The Smorg Custom Build Thread...

dindude

I've made a few custom size boards for people over the last 6 months or so and each time I intend on doing a photo diary of the process but time is always tight so I end up focusing on getting the board finished and out to the customer, and the diary idea disappears.

Well this time I'm going to build a custom size for myself and time isn't so important, so I thought I would document it here for anyone who's interested, so long as you can put up with my idle ramblings and be a little patient, as this will take a good couple of weeks to come together.

I'll show the thought process behind my decisions and also an insight into the build process of the board.

I REALLY do over-think my boards, what pedals go on them, what stays off (often overlooked), power, layout etc. I guess that's how I came to start making my own, and then making them for other people. And I know I'm not alone here, looking at some of the boards on this here forum.

Smorg btw is very much a labour of love, it doesn't put food on the table, I just get a kick out of making them and seeing them in use from other players.

So after that little intro, the first question is what is the board for?

If you are someone who chops and changes pedals all the time then I always recommend a standard size, off-the-shelf job, choose the right one and it will have enough flexibility to see you through.

However, thats waaaaaay too easy!, my intention with this is to make my chosen pedals really work for me, from a space point of view and a practicality point of view.

This has pretty much been my board for the last 6 months or so, very simple, very effective, and on a standard Grab600.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/03ed898c20c3d980b7745bfd486c8a4a_zps7sl53w3y.jpg

Over the last month or so, I wanted to make it just a little comprehensive, whilst still keeping the "simple as possible mantra" that I have.

A few things needed fixing for me, fundamentally I wasn't happy with my high gain sounds. The Sick As is the best low gainer I've tried, the LGW the best mid-gainer - and the Amber on its own or the SA stacked into the LGW provided the high gain. 

Both were great sounds, but just not quite what I was looking for. High gain is tricky one for me as I don't want the traditional modded Marshall bite or the smooth Boogies sound either - not really sure how to describe it really, but I want a gainy but lively extension of an overdrive sound, not "distortion" as such.

I also missed having a Trem pedal after getting rid of my Tremulator, and after going Snark for a while, I wanted a pedal tuner too.

So after much faffing around and experimentation these are the pedals I'm gonna go with, for me they really represent the best of the best for their respective roles that I've tried.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/41329025e3c8ed06f22597eee7ac2af1_zpsjzbl2hex.jpg

This is them on a standard Tier500. Now any sensible person would just go with it and relish the challenge of filling that remaining space. Nah, I don't want anything else on there, and I've thought long and hard too. Anything else just messes with the vibe maaaan. Having said that I may still keep an off-board fuzz for those moments - but it will be a battery only, no led, guitar input first unadulterated fuzz pedal.

So two things came to mind, a). I can make it more compact and b). I want to overcome some tap-dancing issues with the various drive stacking combinations and also getting to the pedals on the back row.

More on this in the next instalment.

So lesson number one - if you're going custom board, be very sure of your pedal selection.

TimmyO

Nice

dindude

So pedals chosen, the next consideration is if I want to add any switching, something I've never done before, but with a few different fav stacking combinations it has become a real consideration.

Basically I rarely stack the Sick As into anything, I run it alone for edge of break-up, and then run either the LGW, the Unimos, or the LGW>Unimos together for various amounts of gain. Not to say there aren't good sound stacking the Sick As into the others, just not at the settings I tend to use the Sick As at, that's all.

I've narrowed it down to 5 (!) options varying in sophistication:

Option 1. No switching options, run all 7 pedals in line and switch them in and out as required.

Simple as it gets, the only problem is say I want to go (as an example) from Sick As on it's own to the LGW stacking into the Unimos, that's 3 stomps to get from one sound to the other.

Option 2. Run something like the Skreddy Dual Loop, which switches between two distinct loops. I would run this with the Sick As in Loop A and the LGW>Unimos in Loop B. This way I can flick between either Clean or Sick As when Loop A is selected and then (pre)select either LGW, Unimos, or both in Loop B. Very simple, only down side is that if I did ever want to stack the Sick As into the other drives for a particular sound I would need to re-patch.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/DualLoop_zpstjwgbucd.jpg

Option 3. Gigrig Quartermaster QMX 4, I would patch Sick As in Loop 1, LGW+Unimos in Loop 2, Trem in Loop 3, Tuner in Loop 4. The Swirl would feed the input and the Delay would come off the output, which suits me as the delay is my only buffer in the chain thus I would want it always on.

