If you still want a very flexible board I would do the following: get rid of tremolo, colour box, tuner and bit commander. Choose which of the strymon pedals you can live without because of the H9. Do you use the looper in the timeline? if so keep that and maybe get a smaller reverb pedal e.g. Source Audio Ventris. If not then dump it as the H9 can do everything else Timeline can.(though not analog dry thru) H9 also acts as your tuner by the way. I'd also get a smaller volume pedal or even consider an expression pedal instead given the capabilities that will give you with the H9 and strymons as well as potentially being able to act as a volume pedal Do you really need two fuzzes? If not decide which one is most versatile and which stacks best with other pedals. Like lots of others have said get a switcher which does midi and also one that can change the position of pedals in the signal chain (really useful for the H9): gigrig or Boss ES8. This is the most important thing to do in my opinion. Also a tiered board would increase your pedal real estate significantly. Sorry about the essay but I've just been through something similar so its fresh in my mind. Great content by the way
Peter Jessop Hey Peter. Good on you for speaking honestly. There are so many ways to be rude while being critical, so kudos for just sticking to being practical! GigRig, Boss Looper, American Looper... or my favorite, Carl Martin Octa-Switch!!! Problem Solved!
Just added an ES8 to my board and it is indeed a game changer and already used the loop order with the H9 max. Worked great! But it also is throwing a wrench into ,my thinking. I have several dual pedals that are not as optimized. Nice learning through trial and error isn't it! Evolution.
Jack Minear yeah I understand the issue with dual pedals. I decided to set up my D&M drive before start of a song and use it either as a boost for solos or for Rhythm and use an alternative pedal or amp channel for whatever the D&M wasn’t doing if that makes sense.
Hi, I think it’s important to have some before/after stories like this, as people are encouraged to get together as many pedals as possible, whereas in a live situation, the board has to be ‘live-able’ ... as far as switchers go, I wholeheartedly recommend the Gigrig G2 as well as their modular power supply system ... G2 has re-orderable loops and so it’s easy to change things round, and I’m sure you’d then find a position / combination where that JHS Colour Box was useful to you - it is based on Neve pre-amps after all, and Neve knew what he was doing... Good luck with the rebuild...
Ah man, I feel your pain. Been there many times. Learned a pedal board is like a pizza, you can’t put everything you love on top and get a tasty result.
Thank you so much!!! I can't TELL you how many people have said things to me like, "There's so much space between your pedals! If you arranged them better, you could get more in there or get a smaller board!" Or... I could have enough space to actually operate the board live without having to point my toe like a ballerina! Thank you for advocating for function over form!
I love my Strymons, but unless you are changing settings during a gig, there are many great smaller delay and verb pedals out there. My Strymons are just used in a reamp loop in Logic Pro now. If you’re doing session work, and that’s where the versatility of the Strymons becomes necessary, then just keep them in your bag, not on the board.
If you are not using some of the pedals, then why even have them on the board? It's not rocket surgery. Your foot is big, get rid of a pedal and make more space, which will also give you more power to other pedals, solved.
Part of the reason I put this board together was for a specific label showcase gig I had recently where I needed almost every pedal on the board (except the Colour Box) moving forward I’ll be able to downsize
I have used boosters made from 1x3s cut into pedal sized pieces and velcroed between board and pedals. That way I had tiers so I could use a lot of pedals in tight spaces. For the power issue you can daisy chain the extras.
Loop switcher and a multi tier board. The best thing I ever bought for my board was a Boss ES 8 switcher. Once you've had one you'll wonder what you ever did without.
I don't judge other people's boards because I don't know what their needs are for their gigs. I always tell my students when putting a board together to "think of the essentials" and then show them what I use. I get a lot of church gigs and blues/rock gigs, so I built a board for both. The signal path is Volume Pedal, Tuner, Compressor, Dual Overdrive, Delay, and Reverb. That's all I need, and for the blues gig, I typically switch the Volume Pedal for a Wah if the gig calls for it. But, that's all I really need, and working guys have to think that way. Since you've made this video on what not to do maybe make a video in helping to identify what a player needs for a specific gig like "Building a Worship Pedalboard Tutorial" or "Building an RnB Pedalboard." I know for me I just leave essential pedals on the board and adjust one or two for the gig if it calls for it but others might enjoy that, and if it may seem too tedious or unnecessary maybe do guide videos into playing in specific genres. I'm not sure if you do that already, but I know when I teach my more advanced students they ask me questions like that a lot. Keep posting! You're doing great.
