Pedalboards

What pedal boards do you guys recommenced? Case type boards that have built in power supplies, just a case type like the diago ones or stuff like pedaltrain boards where you can run cables under and put the power supply under if it will fit.

What types do you prefer and why? I'm struggling to decide on a board to get at some point as I'm really expanding on my pedals now and also just curious on what you guys prefer too

Pedaltrain because they're like Mozilla Firefox: so many add-ons to put on, just a bit of effort.

seen theres a few extras which is nice. Also a lot of pros use them from what I've seen

the best affordable pedalboard with an ATA approved flightcase is definitely the pedaltrain... I had a small one, it was sturdy, light enough to carry on public transportation, and pre drilled for a voodoo pedal power mounted underneath (though I didn't use that feature since I was just running a tuner, a fuzz with a vintage carbon/zinc battery and an ABY that required high voltage)

By the way, now that I think about it, I had been considering Boss' BCB series, especially the 60 model. Very sleek, plenty of space, would definitely use for an acoustic pedalboard.

your number 1 question is whether you will be taking it on a plane and if so if it will be small enough to be carry on

I suggest streamlining to reduce the size you will need so you can afford the nicest board and case possible. If you look at premier guitar rig rundowns you will find that ALL of the guys who have been around a long time either in famous bands or as sidemen to the stars have really simple effects setups and routing even if they use 3 or more amps. I have found they are wise to do so. Its best to cover a few essential sounds and minimize what can go wrong on stage be it malfunctions or human error when tap dancing ludicrous amounts of effects. Check out the 3 guitarists from Roger Waters' recent tour of "the wall", they have only what's essential... and we're talking about Pink Floyd material, some of the most effects driven music for many years. But YMMV

Well seeing as I don't own a passport and haven't for ago 8 years or so, I probably won#t be doing anytime soon haha. Also in the UK its typically cheaper to go to france by train or boat and then drive to your destination in France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg or Western Germany than it is to get a plane for most of the year these days. Only time I'd worry about a plane is the USA or Southern and Eastern Europe which I do want to do one day anyway. I think I need space for 10-15 pedals as a good guess as I want to run some larger pedals, like the Germanium 4 muff, Polychorus, Deluxe muff, Phase 90 a wah etc as well as the usual boss sized pedals. I guess another good question is whats a good affordable power supply :P

Well seeing as I don't own a passport and haven't for ago 8 years or so, I probably won#t be doing anytime soon haha. Also in the UK its typically cheaper to go to france by train or boat and then drive to your destination in France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg or Western Germany than it is to get a plane for most of the year these days. Only time I'd worry about a plane is the USA or Southern and Eastern Europe which I do want to do one day anyway. I think I need space for 10-15 pedals as a good guess as I want to run some larger pedals, like the Germanium 4 muff, Polychorus, Deluxe muff, Phase 90 a wah etc as well as the usual boss sized pedals. I guess another good question is whats a good affordable power supply :P

for that many disparate brand pedals it a voodoo lab or nothing... but your collection is LOADED with redundancy and subtle nuance that the audience won't be able to hear.... I always worry about flying, I am an east coast musician but have had cause to fly to LA with a guitar and some pedals on occasion

I want to run a tubescreamer type over drive, 2 maybe 3 distortions but thats just trying to find what I like best and to change things up every so often, not necessarily have them all on one board. A Polychorus, a Chorus, a Delay, a Phase 100 and a clean boost. I think thats it really. I have 3 distortions at the moment but only use one really which is the DS-1. Also own a small clone which I love but expanding, mainly wanting to get more modulation type effects than I do over drives and distortions. I think on a board I'd run two distortions, an overdrive, a boost, a tuner, polychorus, a chorus, Phase 100 and delay I think thats it. so what do you think of that? I'm tempted to get one suitabe for 8-12 pedals or 10-15, not sure what size I'd need for those without seeing the board in person to work it out, just using imagines to work it out really

I gotta tell ya, I have done the pedal quest on and off for years and its a pain in the neck with very little gratification overall.... if the DS1 works for you then stick with that and stop... get a chorus or flange, maybe a phaser.... if you like delay find a delay unit you dig.... wire it up and quit so you can focus on playing.... whenever I go on the pedal quest I wind up taking stuff off and switching stuff out at rehearsals until there is very little left come gig night... I don't think that's just me, lots of other guys have the same experience... the massive pedalboard players are thinner on the ground than you would think

I gotta tell ya, I have done the pedal quest on and off for years and its a pain in the neck with very little gratification overall.... if the DS1 works for you then stick with that and stop... get a chorus or flange, maybe a phaser.... if you like delay find a delay unit you dig.... wire it up and quit so you can focus on playing.... whenever I go on the pedal quest I wind up taking stuff off and switching stuff out at rehearsals until there is very little left come gig night... I don't think that's just me, lots of other guys have the same experience... the massive pedalboard players are thinner on the ground than you would think

That maybe be you, but perhaps you should meet a younger Omar Rodriguez Lopez... Man's a legend, had three boards for the first few The Mars Volta albums before he downsized.

Honestly, pedal quest is not for everybody, but I've found I enjoy it. The pedals I have now are good enough to work with, but everytime I find something else, It's a matter of trial and error. Sure, if something you found sounds good enough, it should stay, but I always consider the fact that there are pedals out there that might interest me more.

At the moment, though, I figured that the Blackstar HT Dual has the worst distortion ever. It's depressing because a Metal Zone actual sounds so much better when tuned right. The boost though... lovely.

The DS-1 is great, but I'm bored of it which is the problem, I really like the Deluxe big muff but I am yet to try one, I also like that Digitech Hardwire valve distortion and Digitech Hardwire Tube overdrive. I want an overdrive, thats something I've been wanting for a long time now, I find myself playing with my amp overdrive more than I do with my DS1 these days. I want the Carbon copy bright delay, replacing the small clone for something with more settings. I think those will be my main pedals oh and a tuner which is just something everyone needs. I think that probably would give me the sound I want and the polychorus etc I'll still get because I want to play with it and theres some stuff I do that I just wanna use it for those crazy sounds you can get

You're into spartan boards, eh? Check out this guy's pedals, bare essentials plus a rack-mounted reverb. His sound is pretty damn amazing, but it's not for everyone.

see, that's a reliable and versatile board for a guy who needs to reproduce some album textures... I am a big fan of having my echo type effects and even some modulations come from studio processors...

if something goes down it will be easy to figure out where the problem is without ruining the show. Its such a small footprint that you could take a spare with identical stuff to gigs.

You're into spartan boards, eh?

I wouyldn't call Jonsi's pedalboard Spartan actually, its got a bit of everything if you include the reverb processor that's off-board..... more than I bother with

Maybe not for you, but in my terms, that's pretty simplistic.

Come to think of it, John 5's board had to be the smallest I've heard of that has different sounds. For reference, he has a wah that he uses for ONE song, a Super Overdrive, a Super Chorus, and an Noise Suppressor. This was back in 2013.

because John 5 is an experienced pro who knows how to do a lot with a little

You are right.

I'd continue this conversation but I must leave to college. Enjoy yourselves!

If I was to run a lot of pedals how do you connect them upto a foot controller to make life easier? seen a few boards with loads of effects connected to like a several button foot switch