Smorg - your opinion if you please..........

dindude

Can I please canvas some thoughts and opinions on the following dilema, there's no better resource than this place afterall.

So, my Grab range has been well received from the off, offers a good few options for those who want a small board and the bag is something different from the norm and that's by design, it has no zips, no pockets etc, i.e. nothing to go wrong or disintigrate over time - which is my pet hate with pedalboard bags.

But anyone who has been on my website will have seen that the larger Tier range has had a rather long gestation period. I have been selling the board only when customers contact me but it's still not "officially" available on the website and this is solely because of the lack of a case option.

My plan was to offer a hard case only option as I couldn't develop a soft bag that was robust enough for my liking (thinking back to my pet hate), however, after sampling LOTS of hard case options, I'm still not satisfied - I can't find a supplier who can make them accurate / cost effective / sturdy but dosen't wiegh a tonne etc.

I also get the impression from customers I've had contact with that a hard case isn't always ideal for them, people want a light option, and if they want a hard case then there are decent options out there already with integrated pedalboards etc. I also feel it's a bit of a miss-match with the principles of building a lightweight Aluminium board, only to place it in a heavy duty hard case.

So I've come to this as a potential option - build the Tier range to fit the three sizes of Mono Pedalboard bags. Now these bags really are quality. My Tier600 is almost an exact fit for a PB2 already, the Tier500 would need to shrink a bit to be a Tier430 to fit a PB1, and then I would develop a Tier800 to be the Daddy of the range to fit a PB3.

Now, this won't be the cheapest option (due to the cost of the Mono's) if I was to sell them as a package but to be honest, I've no desire to race to the bottom on price, I would sooner offer a different option that focuses on ultimate quality, although prices won't exactly be at boutique levels either.

It does mean that I would be without a custom sized case option for custom sized boards, however, all of the custom size orders I've had so far haven't asked for a case option.

So what do you think geetar players and pedalboard lovers, how many of you use a hard case vs soft case for their pedalboard?, how many are put off by the weight of hard cases? Any thoughts appreciated.

Cheers

Moss

A hard case just isn't practical for me as my pedalboard already ways a fair bit.

Those Mono bags look absolutely great

Moe_Zambeek

I specifically bought my Pedaltrain 2 with the hardcase for the protection. Then I stuck my pedals on and tried to lift the case...

Plan B. 

The hardcase is too heavy and unwieldy for everyday use and rehearsals.

I bought a Mono bag, being a convert to their gigbags. Much easier to shlep around - though still fairly heavy - and still good protection. Doesn't hurt so much when you whack your shin on it.

My one grumble is that the Mono case needs a tad more depth to avoid undue pressure on knobs where the pedals are mounted right up against the back rail on the PT2. It does 'give' after a while but it's tight. Measure accordingly

stickyfiddle

Mono stuff is excellent and moderately-sized pedalboards in decent bags are great. Really easy to carry and the pedals stay safe between car boot and gig venue at the very least. 

Personally a soft case and shoulder strap increases potential to reduce trips between car and venue and is therefore a winner for me. 

Drew_TNBD

Hard-cases are not ideal imho.

dindude

Thanks, so that's soft case 4, hard case 0 at the moment.

mgaw

soft case 5 hard case 0

Gassage

OK, here's the key thing for me.

In order for you to make hard cases, you need to do one of 2 things- either correctly guess the correct height of the board with pedals or speculatively make one big enough (and hold stock) to cover everything (with the new TRex Chorus that's about 1m tall that may be difficult!)

So, my view is simple: you offer a soft case as standard BUT you agree back to back rates with say Swan Flight to do an 'upgrade' option to a hard case which has a range of depths available and publish them as an 'upgrade'.

And, I'd powder coat your ali product black too.

PS: by offering menu options an build options you're also engaging your client- a very good thing.

Gassage

PS: also- think of your market.

How many pro players with roadies do you build for? (sure there's a few, but most will be punters like us).

How do those people transport it?

What are the rates charged to the same demographic by your competitors? I'd also ask someone like guitarguitar the proportuion of PT's sold in hard cases v soft.

Kebabkid

Decent quality soft cases like the Mono will do the job and should be the default with a custom option for a hardcase.

Even my Pedaltrain Jr softcase has lasted for several years with only the first signs of fraying appearing now.

Good luck Dan  

Grunfeld

Soft case selling points IMO:
Absolutely fine if you're packing the case in the car/ van yourself (rather than a hairy-arsed roadie).
Has the advantage that if your pedals overhang the board by a few mm then you have a bit of wiggle room to still fit the board in the case.  Whereas a hard case can be f*cking irritating as there is no wiggle room whatsoever!  The board either fits inside, or that extra pedal must come off.

Hard case probably only necessary if you're doing 50+ gigs per year. 

hubobulous

Soft cases for me too. Only ever bought that option and works well enough for transporting to gigs etc

Wazmeister

Mono for me mate

dindude

Cheers all, looks like soft case is the way to go.

digitalscream

Soft cases are definitely the way forward, but the problem is that the pedal knobs tend to get knocked about. One solution to this is to have a thin piece of ply lining the "lid" part of the case - if you consider having cases made yourself.

If I was going to have a custom Tier board (which might actually be on the cards in a month or two, depending on whether a few other things pan out), I'd pick a case first and then get the board made accordingly.

JookyChap

Definitely soft case for me when I finally buy one, but I'll vote for the hardcase as I'm feeling rebellious

martinw

digitalscream said:

Soft cases are definitely the way forward, but the problem is that the pedal knobs tend to get knocked about. One solution to this is to have a thin piece of ply lining the "lid" part of the case - if you consider having cases made yourself.

This is what puts me off them.

Perhaps if you put a pouch in the case, as Roqsolid do, so that the customer can add a board or not as they see fit? I'd be quite interested in a Tier 500 if this option was available, but a hard case is going to be too big and heavy, so worse than my current Diago, and a soft case will allow my settings to change too easily.

stickyfiddle

I never had any trouble with knob-movement with my PTJr. I always put 2 guitar leads and the coiled-up power cable on top before putting it in the case. 

joeyowen

stickyfiddle said:

I never had any trouble with knob-movement 

Giggle.

I always through cables on top of the pedals, and for most gigs I need to tweak anyway due to size etc...

Winny_Pooh

I wish they could make some hard cases to use this material that the use for drum hardware. Might lighter than the ply and aluminum flight cases.

Sporky

The obvious solution is to make everything - everything - out of kevlar.