"Vertical-ish" / Multi-tiered pedalboard solution ideas for home studio

[John Eaton]

I have been thinking alot, with no great 'this is how' on a concept I have for my home studio. I have a lot of pedals, and multiple boards, but between my back/knees/complexity of pedal settings, etc. I find I am not doing the fun experimenting that I want simply because the pedals are on the floor, or, in one-dimension.

What I want is basically a multi-tiered setup, with angled 'steps', each set back a bit for easy access across pedals, in sort of a rack-gone-tilt (maybe ~60 degree angles) setup, that would sit atop a traditional board that sits on my desk or side shelf, so all pedals could be at my fingertips easily, and be set from a seated or standing postion.
Horizontal board long and deep, rowes above about half as deep (12" maybe), spaced accordingly. Room in total for about 40 pedals catagorized in various ways, I have a couple switchers to bring in certain groups already as well.

I have searched the interweb and asked the nice chatgpt lady for ideas, but nothing is giving me that 'aha' nugget I need to go build one.
I am pretty handy, but can't weld, however, if welding is a solve, I have friends who do. I was thinking some simple angle iron or shelf bits that I deconstruct, drill etc and add shelf/backing support via wood or smaller boards mounted, etc. - but very open to ideas.

Anyone done or seen anything like it, input would be appreciated.

 

[sunbeast]

I’ve considered building out something similar for stuff like my Roland guitar synth pedals that I am often tweaking by hand while using. Maybe something like this for inspiration? Looks like it is based on a typical desktop synth stand idea- it’s pretty pricey but probably a good visual for DIY: Invalid Link Removed

There are a number of options for tiered desktop synthesizer stands using a similar sort of design, some of which you’d just have to add some flat boards or slat material across each level to turn into pedalboard stands (or maybe even just some existing low-profile pedalboards like Pedaltrain boards or similar), like this: https://www.amazon.com/Headliner-Los-Angeles-Desktop-HL22053/dp/B09X247P6D?th=1
Or this: Pardon Our Interruption...
I saw some photos of some 3D printed ones but couldn’t find product pages. There aren’t a whole lot of budget options in the studio rack world, but maybe good DIY inspirations!

 

[John Eaton]

I’ve considered building out something similar for stuff like my Roland guitar synth pedals that I am often tweaking by hand while using. Maybe something like this for inspiration? Looks like it is based on a typical desktop synth stand idea- it’s pretty pricey but probably a good visual for DIY: Invalid Link Removed

There are a number of options for tiered desktop synthesizer stands using a similar sort of design, some of which you’d just have to add some flat boards or slat material across each level to turn into pedalboard stands (or maybe even just some existing low-profile pedalboards like Pedaltrain boards or similar), like this: https://www.amazon.com/Headliner-Los-Angeles-Desktop-HL22053/dp/B09X247P6D?th=1
Or this: Pardon Our Interruption...
I saw some photos of some 3D printed ones but couldn’t find product pages. There aren’t a whole lot of budget options in the studio rack world, but maybe good DIY inspirations!

I looked at the one in your Amazon link, but only 12” wide max, too narrow and don’t see one wider.

I really like the one in your last link, hoping I can find similar in USA so it doesn’t end up costing $400 in tariffs (ugh). Thanks! At least an option to seek.

 

[John Eaton]

I looked at the one in your Amazon link, but only 12” wide max, too narrow and don’t see one wider.

I really like the one in your last link, hoping I can find similar in USA so it doesn’t end up costing $400 in tariffs (ugh). Thanks! At least an option to seek.

 

[sunbeast]

I looked at the one in your Amazon link, but only 12” wide max, too narrow and don’t see one wider.

I really like the one in your last link, hoping I can find similar in USA so it doesn’t end up costing $400 in tariffs (ugh). Thanks! At least an option to seek.

The Amazon one could surely support some wider shelves or wider pedalboards when fully extended since the shelves would sit across it rather than just inside it. It also looks like the bar material used for extending the width could easily be replaced with something longer if you didn’t think it was stable enough as is. Ideally you could just grab the two sides and build the crossbars yourself to whatever width you wanted.

 

[Aric Bjorn]

sloped shelves?

 

[John Eaton]

sloped shelves?

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Ya I looked at a lot of these but all too big. Goal is to put this on a desktop don’t forget.

 

[John Eaton]

Searching based on @sunbeast ’s last link, I came across something similar but available in USA that may work really well, this is the lead contender at the moment…and you can add an additional set of arms for a 3rd tier but is shorter by a foot than their 3-tier model, need to do some digging to be sure I can lose the arms a lot more than pictured. The arms can drop to multiple angles and another drilled hole could make it even steeper if needed.

StandTastic Keyboard Stands

 

[bluesmanbruce]

When you mentioned 'a lot of pedals' and 'back issues,' the first thing that flashed through my mind was a circular, rotating storage rack (like a Lazy Susan or carousel rack).

 

[monsterthompson]

Room in total for about 40 pedals

That’s a tall order. This random board (not mine) with small enclosures has 13 pedals, so you are looking for three to four of these stacked. I can’t say I’ve seen a pedalboard on the market like that. I think the keyboard stand idea might be the best option. Following this out of curiosity.

 

[Bodhi46]

I think you want something like this? I was dealing with the same issues and getting tired of bending down to twiddle knobs. I have a pedal board that sits on my desk now. But I imagine if you have a lot of loose pedals, something like this would work well, provided you have the desk space.

 

[John Eaton]

I think you want something like this? I was dealing with the same issues and getting tired of bending down to twiddle knobs. I have a pedal board that sits on my desk now. But I imagine if you have a lot of loose pedals, something like this would work well, provided you have the desk space.


