Pedal Boards - Buy one or Build My Own?

[JerEvil]

So I am newly back into the effects world and need a pedal board. Looked at the Pedaltrain PT1 with hard case for $120 at Guitar Center. My question is, is that case a pice of junk? Should I be worried the handle is going to pop off?

Now I am mechanically inept but I believe I could plan out the construction of a pedal board, go to Home Depot and have them cut the wood to size for me and save about $90. Am dumb to not try building my own first?

How many of you all built your own?

 

[rlord1974]

I recommend you do what I did last summer when I needed to quickly pull together a small pedalboard for some upcoming gigs in smaller clubs. Check out this thread. It was easy, and Casey's turnaround time was incredible....

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=121472&hilit=pedalboard

Good luck (not that you need any)!

 

[dpeterson]

build... go to home depot, get some 1/4" MDF, and get some aluminum U channeling also from HD. go by the kitchen hardware aisle, get 2 handles. Then you can paint the board or get some vinyl laminate and add rubber feet if you want. Cost about $40 in parts.

 

[JerEvil]

So here is what I laid out to scale based off the measurements from the manufacturers. It is the exact size of the Pedal Train PT1. I think the layout of pedals, wireless, etc. works. Any advice?

 

[rlord1974]

A few pieces of advice.

1) If you build your own, DO NOT use MDF. If someone spills a beer on it or it otherwise gets wet, its strength will be significantly compromised. You could step on that wah of yours and split the board in half. Use 1/4" ply (not chipboard), at minimum. Otherwise, I agree with everything 'dpeterson' said above.

2) If you change amp channels a lot, put the footswitch at the front of your board, not in the second row. If it must be in the second row, put it on a riser so you can easily hit the switches without inadvertently hitting things on the Zoom as well.

3) Personally, given how stripped down and simple your board is, I'd build my own. It will take no time and will be about 1/3 the price of buying a new PT.

 

[1meanplexi]

Hey Jer!

I am with Rlord on this. Use EXTERIOR graded plywood. Not the MDF although MDF is a really strong, Introduce moisture and it is over. I built my own and as I got through the project my mind kept creating other things that I needed. If you buy one that's it!!!!! You got what ya got. The multi level design is HUGE. Nothing worse than tiptoeing over one pedal to get to another.

 

[JerEvil]

A few pieces of advice.

1) If you build your own, DO NOT use MDF. If someone spills a beer on it or it otherwise gets wet, its strength will be significantly compromised. You could step on that wah of yours and split the board in half. Use 1/4" ply (not chipboard), at minimum. Otherwise, I agree with everything 'dpeterson' said above.

2) If you change amp channels a lot, put the footswitch at the front of your board, not in the second row. If it must be in the second row, put it on a riser so you can easily hit the switches without inadvertently hitting things on the Zoom as well.

3) Personally, given how stripped down and simple your board is, I'd build my own. It will take no time and will be about 1/3 the price of buying a new PT.

No way am I using MDF. I was looking at poplar or maple 1x4's and 2x4's (trying to mimic the PT/Gorm). Not sure which ones are right to use though. The board will sit at an angle with the back side raised with dowels/blocks and rubber feet. I actually RARELY change channels but want to keep everything together. Someone suggested having the Splawn footswitch and Zoom side-by-side. That will make for a really long board. Not sure if I'd like that.

 

[rlord1974]

The board will sit at an angle with the back side raised with dowels/blocks and rubber feet. I actually RARELY change channels but want to keep everything together.

Someone suggested having the Splawn footswitch and Zoom side-by-side. That will make for a really long board. Not sure if I'd like that.

Whatever pedals you actually use the most should be at the front of the board. You don't want to be constantly stepping over pedals to get to the back row.

I don't know about you, but 90% of the time I am tuning between songs, not during them, so I would suggest putting that tuner in the back row.

I understand that the board might be a little wider with the Zoom and Splawn footswitch side-by-side but, again, you need to go with what makes the most sense functionally. If the board grows 3 or 4 inches in width as a result, it's not the end of the world. The board itself still wouldn't be that wide, and the bonus is you might gain some second row real estate to add a few more pedals now or in the future.

Notwithstanding everything I just said, if you are adamant that you want the Splawn in the second row, cut another piece of 1/4" ply, spray paint it black and attach it to the bottom of the Splawn to boost it even further above the height of the Zoom.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure you post up some progress pics - I'd love to see what you end up doing.

 

[snowdog]

If you are not completely incompetent you should easily be able to make a nice one.

 

[Bob Savage]

So I am newly back into the effects world and need a pedal board. Looked at the Pedaltrain PT1 with hard case for $120 at Guitar Center. My question is, is that case a pice of junk? Should I be worried the handle is going to pop off?

Now I am mechanically inept but I believe I could plan out the construction of a pedal board, go to Home Depot and have them cut the wood to size for me and save about $90. Am dumb to not try building my own first?

How many of you all built your own?

It depends. How handy are you in the shop? Being mechanically inept usually means you're also very slow designing and building. Do you care whether you have something store bought or whether it was made with your own hands? In the end depending on what your time is worth to you, buying one isn't a bad idea especially if you're going to spend 2 days making one.

Coincidentally, I need a pedalboard myself and started this one today. It's ready for stain.

 

[JerEvil]

So I am newly back into the effects world and need a pedal board. Looked at the Pedaltrain PT1 with hard case for $120 at Guitar Center. My question is, is that case a pice of junk? Should I be worried the handle is going to pop off?

Now I am mechanically inept but I believe I could plan out the construction of a pedal board, go to Home Depot and have them cut the wood to size for me and save about $90. Am dumb to not try building my own first?