By using the flip flop function of the QMX I could achieve the same results as option 2 above but also at the flick of a switch return to normal operation like option A, useful for the odd occasion I want to experiment with the Sick As for stacking. The other advantage of the QMX - I could also flip flop the Trem so that I could be one button push away from a Trem'd clean sound to either the Sick As on it's own or any of the LGW/Unimos combinations. Using Loop 4 for the Tuner would mean I could place it anywhere out of reach and it wouldn't matter.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/tgr-qmx4-400_zpscta0nang.jpg

Option 4. Option 4 would be to use the One Control Salamandra - this is a 3 loop box that has 16 presets that can put the three loops in any order and apply a buffer per preset if required, also has a dedicated tuner out.

Obvious advantage would be to patch the three drive pedals into the three loops and have any permutation of stacking available at the flick of a switch, with the Swirl feeding the input and the Trem and Delay coming off the output.

Downside, I think I would possibly spend too much time dicking around with the various permutations. Also, Only two recallable programmes before you have to hit the bank button takes away a lot of the advantages.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/OC_zpsvlx8i62l.jpg

Option 5. Something like the Musicomlab 8L. Now we are getting complex, I could patch the whole lot through the various loops and have presets with Trem/Delay/Swirl ready to go, as well as the various drive combinations.

Disadvantage is that I think I would quickly loose where I was with it all and just want to be able to kick pedals (particularly Delay/Trem/Swirl) on and off at will.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/musicomlab_EFX_8L__06752.1439885617.728.485_zpsasxwvvfa.jpg

Choices, choices. I told you I over-think it!

dindude

The above options have been in consideration for a while and I've pretty much ruled out option 1 and option 5. Option 1 because I really fancy switching between the drives more easily and Option 5 because it just get's too complex.

For Options 2 and 4, the board may be not far off a Tier500 after all, that last space (although in a different place) would be filled by either the Skreddy Dual Loop or (at a push) the Salamndra. 

For Option 3, it would lean towards a different layout, so out comes my highly sophistiacted "pedalboard layout programme", AKA Excel.

It's not exactly CAD but it's never let me down. I could do something like this:

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/0ca56f06a88a01836fcc6241d4a614c7_zpsk2tlbb2m.jpg

And planned out on the floor (minus the Gigrig):

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/d822616099935f9c7c1b6ec883c0b777_zpsr5pqqmyp.jpg

Quite liking this middle-ground option, it would be nice and compact, give options but not be too complex. But I need to sleep on it.

Lesson number 2 - know what you want your pedals/board to do for you!

dindude

In the words of Roger Waters "is there anybody out there....."

Anyways, I've decided I'm def going for the Gigrig QMX option 3. So this is the bit where I've got my pedals sorted and I make contact with myself regarding a custom build option.

Time now to draft up a few different options on what the board could look like, but I also need to consider what power supply I'm going with and cable options too (soldered vs more compact solderless ones) as this will also help determine the board size and height.

More musings on this to follow....

hubobulous

Yes, I'm here!!

Following with interest. I think sometimes its just the nature of a build thread, or suchlike where people watch and read, but unless there's questions etc for them to respond to, things stay quiet.

But for me, I'm really enjoying reading this. I like to know the thinking behind people's work rather than just pretty photos, so the substance that you're adding is being appreciated.

I'll be vocal from now on, I promise ;-)

PVO_Dave

Following too

dindude

Cheers fellas, I do get that such threads don't necessarily drive reciprocation.

joeyowen

I'm loving it so far!

dindude

So whilst I'm waiting to get my hands on the Gigrig QMX, time to look at a few options.

