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Board Organizing; not Pedal order...

dharmashawn

dharmashawn

Owner, Handlebar Moustache
In Memoriam
Oct 20, 2010
1,764
403
Connecticut
#1
Hello all. I am working on getting my board looking a little nicer know that I have most of the pedals I desire. This stuff get out of hand quickly!!!

Question:
When organizing yr board what dictates the pedal arrangement? I realize that putting them in order by the chain makes a lot of sense, but so does putting frequently used pedals in the front row.

Whatcha got for TB??
 
#2
dharmashawn said:
Hello all. I am working on getting my board looking a little nicer know that I have most of the pedals I desire. This stuff get out of hand quickly!!!

Question:
When organizing yr board what dictates the pedal arrangement? I realize that putting them in order by the chain makes a lot of sense, but so does putting frequently used pedals in the front row.

Whatcha got for TB??
Click to expand...

Ignoring signal chain for a second, I tend to put the pedals I need to access DURING any given song up front, so I don't have to do the one foot balancing act while playing. If a pedal is rarely used, or only engaged / disengaged between songs, then I move it to the back.

That's the beauty of using custom-cut cables like George Ls: you can put the pedals in any order you choose, then route the signal chain the way it needs to go.
 
#5
Other considerations are:

How big are your feet?
How much space do you need between pedals?
What types of switches do your pedals have (big Boss type switches or little 3PDT type)?
What type of board do you have?
What type of case do you have for your board?
What type of power supply do you have, and is it on top of the board?
Do you need to turn on/off any pedals together, and can you do that with one foot if they are next to each other?


...and probably a ton more I haven't thought of......

-JV
 
#6
Ya know. I've always been a fan of putting my pedals in signal chain order (for no good reason really) until recently. I have a couple of odd shaped boxes that are blocking access to the rear pedals. Looks like I'm gonna be trying a mix of most used/normal sized pedals in front.
 
#7
I put the most frequently used/the pedals that I may need to reach quickly in the front row, regardless of signal path. I also place the first and last pedal in the chain so that the in/out leads don't get in the way, and my MWBD has to be positioned so that I can easily plug/unplug the expression pedal that I carry next to the board.

The most important concern, however, is perhaps to avoid accidentally stepping on the wrong switch or kicking into the wrong knob. Especially since moving to a smaller board, I've noticed the importance of arranging my pedals after this principle. When I was still using my EHX Cathedral, for instance, I had to take extra care not to place any switches in the vicinity of that over-sensitive presets knob (barely a touch to suddenly go from a giant hall to small bathroom - not cool during gigs :P).
 
#10
I've gotten away from two row boards, but what I've done in the past is start on the top row with some of the always on types of effects or a tuner if I run it in the front of the signal chain. Then loop back to the bottom row with the pedals that are more frequently used and the loop back up to the top row for the last pedals like my BDDI and a Decimator.
 

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