The only thing I was into in from ages 15 to 35 was playing guitar and being in bands. I was also vaguely interested in writing, filmmaking, and technology, but they were insignificant compared to music. Later in my adulthood I took a big step back and focused on other things, but out of nowhere in January of 2019 I started playing guitar every day again. Before long I was building a pedalboard.
It’s truly odd to take a decade-long break from something you were extremely passionate about, and then suddenly return. It’s like traveling in a time machine to a bizzaro world where some things are exactly how you left them, and other things are unrecognizable.
The internet was a big deal ten years ago, but it’s not the same one we know today. You could find lots of information in 2009, but today shared knowledge is far more plentiful. If you’re interested in a specific guitar or pedal, you can learn every conceivable detail about it in no time. This is what I’ve spent the majority of 2019 doing.
The thing that’s changed the most about guitars is the world of effects pedals. There are astonishingly large numbers of them available, and many are both extremely good and dirt cheap. Ten years ago you would occasionally see small pedalboards being used at live shows, but today they’re everywhere, and they’re huge.
At the beginning of the year I had around $200 saved up to buy gear, and I spent months deciding what to get. As boring as it seems, I ultimately got a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus, which is just a box that powers multiple guitar pedals. I already owned a dozen old pedals, and this thing would let me use all of them at the same time, which—as obvious as it seems—was something I never attempted in the past.
As the months ticked by, I also acquired a few cheap pedals. First I bought a Behringer Vintage Delay. It sounds amazing and only costs $24! Then I got a Mosky Golden Horse, which is a $19 knock-off of a $3000 vintage Klon Centaur pedal. For someone who has never used a Klon-style pedal before, the Mosky is amazing. I also picked up a Berhinger Vintage Overdrive, which is $24 and sonically identical to a $180 Ibanez TS808.
Time to build a board…
The moment you get interested in guitar pedals these days, by default you’re also interested in pedalboards. Before long you find yourself shopping for a board, and you quickly realize most people use a brand called Pedaltrain. They make nice, lightweight aluminum frames that are designed to neatly hold pedals and power supplies. As you search for the model that’s the right size for your needs, you see that you’re going to need over $100 to get what you want.
Maybe in the future I’ll get a readymade pedalboard with a hardshell case, like the Classic 1, but not now. My main issue with prefab pedalboards is that they aren’t the right size or shape for my needs. I always sing when I play guitar, so I want the majority of my pedals to be as close as possible to my right foot. Most large pedalboard designs insist that you have multiple rows of pedals, as opposed to having most of them in front.
The other problem I had with commercially available pedalboards is that they’re typically an inch or more above the floor at their lowest point. This isn’t a big deal, but I prefer having my pedals as close to the floor as possible, just to make it easy to step on them.
For my specific needs, and to appease my nonexistent budget, making a pedalboard by hand was the best option. I made one before in the late 1990’s when I toured with my old band Syrup USA (that’s me on bass). Back then I used a Boss OD-B3 distortion, a Boss RV-3 Digital Reverb/Delay, a DOD FX-17 Wah/Volume and a Boss TU-2 tuner. Each one had a power adapter (except for the wah that ran forever on 9-volt), and they plugged into a generic power strip that I stuck on my board.
Pedalboards were used sparingly in the late 90’s, but it wasn’t too unusual that I had one. I would occasionally see boards with more than four pedals on them, but not often. Two aspects made my board different back then: its simple design, and the fact that it had a contact-paper top. My board was just a sanded piece of plywood with screw-on bootie feet to keep it in place. The top was completely covered with funky-looking royal purple contact paper. I stuck velcro strips to hold the pedals right on the contact paper.
I didn’t keep the pedals on the board. I would set it up every night before the show, and take it apart again afterward. I’d put all of my pedals in a vintage makeup case and pack it in the van with all of the other gear. Since my board wasn’t fancy, and I’d just stick it in the back of the van somewhere.
I decided to keep the same basic design for my new one. The new board is much wider, though. It’s 2019, after all, and having fewer than six pedals is unheard of. I simply measured the floor next to the base of my microphone stand, and decided to make it 27-inches (68.6 cm) wide, and 10-inches (25.4 cm) deep. To my eyes, 27-inches was just long enough to cover my needs without being obnoxiously lengthy. The 10-inch depth would let it sit as close as possible to mic stands without interfering, and it allowed enough space for my power supply with pedals in front of it.
I wanted to use plywood that was as thin as possible but still rigid and not flexible. My lucky break came when I went into my backyard shed and found a piece of plywood that fit this criteria almost perfectly. It had been left behind by a previous owner. I needed to cut it a bit with a hand saw (because I don’t own that kind of power tool), but I got it done, and it looks mostly straight.
I spent 10 minutes or so sanding it down, and that’s all it took. Nice and smooth. I decided to drill some big holes in the middle, so I could fish cables underneath for a cleaner look. This may seem like it isn’t worth the trouble, but I think it is. I set up the pedals temporarily on the board with the Voodoo Lab power supply, and it looked like a spaghetti mess. This step required a trip to the hardware store to buy a 1-inch spade drill bit.