Get some barefoot buttons to avoid stepping on knobs. Theyre about $10 a piece. I didnt wanna spend money on switch caps before, but its the best addition to my board! It essentially eliminates the chances of stepping on other buttons and messing up knobs
Having a Soul Food around a Boss pedal, I needed those switch covers. And they look sharp. I got mine off EBay 10 for $16. Only use 3 now, but as anyone with G. A.S. knows..
Almost every lesson I've learned in music has been the hard way. (e.g. trading my early 60's LP gold top 40 years ago for a guitar I ended up hardly ever playing). As in life itself, I think that's just the way it works. It's great when we can share what we've learned from experience with others to help them avoid making the same mistakes, as Brett has done here. There is so much valuable information on this video, and I have no doubt it's going to be a big help to a lot of musicians.
I don't get it -- if you get rid of those redundant pedals you mentioned doesn't it solve all the issues (clears up space, not as many power cables needed)?
Hey! Another nice video! I designed you another board, with a couple of extras, note that the Boost pedal showing is taking the place of the Steel String, (they didn't have the steel string on the site... lol) Anyway, here's the signal chain I would recommend: Guitar > Volume Pedal (Volume Pedal out to Tuner) > HoofReaper > ES-5 > (In the loops they can be rearranged with the Boss ES-5) 1. Tremolo 2. Boost 3. Steel String 4. LightSpeed 5. Bitcommander > H9 > Timeline > Big Sky > Amp You can use the Boss to send tap tempo and everything through Midi and control turning everything except the fuzz on and off. It also has buffers in and out so you can keep a strong signal without messing with the fuzz. It also gives you plenty of space to work with where you're not hitting things you don't want to hit. Here's a little picture of what it would, kind of, look like. Also, you can power the entire thing with very simple power supplies. Let me know if you have any questions about any of this, I'd be happy to help out any way I can. thaddaeus@chasingthetone.com www.dropbox.com/s/ccyeds3k8qbcumh/Screen%20Shot%202018-09-12%20at%201.06.01%20PM.png?dl=0
whether you're building a pedal or a pedalboard, rushing it only leads to more headaches and work later on. think long and hard about it before you drill/solder/attach anything anywhere. good that you made a video about this. a good-looking pedal/board means nothing if it's not functional.
@@PaavoLammikko just stating facts. There are still areas in the USA where people do not feel the need to lock their doors. No need to take offense. For what it's worth I've lived in areas where being white outside at night is a risky endeavor. No grocery stores and you can't get food delivered. It sucks but it's all about demographics.
Working with Schmidt Array for a full-proof board is a kick ass idea & removing redundant pedals so you have space to stomp is definitely wise. But also, maybe you should consider using 1 of em midi/switcher thingies. GigRig it buddy 🤘 Well, GigRig switcher or not, drop Daniel Steinhardt a personal message about this situation. From pedalboards to optimising power usage, the man's a bleeding genius.
I can relate to this. I spent a year, in which I got 3 boutique amps in a box, some really nice time based effects, 11 pedals in total, built the board itself, and decided to be an inventor and power it all, by lithium ion battery pack. Well of course I needed to learn that you can't just use adaptor cables for the 5 to 9v jump required. Then I learned a real good lesson about isolated power supplies. Yes, I learned a lot and came up with an elaborate 12 circuit individually voltage adjustable power supply running off my original battery pack (by the way, my electronics background could be classified as "average guitarist" level). And it was quiet. And it sounded good. Then just take a wild stab at what happens next. Ding ding ding! You are right! Dude! I need a Joyo switcher real bad, can't live without it, gotta get one! Well I got one. And yes it was a super pain in the ass to have to re wire it AGAIN after having just made 30 or so custom length Canare wire cables. Duhooooh... Didn't see that coming. And then, the final of all improbabilities. A sudden windfall of money, allowing me to replace my so so effect platform amp with a Friedman...Who needs those amps in a box now? Such a labour of love, I actually am pretty proud of my originally 12 dollar Ikea challenge pedal board. I am gonna feel like a real heal as I part it out to be replaced by yes.....An HX Effects. I might even miss that colourful 3 tiered monstrosity. Great video by the way, thanks man.
This seems like a pretty normal thing to go through. I've done it myself. It's kind of a pain in the ass but ya just rethink and adjust. I discovered I didn't need as many pedals as I tried to fit at first. I think of it as packing a suitcase for a trip. Only bring what you really need and leave open space in case you want to add something at the last minute. I've been playing 35 years and I still make adjustments.