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That’s amazing! But I want all mine wired, and elevated above one flat board on my desk, but I love the concept.

 

[jharms80439]

Back in the day I bought a wood version of a holy board - the older wood version. It’s still the board I use today.



I found I liked the size of the lower portion and don’t use the upper portion. I removed the upper section after a bit.

For me personally I have pedals that are always on and pedals that I switch in and out.

I run two rows with the upper pedals being the always on pedals and the lower pedals the ones that are switched in/out for certain songs.

If you truly want an upper platform this style might work for you. I guess I could reinstall the upper portion and gain room under the upper platform for power and outlets, and just use the upper for the always on pedals.

Nice to have options. If memory serves (I’m being lazy at the moment), it’s made from a solid plywood not a single board. Relatively easy to make too. You’d only need the upper section risers for a DIY.

John

 

[John Eaton]

I ended up with a Standtastic 3-Tier keyboard stand. Really solid, very flexible adjustments to set up just the way I wanted. About a full day of ripping apart and putting back together boards, it turned out exactly the way I wanted it! Thanks for the ideas and suggestions that got me to this solve! Had to order a couple new cables to put Humoty back together again, and some room to spare!

In case your wondering about signal chain, I enacted the help of ChatGPT to take what I had on a couple different boards, asked about different scenarios, and got to the final chain after some fiddling. I have to say it came in quite handy to help make sense of it all and not forget anything.


Bass → WL-50 Wireless → Strobostomp HD Tuner → TC Ditto+ (front looper) → Cali 76
Compressor →PX-8 Input

PX-8 Loop 1 (Tracking/Synth Section):
• Source Audio C4 → Gamechanger Vocorder (coming soon)→ Boss OC-5 (Octave) → Boss Bass
Envelope → Gamechanger Bigsby → Electro-Harmonix Ravish Sitar

PX-8 Loop 2 (Dirt/Chaos Section):
• Fuzz Face → Gamechanger Plasma → Gamechanger Motor → Gamechanger Plus
(Sustain)

PX-8 Loop 3 (Modulation/Ambient Section):
• MCR Phase 90 → MXR Bass Chorus Deluxe → Generation Loss MKII → Strymon
Lex → Walrus Lore → TC Flashback II → Gamechanger Light → Strymon BigSky

PX-8 Loops 4–8 (Pre-amps, one active at a time):
• Loop 4: Super Beatle
• Loop 5: Origin Effects Bass Rig Black Panel
• Loop 6: Amplitube Tonex
• Loop 7: Darkglass B7K
• Loop 8: Ampeg SGT-DI

PX-8 Main Output → Beat Buddy (drums mixed via onboard volume) → Amp Input

Off-Chain Controllers:
• Source Audio Reflex Expression Controller – controls C4, Strymon Lex,
Gamechanger Light, Generation Loss MKII
• Disaster Area DMC.micro PRO – selects presets on the Source Audio C4

 

[sunbeast]

I ended up with a Standtastic 3-Tier keyboard stand. Really solid, very flexible adjustments to set up just the way I wanted. About a full day of ripping apart and putting back together boards, it turned out exactly the way I wanted it! Thanks for the ideas and suggestions that got me to this solve! Had to order a couple new cables to put Humoty back together again, and some room to spare!

View attachment 7407438

View attachment 7407439

In case your wondering about signal chain, I enacted the help of ChatGPT to take what I had on a couple different boards, asked about different scenarios, and got to the final chain after some fiddling. I have to say it came in quite handy to help make sense of it all and not forget anything.


Bass → WL-50 Wireless → Strobostomp HD Tuner → TC Ditto+ (front looper) → Cali 76
Compressor →PX-8 Input

PX-8 Loop 1 (Tracking/Synth Section):
• Source Audio C4 → Gamechanger Vocorder (coming soon)→ Boss OC-5 (Octave) → Boss Bass
Envelope → Gamechanger Bigsby → Electro-Harmonix Ravish Sitar

PX-8 Loop 2 (Dirt/Chaos Section):
• Fuzz Face → Gamechanger Plasma → Gamechanger Motor → Gamechanger Plus
(Sustain)

PX-8 Loop 3 (Modulation/Ambient Section):
• MCR Phase 90 → MXR Bass Chorus Deluxe → Generation Loss MKII → Strymon
Lex → Walrus Lore → TC Flashback II → Gamechanger Light → Strymon BigSky

PX-8 Loops 4–8 (Pre-amps, one active at a time):
• Loop 4: Super Beatle
• Loop 5: Origin Effects Bass Rig Black Panel
• Loop 6: Amplitube Tonex
• Loop 7: Darkglass B7K
• Loop 8: Ampeg SGT-DI

PX-8 Main Output → Beat Buddy (drums mixed via onboard volume) → Amp Input

Off-Chain Controllers:
• Source Audio Reflex Expression Controller – controls C4, Strymon Lex,
Gamechanger Light, Generation Loss MKII
• Disaster Area DMC.micro PRO – selects presets on the Source Audio C4

Nice! I think I played with a synth player who used something like this. Cool that the arms could adjust so dramatically!

 

[Arohana]

This is bugging the poopie out of me too. I use a small Mackie mixer and a Magic Stomp as well as sundry conventionally sized boxes. Five of them require separate xfmr power supplies and the rest are powered by a Vitoos/Harley Benton ISO-10.

Recently bought a Sonicake Portal, which is a good interim solution for two parallel chains plus a pass-through, but still limited.

I'm thinking: to build a multiple (4x) stereo loop + at least 4x mono loop relay controlled soft switcher (no thump) floor controller that connects via snake to a board I can put on a keyboard stand for ease of access.