Geni Swing Guitars

Pedalboard Custom

Assembling a professional quality pedalboard is easier than ever, given the variety of pre-made pedalboards and power supplies currently available. This article will help you tackle some of the larger questions you need to address.

First, you must decide whether you want to purchase a pre-fabricated board or make one yourself. The advantages to the former are a professional appearance and the saving of time and effort. Companies such as Pedaltrain, Furman, SKB, Stompin-Ground, NYC Pedalboards, Pumaboards, and Trailer Trash are just a few of the manufacturers of professional quality pedalboards, some of which will custom make a pedalboard to your exact specifications.

Of course, building your own pedalboard is always an option. For less than $50 and a trip to Home Depot, you could craft a gigworthy makeshift pedalboard with little effort. Tone-meister Eric Johnson uses a simply piece of plywood with velcro strips to hold down his pedals, and no one complains about his tone. Still, a professionally made pedalboard has many advantages and is probably the best option for most people.

Before you even decide on your pedals, you should figure out how you are going to power your board. You basically have 4 options: batteries, individual power supplies, a switching power supply, or individually isolated power supply units. The first two options are either expensive or messy. The best options are the last two: a switching power supply (such as the Visual Sound 1-Spot) or individually isolated power supply units (such as the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2). Each has its distinct advantages. Personally, I use both depending on the situation, though my main pedalboards are both powered by Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 units.

The heart of your pedalboard, obviously, is the effects themselves. Depending on your needs, you may have only 2-3 effects up to a couple dozen. I recommend using only a few effects but using them well and knowing them inside out. The following choices will afford you great versatility and offered in "traditional" order of connection in the pedalboard itself: Wah, Compressor, Overdrive/Distortion I, Overdrive/Distortion II, Volume, Chorus, Flanger/Phaser, Delay. Note that I recommend two different overdrive and/or distortion pedals for a variety of sounds.

In the end, you are the best judge about what kind of pedalboard and effects you need. No everyone needs to have a refrigerator sized pedalboard like the Edge to get the sounds you need. A couple of pedals might suffice. Don't buy more than you really need and use the gear you have to come up with your own sound, which is what really matters in the long run.

R. S. Rasnic is the webmaster and owner of Ray's Guitar Shop, your one source for all effects pedals and pedalboards!

Lava Mini Pedalboard Cable Kit $79.95 This cable and plug combination was designed with tight tolerances specifically for pedalboard applications. The world's premier custom shop for high-end guitar cables released the cable kit after researching first-hand more than 80% of existing guitar cable designs. With a small outer diameter of .195" and a low capacitance of 15 Pico-farads per foot, it is ideally suited sonically and physically for pedalboards and guitar and bass signal chain use. The Lava mini solderless plug is a unique 3-piece solderless connector produced by G&H Industries that, unlike all other solderless plugs on the market, does not use a set screw, but a special grounding sleeve that makes for a complete 360-degree ground connection significantly improving reliability and tone. The solderless pedalboard has now been taken to higher level.Kit includes 10' of cable and 10 Lava mini solderless plugs.

SKB FootNote Amplified Pedalboard $179.99 SKB FootNote Amplified Pedalboard

Modtone MT-PB8 Powered Pedalboard $99.95 Modtone MT-PB8 Powered Pedalboard

StageTrix Pedalboard Pedal Riser $11.99 StageTrix Pedalboard Pedal Riser

SKB PS-45 Professional Pedalboard $289.99 SKB PS-45 Professional Pedalboard

Diago PB02 Gigman Pedalboard $139.99 Diago PB02 Gigman Pedalboard

Diago PB03 Showman Pedalboard $159.99 Diago PB03 Showman Pedalboard

Modtone Mt-Pb8 Powered Pedalboard $99.95 Modtone MT-PB8 Powered Pedalboard

Stagetrix Pedalboard Pedal Riser $11.99 StageTrix Pedalboard Pedal Riser

Skb Footnote Amplified Pedalboard $179.99 SKB FootNote Amplified Pedalboard

Skb Ps-45 Professional Pedalboard $274.99 SKB PS-45 Professional Pedalboard

Diago Pb02 Gigman Pedalboard $139.99 Diago PB02 Gigman Pedalboard

Diago Pb03 Showman Pedalboard $159.99 Diago PB03 Showman Pedalboard

Used Skb Ps25 Pedalboard $79.99 In Store Used USED SKB PS25 PEDALBOARD

Pedaltrain PT-1-HC Pedalboard with Hardshell Case $119.95 Pedaltrain PT-1-HC Pedalboard with Hardshell Case

Pedaltrain PT-3 Pedalboard with Soft Case $139.95 Pedaltrain PT-3 Pedalboard with Soft Case

Pedaltrain Pt-1-Hc Pedalboard With Hardshell Case $119.95 Pedaltrain PT-1-HC Pedalboard with Hardshell Case

Pedaltrain Pt-3 Pedalboard With Soft Case $139.95 Pedaltrain PT-3 Pedalboard with Soft Case

Used Skb Pedalboard 8.5 111710 $89.99 In Store Used USED SKB PEDALBOARD 8.5 111710

Used Skb Ps45 Powered Pedalboard $179.99 In Store Used USED SKB PS45 POWERED PEDALBOARD

BadAax Pedalboard $59.99 The BadAax Pedalboard offers enough room to put ALL your effect pedals within easy reach up to 12. The solid wood construction, orange colored tolex covering and metal corner plates is designed to take a stompin and its 2 metal side handles allow for easy transportation. Measures 21Â? x 14 1/2Â? surface area and comes with almost 4 of velcro to secure your gear.

Danelectro Cool Cat Series CB-1 Guitar Pedalboard $79 Danelectro Cool Cat Series CB-1 Guitar Pedalboard

Pedaltrain PT-Pro Pedalboard with Hardshell ATA Flightcase $299.95 Pedaltrain PT-Pro Pedalboard with Hardshell ATA Flightcase

Studiologic MP-113 Dynamic MIDI Foot Controller Pedalboard $479.99 Studiologic MP-113 Dynamic MIDI Foot Controller Pedalboard

Pedal Pad MPS II Tour Series Pedalboard $299.95 Pedal Pad MPS II Tour Series Pedalboard

Planet Waves Cable Station Pedalboard Cable Kit $69.99 Planet Waves Cable Station Pedalboard Cable Kit

Pedal Pad AXS Road Buddy Pedalboard $149.95 Pedal Pad AXS Road Buddy Pedalboard

Gator G-Bone Pedalboard with Carry Bag Black $89.99 Gator G-Bone Pedalboard with Carry Bag Black

Pedaltrain PT-2 Pedalboard with Hardshell ATA Flightcase $189.95 Pedaltrain PT-2 Pedalboard with Hardshell ATA Flightcase

Pedaltrain PT-3 Pedalboard with Hard Case and Wheels $269.95 Pedaltrain PT-3 Pedalboard with Hard Case and Wheels

Musician's Gear Powered Pedalboard and Gig Bag $99.99 Musician's Gear Powered Pedalboard and Gig Bag

Road Runner Effects Pedalboard Silver Large $99.99 Road Runner Effects Pedalboard Silver Large

Road Runner Effects Pedalboard Silver Small $79.99 Road Runner Effects Pedalboard Silver Small

SKB PS-45 Professional Pedalboard Regular 886830326028 $231.99 SKB PS-45 Professional Pedalboard Regular 886830326028