineer bassist has time to kill on a Saturday afternoon...