the guitar room
the amp room
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building your own pedalboard

- preferably without shedding blood

 

There are several ways to go about getting a pro(ish) pedalboard setup. Here's a few tips and pointers - you'll also find links here and there (oh, and one here too) to the page about how I built a back row riser for my own pedalboard, but lets' start at the beginning...

 

Step 1. How big?

The first step in every pedalboard building enterprise - regardless of how much work you want to put into the actual building process - is to find out what size board you need. There are two approaches to this process - both use the same method, but the results tend to be a little different...

"I've got roadies - or will need them in a short while"

Set up your pedals on the floor, the way you want them arranged. Keep in mind that cables and connectors also take up space - if you can, connect the whole thing up so you know how much space the complete setup needs. Don't forget the power unit(s), and leave room for expansion - getting a proper pedalboard, won't exactly stop you from buying more pedals, will it? Anyway, when you are done fiddling with the placement, use masking tape to outline a rectangular shape around your pedals, and measure the sides. This is the size you need.

"Skip that - I'm going to have to carry this thing myself..."

Find out what sizes are available, or what size is the biggest you can consider carrying. Use masking tape to outline a case that size on the floor, and find a way to fit your pedals into the outline. If need be, expand the rectangle, but only to the next available size (check the manufacturers for sizes). This is the size you will settle for.

Once the inside dimensions are set, it's time to look at the height. Consider if you want the board to have two levels - a raised back row is great for tapdancing, as well as hiding power supplies under, but will also limit your placement options. You can't exactly place a pedal right across the level change... If you decide on an upper level, you need to make sure the case height is enough to fit the pedals on the upper level. Figure on at least 12 cm of inner height, to fit the riser and pedals. You could make the riser only 2 cm or so high, just enough to raise the back row slightly above the pedals in front, but then you'd lose the ability to use the space underneath. My riser will have 4 cm of free space underneath, to fit the Cioks power supply. The Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 needs just a little more free height than the Cioks (45 mm), while the ADL Juice Box needs slightly less vertical space (38,6 mm) but it's deeper, so you need more horizontal area.

 

Step 2. What kind?

Basically, there are two paths to go from here - you can build it (partly or completely) yourself, or you can have someone build a complete board/case to your specs. I won't go into the custom-built case thing, other than to give you a few links at the bottom of this page. If you go that route, you will need all the time you can spare to wallow in all the options - good luck! If you decide on undertaking some of the work - or all of it - yourself, you need to start exploring the options available. Here are a few ideas:

 

Full flightcase/other kinds of carrying cases

My personal favourite - even though I didn't end up building mine this way. Basically, you start by working out the size as above, and then look for a case with roughly those interior dimensions. What you want is a "briefcase" style case, like the ones sound guys use to carry tools, batteries, tape rolls, cd's and all the other junk they bring to gigs... and make sure the hinges are the type that come apart. To locate a good case builder, you can ask your local PA renting firm - they order cases for every new piece of gear, and might be able to sneak your case in with the next order. The case doesn't have to be fitted with any special interior - just the usual foamy stuff that makes up the base in just about any briefcase style flightcase. Of course, you don't have to have a pro ATA-approved flightcase - you can get a tool case from your local Home Depot, if you want. Any case with the following specs will work:

Once you have the case in your possession, you can start building the actual board. All you need is a good-sized sheed of plywood, to begin with - go to the lumberyard and ask to look in their scrap bin. You'll pay next to nowt for a big sheet of 7mm ply, which is thick enough for this project. Then you need carpet, a can of spray glue and a staple gun. The best stuff is trade show display fabric such as Veltex, which will suck the pedals down so hard you can lift the entire board by one of the pedals... Alternately, you might also get lucky with a car trunk carpet. Check out a car stereo supplier - it's the kind they use to dress their bass bins in - or a general auto parts supplier. Bring some male (hook side) velcro, to test the carpet before buying.

Cut the board to size, so it fits (a little loosely - car trunk carpet builds about 1-2 mm, and Veltex about half as much) into the lid, and cut the carpet to size as well. You need to be able to cover the board, with a few centimeters to spare, for a snug fit on the underside. You don't need to cover the entire underside - you might as well use small rubber feet (about the same thickness as the carpet) in the un-carpeted midsection, to make the board sit flat against the bottom. Just make sure you have enough carpet to get around the edge, and a little more. Once the carpet is cut, spray-glue the entire board top, and attach the carpet (stretching it lightly, to avoid bubbles). Wrap around the edges, and finish off with a little glue and the staple gun on the bottom. The staples are only there to stop the carpet from coming loose from the edge - on the top, it's the glue that keeps the carpet stuck to the board.

Once the glue is dry, just slip the board into the lid, and you're done! If your measurements were correct, the board that before sat a little loose in the lid, will now (due to the thickness of the carpet) sit snugly.

