Home› Musicians and Gearheads

homemade pedalboard project

exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
edited February 2006 in Musicians and Gearheads
i've done one of these before but i outgrew it. it was 26"x14". this new one is 36"x15".

http://brehell.ca/picturepro/nfpicturepro/thumbnails.php?album=13

even after buying a gigbag for it, the cost should only be around $100CAN. and half of that is velcro. much cheaper than something manufactured and more than enough for my purposes.
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • dont_go_on_medont_go_on_me Posts: 877
    Very nice Greg!

    Where can you buy custom fit gig bags (or cases for that matter)?

    I've been thinking about building my own board sometime in the near future but the idea of not having a bag or case to transport it turns me off. I guess I had just figured that I'd have to pay $150+ for a board that includes a bag/case.


    also, let me know how the FM4 works for you. I've had my eye on that as it would make a killer effect for a variety of insane noisemaking :). Would the DL4/FM4 work when powered by an 18v output of a DC Brick?
    "I'll do whatever the song dictates - if it doesn't need a real lead, then I won't do one. But if it does, then I'll fuckin' go off." - Mike

    "Japan is awesome; the fans there knew all the words to all the songs...at least phonetically." - Stone

    "I know this song so well, I can smoke a cigarette, have a drink, brush my teeth, take a shit, and mow the lawn while singing it. But I'll only be doing a couple of those things during this version." - EV
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    i'm just going to buy a keyboard gig bag. they make some that are about the same size.

    my smaller board was made to fit the bag for my crappy old SKB powered board. it worked out ok too.

    the DC brick won't power the line 6 effects. they need 9V but at a really higher current draw that the DC brick can't do. the visual sound one spot is a cost effective way around this.

    i love the FM4. i had one before briefly but couldn't justify the cost vs. utility at the time (i had bought it at full retail). this one i got for about 60% and it's still brand new. it's a very cool pedal.
  • Thumbing My WayThumbing My Way Posts: 1,073
    I'm making one in wood class as we speak :D

    What exactly is that pedal power thing...is it like a giant adaptor for numerous pedals??

    Cause I use 9V for my 2 pedals now cause i never wanted to fork out the extra $20 for the ACA.....is that a good call??
    "I Miss You Already!!!!!"

    "Sorry is the fool who trades his love for high-rise rent, Seems the more you make equals the loneliness you get"

    .NJD.
  • Dirty_FrankDirty_Frank Posts: 957
    I'll be ordering a brick from Analog Mike once I get my board back in order, lets say.... ummm.... June?
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    Thumbing My Way wrote:
    I'm making one in wood class as we speak :D

    What exactly is that pedal power thing...is it like a giant adaptor for numerous pedals??

    pretty much. effectively 8 adapters in one box.

    Cause I use 9V for my 2 pedals now cause i never wanted to fork out the extra $20 for the ACA.....is that a good call??

    it's just a matter of how long it would take to burn through $20 worth of batteries.
  • Thumbing My WayThumbing My Way Posts: 1,073
    exhausted wrote:
    pretty much. effectively 8 adapters in one box.

    Awesome thanks!!

    Are they expensive?? (CDN)


    exhausted wrote:
    it's just a matter of how long it would take to burn through $20 worth of batteries.

    True,

    That's what I was thinking, but I've had the same 9V in my DS-1 for like 8 months now and haven't changed it :) I unplug everytime I'm not playing.
    "I Miss You Already!!!!!"

    "Sorry is the fool who trades his love for high-rise rent, Seems the more you make equals the loneliness you get"

    .NJD.
  • Dirty_FrankDirty_Frank Posts: 957
    I can run batteries on some pedals like my SD-1 for months, but my delay pedal will eat a 9V in 2 hours. It's nice to just be able to plug it in and go, but lately I haven't been using half as many pedals as I used too.

    My pedal set up for my gig on Friday is pretty simple, yet effective for what I need:

    Shannon Distortion
    SD-1
    TU-2
    DD-3

    I'm going to run batteries for a quick and easy setup, and the board itself is not coming along this week.
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    Looks good, Greg...

    Where's the 'verb? Don't like it anymore? Wanna sell it cheap?

    I've been thinking about building a new 'board lately... my current one is okay, but it's starting to get a little crowded, and isn't exactly tidy. Once I pick up a VerbZilla, I'll be needing the room.

    Was the shelf wood black when you bought it, or did you paint/stain it?
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    mccreadyisgod wrote:
    Looks good, Greg...

    Where's the 'verb? Don't like it anymore? Wanna sell it cheap?

    I've been thinking about building a new 'board lately... my current one is okay, but it's starting to get a little crowded, and isn't exactly tidy. Once I pick up a VerbZilla, I'll be needing the room.