It made big holes that looked like this:
I sanded for a few more minutes after the holes were drilled because I don’t want splinters. Ouchy. Next I put bootie feet on. I’m not sure of the exact kind I bought. I picked up what the hardware store had on hand. The packaging said they wouldn’t slide around and stay in place, and they mostly do. I ended up putting four on the front where most of the pedals would be to keep the wood from flexing, and I put two on the back with a few large washers to give the board a bit of a lift: taller in back, shorter in front.
It took a bit of experimentation to find the right size wood screws for the feet, but I figured it out. You don’t want them to be too long and poke out of the opposite side, but you do want them securely lodged in the wood.
Then it was time to put on the contact paper. Instead of a funky purple color, I opted for matte black. It was the right choice. I’m super happy with how it looks. The exact stuff I bought from Amazon is called d-c-fix 346-8091. The adhesive is strong enough to keep it stuck to the board, even when you move pedals around.
Next, I carefully put the contact paper on. I wiped the board down with a wet cloth first, to get all of the sanding dust off, then let it dry. Putting the paper on was a little scary, because I feared ugly air bubbles, but the process went decently.
Then I needed to cut the contact paper away from the holes. Out came the trusty old exacto knife:
The holes came out looking spiffy, as did the edges of the board all the way around. Matte black lining up perfectly with the cut plywood creates a professional, finished look.
The final step was to put some kind of velcro on the board and the bottom of the pedals. Lots of people use expensive stuff called 3M Dual Lock. It’s different from traditional velcro because both sides are the same, instead of one side being bristled hooks and the other being fuzzy loops. Dual Lock will hold your pedals in place extremely firmly. It seems like great stuff, but my goal was to save a buck, so I skipped it.
I wanted velcro that was 2-inches (5 cm) wide, so I could put multiple strips on the board to have lots of options of where I could place different sized pedals. I wanted good quality velcro, without spending extra cash. Some velcro is made cheaply and falls apart. Some has cheap glue that loses adhesiveness. I researched velcro obsessively, and eventually decided to buy Trubatis 2” Self Adhesive Hook and Loop Fastener. I’ve been using it for 3 months now and it’s been great so far.
I didn’t put big 2-inch strips of velcro on the back of my pedals. I followed the method suggested by Origin Effects. It’s a pain and took about 20 minutes for each pedal, but I’m glad I did it. If you have a big piece of velcro on the back of a pedal, it can make it very difficult to remove, and it can rip off the paint or cause complications with stickers on pedals. In my case, it would cause extra strain on my contact paper adhesive. Using the Origin method, my pedals hold on tightly, and they’re also easy to remove when I want to rearrange my board.
Eventually I’ll get a travel case for this new pedalboard. I would never want to assemble it and take it apart before and after a show. Finding the right size case is going to be tricky, but such is life.
The pedals I’m currently using
I still use most of the pedals from my late 1990’s board: the Boss OD-B3, RV-3, and TU-2. My old DOD FX-17 is currently broken. My board is bookended with an orange DOD FX80-B Compressor Sustainer and a green DOD FX25 Envelope Filter. I didn’t buy either of these. They were both left behind by other musicians I shared spaces with over the years. I never used them much in the past, and I mostly use them now simply because I can. I also have a ProCo RAT 2. I bought it a million years ago. It never worked properly with 9-volt batteries, but it works perfectly with the Voodoo power supply.
My TU-2 tuner is in the second row because I generally don’t use it while I’m playing a song. Sometimes I do step on it rapidly to create a cutting/muting effect, but I do that sparingly. The RV-3 currently isn’t plugged in. I have a Behringer Ultra Vibrato pedal that I unwisely purchased on backorder. Some day when it arrives, it will likely go in that spot on the second row. I think I’m going to use it as an always-on effect, so it’s fine if it’s in the back row.
Pedals I wish I had
The first pedal in my chain is my old TU-2, but I want to replace it with a different tuner. The TU-2 is far too picky about tunings (it takes way too long to convince it a string is in tune). I’d like to put an Xotic EP Booster next in line after my tuner, and keep it always-on in the second row. I’d also like to replace my orange DOD compressor with a JHS Morning Glory V4. I’d get an Electro-Harmonix Green Russian Big Muff Reissue to replace both the RAT and the OD-B3, and make space for another pedal.
I’d definitely replace my Mosky Golden Horse with a Wampler Tumnus Deluxe. I might replace the Behringer TO800 with a smaller pedal that did a similar thing to make space for another pedal. I’d replace the Behringer Vintage Delay with a Chase Bliss Tonal Recall. It’s an analog delay with MIDI presets. AMAZING! I also want an Electro Harmonix Freeze, and an EQ pedal. And maybe a fancy compressor pedal with a blend knob. And maybe a looper. And a DOD Rubberneck. And probably more. And then some more after that.
This is the wormhole I fell into at the beginning of the year. It’s been all consuming. Having a board with a bunch of active pedals on it is completely wonderful, though. It’s very inspiring creatively. It makes me sad I spent two decades in bands without a big pedalboard at my feet. Oh well! At least I can do it now.
I also want to make a pedalboard for just vocal effects. 🧠 = 💥