Agreeing with a few others I've seen: a switcher I the solution. If you have a power or cable failure, it's so much easier to isolate the issue on the fly and won't leave the rest of the board unusable. You have those wonderful midi pedals, you should take advantage of it. Keeping things tidy and attractive is a good idea, it shows you care. People do kind of hate the "instagram era of pedalboards, usually because they don't have the time to dedicate on such a project. Musicom and Boss make excellent solutions, but I think you don't want a larger size board. Morningstar ML5 or VooDoo Labs Hex are switchers you can fit under the board and control with a small midi switcher (both are easy to chain together). You can even have a switcher off you board if you'd rather not take a pedal off with just a midi out on the side of the board. You will have to essentially double your cable count, however, so it isn't exactly the cheapest option. But it's the most ideal for your setup
I've made some of those same mistakes. I think when people have that many pedals on a board, they generally have a switcher to control it all. That should solve the button & knob accidents, and then if you find when you're setting up your patches that you don't use certain pedals for tones you want, then take them off the board. I found the Boss MS-3 to be a great "brain" for the board, because it also has built in effects, in addition to FX loops, MIDI control, expression, amp switching, etc. Still, if you ever need something that's missing, or are using the H9 for something, you can always pop in one of the on-boards. Also has a built-in tuner. It's a great size to integrate with a board where you need space for your favorite analog pedals. The main limitations are that it only has 3 loops and they have to be adjacent in the chain. If you remove the bit commander and have a little more vertical space for the H9, you might consider the Barn3 OX9 to get some more functionality out of the H9, including built-in tuner, phrase looping, expression switching, etc. (then again, if you have the MS-3, you can have that trigger a lot of those functions on the H9 via MIDI).
I keep my wah and volume pedal off the board and all the effects on the board only. That being said.. I've effed up my pedal board and reconfigured it numerous times before I got happy. .. what's refreshing about your video and all your videos really, is that you're so humble and honest about your learning experiences. *Respect
I was watching your "How to stack overdrives" video, when you went to turn on your Vertex SSS, you angled your foot in a way to only hit it. I instantly knew your pain. LOL. So, I built a DIY oversized board, that only goes from home to studio. Purposely built so my size 9 1/2 only hits one pedal.
Some throats: 1) interchange 2 pedals on bottom (empress and fuzz) with 2 pedals above them 2) or just use loop switcher 3) or just remove 2-3 pedal to leave more space for big foot))
OK, sorry for the long reply, but my opinion. Pull off the Color Box and Bit Commander are they are not used. Unless you need a bunch different delays and reverbs running simultaneously, remove the Timeline Big Sky and get a second H9. Run one H9 in mono (pre/post... check Eventide website for details), that will also allow for removal of the Tremolo (and give you back the functionality of the Bit Commander). Next add a midi enabled loop switcher, something like a Musicomm Lab EXF-LE or even a Boss ES-5. This will give you both presets and handle midi switching of the 2 H9s. please don't hesitate to message if you think I can be of more assistance. And yes I agree, having a pro shop do your board is a GREAT idea. Dave Philips at LA Sound Design would be my first call.
I started off building and trying to get as many pedals as possible. Now, I’ll play with at max 5 pedals and that includes tuner/ vol pedal. But that’s for my needs. Just try to play with the least amount of pedals. You’ll be able to focus more on the playing and enjoy it more and less worrying about stepping on the right pedals. Howdy from Texas!
I recommend the Road Rage True Bypass Looper. They are available in combinations of 4-16 'staggered' loops. The are hand built and made of thick anodized aluminum. True pro quality! They use Neutrik jacks, Taiwan Blue 3PDT switches and audiophile grade hookup wire. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.
If you've large feet/wear boots, I strongly recommend a tiered pedal board. I also suggest ditching any pedal you don't use in for at least 75% of the gig. Anything else can be thrown in the loop/in front of the amp (depending on where your board is). Check your total power draw, and upgrade your supply as required. You've a couple of Strymon, try one of their supplies, if you've not already. Outside that, well, I'd say switch over to as many Boss Pedals as possible, but I'm a bit of a fanboy of Boss, so maybe I'm biased? lol
You nailed it - That's an Instagram board, not a practical one. I've built those myself too and the realisation part sucks. My current board is still tight, but with a lot more thought put into accessibility and switch placement. No sideways pedals, using pedal risers and Barefoot Button Tall Boys for tight spaces really helped me a lot.