    Was the shelf wood black when you bought it, or did you paint/stain it?


    *waves* Hi Dave.

    welcome back.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    mccreadyisgod wrote:
    Looks good, Greg...

    Where's the 'verb? Don't like it anymore? Wanna sell it cheap?

    I've been thinking about building a new 'board lately... my current one is okay, but it's starting to get a little crowded, and isn't exactly tidy. Once I pick up a VerbZilla, I'll be needing the room.

    Was the shelf wood black when you bought it, or did you paint/stain it?

    the verb is on top of the amps or in the loop of my mixer for using on voice etc. the only thing i don't like is a slight hiss when it's in front of the amps. but it's quieter than, say, my comp or phaser etc.

    the shelf was finished that way. i had raw pine boards and was going to stain them until i came across the shelf.
  • BinFrogBinFrog Posts: 7,309
    Fantastic work, nice job!
    Bright eyed kid: "Wow Typo Man, you're the best!"
    Typo Man: "Thanks kidz, but remembir, stay in skool!"
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    BinFrog wrote:
    Fantastic work, nice job!

    thanks dude. i'm going to find a bag for it today and order a new FM4 to finish it off.
  • JofZJofZ Posts: 1,276
    Great job!
    Beware of pedal power!!
    You should know what the total MA requirements are for each pedal you intend to power and add them up, it is possible for you to go beyond the MA available from the PP. The result is signal loss.
    So just because it has 8 isolated inputs, does not mean it can handle 8 pedals, trust me :)
    WHAT IS THAT NOISE?
    Hanging at www.TheGuitarHub.com
    The only Forum for players by players.......

    Playing Les Pauls, Teles, Hubers, Gustavssons, Kolls through a Mad Professor amp with a Bob Burt Cab.
    BJF powers my Pedal Board
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    thanks, i'll keep that in mind. I haven't noticed any issues yet when i've had it loaded up.
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    I currently power 9 items with my PP2:

    Vox wah, MXR comp, MXR phase, Line6 Trem, Keeley TS Plus, Keeley TS Baked, DigiTech DigiVerb, Boss DD-6, and my Korg tuner.

    I asked Voodoo Labs if it was possible to use a "Y" cable to power two effects out of one output, and they said sure, and promptly sold me the cable to do it. The two Tubescreamers are now chained, no problem. I'd be wary of pairing digital effects, and certainly wouldn't mess with the big L6 pedals, DL4 etc. But analog comp, OD, dist, fuzz, wah, phase... If I were to add more pedals and need the power, I'd probably chain my two MXR's and then chain my tuner to my wah.
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • moster78moster78 Posts: 1,591
    mccreadyisgod wrote:
    I'd be wary of pairing digital effects, and certainly wouldn't mess with the big L6 pedals, DL4 etc.

    Don't they advertise that it can handle the big Line 6 modeling pedals, like the DL4? I've been looking into getting a PP2 because its such a pain to setup and break down all my pedals and cabling everytime I want to play with them just for the sake of saving the batteries.
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    i think mig means he'd be wary of chaining two digital pedals off one output on the PP2.

    it can handle two big L6 pedals. one per output.
  • moster78moster78 Posts: 1,591
    exhausted wrote:
    i think mig means he'd be wary of chaining two digital pedals off one output on the PP2.

    it can handle two big L6 pedals. one per output.

    Thats what I thought. Thanks.
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    That's exactly what I meant... don't daisy-chain two big L6 pedals off one output, or even two regular digital pedals. I'd never daisy my DD-6 with my DigiVerb, for instance. I love my PP2, and it's arguably the best PSU for pedals on the market, so I don't mean to insult it in any way.
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • JofZJofZ Posts: 1,276
    mccreadyisgod wrote:
    I currently power 9 items with my PP2:

    Vox wah, MXR comp, MXR phase, Line6 Trem, Keeley TS Plus, Keeley TS Baked, DigiTech DigiVerb, Boss DD-6, and my Korg tuner.

    I asked Voodoo Labs if it was possible to use a "Y" cable to power two effects out of one output, and they said sure, and promptly sold me the cable to do it. The two Tubescreamers are now chained, no problem. I'd be wary of pairing digital effects, and certainly wouldn't mess with the big L6 pedals, DL4 etc. But analog comp, OD, dist, fuzz, wah, phase... If I were to add more pedals and need the power, I'd probably chain my two MXR's and then chain my tuner to my wah.

    Those are all 9volt pedals. Now add a wall wart to the back and see what happens. The Y cables will eventually eat up more MA's then the PP has available, just do the math. If you got 9 to work that is awesome, but none of those pedals eat up more power as they warm up.

