The Homebrew Pedalboard Thread

dindude

I had a bit of a "fuck-it why not" moment last weekend. Let me explain.

I built a tiny pedalboard (fits in a laptop case) about three years ago (see below pic), and it's done me well in controlling the amount of pedals I own at one time, although not so good for the turn-over aspect! 

So last weekend as I contemplated a phaser pedal again (I've flip-flopped between phase and trem in the "mod" slot), and looked at my off-board Blackstar that I use for high-gain times, I thought, why the hell don't I just have what I want on one board, I am an adult after all.

Within 10 minutes I was planning a new board and I thought I would document it in a thread.

Let me make one big caveat - this isn't complex, this is for all those who look at ICBM's amp knowledge or Wezv's guitar building skills with total awe. This is for those who finding changing a pickup without leaving solder scars on the guitars' finish a challenge, because that's me, and that's why I haven't been so bold to put it in making and modding!

Why make one and not just buy a pedaltrain I hear you shout? Good question, it's just more fun and I like the bespoke aspect of the finished article.

You can see from the first pic I've had a few new toys delivered over the last few days, the idea is that I will create a board big enough to accommodate the phase 90 in the front row, add the bogner to the back row alongside the delay on a raised platform, and also upgrade the power supply to the Cioks which has a few more isolation options (although the diago has been great overall and never skipped a beat).

Think I will need to lose the FuzzFace along the way as I rarely use it (like a Wah, I like the idea but can't get anything good out if it myself). 

The starting point is the case I've bought from Maplins (£38 see second pic), I will build it to this size, it is ever so slightly smaller than a pedaltrain jr, my target price for the case and board materials is also to come in under the cost of a PT jr, soft case version (so about £85). It's still going to be a very tight squeeze so hope I've got my measurements right.

Right, off to Wickes in a minute.................

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/068f321dc22524e0a4597768a7db9022_zps08f60eb1.jpg

dindude

Second pic, wouldn't fit in original comment....

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/a984e853e2b58672e6fed599ac2a08f3_zps4518d1c6.jpg

mike_l

Great choice of phaser, sir. My own personal favourite.

stickyfiddle

Ikea Gorm or something a bit more fully homemade?

dindude

@stickyfiddle a little more home made than a gorm, but not a lot.

Here are the materials, tomorrow is cutting and drilling day.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/efd68db8d4f99f3f5c0152b32bc76c7e_zps4e0f5037.jpg

Total spend (inc. case so far) £67. 

I'm gonna cheat and use the handle and rubber feet from the old board, and I have some suitable paint so hopefully not much more expense to come. 

steamabacus

Those Maplins cases are a good size - although I ended up splitting my board into two, one in each of two of those cases!



I found it best to remove the 'pyramid' foam from the lid, cut the large block of foam into two so that it was half the thickness and then glue that piece into the lid (it is just the right thickness when cut to half depth).

dindude

^^that looks very neat, thanks for the tip.

d8m

My pedalboard is my carpet...

I think i need to change that and finally build something.

dindude

Basic cutting done. Test fitted the case and it fits. Just.

The board itself is 12mm ply, then I'm using 12mm aluminium angle for the edges, all bought from Homebase/Wickes.

The board was cut with a jigsaw, the alu angle with a rusty (and trusty) hacksaw.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/52ce5c7eead0c2dbfd22901b3be23a53_zps47383f09.jpg

Of course, the correct way to do this is to have some U shaped aluminium section and cut it at a 45 degree angle, but I haven't got the skill/tools to cut in a straight line let alone an angle so this is my solution, with the alu L section on the sides overlapping on the bottom edge, and L section on the front and rear overlapping on the top edge, like this.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/0e76af005bafdb71b7b3af3e0773e82f_zps54d6682d.jpg

Next, drilling.

digitalscream

That's an awful lot of trouble to go to for the edging.

Myself, I just went with gaffa tape...

dindude

Holes drilled in the Aluminium, and pilot holes drilled in the board.

Rear pedal plinths made out of 2cm x 1.5 cm pine strip and glued in place, with the smaller edge used for the bogner as it is a little taller than the delay.

I haven't gone for a solid plinth as I will run the power cables through the channels before putting the pedals on top.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/66cfd0ec89350667a6e11f382be309ac_zpsdd600dde.jpg

And a quick test fit before I get this sucker painted up.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/0b4faa0d0c6bcd398971af0848733330_zps47e502b5.jpg

bertie

nice,  I spent £3.95 on a shelf at Ikea and £1.25 on a bottle of enamel paint........................

not really uber giggable but it works a treat.

Its now got 1/2 "risers on the "back" so the psu and gig-rig distributor are tucked away underneath - the TS has been replaced with a Boiling Point clone too...........

No prizes for seeing that I measured the amp stand wrong, so had to route rebates out of the runners to get the board to fit underneath !!

vasselmeyer

I'm just about to do the same thing myself, with budget pedals to how little I can spend on a board. Just for kicks, as I'm not even sure how much I'll us it. I'm going with an Ikea Gorm shelf but I'm going to put a switcher/looper on the front for pre-programmed combinations and amp channel switching. The right sized case is going to be the most difficult thing to find.

steamabacus

vasselmeyer said:

I'm just about to do the same thing myself, with budget pedals to how little I can spend on a board. Just for kicks, as I'm not even sure how much I'll us it. I'm going with an Ikea Gorm shelf but I'm going to put a switcher/looper on the front for pre-programmed combinations and amp channel switching. The right sized case is going to be the most difficult thing to find.

This is a useful link for cases.

vasselmeyer

steamabacus said:

vasselmeyer said:

I'm just about to do the same thing myself, with budget pedals to how little I can spend on a board. Just for kicks, as I'm not even sure how much I'll us it. I'm going with an Ikea Gorm shelf but I'm going to put a switcher/looper on the front for pre-programmed combinations and amp channel switching. The right sized case is going to be the most difficult thing to find.

This is a useful link for cases.

That is a REALLY useful site. Thanks very much for pointing it out. Have a wisdom on me.

dindude

Ready for Velcro and pedals. The tolerances make the 1970's UK car industry look good, but it seems very robust!

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/1df5181b43b177ad1a9cf129726ac0fe_zpsbd82b273.jpg

dindude

And if anyone's still tuning in, the finished article.......... (well aside from the fact I haven't got a Geoarge L cable long enough to stretch from LGW to bogner!)

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/f38e6d3ce9ccda839810d08697aa2670_zpsa80870be.jpg

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/4be562ad6aaea2299fb9e555a4700144_zps4e7e65f8.jpg

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/0812260888b025b869260e0ae03b1d97_zps41e863ff.jpg

Thanks for watching.

Kebabkid

Bootiful Dan. Bootiful!!! Having seen your original board, I remember being convinced it was brushed aluminium and some bespoke US board! I wanted one.

Nice one and good pedals too. How are you finding The Blue Note?

ChrisMusic

Enjoyed your board build, inspirational, thanks.   Looks great now it's populated  

dindude

Thanks Cos. Really liking the Blue Note, the fat knob really let's you dial it in and with the switch you can go from a transparent-ish flat EQ to something with more mids, stacks very well too.

The Bogner Red is an insanely good pedal too, early days but I've never heard a pedal quite like it.

digitalscream

Excellent stuff  Where did you get the handle for your board?

Kinda wish I hadn't sold my autographed Bogner Red now, but...well, it paid for one of my amps almost in full, so I guess I can't complain too much.