..which is why I'll never have anymore than 4 to 5 pedals ...tuner , line 6 modulation pedal in front ( which works fine for effects ) Duallist OD , Exotic boost and delay .....done ....no compression pedals etc etc ....in saying that , great video Rhett , keeping it real ....cheers
From this video to the other one with Mason, it looks like you solved all of your headaches with boards. Tiers, switchers and not putting a volume pedal in the middle are the best things! and I like your comment in there, "I....need.....more......power"
First things first. Keep your volume pedal on the right hand side (if you're right handed), take off the redundant and unused pedals and rewire. You will have so much more space. When placing the pedals, make sure you have space to operate the various footswitches. We all learn through experience. It's a good looking board Rhett, now you can make it better :)
I always put the overdrive pedals in the first row of my pedalboard, because I alternate from clean to dirt parts very frequently, or at least I have to do that the easiest way possibile without troubles. Hitting a delay and a boost of volume for solos is also something you have to be able to do easily, so they usually are next to the drives. All the other pedals can be placed in a second, elevated row. Yes, elevating pedals with little bits of plywood covered with isolating tape is both fun and useful: all the problems of accidentally moving pedal settings will be gone!
Good video, thanks for the insight. Something I suggest you consider looking into are "Barefoot Buttons". I found they made a huge difference in hitting effects more reliably. Plus they look amazing.
Simplify your setup for live situations. As a guitarist in a shoegaze/alternative band... I change my setup depending on the tour or on the material we'll be playing. Sometimes I just buy a smaller pedal with a similar sound to make some space. Or buy one that can combine two effects.
Have you considered removing the volume pedal and having it beside the board? If you could have a little more space between the pedals, some of your issues would improve. Secondly, wouldn’t changing the direction some pedals are facing, stop your foot turning them off and on by mistake? If you could find ways to free up some space (as you said some pedals weren’t getting used much), and changed the orientation of some pedals, you might find it a lot more useable.
I was thinking the same ... why couldn't you move the volume pedal as you suggest and also move the wah off to the side? I find that my Dunlop Crybaby occupies the most board real estate hands down.
I really enjoy your videos. For several reasons. You have a certain helpful quality that shows through; that you want others to benefit from your experience and knowledge. And generally you seem like a really nice guy. If I were much younger and lived in your area; I would enjoy hanging with you and talking shop. I have been a musician, practically all my life, and have had various musical experiences that I value and cherish. But the one thing I've never done (for reasons too involved to go into here), is go on tour with a band. So, in a way, I am living vicariously through you when I see your videos of your travels and gigs. And I do really like the instructional videos, like this one and the others you did on building a pedal board. And the ones on equipment you like and use - guitars, effects, amps, etc. Keep it up. I am now a subscriber. BTW, your wife is gorgeous. You are a lucky man.
Brave confession! Admirable. My solution (I also have big feet) is to put most used pedals in front row, with space. Least used on top. Volume (or wah) pedal on far right edge/bottom. It's ok to have open space. Good luck! 🙂
I think I've learned a lot through building a few boards myself. After trying many pedals, I've settled on the very pedals that I will use night after night. I then chose the size board to hold my pedals. I don't want an oversized board that I have to drag out to my car or van at the end of the night when I am tired. So, I've got my board down to two rows of pedals and give enough space between them that I don't hit an unwanted switch. I placed risers underneath my board's back so I don't mess up the front rows settings. I've very happy with how it ended up. I think sometimes it's good to go through the growing pains to be smarter about it all. Well, for me at least.
The guys at my church have always had hugely oversized boards (compared to the small number of pedals on them) and it makes sense for this very reason. I very rarely see either of them hit a pedal unintentionally.
