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Pedalboard Assembly, Go! Thread - Custom District Pedalboard

Aug 27, 2003
1,413
183
redwood city, ca
www.jeanbaudin.com
Disclosures
Endorsing Artist: See Profile
Last weekend, I had my pedalboard completely disassembled so I figured you guys would get a kick out of a "pedalboard assembly" thread. So I took a few pics as I put it together and jotted down some notes/thoughts. Shall we?

Laying Down the Foundation:

pa1.jpg


From this pic, I'm figuring out my basic layout (which isn't that different from previous iterations). I'm starting with the EB Juniors (Volume on the right, and the one on the left is modded for expression). This Custom District pedalboard (www.customdistrictpedalboards.com) was designed for 3 tiers... This time I'm rolling with just two, so the middle tier has been collapsed to be flush with the bottom.

The DMC-4 (etched by Dan W) in the bottom left corner controls three of the pedals on the top tier (Mobius, Timeline, and PitchFactor). It also controls the Looper in the TimeLine so it's essential it gets a solid and clear spot on the bottom left corner.

You can also see the the power supplies (Ciokolate and DC-10) that will be hidden under the top tier. There's also an AC out with 2 plugs on the right as well as multiple I/O (x5) for audio signal as well as external additional expression pedal routing (if needed - each plug takes TS or TRS).

Bottom Row:

pa2.jpg


Here I'm getting the bottom row put together with the ss/bs TAFM and Iron Ether pedals.

You can see the plates for the FrantaBit. Every pedal on the board uses these plates that utilize wing nuts under the board to mount them. It only takes a few seconds to move them. I use 3M dual-lock, instead of velcro, to mount the pedals to the plates. Solid connection and the sticky residue is easy to remove from the pedals if I end up selling any of them.

I connect power and cabling as I go.


Bottom Row Finished, Middle Row:

pa3.jpg


The bottom row is complete and now I'm moving to the middle row. One thing to note is the gap between all the pedals - This was done intentionally to make it "Future Proof" - Iron Ether's Subterranea will be added between the TAFM and Oxide, and all I will need to do to make it fit is to dismount the bottom pedals and get them all snug.

Now, the middle tier pedals will be mounted on plates that have longer screws and spacers, (basically turning the mounting plates into risers). Not only does it make the pedals higher and easier to stomp on, it effectively lets me route/hide cabling under the pedals. I grouped the bottom row's power and expression cables with a cable tie through one of the holes (these wires will be hidden under the POG2). The cable for the Xerograph, being the last in the chain on the bottom row, is routed under the Revolver and POG2. (I had to stop here and solder some cables).

Under the Hood, So Far:

pa4.jpg


Here you can see the wing nuts for the plates the power supplies. I labelled the Ciokolate, as I don't have the power requirements for each port memorized for them quite yet, and the top of the power supply (where they are identified) will be blocked from view when the top tier is on.

Continued in next post....
 
2nd Row Finished:

pa5.jpg


The middle row is all wired up with some freshly soldered cables. At this point, I make sure to plug my bass and amp in and confirm my audio signal is nice and clear. Now, the last pedal on the middle row (Second Voice) is actually my "free spot". I always have a free spot to rotate other pedals in that aren't mandatory - I also leave some extra room in case the pedal I swap in wider/horizontal. It's placement is crucial - this can either be Spot #1 (as it is now) or Spot #7 (after the Xerograph) - depending on the effect I rotate in there. So at this point the signal chain is second voice-> tafm-> oxide-> polytope-> frantabit-> xerograph-> pog2-> revovler-> volume. The Expressionators are wired and the cables are color coded (you can see the silver and blue on the frantabit and Xerograph- the darker blue goes to the Mobius) The Expression output for the Second Voice is going to one of the side outputs for an optional off-the-board expression pedal.

At this point, I start getting my expression and power cables ready for the top tier.


Top Tier On:

pa6.jpg


Top tier is now mounted with all power and expression ready. Though it's not essential, I laid the pedals out on the top tier and got all the plates ready before I screwed in the top tier. You can see the .5" riser plates in the top left for the Stereo Wet Pedal.


All Done:

pa10.jpg


Alrighty, everything finished and tested. Like the bottom row, the top row is temporary as I wait for the release of the Eventide H9. This will give me the room to add the Neunaber Echelon next to it and remove the Altoids can... which is mainly a joke to fill space (and to hold promo cards when busking).

pa7.jpg


Over at TPG practically all the pedalboards have Altoids cans, for lulz Elon @ Custom District made one into a plate (and will offer them as an accessory).

pa8.jpg


Here's a final pic of the bottom. I labelled what effect is plugged into each port and taped it to underside of the power supply shelf for easy I.D. later.

pa9.jpg


Final Thoughts:

Functionally, this is working great. Though, after playing with it for a few days - I will be moving the Hexe Revolver to the bottom row when the Subterranea arrives, as this pedal kind of works like a looper, so having it in the middle row is kind of lame.

Like all pedalboards, this guy is doomed to be re-configured again and again and again, so even though this board takes a little extra work to put together - the endless possibilities and configurations for keeping a tidy, rugged and functional pedalboard has made it one of my best decisions for molding and performing my sonic creations.