How many of you all built your own?

It depends. How handy are you in the shop? Being mechanically inept usually means you're also very slow designing and building. Do you care whether you have something store bought or whether it was made with your own hands? In the end depending on what your time is worth to you, buying one isn't a bad idea especially if you're going to spend 2 days making one.

Coincidentally, I need a pedalboard myself and started this one today. It's ready for stain.

I'm not handy and I don't have a shop. Home Depot would cut the boards and I'd put it together. Yours looks bad ass! Wanna build me one?

 

[the aXeman]

They're pretty easy to make and you can make one out of just about anything... I know a guy who built one out of an old wooden cutting board... Ironically I'm having one built for me right now by a buddy of mine who has tools, I should have it by Sunday... Diamond plate and plexiglass, based on the Trailer Trash board design... If I remember, I'll post pics...

 

[Bob Savage]

I'm not handy and I don't have a shop. Home Depot would cut the boards and I'd put it together. Yours looks bad ass! Wanna build me one?

I would recommend against the "home depot will cut the boards" method. Definitely buy one.

It may be less expensive to go with something you can get from GC, Sweetwater, etc. that's made of metal, and in China, but if you want something unique, sure, I can get you a price once we figure out what size board you need, etc. The one I made for myself has 25"x12" of usable space and is designed so the Voodoo Lab pedal power 2 can mount underneath.

I'm either going to put a handle on one end (probably the back/low end, since the front has openings to run cables out of) or I'm going to build a wooden case for it. Let me know if you're interested because I'm probably making another one for someone else so I could do them both at the same time.

 

[snowdog]

Although Bob's looks nice, it doesn't need to be a furniture quality project...a few boards screwed together with some black spray paint used to velcro some pedals on is all it needs to be.

 

[Bob Savage]

Although Bob's looks nice, it doesn't need to be a furniture quality project...a few boards screwed together with some black spray paint used to velcro some pedals on is all it needs to be.

He could take a 24"x2"x4" piece of Pine, stick a strip of velcro on it and stick his pedals to it and call it a pedalboard but by his own admission he is not mechanically inclined. In my opinion he should buy a board, period.

This is my first pedalboard and I made it because I need one. I don't manufacture and sell pedalboards so I'm not pushing him towards buying one because I want to benefit financially, in fact, I told him he would probably be better off buying something made in China due to cost. What I do think is a poor idea is telling someone who has transparently stated that they are not mechanically inclined to make their own pedalboard.

 

[JerEvil]

Although Bob's looks nice, it doesn't need to be a furniture quality project...a few boards screwed together with some black spray paint used to velcro some pedals on is all it needs to be.

He could take a 24"x2"x4" piece of Pine, stick a strip of velcro on it and stick his pedals to it and call it a pedalboard but by his own admission he is not mechanically inclined. In my opinion he should buy a board, period.

This is my first pedalboard and I made it because I need one. I don't manufacture and sell pedalboards so I'm not pushing him towards buying one because I want to benefit financially, in fact, I told him he would probably be better off buying something made in China due to cost. What I do think is a poor idea is telling someone who has transparently stated that they are not mechanically inclined to make their own pedalboard.

To be clear, I'm not functionally retarded. I can't make dovetail joints because A) I don't have the tools and B) I've never tried.

By not mechanically inclined I mean I've not put years into building things. I took and passed shop class in middle and high school. I know how to use a tablesaw, belt sander and drill press. It's just nothing I've stuck with over the years.

Perhaps I shouldn't have sold myself so short in my OP! Lol!

 

[Bob Savage]

To be clear, I'm not functionally retarded. I can't make dovetail joints because A) I don't have the tools and B) I've never tried.

By not mechanically inclined I mean I've not put years into building things. I took and passed shop class in middle and high school. I know how to use a tablesaw, belt sander and drill press. It's just nothing I've stuck with over the years.

Perhaps I shouldn't have sold myself so short in my OP! Lol!

I'm obviously a bit of a literalist in the sense that I take ones words at face value. If you know ow to use tools you can build yourself a board for a pretty decent price.

Here's mine, stained and with one coat of my poly/oil mix. I'm planning on applying 3 coats across 3 days.

 

[JerEvil]

To be clear, I'm not functionally retarded. I can't make dovetail joints because A) I don't have the tools and B) I've never tried.

By not mechanically inclined I mean I've not put years into building things. I took and passed shop class in middle and high school. I know how to use a tablesaw, belt sander and drill press. It's just nothing I've stuck with over the years.

Perhaps I shouldn't have sold myself so short in my OP! Lol!

I'm obviously a bit of a literalist in the sense that I take ones words at face value. If you know ow to use tools you can build yourself a board for a pretty decent price.

Here's mine, stained and with one coat of my poly/oil mix. I'm planning on applying 3 coats across 3 days.

Looks great man. What type of woods did you use?

 

[snowdog]

Although Bob's looks nice, it doesn't need to be a furniture quality project...a few boards screwed together with some black spray paint used to velcro some pedals on is all it needs to be.

He could take a 24"x2"x4" piece of Pine, stick a strip of velcro on it and stick his pedals to it and call it a pedalboard but by his own admission he is not mechanically inclined. In my opinion he should buy a board, period.

I know you like to nit pick every thread you are involved in, but really...on a ten scale how much of a Bob Villa do you need to be to make a pedalboard ?

 

[maiden_fan]

I bought a Pedal train and I couldn't be happier with it. I thought about building my own but by the time I factored in a decent case, and the amount of time it would take me personally, I couldn't justify the hassle.