Pro flightcase option: start looking through case manufacturers' stock lists, and pay extra special attention to mixer cases. Don't be thrown off by the fact that it says (for instance) "case for Mackie CFX16" - it will be designed the same way as a pedalboard case would be. After all, most mixer cases are designed so that the mixer can rest in the bottom section, and all you do is take the top/hood off. It will have a bottom section with a reasonably low edge, a flat bottom surface for the mixer to rest on, and a "hood" that attaches to the bottom section with butterfly latches. If you order a pedalboard case, it'll most likely end up looking similar to this, but it will be a special (i.e. expensive) order. If you can use something that is either "universal" or part of their normal stock, it will be much cheaper. The actual board is then built as described above - if the edge bothers you too much, just add foam material inside the bottom section to raise the board up a bit. Or if you get a case with medium high edges and build the board on risers, you might even be able to squeeze in the power supply underneath the whole thing. The sky is the limit here (and probably your wallet too, but that's another story...).

One thing to look out for is the weight of the case itself - heavy-duty flightcases (such as the ones for mixers etc) are usually made from 9mm plywood, and will be quite heavy. Personally, I'd prefer to have a pedalboard case built from 6mm ply, as it would keep the weight down quite a bit. It won't be as sturdy, but even on a big tour, your pedalboard isn't very likely to end up at the bottom of a pile of cases, is it?

 

Semi-completed cases

For the lazy ones - er... that'll be me then... I bought a Rockcase (by Rockbag/Warwick) RC23010A aluminium flight case, with 60x40 cm pedal area. It cost me about 1200 SEK (1495 SEK list price), but to be honest, the above flightcase variant I was considering would have cost a little more, and this one was useable from the get-go. The case came complete with carpet, velcro and (just barely) enough height for a second level. Basically, it's designed to be used as is, but I've still decided to build a second level, to raise the back row a bit and get the power supply out of the way. Further down the page, you'll find a full story on that project, but for now, check out the pics below - I also threw in a few pedals, to better show the size.

Rockbag also does a "proper" flightcase version, as well as cheaper board/gigbag type combos, but they come complete with power supplies, which I didn't want. I also liked the size of this board/case - the pedal area is 40 cm deep, instead of the more common 30 cm. This means that there's plenty of room for an extra row of pedals, if you'd like. Also, having one extra large pedal will not eat up the space above it - there's still room.

But there are other options as well - you can check out the Stonecastle line, but I'm not sure if they're a Swedish speciality or not. There are other (cheaper) boards available - for instance, in the US there's the CNB line from Rondo Music, which is so cheap it's a little silly - shipping it to Europe would cost three to four times the price of the case... T-Rex Tone Trunk is an option, which seems to draw quite a bit on the (US-made) Pedaltrain line.

The trick to using a semi-completed case is that you can decide for yourself how much work to put into it. If you don't want to do any work at all, get one that fits your needs, and just load the pedals in. If you want to work a little more on getting that custom fit you want, get one that will let you modify it a bit. Click here to find out what I did to mine...

 

 

Custom jobs/complete cases

There are no fixed boundaries between the semi-completed and complete cases - most of the custom builders will have a standard line of boards/cases ready to go, which might as well qualify them to be in the previous group. And then there's the all-out custom jobs, where you can have a case in exactly the size you want, with exactly the options you need. This group is often the most expensive, as they are shipped to you as a complete unit, ready to go, and with your options. Even if you go for a case from the standard lineup, without any extras at all, it will probably be more expensive than a ready-made cheapo case from Rondo Music (for instance). After all, in this group, even the standard cases are hand-built... Sadly - for us Europeans at least - even the cheapest of these cases can become rather pricey once shipping, customs and taxes are added. Still, have a look at NYC Pedalboards, Pumaboards, Trailer Trash pedalboards and NGM. And right here in Sweden, we have our own BacklineMicke building Overkill pedalboards (when he's not out touring as a backline tech). Oh, and here's a photo gallery of his work, if you want something to drool over...

In other parts of the world as well, there are casebuilders who has realized that there's a market for these kinds of things. As a European, I'd prefer to find a company inside the EU who can build me something appropriate - at least in theory, it should turn out cheaper than shipping from across the Atlantic... Pro Audio Directory is a Dutch site with links to case builders from all of the the world - if you browse around a bit, I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for.

Now, what I'd like to see is a small range of (reasonably priced) pedalboards/cases from Holmberg Cases here in Sweden - their quality and track record in the industry is undisputed, and I'm sure they'd to an awesome job! Granted, there are other flightcase companies in Sweden besides Holmberg, and if any of you would want to be the first to dip your toes into the pedalboard market, just e-mail me and I'll be happy to give you my input into suitable sizes, features and such.

 

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