baseline9 Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Hello All, I'm looking to purchase a pedal board and was hoping to get some feedback / ideas on choices. Having done lots of research over the last few days I have realised pedal boards at my budget, suitable for bass pedals are actually few and far between. Generally I have found them to be to thin, I own a ashdown pedals and Soundblox pedals which are quite fat in size. I actually ordered the ashdown below but they have been discontinued and the shop offered me a gator bone, which is great for boss pedals and volume controls, not for what I have. Anyway.... I've cut it down to two possibilities, I'm still keen on the ash down one. Ashdown Pedal board [url="http://www.giggear.co.uk/p/Ashdown-Pedal-Board/"]http://www.giggear.c...wn-Pedal-Board/[/url] (From a diff shop) Pros. Perfect size for my pedals and space to add future purchases Compact design I like the idea of the laptop type case Within my budget (£70 - £100) Cons. I will need to check with the shop if they have any! Not sure if case will be rugged enough for the riggers of gigging! Discontinued (Not a con as such for me) but you can bet ashdown will develop a better one. Harley Benton [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_pb1000_set.htm"]http://www.thomann.d..._pb1000_set.htm[/url] Pros. Perfect size (Pretty much same board space as ashdown) Great case, looks strong and wheels! Pullout angle board Cons. Outside my budget a little (£133 inc shipping) Don't know much about the build quality I hear the power plant is quite cheap and potential for hum issues? So any ideas / suggestions would be great Oh.... pedals to fit on the board Ashdown FS4 footswitch Ashdown Hyper Drive Boss TS2 Boss Overdrive Soundblox Envelope filter pro Soundblox Distortion pro (Looking to purchase) (will prob drop the boss overdrive to help with room) Expression pedal (Looking to purchase) this will make things tight on room but having done my measurements I can get everything on. Many thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I am not excane Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 If your budget is £100 (I guess about $150 US for me) I would STRONGLY recommend building a board and using the cash left over for a case. If you're handy with some wood, hardware, and tools you can take a half a day and build a super strong, INEXPENSIVE board from supplies from your local hardware store and then invest in a nice carrying case or protective bag. I've built a simple rectangular frame from 1" by 1" or 2" x 1", then put in some support wood bars going across, and then covered the top with a sheet of plywood. I think I maybe spent $30 for the whole thing. Home Depot (or the equivalent for you) should have all the supplies you need. If you definitely want to purchase, how about pedaltrain? The Junior is around $100 US (so less for you) and seems to be around the size you need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simwells Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I'd have a look at Pedaltrains second hand on eBay, I picked up the largest one off there for about £50, absolutely fantastic quality and you can get the ones in a soft case if that's what you prefer. There is also Wilton pedalboards, that are basically a cheaper copy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TG Flatline Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 [url="http://www.flightcasewarehouse.co.uk/music/typeproducts.asp?groupID=4748"]http://www.flightcasewarehouse.co.uk/music/typeproducts.asp?groupID=4748[/url] I've got the medium size, pic below for scale, you may need the large looking at what you're going to put on there. It's basically a flightcase with a board of wood in to put your pedals onto. Put some brackets under the board (there is plenty of room) and you can keep wires tidy underneath, plus it's a flightcase so you're not going to destroy your pedals in transit and what not... I'm re-doing mine at the minute and things like power supply, wireless and thumpinator are going to go under the board, that's the kind of space you get. Definitely worth a look! [IMG]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j6/tgflatline/PedalBoard.jpg[/IMG] Another option, if you don't mind a bit of DIY, is to go on ebay, find a flightcase around about the size you're after (make sure you get enough depth!!) and then use a board of wood for your pedalboard. stick rubber feet on the flightcase and you've essentially got the same for less dosh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shizznit Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 The Ashdown boards don't look tough enough in my opinion and even though the Harley Benton boards look cool they are quite pricey for that size. Dragon Cases built me a 20"x12" pedal board to my spec for £100 and delivered it within 3 days. Might be a bit pricier now as that was about 10yrs ago, but I can vouch for it's toughness. That case has done moree air miles than Judith Chalmers and still going strong! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardHimself Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 [quote name='I am not excane' timestamp='1326377137' post='1496285'] If your budget is £100 (I guess about $150 US for me) I would STRONGLY recommend building a board and using the cash left over for a case. If you're handy with some wood, hardware, and tools you can take a half a day and build a super strong, INEXPENSIVE board from supplies from your local hardware store and then invest in a nice carrying case or protective bag. I've built a simple rectangular frame from 1" by 1" or 2" x 1", then put in some support wood bars going across, and then covered the top with a sheet of plywood. I think I maybe spent $30 for the whole thing. [/quote] That sounds like a microscopic pedalboard Seriously though, it sounds like a good idea if you're good at that sort of thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 [quote name='TG Flatline' timestamp='1326377260' post='1496292'] [url="http://www.flightcasewarehouse.co.uk/music/typeproducts.asp?groupID=4748"]http://www.flightcas...sp?groupID=4748[/url] I've got the medium size, pic below for scale, you may need the large looking at what you're going to put on there. It's basically a flightcase with a board of wood in to put your pedals onto. Put some brackets under the board (there is plenty of room) and you can keep wires tidy underneath, plus it's a flightcase so you're not going to destroy your pedals in transit and what not... I'm re-doing mine at the minute and things like power supply, wireless and thumpinator are going to go under the board, that's the kind of space you get. Definitely worth a look! Another option, if you don't mind a bit of DIY, is to go on ebay, find a flightcase around about the size you're after (make sure you get enough depth!!) and then use a board of wood for your pedalboard. stick rubber feet on