DIY pedalboard build process and some thoughts/feelings

[arakiri]

this ones rly special for me, so big text post ahead plus some process pics.
its been 10+ years since ive had a proper pedalboard and played with pedals like i used to, like part of the instrument. the culmination of this was gettin to have a whammy again after all this time. so i had to build myself one bc diy all the way.
first i started with the idea of using my current mini board wich ive posted before, made of a plastic cutting board, as the second tier of this new bigger one. whammys are tall pedals! so it was a great idea plus it felt nice to integrate my previous work into this bigger build.
next came the planning phase, i tried a bunch of combinations and even considered cuttin a chunk of the second tier to accomodate the wah but my wife was very attached to the mini board and asked me to please not to, and she was right. adding to the work is best.
as you can see i did a ton of mockups in pedalboard dot app and also some planning in the floor with tape and decided for a size.
next i went to pick up the plywood cut to size from the woodshop, then we had some fun painting it a rly cute purpleburst wich goes nice with the plastic second tier. in the last pics you can see all the pedals in the place they will go, grunge pedal maybe closer to the whammy to allow for a future mini delay i wanna place there.
i added some rubber feet in the top side to give it a bit of a slant.
next step is drilling and sip tying everything down, doing cable management behind the second tier and itll be ready to take to rehearsal.
what im still lookin at is a proper case for it, i bought a rly old suitcase that ended up being way too deep and big. im thinking it may be good to fill it all with foam so itll be a great protective layer but i thinks its too much so im currently looking for these type of hard plastic old suitcases, almost got one that was perfect size but it sold to someone else.
ill be posting the build once its finished!
godspeed

 

[Mr Joshua]

Look at mixer carry cases/bags. There's a few sites including Gator's website that allow you to search for cases by size.

 

[GTHintz]

this ones rly special for me, so big text post ahead plus some process pics.
its been 10+ years since ive had a proper pedalboard and played with pedals like i used to, like part of the instrument. the culmination of this was gettin to have a whammy again after all this time. so i had to build myself one bc diy all the way.
first i started with the idea of using my current mini board wich ive posted before, made of a plastic cutting board, as the second tier of this new bigger one. whammys are tall pedals! so it was a great idea plus it felt nice to integrate my previous work into this bigger build.
next came the planning phase, i tried a bunch of combinations and even considered cuttin a chunk of the second tier to accomodate the wah but my wife was very attached to the mini board and asked me to please not to, and she was right. adding to the work is best.
as you can see i did a ton of mockups in pedalboard dot app and also some planning in the floor with tape and decided for a size.
next i went to pick up the plywood cut to size from the woodshop, then we had some fun painting it a rly cute purpleburst wich goes nice with the plastic second tier. in the last pics you can see all the pedals in the place they will go, grunge pedal maybe closer to the whammy to allow for a future mini delay i wanna place there.
i added some rubber feet in the top side to give it a bit of a slant.
next step is drilling and sip tying everything down, doing cable management behind the second tier and itll be ready to take to rehearsal.
what im still lookin at is a proper case for it, i bought a rly old suitcase that ended up being way too deep and big. im thinking it may be good to fill it all with foam so itll be a great protective layer but i thinks its too much so im currently looking for these type of hard plastic old suitcases, almost got one that was perfect size but it sold to someone else.
ill be posting the build once its finished!
godspeed

Not sure how many places you have local for hardware stores but foam would be a good idea. If you found a laptop case or maybe an old typewriter case and insulated it that could work great. An older high end laptop case would probably have great padding and insulation and probably have quality leather on the outside and you can probably find them cheap in a second hand store.

 

[GTHintz]

Also the bolt cutters are a nice feature. We call it the master key here because it gets you into almost everything.

 

[bassbrad]

Look at mixer carry cases/bags. There's a few sites including Gator's website that allow you to search for cases by size.

+1 to this suggestion also consider keyboard bags or cases as many are the right shape and dimension for more generous pedal boards.

Layouts like pedals will come and go, it pays to document your progress, often wish I had photos of some of my old versions over the past almost 50 years.

also if you find a case that has extra depth that can be a place to carry cables and other gig needs but be sure to use a towel or layer of foam to protect your pedals.
It's always good to carry a towel anyway just like Ford Prefect advises:

 

[GTHintz]

+1 to this suggestion also consider keyboard bags or cases as many are the right shape and dimension for more generous pedal boards.

Layouts like pedals will come and go, it pays to document your progress, often wish I had photos of some of my old versions over the past almost 50 years.

also if you find a case that has extra depth that can be a place to carry cables and other gig needs but be sure to use a towel or layer of foam to protect your pedals.
It's always good to carry a towel anyway just like Ford Prefect advises:

That’s smart. I don’t remember some of my combos that I’ve had that were perfect. Also eq and just overall knob settings are good to keep a reference of when you have everything dialed in exactly how you want and you love your sound.

 

[arakiri]

yea i wish i had pics of my pedalboard in highschool!! and thanks on the suggestions for cases guys, im probably gettin an old suitcase and foam it up- i seen the typewriter cases and they are also ideal, laptops not so much since this is 47x42cm i have an old dell laptop from 2006 and not even that is that big haha i been lookin at local marketplace but i probably just have to hit the flea markets.
about the boltcutters, the rubber feet screws came thru the wood and i was tryin to cut the tip off, tried the boltcutters w no luck, ended up doing the simplest wich was to just take em back a couple turns.
anyways im borrowin a drill this week and should have a finished build, cross my fingers a fitting suitcase appears also

 

[GTHintz]

yea i wish i had pics of my pedalboard in highschool!! and thanks on the suggestions for cases guys, im probably gettin an old suitcase and foam it up- i seen the typewriter cases and they are also ideal, laptops not so much since this is 47x42cm i have an old dell laptop from 2006 and not even that is that big haha i been lookin at local marketplace but i probably just have to hit the flea markets.
about the boltcutters, the rubber feet screws came thru the wood and i was tryin to cut the tip off, tried the boltcutters w no luck, ended up doing the simplest wich was to just take em back a couple turns.
anyways im borrowin a drill this week and should have a finished build, cross my fingers a fitting suitcase appears also

I wish you were close by I’d love to help you. I do construction and have plenty of tools for building things. Another idea would be foam and a gym bag. Equipment bags for tennis racquets and shoes are pretty spacious.

