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Calling All Pedalboard Gurus!!

LuvMusic

LuvMusic

Aug 18, 2007
1,457
25
Oak Park, IL
#1
Over time I have built a small collection of effects boxes. I use them all at various times and it has become painful and messy to carry them around, set-up what I want, reconfigure when needed, etc.

So I have designed a pedalboard with the plan of using the newly released Pedaltrain Mini.

http://www.pedaltrain.com/ContentPage.aspx?WebPageId=21155&GroupId=4264

The goals are to build a board that is small, easy to transport and allows me to bypass the effects signal path when desiring a clean signal.

I'm really new at this (though it does appeal to my geeky side :D ) and would like feedback, suggestions, etc.

The attached diagram represents the plan and it is pretty much to scale.

Let me know what you think about design, pedal order, etc.

Thanks for looking and (hopefully) your guidance!
 

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#3
Thanks for the suggestion, I'll put that on the "try it out before mounting" list.

This is the type of info I'm looking for.

I was laying out the pedals tonight to check spacing before buying the Boss line switcher. Looks like I'm not going to have enough room for the Boss. I'm going to make a template of the Keely and see how that works.

Appreciate your help!
 
#5
LuvMusic said:
Thanks for the suggestion, I'll put that on the "try it out before mounting" list.

This is the type of info I'm looking for.

I was laying out the pedals tonight to check spacing before buying the Boss line switcher. Looks like I'm not going to have enough room for the Boss. I'm going to make a template of the Keely and see how that works.

Appreciate your help!
Click to expand...

Alternatively, you could buy a PT Junior, and leave yourself some space to expand. However, this creates a problem in that you will then begin to feel a need to fill the space, and before you know it you will have turned into Tayste...
 
#6
At the very least, I'd pick up the PT Mini from a place with a generous return policy just in case it doesn't all fit as you intend once the cables, power supply etc are introduced.

How do you like the AW-7? I didn't like it on guitar, but I never tried it on bass.
 
#8
All great suggestion and thoughts, thanks!

I'm pretty committed to making the PT Mini work, I like the form / format and my wife is a space junky....likes things uncluttered. So, smaller is better. And, as you pointed out, with a Junior, I would feel obligated to "fill the board."

I like my AW-7. Mostly use it when I'm playing by myself, works well and is fun.

The Korg Pitchblack is an interesting suggestion but I'm not going to mount my tuner on the pedalboard. I'm going to keep it seperate for "grab and go" situations and use the tuner out on my amp to drive it.

Last night I lined up all the pedals and connected them with the patch cords I'll use when the pedalboard will arrive (I used my TU2 as a substitute for the line switcher) and it looks like it will work. Measured out to 19.5 inches. Pretty tight.

So, I'm thinking about the Keeley looper. Not as many features and flexibility as the Boss LS2 but 1/2 the width. The Keeley would fit easily.

Any opinions on the Boss LS2 versus the Keeley? Could be a poll opportunity!?
 
#9
Your plan sounds like it would work well - I just have just a couple of pieces of advice as a longtime pedalboard user.
First, the type of cable (and jack) does make a difference, and the more cables you have in the chain, whatever effect they have on your tone is multiplied. I've had good luck lately with George L's cables and plugs. If you're not familiar with them, you can buy a length of cable in bulk plus however many plugs you need. They are relatively easy to assemble yourself, as they use solderless connectors. One obvious advantage is that you can make cables that are the perfect length for each run. Just make sure you put them together well, and test each one thoroughly.
Also, this may not fit into your plan with the Pedaltrain Mini, but if you are serious about the pedalboard thing you might want to consider it for the future. My current pedalboard has a true bypass strip from PedalRacks, with each effect in its own separate true bypass loop. Check it out here:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed] bypass.htm
For me, it's created a huge improvement, and my tone when all pedals are bypassed is about 95% of what I get when plugged straight into the amp. Signal loss is almost completely eliminated, as are all the nasty interactions and tone sucking that can happen when you have a chain of pedals.
 
#10
ad9000 said:
Your plan sounds like it would work well - I just have just a couple of pieces of advice as a longtime pedalboard user.
First, the type of cable (and jack) does make a difference, and the more cables you have in the chain, whatever effect they have on your tone is multiplied.
Click to expand...

Have you ever tried pass-through plugs versus patch cables? Is there less of an effect. I've been thinking I could use them to possibly save some space and I wonder if they reduce the multiplier effect you are describing.

Also, this may not fit into your plan with the Pedaltrain Mini, but if you are serious about the pedalboard thing you might want to consider it for the future. My current pedalboard has a true bypass strip from PedalRacks, with each effect in its own separate true bypass loop.
Click to expand...

You're right, not enough room for the bypass strip and I can see where that could be helpful. I do want to bypass the effects chain which is why I'm looking at the Boss LS or the Keeley Looper.

Thanks for the help and advice!
 
#11
Nice set-up - but I would strongly recommend getting a dedicated power supply, like a Pedal Power from Voodoo Labs. The problem with a Boss daisy chain set-up is that the grounds aren't isolated, which can cause hums, buzzes, and other assorted stuff. Also, it may not provide the milliamp power draw necessary for the pedals to operate at their optimum performance.
 
#12
I've tried pass-thru jack plugs, but it is hard to get them to work unless you have pedals that have their jacks at the exact same height. When I have used them I've never noticed any sonic benefit vs. cables.
BTW, I use a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 and it's great. It will power the higher voltage Boss Pedals, Line 6 pedals and some other oddities that you might encounter.
 
