Latest pedalboard design. Feedback please.

matt1973

As some of you may be aware, I'm looking to start making Tolex pedalboards similar to those that are becoming widely available in the USA. However, I have chosen to dispense with the conventional carpet deck in favour of an aluminum-face construction similar in functionality to a Pedaltrain style board. 

For anyone who's interested, here is the latest design that I have developed. I'd be interested to hear any feedback you may have.

Gassage

Nice. I'd add a module for the end which was purely flat, not angled, for Wahs and Vols.

rpr

That's well nice..gives it a bit of indivduality as well

Sassafras

If I still gigged, I'd be very interested in one of those. Very stylish and practical.

thermionic

So it opens up like a Diago but is angled like a Pedaltrain? Sounds like the best of both worlds to me.

paisleysoul

This kind of thing would be perfect for the small bass rig i'm building for the band. I've been looking for someone in the UK who's building these boards, so I could get a bass and guitar one. What sizes are you thinking? The back panel idea is really nice.

Keep me informed!

underdog

Hi mate, given the amount of problems people are having with photobucket can I suggest you add image tags to each of those links so it appears as a picture, or a lot of people won't get to see it.

Like this (quote my post to see the tags)

matt1973

The idea behind the pedalboard I've shown here is more to demonstrate what can be done. I'd really like to establish a custom-shop set up. At this point, everything is hand-made so it makes sense to give customers the benefit of that in terms making everything fully customisable.

The specifics in terms of structure, dimensions, Tolex styling, deck customisation, inbuilt patch boxes, powercons or IEC's, etc is down to the individuals requirements.

So, if you wanted a simple wedge-shaped board to drop into an existing flightcase or mixer bag, no problem. Alternatively, you may want a lidded unit with horizontal section for wahs & vols and a raft of jacks and power option that's no problem either.

@underdog thanks for the heads-up, pics should be fixed now.

digitalscream

To me, that design looks great but appears to have two significant design flaws - 

1 - If you've got a power supply mounted underneath, the mains lead needs to come out somewhere...the only way appears to be between the floor and the lower edge of the sides, with whatever space the rubber feet give you. If you mount a 4-way underneath (for multiple power supplies), it looks almost certain to me that the mains cable will be wider than the feet are tall, leading to instability.

2 - The height of the front edge, combined with switch-type pedals (rather than Boss-style pedals), looks like it'd make it impossible to engage a switch on the front row with your heel on the floor, which is the most common and comfortable way to do it.

darcym

the size of the unit height wise looks good.

putting great quality IEC and Jack in and Jack out points on the board so you can really lock your pedals in place and plug into the board would be nice

matt1973

digitalscream said:

To me, that design looks great but appears to have two significant design flaws - 

1 - If you've got a power supply mounted underneath, the mains lead needs to come out somewhere...the only way appears to be between the floor and the lower edge of the sides, with whatever space the rubber feet give you. If you mount a 4-way underneath (for multiple power supplies), it looks almost certain to me that the mains cable will be wider than the feet are tall, leading to instability.

2 - The height of the front edge, combined with switch-type pedals (rather than Boss-style pedals), looks like it'd make it impossible to engage a switch on the front row with your heel on the floor, which is the most common and comfortable way to do it.

It's fairly straight forward to fix both of those. An IEC or Powercon can be fitted (even at this stage) for 240v mains. I would say that this would be the norm TBH. With regard to the height at the front, I would happily say that this could be as little as 1", perhaps less. 

matt1973

darcym said:

the size of the unit height wise looks good.

putting great quality IEC and Jack in and Jack out points on the board so you can really lock your pedals in place and plug into the board would be nice

Not a problem to do that, obviously it would add to the cost but it's very straight forward to add those in. The jack types that seem to work best are the locking D types or Telecaster style input jacks.

digitalscream

matt1973 said:

digitalscream said:

To me, that design looks great but appears to have two significant design flaws - 

1 - If you've got a power supply mounted underneath, the mains lead needs to come out somewhere...the only way appears to be between the floor and the lower edge of the sides, with whatever space the rubber feet give you. If you mount a 4-way underneath (for multiple power supplies), it looks almost certain to me that the mains cable will be wider than the feet are tall, leading to instability.

2 - The height of the front edge, combined with switch-type pedals (rather than Boss-style pedals), looks like it'd make it impossible to engage a switch on the front row with your heel on the floor, which is the most common and comfortable way to do it.

It's fairly straight forward to fix both of those. An IEC or Powercon can be fitted (even at this stage) for 240v mains. I would say that this would be the norm TBH. With regard to the height at the front, I would happily say that this could be as little as 1", perhaps less. 

Yep - I was thinking a steeper angle; keep the height at the back, but drop it at the front and you'd have a perfect setup I think.

As for the jack suggestion, might be an idea to have four for in/out and send/return.

ChrisMusic

Nice work.

The option of an additional standardised cutout for a patch panel on the side to allow for customisation with the same panel cut.  Anything from simple in and out, to ~ 4cm, expression pedal(s), loop, midi in, midi out/through, stereo amp outs etc.  IEC mains has been mentioned and is a good idea too IMO.

rsvmark

I think it's been said already but power and jacks, customised for each board. I had one built by heritage custom and I went for power and gtr in / out, send and return plus amp Fs on the sides. It makes life dead easy and tidy too. Offer the ability to label the jacks too- I ended up dotting on 'S', 'R' etc on mine in my daughters nail polish.

Handles are good - these things weigh a lot if they are big and loaded with pedals etc. good luck with the venture. 

dunstanmus

The concept looks great. Keep everything customised and you could do really well with this. I wouldn't want jack connections built into the board nor would I put any power underneath so keeping this as an option for people that want them makes sense.

matt1973

@dunstamus There are many options for electronics but if you don't want any of that, the underside is a great cubby for leads, strings, picks and so on. It also represents the most cost effective offering.

@chrismusic For those who tinker with their rig, I can install a half rack D'type punched panel. This gives the user a level of future-proofing for all manor of potential options; balanced outs, midi, usb, etc...

http://www.allmetalparts.co.uk/582-877-thickbox/1u-105-inch-half-rack-8-xlr-d-type-female-hole-panel.jpg

@rsvmark I am developing the capability to print directly onto the Tolex so this should open up the possibility to produce some very intricate graphics but, in addition, it could also be used to label the ins & outs without resorting to nail varnish