    My delay runs off a wall wart and uses very little power until it gets warm, usually about 3-5 mins, then it eats serious power. The stock wall wart, like many OEM wall warts is a POS. Like most, I assumed the PP could handle the load, but with only 7 pedals plugged in and the delay plugged into the back I had signal drop. It would then drop to nothing at all.

    The PP is just OK, the juicebox is a little better. There is another one coming out that will have more power then you'll ever need. It wont need special cables for 12 or 18 volt and the cables wont be crap either.
    I had to have custom PP cables made since the OEM ones are so cheap.
    So if anyone wants to PP2's just let me know ;)
    WHAT IS THAT NOISE?
    Hanging at www.TheGuitarHub.com
    The only Forum for players by players.......

    Playing Les Pauls, Teles, Hubers, Gustavssons, Kolls through a Mad Professor amp with a Bob Burt Cab.
    BJF powers my Pedal Board
  • moster78moster78 Posts: 1,591
    JofZ wrote:
    So if anyone wants to PP2's just let me know ;)

    How much? And whats a wall wart?
  • JofZJofZ Posts: 1,276
    moster78 wrote:
    How much? And whats a wall wart?

    The wall wart is the big power supply that comes with electronic equipment. AC adaptor is another name ;)

    I'll post info on the PP2 when my new ones come in.
    WHAT IS THAT NOISE?
    Hanging at www.TheGuitarHub.com
    The only Forum for players by players.......

    Playing Les Pauls, Teles, Hubers, Gustavssons, Kolls through a Mad Professor amp with a Bob Burt Cab.
    BJF powers my Pedal Board
  • moster78moster78 Posts: 1,591
    JofZ wrote:
    The wall wart is the big power supply that comes with electronic equipment. AC adaptor is another name ;)

    I'll post info on the PP2 when my new ones come in.

    Cool, knew it had to be slang for something.
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    JofZ wrote:
    Those are all 9volt pedals. Now add a wall wart to the back and see what happens. The Y cables will eventually eat up more MA's then the PP has available, just do the math. If you got 9 to work that is awesome, but none of those pedals eat up more power as they warm up.


    Sure, I'd avoid the bigger, heavy-draw pedals. But you take any normal, run-of-the-mill pedal, and you can daisy a few of them together. I'd be wary of plugging an EH Memory Man into the PP2 unless you weren't using many other pedals. The PP2 isn't a surge protector, it's a specialty power supply and conditioner. And for most people with most pedals, it'll do okay.

    And don't plug your amp directly into the provided AC jack.
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • JofZJofZ Posts: 1,276
    mccreadyisgod wrote:
    Sure, I'd avoid the bigger, heavy-draw pedals. But you take any normal, run-of-the-mill pedal, and you can daisy a few of them together. I'd be wary of plugging an EH Memory Man into the PP2 unless you weren't using many other pedals. The PP2 isn't a surge protector, it's a specialty power supply and conditioner. And for most people with most pedals, it'll do okay.

    And don't plug your amp directly into the provided AC jack.


    Yep yep!!! :)

    But, as most people just don't realize this stuff they see the jacks and they start plugging in.
    Trems, and Delays along with any tube powered pedal are the ones to watch out for. Plus any EH box as the power cut off goes bad often.
    WHAT IS THAT NOISE?
    Hanging at www.TheGuitarHub.com
    The only Forum for players by players.......

    Playing Les Pauls, Teles, Hubers, Gustavssons, Kolls through a Mad Professor amp with a Bob Burt Cab.
    BJF powers my Pedal Board
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    it's done.

    it's a ridiculous monstrosity that i'll probably never leave the house with.

    but it's nice for noodling around at home and having all my sounds available.

    http://brehell.ca/picturepro/nfpicturepro/albums/userpics/10002/normal_pedals1.jpg
  • bobbyd3bobbyd3 Posts: 89
    Thumbing My Way wrote:
    I'm making one in wood class as we speak :D

    What exactly is that pedal power thing...is it like a giant adaptor for numerous pedals??

    Cause I use 9V for my 2 pedals now cause i never wanted to fork out the extra $20 for the ACA.....is that a good call??

    You should spend the cash on an ac adapter, if you think about it a 9v lasts what 1-2 hours if its a name brand and 30 minutes if its a bargain bin battery you have already spent alot more on batteries than the ac costs.

    You can go to Walmart and get a philips multi-voltage, multi-plug ac-adapter for 8.99, then go to a music store and buy whats call a Daisy chain, it basically plugs into the ac adapter and then has 5 plugs on it one for each pedal
Sign In or Register to comment.