the flightcase and you've essentially got the same for less dosh. [/quote] That's where I got mine from & I just modified the board that was in the flightcase to sit at an angle, put handles on it & attached clips for the cables under it. Holds 2 Moogs, 3 boss sized pedals, an exp pedal & about to add a looper pedal to that too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethFlatlands Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 [quote name='EdwardHimself' timestamp='1326377519' post='1496307'] That sounds like a microscopic pedalboard Seriously though, it sounds like a good idea if you're good at that sort of thing. [/quote] It would go well with the 8" high Stonehenge we have on stage. Seriously, I'd agree with the DIY option. If I weren't terrible at woodwork that's the route I'd be going down, it's dirt cheap and you'd have cash left over for a decent synth bag/flight case to put it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike257 Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 [quote name='GarethFlatlands' timestamp='1326381001' post='1496411'] Seriously, I'd agree with the DIY option. If I weren't terrible at woodwork that's the route I'd be going down, it's dirt cheap and you'd have cash left over for a decent synth bag/flight case to put it in. [/quote] You could do it even simpler to save on the woodwork skills - scope out a carry case the size you need and just go buy some 12mm ply from B&Q (other DIY retailers are available) who will cut it to size for you (I think they'll do basic cuts for free), glue a piece of carpet to it to take your velcro-laden pedals, and screw some cabinet feet to the bottom to give it a nice user-friendly angle. You could screw aluminium edging to the sides to make it a bit more resilient if you fancied it, but basically you only need the skills to work a screw driver and a tube of glue! Your board will be solid, and you only need to spend on a hard/soft case of your choosing to keep it safe - bargain winner! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baseline9 Posted January 12, 2012 Author Share Posted January 12, 2012 [font="Arial"][color="#222222"][size=2]Hey all thanks for the great ideas, def food 4 thought.[/size][/color][/font] [font="Arial"][color="#222222"][size=2]I like the flight case idea and your right the large version will fit my pedals and future pedals. I have a friend who is a joiner for a pint he will angle the board for me and we could prob look into mounting a power unit underneath if it can fit - otherwise i will have room on top to fit.[/size][/color][/font] [font="Arial"][color="#222222"][size=2]I currently have a boss PSA 240, when i get more pedals i assume i will need a power pack, does anyone have advice / ideas on these?, i saw the voodoo labs fits the pedal train which also interests me but there £160[/size][/color][/font] [font="Arial"][color="#222222"][size=2]Many thanks! [/size][/color][/font] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Pedaltrains are a great design and really light, definitely worth a look, especially if you're still chopping and changing your pedals or pedal order around - it's really easy with a pedaltrain. I got a PT-1 with a hard case new for £100 off eBay a couple of years back - I've got an M9, an Octavius Squeezer, four Boss-sized pedals and an EB-Jr expression pedal on there, with room for another two Boss-sized pedals, power blocks are stowed underneath the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baseline9 Posted January 12, 2012 Author Share Posted January 12, 2012 I do like the pedaltrains and I have seen them in action. What other powerblocks can fit underneath? Many thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baseline9 Posted January 12, 2012 Author Share Posted January 12, 2012 Another options would be this... [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/behringer_pb1000_pedal_board.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/behringer_pb1000_pedal_board.htm[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoirBass Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I went the home build for my first pedal board but inside one of these: http://www.esr.co.uk/sound-light/flightcasedesks.htm my guitar player still uses it now, several years later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simwells Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 [quote name='baseline9' timestamp='1326406427' post='1496956'] I do like the pedaltrains and I have seen them in action. What other powerblocks can fit underneath? Many thanks! [/quote] I'm sure a lot of them can but personally I use the johnnyshredfreak one and there's loads of room under there for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baseline9 Posted January 13, 2012 Author Share Posted January 13, 2012 Great, johnnyshredfreak is a cracking little find, I can get everything I need, power supply, daisy chain and power lead. What was putting me off the pedaltrain was the mounting cost once you start adding on the power accessories, plus I was wary of what fits underneath etc... But I'm keen now having seen that. The shop I was going to purchase the ashdown board from still have my cash so I may speak to them first and see if they have any in and if I can negotiate a deal. Many thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 You don't need a joiner to angle the pedal board, just a cople of rubber feet/stoppers screwed to the top edge (underneath of course). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baseline9 Posted January 13, 2012 Author Share Posted January 13, 2012 Ahh of cause, much simpler idea, nice one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I am not excane Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 (edited) [quote name='EdwardHimself' timestamp='1326377519' post='1496307'] That sounds like a microscopic pedalboard Seriously though, it sounds like a good idea if you're good at that sort of thing. [/quote] Maybe I should have clarified.... the wood stock should be 1"x1" and CUT to 20" or 24" long by 12" or 15" deep to form the rectangular frame That would be pretty funny though.... show up to a gig with a board that holds 1 pedal bwhaha. The "normal" sized board would then be covered with let's say a 24" by 15" piece of plywood. Sorry for the confusion Edited January 13, 2012 by I am not excane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Diego. Keep an eye on the classified ads on this forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomProddy Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 [quote name='NoirBass' timestamp='1326407073' post='1496972'] I went the home build for my first pedal board but inside one of these: [url="http://www.esr.co.uk/sound-light/flightcasedesks.htm"]http://www.esr.co.uk...htcasedesks.htm[/url] my guitar player still uses it now, several years later. [/quote] Good find! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.