Cheers!
 
Love it Jean... some good advice labeling the power supply for easy swap outs later without having to dismantle everything.

How do you switch the exp pedal between the 2 expressionators? I thought there would be a TRS switcher of some sort.
 
Love it Jean... some good advice labeling the power supply for easy swap outs later without having to dismantle everything.

How do you switch the exp pedal between the 2 expressionators? I thought there would be a TRS switcher of some sort.

Thanks Bludog! I run the red channel of the top Expressionator into the input of the bottom one. With the "On" button, that channel is always sending to the bottom Expressionator. So:

Top Expressionator:
Input: Modded VP Jr.
Green Channel: Mobius
Yellow Channel: FrantaBit
Red Channel: Expressionator #2

Bottom Expressionator:
Input: Red Channel from Expressionator #1
Green Channel: TimeLine
Yellow Channel: Xerograph
Red Channel: PitchFactor

That's a serious board dude!

What kind of patch cables do you use? They look very clean. Love the look all together!

Thanks jwr! The flat ones are Ricon that Lava sells - they use the mini elc lava cable. And there's Mogami cable for most of the stereo stuff or where a tight fit isn't important. There is one Lava Solderless for the tuner (that comes from the Thru-Tone Modded EB Jr. Volume pedal) and the only reason I use a solderless there is because there is no audio going through there. Had three too many shows where one of the solderless cables died in the middle of a performance so they all went bye-bye.

Cheers Jean, that is interesting to see. What does the DMC-4 do and who makes it?

Hey Dazonbass - The DMC-4 is made by Disaster Area Amps - they make MIDI controllers for people who use Strymon, Line6, etc.

This one has 5 modes:
TimeLine Presets (Up, Down, Bypass)
TimeLine Looper (Play/Overdub, Stop, Undo/Redo)
TimeLine Looper #2 (Reverse, 1/2 Speed, Pre/Post)
Mobius Presets (Up, Down, Bypass)
Pitchfactor Presets (Up, Down, Bypass)

Thinking of jumping to a DMC-7, but that requires some pedalboard re-thinking and probably a sacrifice or two. I'm also going to pickup the SmartFlip when they release it (Stereo Flip-Flop pedal). It never ends™ :D
 
Hey Dazonbass - The DMC-4 is made by Disaster Area Amps - they make MIDI controllers for people who use Strymon, Line6, etc.

Awesome, big thanks. I may need to pick something like this up because I am in the process of developing board based on a MIDI setup using Line6 and Source Audio. Getting the timing synced to my Boss RC-300 is just the start, now I can start looking into more MIDI control.
 
Really nice board Jean. I can't wait to see it finished/reconfigured with the Subterranea and all.

Thinking of jumping to a DMC-7, but that requires some pedalboard re-thinking and probably a sacrifice or two. I'm also going to pickup the SmartFlop when they release it (Stereo Flip-Flop pedal). It never ends™ :D

FWIW I just recieved a DMC-7 to replace my -3XL and plan to use it with a Timeline, Mobius (and maybe Pitchfactor). I haven't had a chance to play with it yet, but I will let you know how it goes. The newer stuff from Disaster Area (DPC-5, DMC-7, SmartLOOP, etc.) is all really cool!
 
I love it nice job

Thanks!

Jean, got a link to those Lava's? I'm looking on their site and can't find them for some reason. I need some good cables. My signal is a mess lately.

Oh, I just tried to find them on the site and they don't have them listed anymore. Weird. I couldn't find them on the Invalid Link Removed Site either - maybe they aren't being made anymore?

They look like this.
hicon_2_bg.jpg


Funny, above image is from lavacable.com lol

Jean = :bassist:

Thanks for the assembly tour. Your board sets the standard that TB's other top board aspire to.

Love the altoids box. :p

Thank you, Sir!

FWIW I just recieved a DMC-7 to replace my -3XL and plan to use it with a Timeline, Mobius (and maybe Pitchfactor). I haven't had a chance to play with it yet, but I will let you know how it goes. The newer stuff from Disaster Area (DPC-5, DMC-7, SmartLOOP, etc.) is all really cool!

Definitely! Let me know what you think of the DMC-7 after you've had a chance to use it.
 
This is super slick! I have never seen these boards before- from a design perspective they appear pretty much perfect. Wish I had a pedal dependency worthy of justifying that kind of investment!

As far as weight, those two CIOKs supplies together have to be around 6-7 pounds alone. I know my AC-10 is definitely the heaviest part of my PT-Jr board. I'd also be curious about the total weight using one of these boards- even my PT-Jr in a lightweight suitcase with cables and all can seem like quite a haul at times!
 

Thanks MMQ, yeah, this is the old board. In fact, I should put this board up for sale as I'm not using it anymore.

Did you make those mounting plates yourself? Are there just countersunk bolts into the plates?

Custom District supplies some with the board and I can order more as I need them. He can make special sizes and make the bolts longer so I can use them as risers as I did above.

nice!!!!!

i don't know some of these pedals ...
can you write down the list of the pedals?

would live to see a vid demo of all the sounds you use

You can hear them all over my CD: http://jeanbaudin.bandcamp.com
You can also see some of them in action here: