rlord1974
Active member
I have been meaning to post this up for weeks now..... 
As some of you might recall, forum member Casey Hanson (of http://www.fallout-labs.com) made me a custom pedalboard back in November, 2011. His work was so killer (and reasonably priced) that I sent him more work in January, 2012. As a refresher, here are a few pics of the boards he did for me in November and January.....
Now, back in mid-June, I reached out to him again to help me in pulling together a new mini pedalboard in a very short timeframe. I planned to build my own board using easy-to-source materials, and was hoping to power the entire board using the DC output on the TC Electronic Polytune I had just purchased. Here's a play-by-play of how this build - and Casey's involvement - played out.....
Step 1: Lay out the pedals in the manner you want them on your board
Step 2: Make a diagram with accurate measurements outlining what your board will look like
Step 3: Accurately measure the length of cable you want for jumping between pedals
Step 4: Email Casey a detailed list of all of the cables you need. I ordered custom DC cable runs for powering all of the pedals off of the Polytune, as well as some short 1/4" cables (using Evidence Reveal cable) for connecting all of the pedals together. Casey also was going to send me some bases and cable ties so I could make the board nice and tidy
Step 5: Once you receive the package from Casey via mail, open it up and ensure you received everything you need
Step 6: Now, plug everything in to make sure it works as desired/expected
Step 7: Knowing the layout of the pedals, I measured how large of a board I needed, as well as the size of the pedal risers I wanted to incorporate on the board for the second row pedals. I took my measurements to my local Home Depot and had them cut everything for me using a single piece of ply that cost me $10. I didn't even have to turn on a saw myself!
Step 8: When I got home, I laid out all of the pedals on the wood materials cut by Home Depot just to doublecheck that everything looked good.....
Step 9: I then sanded the edges of all of the wood pieces nice and smooth and attached the risers to the main board. I then painted the board flat black using a can of spray paint from Home Depot that cost me about $7
Step 10: Time to attach the pedals to the board.
The wah was attached using 4 screws through the bottom of the wooden board, right into the 4 screw holes the wah's rubber feet normally attach to. As such, the wah "became one" with the board and will NEVER come loose.
The rest of the smaller, lighter pedals were attached using industrial-grade Velcro - also sourced from Home Depot! I also plugged in the 1/4" cables.....
Step 11: Time to attach and zip tie down the DC power cables.....
I then screwed some non-skid rubber feet on the bottom of the board and that was it! All done!
OK, so maybe it isn't as pretty as a L.A. Sound Design, Friedman or Trailer Trash board. However, for a quick grab-and-go solution when I am not in the mood to carry around my big board (or it won't fit on a stage I'm playing), this fits the bill perfectly.
And, most importantly, I planned the build, sub-contracted the cabling to Casey, received the cabling from Casey and completed the board all within the span of 1 week! Also, keep in mind that Casey lives over 300 miles from me!
Conclusion: It is possible to build a decent pedalboard of your own - especially when you have the help of a cool cat like Casey!
Get in touch with Casey - he'll make you look like a pro!
As some of you might recall, forum member Casey Hanson (of http://www.fallout-labs.com) made me a custom pedalboard back in November, 2011. His work was so killer (and reasonably priced) that I sent him more work in January, 2012. As a refresher, here are a few pics of the boards he did for me in November and January.....
Now, back in mid-June, I reached out to him again to help me in pulling together a new mini pedalboard in a very short timeframe. I planned to build my own board using easy-to-source materials, and was hoping to power the entire board using the DC output on the TC Electronic Polytune I had just purchased. Here's a play-by-play of how this build - and Casey's involvement - played out.....
Step 1: Lay out the pedals in the manner you want them on your board
Step 2: Make a diagram with accurate measurements outlining what your board will look like
Step 3: Accurately measure the length of cable you want for jumping between pedals
Step 4: Email Casey a detailed list of all of the cables you need. I ordered custom DC cable runs for powering all of the pedals off of the Polytune, as well as some short 1/4" cables (using Evidence Reveal cable) for connecting all of the pedals together. Casey also was going to send me some bases and cable ties so I could make the board nice and tidy
Step 5: Once you receive the package from Casey via mail, open it up and ensure you received everything you need
Step 6: Now, plug everything in to make sure it works as desired/expected
Step 7: Knowing the layout of the pedals, I measured how large of a board I needed, as well as the size of the pedal risers I wanted to incorporate on the board for the second row pedals. I took my measurements to my local Home Depot and had them cut everything for me using a single piece of ply that cost me $10. I didn't even have to turn on a saw myself!
Step 8: When I got home, I laid out all of the pedals on the wood materials cut by Home Depot just to doublecheck that everything looked good.....
Step 9: I then sanded the edges of all of the wood pieces nice and smooth and attached the risers to the main board. I then painted the board flat black using a can of spray paint from Home Depot that cost me about $7
Step 10: Time to attach the pedals to the board.
The wah was attached using 4 screws through the bottom of the wooden board, right into the 4 screw holes the wah's rubber feet normally attach to. As such, the wah "became one" with the board and will NEVER come loose.
The rest of the smaller, lighter pedals were attached using industrial-grade Velcro - also sourced from Home Depot! I also plugged in the 1/4" cables.....
Step 11: Time to attach and zip tie down the DC power cables.....
I then screwed some non-skid rubber feet on the bottom of the board and that was it! All done!
OK, so maybe it isn't as pretty as a L.A. Sound Design, Friedman or Trailer Trash board. However, for a quick grab-and-go solution when I am not in the mood to carry around my big board (or it won't fit on a stage I'm playing), this fits the bill perfectly.
And, most importantly, I planned the build, sub-contracted the cabling to Casey, received the cabling from Casey and completed the board all within the span of 1 week! Also, keep in mind that Casey lives over 300 miles from me!
Conclusion: It is possible to build a decent pedalboard of your own - especially when you have the help of a cool cat like Casey!
Get in touch with Casey - he'll make you look like a pro!
Seriously though, board looks good! Casey is good people. Sent him an email about a couple of things I'm trying to work out with a pretty elaborate board. Not sure if I can afford to have him do the whole thing or not, but either way, I'll probably get cables from him. I'd like some of my pedals modified to have the buffer circuit removed and then I want one high quality buffer from Casey also. Then the switcher/looper and more pedals to buy yet....damn.