Rhett, first of all, recent subscriber speaking here, i enjoy your videos, awesome job and as they say - keep 'em coming! :) But, if i may i would like to share some of my thoughts with you regarding this topic, and what i have always regarded as simple, somewhat obvious priorities when designing all of the layouts of my gigging pedalboards to date: 1) Only what is needed and necessary -- as you realised yourself, having excess pedals on the board makes things unnecessarily crowded and just more difficult for precise live use. Trim it down, leave what is essential for the gigs you need the board for. I know that this most probably clashes directly with the needed versatility, BUT, if being honest, i think we all realise at a certain point, that more often than not, we tend to keep some pedals on the board even if we don't use them that much. I stopped doing that because i can't stand having something on the board if i don't use it on a regular basis. 2) Front row of pedals should be those that are being stomped on THE MOST -- i know that this (well, as everything else, i guess :) ) is strictly personal thing, depending on needs, habits etc, but i always, and i do mean always fill the front row with pedals that i use the most, so that they are most accessible for stomping, but always paying extra attention to the spacing betweeen the switches. You saw for yourself what can happen if the two wrong things are too close one to another. So, cramming as many pedals as possible is not the best idea most of the time, especially if the board is for live gigging, where all sorts of things can happen. I always tend to populate the front row with drives and a delay (because of the tap tempo which gets corrected all the time), and IF there is leftover space, maybe i'll put something else in there, but only if it doesn't make it too crammed for stomping with average care and precision. 3) Wah/Volume/Expression pedals to the side of the board - this is also strictly my personal taste, but for example, having a fairly large pedal of that type in the middle of a densely populated board as you do (and we should keep in mind - those pedals are being used in a picky, more delicate manner compared to the simple stomping of the footswitch), would make me somewhat uncomfortable because i would have to pay extra attention of not screwing up my settings of the neighbouring pedals every time i go near that wah/volume/expression. Since the physical placement of pedals does not have to follow the signal flow, i feel that people should take advantage of that fact more often. That's all. The rest of the decisions take secondary priority compared to those three. Everything else must be according to those three basic principles. And this way of board layout and design has served me well for over 700+ live gigs. I hope this was somewhat helpful, looking forward to seeing more quality content. :)
very helpful demo. Re your powersuplly issue; get yourself stuff from The Gigrig (Dan Steinhard from That pedal show). It's very versatile, has endless power and if you run short of outlets just get another isolator unit and you have another 4 outlets. It's not cheap but the best out there
Move the hoof and diamond pedal toward the back and move the spring and Greer to the front. Then turn the Greer 180. The color box might also be better suited toward the back of the chain. You could fix all these issues in 30 min of ripping velcro and using a few longer cables to run under the board. Just a thought.
The best thing I ever did for building my studio pedal board was to get a BOSS ES-8.It made sense after I built it with my friend who made many pedal boards ! He's an electronics expert tech so that helps!We ran with all Evidence cables at custom built lengths .For Power : A Decibel Eleven & Voodoo labs Power supplies. Everything is plugged into the ES-8 in various places .The I have a mini Dunlop wha & Mini Dunlop volume pedal there plugged into the Expression ports. A Mini TC Poly tune plugged into the tuner port, Keeley Compressor (Loop1), Nobles ODR-1 (Loop 2) ,Fulltone OCD (Loop 3), Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret 2 (Loop 4)Lovepedal Kalamazoo (Loop5) ,Eventide H9 Max (Loop 6), TC Alter ego Vintage Delays x4 (Loop7) after that I plug into a 4 Channel Voo Doo Labs Amp Selector.I Plug into (Channel 1) a Vox AC-30 with Blu Alnico Celestion Speaker with a Celestion Greenback speaker .Then into (Channel 2) Roland JC-77 for clean. Then into (Channel 3) to Fender 68 Deluxe Reverb with a EV EL 12 M 200 WATT speaker ,Then into (Channel4) a Rozon (Custom made amp) 4 Channel 75 watt rack Mount amp powering a 4x12 enclosed cabinet with G12 T 75 watt Celestions. I pretty much have everything I need at my studio sound wise covered.But the quest for tone never stops!
I did a similar mistake of getting the stompers too close together. Before I committed to a layout, I gave it a day or two just letting the layout sit there and talk to me. And, still, the first layout I went with had problems. O man, how did you end up with your expression pedal not at the east or west end of your board?!? As soon as you pulled it out, I knew what happened - and you told the story of hitting your fuzz box while at the volume pedal. Ack! I really appreciate you sharing your mistakes. On my first build, I didn’t pay mind to the rule, “measure twice to cut once.” My new rule is “measure 3 or 4 times, then think about it for an hour, then cut. After that, just know you’ll have to redo the whole thing in a week.” As much as ya plan, when you start actually using the board, all your mistakes become glaringly apparent. I’ve been building my new board layout slowly, checking the placing and spacing for ease in performance. Bon chance on your next build!
Man, I feel that. I've designed my first board myself and it was a horrible mess, so I've decided to downsize the number of pedals and create a layout using modulargrid. I've got every measurement right, I set up all the pedals, got all cables managed and the board looked absolutely fantastic. And was an absolute horror to play, with little to no space between pedals. Lesson learned.
I would put the volume pedal over on the right. It's the one you use most, so having it at the edge of town means you have enough room regardless of what you're wearing on your feet. Anyway, if you get a GigRig it can't go in the middle any more :)
Without going to a midi switcher, start with eliminating the jhs color box, tremolo, and whatever EQD pedal that is. Move your volume pedal to the bottom right corner and use H9 for all modulations, big sky for reverb, and timeline for delay. Don't complicate things by requiring so much from each unit.
