What do you consider the maximum practical pedalboard size for live gigging?

[ThinCrappyTone2]

Curious where live gigging players have landed on this question.

I’m playing guitar in an ampless project, and my pedalboard (Pedaltrain Classic: 24”x22.5”) is bigger than anything I have used live before.

Part of me wants something slightly bigger (Vertex TC: 26x14) to accommodate a few more pedals.

Part of me thinks it’s already too big, and when this band starts gigging (we’re talking dives, not arenas) I’m going to regret having such a monstrous board. So maybe downsizing to something like the Vertex Travel Plus, at 20x11.5 is a better choice.

Curious where others who have wrestled with this question have landed.

 

[BioDriver]

I’ve done some gigs where it was just a tuner and other gigs where you’d need to be a NASA engineer to figure out how to manage the guitarist and my pedalboards. As long as you’re able to perform with it no size is too big.

Hauling it, on the other hand….

 

[HelpImaRock]

I live by the Spaceballs rule. Take only what you need to survive. That 24" PT2 is firmly in Pedalstar Galactica territory.

 

[ThinCrappyTone2]

I live by the Spaceballs rule. Take only what you need to survive. That 24" PT2 is firmly in Pedalstar Galactica territory.

Any Spaceballs-based rule gets serious consideration!

 

[Bassmike62]

I live by the Spaceballs rule. Take only what you need to survive. That 24" PT2 is firmly in Pedalstar Galactica territory.

From now on, that's my rule.

What I need to survive is this size and out of the current lot, I could take 2 or 3 out, but I don't, 'cause I like'em. For others, the Spaceballs rule might require something larger, or smaller. YMMV.

 

[Zbysek]

I gig with Rockboard Quad 4.2

 

[Deleted member 394181]

 

[vvvmmm]

My board fits inna Samsonite briefcase, what is how I move it.

Q.E.D., about 10 pedals

 

[Jamvan]

After years of running everything from this:

To this:

I’ve since settled on using a Rockbase Quad 4.1 and have been fairly content for quite a while now.

I like the 4.1’s 18 9/16" x 13" size as it sits nicely beneath my mic stand and accommodates all the pedals/outboard gear I need. And I can use the case to get the speaker up off the floor.

 

[KimDealWithIt]

This many, because you just never know when you might need to annoy your band with huge ambient interludes.

 

[JimmyM]

For me it’s a PT Jr. Tried a bigger one once and hated it. But that’s only me, not saying my way is the only way.

 

[TerribleTim68]

When in doubt....

 

[_Some Dude]

I’ve been using a PT2… which is kinda comical.

 

[Harper]

It's 100% dependent on the player, the band, the style of music, etc. You're probably not going to need the same set up if you're playing Hank Williams songs all night as you would if you're doing improv jazz or noise rock.

 

[ThinCrappyTone2]

Thanks for all the replies! Appreciate seeing what everyone is doing and hearing about the reasoning.

 

[ThinCrappyTone2]

I’ve been using a PT2… which is kinda comical.

Plenty of breathing room between pedals. Nice.

 

[Nev375]

Nano plus for my tastes. 4 to 6 pedals is about the right level of complexity for me.

 

[TeaTime]

As my guitar friend says every month or so "just the next size up and I'll be set forever..."

 

[callofcthulhu]

The only limitation is the size of the stage.

And even then you can always play in front of the stage if you need to.

 

[FronTowardEnemy]

I use a nano+

Holds 7 pedals and a power supply. I have an always on HPF tucked underneath. I go IEM and this suits my needs very well. I mainly went this route for easy load in and load out. I have a PODGo for multiple pedal boards and it works well.