Can YOU leave an empty space on your board?

[TheLowDown33]

No, my pt jr is tetrised and must stay that way. I know for a fact if I can fit more pedals on it, I will. I actually have a list of pedals specifically for the event of an empty space. Call me crazy, call me OCD, but as long as everything is snug, I'm happy.

 

[LowActionHero]

I'm not a huge effects guy, and I don't want to carry more than I need, but if there's space I have enough stuff laying around that I'd have to pick something with any possible use and throw it on there, even if I wouldn't realistically use it in a normal setting. Then I start thinking what else I'd ever possibly use, and how I can squeeze it on there, and I'm right back to square one.

It's a problem...

 

[bjelkeman]

If I put a space on the board, then there isn't many pedals left.

I use ut with a Pedaltrain Nano. Fits well in the bag. Just need to unplug the transceiver.

View attachment 2745990

(Currently it actually has an Alpha Omega instead of the B7K, and the M900 footswitch instead of the VMT.)

 

[kurth83]

No...

I own a bunch of pedal boards of varying sizes, if I lose a pedal I move to a smaller board of the right size, so I guess for me the answer is no, I don't like empty spots.

For me small is beautiful, but I never manage to travel as light as I want.

But since I like small boards, gonna try my next play-out with just an ms-60b.

 

[Big Hoss]

I purpos built my board. No free space...

 

[trebbihm]

That's what external foot switches and Altoids cans are for.

 

[Hi-End Basses]

There's an empty space on my board. No problem!

 

[Thumpin6string]

I believe that it is against the law to have an empty space on a pedal board.

 

[cnltb]

I don't even have a board.
If I had one/ ever get one, I'll put on whatever I need for the gig rather than whatever I happen to have at any given time.
If there is space, that just means I have less to carry...a good thing.

 

[Michael Schreiber]

Since I'm playing and singing, I need some space arounde the few pedals I use, especially around the expression pedal.
During a song, I don't want to have to look down just to verify that I don't accidentally hit another pedal.

 

[Nev375]

I don't even have a board.
If I had one/ ever get one, I'll put on whatever I need for the gig rather than whatever I happen to have at any given time.
If there is space, that just means I have less to carry...a good thing.

You say that now...

 

[gregmon79]

If you would've asked me this question even 4 months ago, I would've told you hell no, I cannot leave any space on my board. If there space, I filled it with something. No question.

But I recently had an awakening so to speak. And I now believe in what I use live. The rest can wait on the shelf or be sold. I don't fill my board just to fill it anymore. If I don't or wont use it live, I wont keep it on the board. God does it make it easier to use on stage. I got really tired of the tippy toe tap dance. Now I can actually stomp most of the pedals I have onboard. And instead of deciding on a dirt flavor at any given moment, I've made it easier on myself by leaving only 4 dirt pedals onboard. Less is more to me now. It's liberating. It's like @XXL said, breathing room. It's nice to have. It's almost less stressful.

 

[micguy]

My pedalboards are always spaced so that, if a cable goes bad, I can change it without removing pedals. That allows me to screw down pedals that are gonna be there a while. So, yeah, I have a fair amount of space left on my pedalboards.

 

[G On Bass]

On those very rare occasions when I take a pedalboard at all, I do not care at all how many/few are on there. Even if it's just my wireless receiver and a tiny compressor on a board with room for 5-6 pedals.

 

[Gerben]

Ehh... WHAT empty space... where where where..?? ;-)
Heck.. I even added more stuff to it!

 

[cnltb]

You say that now...

I do indeed.
I generally don't like taking more than what's needed for any given gig etc.

 

[superheavyfunk]

It really bugs me, actually. If I had all my pedals in a single line, it wouldn't be so bad but since it's two levels like this it just really annoys me to look at it with this gap.

 

[SkinCoffin]

I will go as far as to use pedalboard planner to make sure the spaces between pedals are few and all the exact same distance apart.

 

[Pedullist]

Empty spaces need to be filled.

 

[stario]

My OCD would not allow it

I figure this would be the most common response. Mine included. I either fill it the gap or just resituate the remaining pedals to leave minimal gaps.