#13
LuvMusic said:
So, I'm thinking about the Keeley looper. Not as many features and flexibility as the Boss LS2 but 1/2 the width. The Keeley would fit easily.

Any opinions on the Boss LS2 versus the Keeley? Could be a poll opportunity!?
Click to expand...

You hit on some of the differences, but here's my feelings on the two:

The Keeley is better when used as a straight looper. Smaller, simpler, and true bypass.

But the Boss is a very useful tool to have. It can act as a blender for one set of pedals (with nothing in loop B) or as a blend between two different loops of effects and it can be used to switch between basses or between amps, and while I didn't use it can power other pedals with an AC adapter. There are individual pedals/devices that can do each of these functions better, but the LS-2 is like a swiss army knife.

In short, if all you're using it for is as a looper, I'd get the Keeley for sure. But if you think you'll use some of the other functions of the LS-2, I'd go that route.
 
#14
AndyLES said:
Nice set-up - but I would strongly recommend getting a dedicated power supply, like a Pedal Power from Voodoo Labs. The problem with a Boss daisy chain set-up is that the grounds aren't isolated, which can cause hums, buzzes, and other assorted stuff. Also, it may not provide the milliamp power draw necessary for the pedals to operate at their optimum performance.
Click to expand...

The power output on the Boss pedal is 200mA. I checked the power draw on the other pedals and I'm O.K. there.

I hadn't thought about the grounding issue. I would like a dedicated power supply and will go there if required. The daisy chain solution is easier so I think I'll see how that works first.

Thanks for the help and advice!
 
#15
I have been playing for a long time ... I finally got my pedalboard to where I really like this year ... I borrowed an idea from Geddy Lee ... I run effects in parallel ...

pedal.jpg


First I split the signal into 4 parallel signals with a rolls mixer.

1 - I run one into the Line6 bass pod where I model an acoustic 360 with a rat distortion pedal. I use this to get a retro growlly distorted sound.

2 - The second signal goes into a Mxr bass di+. I use this pedal to get a clean modern sound. It also has a distortion button that can give a moderate to extreme amount of modern distortion.

3 - The third signal goes into a Marshall Guv'nor. This gives me an old 60s marshall stack sound. This can go from a small amount of distortion to an over the top marshall sound. This effect can give you a Chris Squire Yes sound or a heavy metal sound, or just a subtle amount of distortion.

4 - The fourth signal goes into a Tech21 vt bass pedal. With this effect I get a slightly dirty Ampeg SVT bass amp sound with a tube like growl.

Then I remix the 4 signals back together and run it into a bass amp, or pa, or studio mixer. Because the signals are parallel I can mix clean and overdriven sounds together and still get effect and a sound that punches through the mix.
 
#16
Thats an interesting set up mr Ric5, though you dont have the possibilities to mix this with your feet? you have to dial in what sound you want first, and to change it you must bend donw and tweak. am I right? Possibilities for some really good sound combinations there. maybe leave one channel completely dry, and use the MXR DI after the sum mixer? just playing with your idea:D

I have the LS-2 in my setup, but I use a external powersupply. I use it like TheBigO says, with one clean channel, this way I can blend in the Tubescreamer. I have a Octabass on the cleanchannel, not active. so the dist and the octaver/clean are separated. It works really well. And the nice thing is I can just insert stuff into one of the chains, Im thinking of getting Ph-3 and Chorus, and there is already room oin the board, just have to patch up, and the clean sound doesnt change , I have that like a fundament for all my experiments.

Will post some photos when my computer is up and running again.

o
 
#17
LuvMusic said:
Over time I have built a small collection of effects boxes. I use them all at various times and it has become painful and messy to carry them around, set-up what I want, reconfigure when needed, etc.

So I have designed a pedalboard with the plan of using the newly released Pedaltrain Mini.

http://www.pedaltrain.com/ContentPage.aspx?WebPageId=21155&GroupId=4264

The goals are to build a board that is small, easy to transport and allows me to bypass the effects signal path when desiring a clean signal.

I'm really new at this (though it does appeal to my geeky side :D ) and would like feedback, suggestions, etc.

The attached diagram represents the plan and it is pretty much to scale.

Let me know what you think about design, pedal order, etc.

Thanks for looking and (hopefully) your guidance!
Click to expand...

here try this site....it was given to me and it helped....maybe it will help you...

Invalid Link Removed
 
#18
kojak said:
Thats an interesting set up mr Ric5, though you dont have the possibilities to mix this with your feet? you have to dial in what sound you want first, and to change it you must bend donw and tweak. am I right? Possibilities for some really good sound combinations there. maybe leave one channel completely dry, and use the MXR DI after the sum mixer? just playing with your idea
Click to expand...

To get a dry channel I can turn off one effect ... and the bass pod has a 4 channel footswitch ...
 
#19
so i gotta ask. With this LS-2 line selector.... u say you can get individual pedals completely out of the chain when they're not being used and getta totally dry sound? could you clarify on how this works? i dont really know much about the ls2...
thanks
 
#20
almix12 said:
so i gotta ask. With this LS-2 line selector.... u say you can get individual pedals completely out of the chain when they're not being used and getta totally dry sound? could you clarify on how this works? i dont really know much about the ls2...
thanks
Click to expand...

The Boss LS 2 has two effect loops that allow you to bypass the effects chain with a "stomp on the pedal."

I'm not the one to explain the electronics that make it work. However, here is a link to Musician's Friend that posts the user manual and links to addidional manufacturer information.

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Boss-LS2-Line-SelectorPower-Supply?sku=151369


I hope this helps!
 

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