So true, so many boards look great on Instagram but when it comes to playing actually live they must be impossible. You kind of want more space if anything, having everything tightly packed means you're going to he pressing everything! When you're live you need to be able switch quickly. Without triggering the wrong effects/pedals. So yeah more space is needed, bigger boards dependant on what you need are the key
Re: not having enough outlets on your power supply- it takes a little research, but most pedal companies show the Current Draw of a pedal, either online, in the manual, or on the pedal itself. Figure out how much Current an outlet puts out, then daisy chain as many pedals as you can, without going over. I use the One Spot/ Truetone daisy chain cables with my Voodoo Lab Mondo (and my old 4x4), and have combined as many as 5 or 6 pedals on one outlet, with no ill effects (no pun intended).
Great. Pull out the redundant pedals to make a mini board for grab and go. Get a looper strip for the front of the big board so that you never need to step over pedals. Done.
So in other words, you are bored with this board. Thanks for sharing Rhett! I have been watching your videos these days and absolutely love them! Props from Greece! Keep it up!
Why don’t you just take the colour box off? It would free a power cable and give free real estate to help with the drives and volume petal/fuzz situations. Thanks for making content like this Rhett!
Perhaps consider putting a blocking raiser underneath those two pedals in the centre in order to raise the height of them that way you are unlikely to turn the knobs of the fuzz pedal. You could get a smaller volume pedal too and wear sneakers not wide fancy shoes!
I would definitely bring the two pedals you hit at the same time down in front since you use them so much. Get rid of the bit commander, tremolo and color box. Move your volume all the way to the right. That should be enough room to space things out a bit.
Thanks so much for your video with the pedalboard ! Are use volume pedal separate from pedal board right on the floor and also it’s good and comfortable for the body position for playing live music a couple hours
I always try to keep expression pedals and tap tempos on the sides of the board with space around them. Also, I've found running 2 power supplies is better than a single larger one. This helps isolate certain noisy or hi-fidelity pedals as well as provide more options. It also looks like the case is big enough to support an addition of a tier. Thus making some easier to reach. I'm sure someone has pointed out and you've updated since, but larger add-on buttons may help too. It's all trial and error if you don't have it custom built.
Great video! Totally agree. It took me a while to get mine done too. I appreciate your advice. I kept mine simple too. Compressor, overdrives, Preamp to Boss Volume pedal then to Zoom G3 for all delays, reverb to the Joyo Cab Box and that finally worked for me. Definitely keep enough room purposely on the board to step on the right pedals at the right times!
I went through a similar thing. I've got a loop switcher now which makes turning on certain effects a lot easier and less risky for a crowded and large board. Its working for now but I think it might be better to run 2 smaller boards than cramming everything into one.
pedal placement was something i never considered. I also play at church, and I remember going tap dancing my board to get ready for a recognizable guitar hook in the song, only to step on the POG accidentally, then frantically try to turn it off, only to turn off the OD. I also had my tuner set to kill the signal when tuning, and have many times accidentally killed the signal during songs... I think I need a bypass looper. lol
I know this is a super old video, but I saw the original build a few months ago and feeling claustrophobic just looking at it. I've seen your more recent build where you have a shelf for the Strymons. I don't understand why more people don't use a shelf. I also like my main pedals to be close to the ground and the ones I don't need to hit as often on the shelf. I generally keep my delay on a quiet slapback, so that doesn't get touched and my modulation pedals don't get used every song, so they are up there too.
as always , very honestly done video. the sign of those fellows whose main goal is to improve in life. so according to what you said, my 2 cents in a very easy step : taking off 2 pedals will resolve main of your complains. - power issues - pushing buttons errors etc.. - give your volume pedal "breathing" - get all your main pedals in vertical position back. cheers from Israel.
I feel like I'm looking at a mirror image of myself a few years back. Two things: A programmable looper is one of the best investments you can make after a tuner and an isolated power box (hint: If you're comfortable soldering, there are DIY options out there for pretty cheap). Take off some of the pedals you're not using to make room for it. There's nothing better than being able to make presets to call up without tap-dancing. Number Two: To fix the power problems, daisy chain. Daisy chaining gets a real bad rap, but in the 12 years I've played guitar (8 of which I've been using pedals, 4 of those I was building them), I've rarely found problems with them. Most of the bad rap comes from companies or salesmen trying to sell you isolated power boxes. Most pedals don't require anything close to 250mA of current, or even 100mA! Just looking at your board, I think you could get away with chaining 4-5 of those pedals out of one 9V 250mA jack on a standard isolated power supply with no sound or performance issues. You can either measure the current draw of each pedal yourself or often the current draw will be printed somewhere in the user-manual. Just be sure not to confuse which pedals might be tip-positive.