There are basically three different elements to a Smorg Pedalboard:

1. The frame - this is built from 25mm x 25mm square Aluminium tube. Whilst I make it that pedals can happily overlap onto the frame, I tend to plan so that the pedals sit just within, which suits my Pedal-OCD and allows a bit of wiggle room. It also allows room for jack plugs etc without them actually exceeding the frame edge.

2. The Plate(s) - The Grab range has one single plate with a gap at the top to allow power cables to get the power supply underneath, the Tier has two plates with a gap at the top and in between the two plates for the same purpose.

3. Legs / Feet - The Grab has feet of varying size to give it height, the Tier has metal legs at the back to give it increased height.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/113128ef-6c99-440a-ae11-e1634f5e2e85_zpsgsc7ulsh.jpg

All of the above 3 elements can basically be custom sized to give whatever is needed, which gives a pretty big scope. I have however turned people away on custom enquiries when they basically ask for something that doesn't fit the core Smorg design. I.e. I have had requests for holes in the plate, or very thin rails, or even to have it made out of wood! There are often better options for this, a bit liking going to Fender to make your ideal Les Paul.

So anyway for my build, the frame pretty much speaks for itself, I think I have the right dims but I will check once I have the QMX in my grasp and have decided on soldered or solder less cables.

For the plate, two options spring to mind.

One big single plate with a gap at top for power supply cables to get underneath, just like a deep Grab really, like this.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/PB1_zpsfn83jv30.jpg

Or Two plates like a Tier with a gap between, albeit the depth of the two plates would be reduced from standard 125mm (to around 100mm each), like this.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/PB3_zpsefkfuaal.jpg

I don't intend on running any audio cables under the board, just power cables so either could work and I think the first option would be neater as the pedals would have a solid plateform to sit on, even though the power cables from the front row would need to run to the top of the board (not a big problem).

Here's a basic depiction: 

First Option with pedals - my preference at the moment.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/PB2_zpsvxloejbt.jpg

Second option with pedals - although not exactly to scale you can see that some pedals would likely overhang the gap between the two plates, not the neatest solution.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/PB4_zps264vos3c.jpg

The feet / legs options will follow, I first need to decide if my current power supply meets my requirements. But basically I know I want to keep the height / angle as small as possible as the bulk of the switching will be done from the front row.

More to come...........

Strat_a_tat_tat

I see there's a review of your boards in the latest Guitar and Bass!

I'm off to read it now...

dindude

Strat_a_tat_tat said:

I see there's a review of your boards in the latest Guitar and Bass!

I'm off to read it now...

Oohhhh haven't seen it myself yet! Very interesting....

Strat_a_tat_tat

@dindude

9/10.... impressive!

dindude

Strat_a_tat_tat said:

@dindude

9/10.... impressive!

Cool!

rsvmark

Good work - and enjoying the thread. I can understand your preference for option 1 as it fits your set up better. Would option 2 be more flexible (and therefore more attractive to customers) assuming you were to put it into 'production' as a standard product?

dindude

rsvmark said:

Good work - and enjoying the thread. I can understand your preference for option 1 as it fits your set up better. Would option 2 be more flexible (and therefore more attractive to customers) assuming you were to put it into 'production' as a standard product?

Yeah possibly. I am thinking about doing an "inbetweeny" at some stage.

hubobulous

I think option 2 is better as well. I know your OCD doesn't like the overhang, but Option 1 seems less flexible for the cabling.

Both are cool though.

ThorpyFX

lovely pedalboard build. I like the ability to change the feet height. thisll help cable routing etc.

Strat_a_tat_tat

hubobulous said:

I know your OCD doesn't like the overhang...

This place never ceases to amaze me... where else can you get info. on pedal board layout... plus advice on minor mental health issues?

oaf

I like the look of the Tier with the two gaps... much more flexible. OCD schmoCD!

BigMonka

I love build threads like this 

On your Excel layout plan is it worth putting on the input/output/power locations on each pedal to help you work out neat routing and whether the central gap in the second option would be worth it?

I prefer the second option for flexibility, but would the overhang of the pedals stop the pedal switching feeling as solid when you step on them? (although I know you won't need to often due to the new looper/switching system)