 

[arakiri]

I wish you were close by I’d love to help you. I do construction and have plenty of tools for building things. Another idea would be foam and a gym bag. Equipment bags for tennis racquets and shoes are pretty spacious.

thats cool of you to offer thanks. also a good idea i actually been lookin for more "bag" type luggage made of leather, didnt think of lookin for tennis bags and is good because they tend to have a more rigid structure than gym bags.
but yea im thinkin whatever i find plus a big roll of foam will be good

 

[arakiri]

update: most pedals and the power supply are zipped tied, except the second tier wich i decided to attach w some bolts but i need longer ones so ill have a trip to the hw store tomorrow. im also goin to a nearby carpet store to dumpster dive a bit of carpet to attach the whammy velcro to, is the only pedal i wanna velcro so i can take it out easy bc i wanna play w the midi on it and port is not accesible from that place.
im gonna carry it out around on this grocery bag we use for long trips it fits nicely and its made from rly sturdy material, a type of tarp that is used here to build above ground pools.
so its almost done, cabling and it should be over!!

 

[GTHintz]

I like it! That’s going to be different and I doubt anyone would think to take off with it.

 

[arakiri]

I like it! That’s going to be different and I doubt anyone would think to take off with it.

for real i thought so too!! i like to customize my stuff and is cool that it also helps w this

 

[arakiri]

heres the finish build!! bolted and zipped tied plus some helping friends

 

[GTHintz]

heres the finish build!! bolted and zipped tied plus some helping friendsView attachment 7482340

Nice! You have some fun pedals to play with. It makes my setup look like nothing. I’m lucky to add a distortion on my signal if I’m feeling like I want it. I have some nice ones to choose from. My favorite being Darkglass microtubes x. I don’t even bother with compression just because I have different preamp pedals that sound compressed already. Do you run all that to amps or do you have a DI that you use to send it to a soundboard?

 

[NL_Bsss65]

this ones rly special for me, so big text post ahead plus some process pics.
its been 10+ years since ive had a proper pedalboard and played with pedals like i used to, like part of the instrument. the culmination of this was gettin to have a whammy again after all this time. so i had to build myself one bc diy all the way.
first i started with the idea of using my current mini board wich ive posted before, made of a plastic cutting board, as the second tier of this new bigger one. whammys are tall pedals! so it was a great idea plus it felt nice to integrate my previous work into this bigger build.
next came the planning phase, i tried a bunch of combinations and even considered cuttin a chunk of the second tier to accomodate the wah but my wife was very attached to the mini board and asked me to please not to, and she was right. adding to the work is best.
as you can see i did a ton of mockups in pedalboard dot app and also some planning in the floor with tape and decided for a size.
next i went to pick up the plywood cut to size from the woodshop, then we had some fun painting it a rly cute purpleburst wich goes nice with the plastic second tier. in the last pics you can see all the pedals in the place they will go, grunge pedal maybe closer to the whammy to allow for a future mini delay i wanna place there.
i added some rubber feet in the top side to give it a bit of a slant.
next step is drilling and sip tying everything down, doing cable management behind the second tier and itll be ready to take to rehearsal.
what im still lookin at is a proper case for it, i bought a rly old suitcase that ended up being way too deep and big. im thinking it may be good to fill it all with foam so itll be a great protective layer but i thinks its too much so im currently looking for these type of hard plastic old suitcases, almost got one that was perfect size but it sold to someone else.
ill be posting the build once its finished!
godspeed

Awsome job enjoy

 

[arakiri]

Nice! You have some fun pedals to play with. It makes my setup look like nothing. I’m lucky to add a distortion on my signal if I’m feeling like I want it. I have some nice ones to choose from. My favorite being Darkglass microtubes x. I don’t even bother with compression just because I have different preamp pedals that sound compressed already. Do you run all that to amps or do you have a DI that you use to send it to a soundboard?

darkglass are very cool! i never played w one in hardware but tried de NAM models they uploaded for free, hope i get to try one eventually. also yea is a big amount of pedals for using with bass, this pedalboard i built for bass guitar, baritone guitar but also to use with synths. right now im not playin bass for any band, but when i have yes i will run to amps tho i have tried going direct thru my mixer and monitors using the B1ON preamps and is actually pretty good and handles the fuzz and distortion better than i expected since the guitar amp and pedal models, even tho sound alright, dont stack well with them. sometimes i run the pedals into my portastudio to saturate a bit with the preamps there as well. i dont have an amp at the moment since i swapped mine for the whammy and it was nothing special and monitors work very good so far

 

[GTHintz]

Damn I just collect preamp pedals. You have a wonderful collection of pedals! So hey have you gotten to try any of the strings I sent you? If so what did you think about them?

 

[arakiri]

yea just realized the other day it was you! i dont know if i told you but i ended up tunig CGDA and mixing both sets intertwined. they sound super good and honestly spooked me how dingy they are the attack is great.
about preamps yea they are very fun i can see why you collect them, im thinkin i wanna find some kind of tube preamp and im also planning to build a couple basic saturation circuits too to fit in the board as a last in chain gain stage to squish everything together, the wah specially has been difficult to tame when i play thru amps w no master volume and the place wont allow me to crank and saturate it.