A quick solution to this board: perform barefoot. I know guys who do this all the time. Problem: I don't endorse this method. I've been in too many bars, with too much broken glass on the floor. I've seen the driest hardwood stages with splinters the size of 10 penny nails with rusty 6 penny nails sticking out of them. And I'm from Kansas, the land of tumbleweeds and stickers in the lawn. It may be overkill, but I wear steel-toe boots for many fine reasons in addition to this. Gotta agree with you, Rhett. You've created a monster instead of a beast of a rig. I'd like to think I'd steer clear of this sort of thing, but my minimalism cuts both ways, and I see myself doing this as well. The flavor of the disaster would be different, but it'd still be a boondoggle.
I had the same dilema after having my then set up for 4 years. i ended up swapping my pedaltrain pt3 to the new classic one and got rid of my loop switcher and removed pedals that i really didnt need. i bought some barefoot buttons for the pedals i constantly turn on and off. also decided to keep those pedals closer to my feet for easy reach. I decided to get my volume pedal out of my chain since i constantly ride my volume knob more often and i really dont do swells or anything...
in my opinion, you need to downsizing your pedalboard. Since you have bad stocking dirt, remove the canyon. As you mention, you have redundancy in modulation, remove the trem, so that you have lots of space, then change them with disaster switch pedal for easiest way to dial all your pedals..hopefully it will help..
The problem with the volume pedal I also had it, in my case if I push the distortion, I ended with volume down at the same time! So I changed it to a pedal that has two switches , Which the main switch is not close and if the other is activated nothing happens. Love your videos broth! Thanks to you I have setup I rethinking about all my gear! Saludos desde Ecuador.
Hey Rhett!! Thanks for sharing your experience. I can really relate to this video because before I got my Pedaltrain Classic Pro my pedals were all in a very tight position and I would frequently touch cables and switches when turning on a pedal and would even touch the power cable, causing unwanted noise. From that I realized we just don't have to populate the whole board because there is not only problem with turning on a pedal accidentally, there is also problem with power supply, which I tried to solve using my Korg tuners but a couple of times I stumbled upon the problem with voltage requirement and saw pedals that wouldn't power up.
First look at your board, yep, obviously too crowed. I have regular feet and would have a hard time using it without hitting something. If you do want to carry all the pedals, maybe build two, side by side? And if you can you’ll have one with the majors and one with the minors which you can leave out for some gigs. Cool video, nice of you to share your thoughts and feelings about this.
I have a gigrig G2 that honestly, is overkill for my current gigs. Before I just had a 2 loop switcher. As soon as I bought it, it changed the way I used my board in a big way. The ability to combine pedals and turn a "patch" on and off at once is a godsend. It also keeps stuff out of the signal path for when you don't need it. Size is obviously an issue, but to echo other comments: get a loop-switcher!
You know, I couldn't agree more, Rhett. Many pedals that I have on my board are all wish-list pedals that I wanted individually but did not give much thought into whether they 'played nice' together. In specifics, my distortion stacking. I also wish I had investigated on a better delay pedal.. I digress.. Thank you much for this video!
Few things are as frustrating as cable issues in the middle of a show. Earlier this spring I got rid of all of my solder-less cables because they were not reliable anymore. I'm at the stage where I'm building my board and doing a ton of research on possible purchases. I would like to fit a lot into a small space too as I have a Novo 24 as well. My plan is to get a switcher. Have that hooked up to the 6 pedals at the top of my board. Then purchase "risers" from Pedaltrain to elevate the ones that are closest to the switcher thus making it much easier to switch on and off without hitting anything else. If I were you I would definitely look at the possibility of using the risers. Pedaltrain sells them and I believe they're pretty inexpensive. They make them to fit one, two or three pedals. Could be a simpler solution to the issue. Another idea would be to have multiple boards. You play a lot so it seems like it would be worth it. Sorry for the long comment, I've been in my first gigging band for just about a year and appreciate the hell out of the advice you give.
When I first saw your board I thought about some of the issues that you said in this video. Nice to see that you are willing to teach others about your mistakes. Great video.
This kind of confirms why I think I'm going to go with a tiered board...something like the Friedman. You lose out on some real estate, but you're not stepping on your front row when trying to reach the back row. And, it keeps you from cramming pedals too close together, at least front to back. Just found your channel a couple of days ago Rhett. Good stuff.
As a bass player with a pretty similar board as yours, the boss ls-2 is a life saver. I run most of my pedals through it. I have everything that I need on before the song starts, and with one button, I can turn on/ off 2 entire signals. That being said- I kinda hate my board too haha I also have a hoof reaper that I constantly accidentally hit on. I’m starting to think of just downgrading to a simple board. Tuner- comp- octave- Fuzz.
Rhett...get a loop switcher!!! One with memory like the G2 so you can use any combination of pedals at any time. I use the joyo pxl pro, but if I could afford the G2 I would get that
I finally sat down and watched this video. I know it’s old (especially in terms of RUclips) , and I guess I’m just gonna throw my two cents on here. I love the JHS color box. It’s one of my favorite devices ever built, but it only ever sounds good to me plugging my guitar into it, and then going straight out to the board. There are certain sounds it does, it does them really well, but it does not play well with anything else in my opinion. The clean tone from another brick in the wall? I can mail that with the color box. Revolution by the Beatles? Perfect. But again I have to go straight into the pedal, straight into the board. I remember seeing Jerry McPherson, on tour with Amy Grant years ago. He had a giant pedal board, with maybe half a dozen pedals on it. There was so much space between every pedal. When I asked him about it, he said it was because if something broke, he could wire around it really quickly. Also, he knew he would never step on anything incorrectly, as each pedal had so much space around it. I appreciate you sharing your failures. I think as people, we learn more from attempting something and feeling then we do by getting it right the first time. Appreciate you sharing this one a lot parents
Thanks for sharing. I ended up adding a Voodoo Lab Digital supply to the VL Pedal Power 2 Plus and that solved my power supply deficit issue. I can run 9 or 12 V. I have a Pedaltrain PT-Pro, so I think it’s wider than yours appears to be. My size 10s work fine even wearing boots! I even have a little unused real estate, hmmm, what to add next....
I bought myself a Quartermaster 8 from GigRig (Daniel from That Pedal Show) and that allows me to access all effects at the bottom of the board. I'm limited to 8 Pedals unless I put some in front or after. But I find it just the right amount to cover everything in sounds I need. I'm using the Evidence Audio solderless cables which are fantastic - power supply is the fantastic CIOKS DC10. I"m super happy with this board - which is a NOVO 24 as well. I've sent you a picture on twitter.
I feel ya, dude. Sometimes gotta go through it to know. If it were me, I’d keep the processors (strymon, eveneide) a few select gain pedals, and the volume pedal - and pull everything else. Maybe consider using the volume pedal as an expression pedal for the H9 and swelling with you volume knob. That’s what I did and much happier for it.
Rhett, I don't know many of your pedals, but a new arrangement would end most of your problems. Of course that if you won't use a Fuzz in a gig, just velcro it out! But I understand you want to carry your complete babies all around. Would you excuse me providing a few suggestions?? On the right of the volume you have a white and a black/blue pedal. Why don't you swap the volume for them? The volume should be at the right edge of the board. Then at the volume heel position, the switch of the black/blue pedal is centered to the pedal, far away from the volume. You won't turn if off anymore!! And at the right of the volume you won't have anything, which may allow you to even slide your foot a little more to the right. Ok... next suggestion: Lightspeed and Steel String now. I would put the big red pedal above your Fuzz (considering that you swapped the volume with the pedals I've suggested before). Then I would stack the Lightspeed and the Steel String (the smaller of these two below). Then once you have them stacked, pay attention to this: IF the red pedal is above the Fuzz, the left switch would be close to the Lighstpeed/Steel String. Then the upper pedal of these should be rotated to have the switch pointed to the left, giving you space to kick the switch of the red pedal. Finally, the lower pedal of the Lightspeed/Steel String stack: as you have the upper pedal rotated with the switch towards the left, the pedal below should have the switch towards to the right. I'd suggest it to the be the Streel String as the switch seems more distant to the end of the pedal, giving you maybe an inch of distance from the fuzz. That's it. Just a humble suggestion. You've done such a great job... but it doesn't seem that hard to correct the layout and the usability of this great pedalboard. Sometimes a great viewing layout doesn't work. Maybe a more usable layout would make you happier. And if you get sick of any pedals, throw them over here to Brazil that I'll be glad to adopt them into my pedalboard family to be happy with new brothers with plenty of space in my pedalboard lol. Congrats man!
If you still want a very flexible board I would do the following:
get rid of tremolo, colour box, tuner and bit commander. Choose which of the strymon pedals you can live without because of the H9. Do you use the looper in the timeline? if so keep that and maybe get a smaller reverb pedal e.g. Source Audio Ventris. If not then dump it as the H9 can do everything else Timeline can.(though not analog dry thru) H9 also acts as your tuner by the way.
I'd also get a smaller volume pedal or even consider an expression pedal instead given the capabilities that will give you with the H9 and strymons as well as potentially being able to act as a volume pedal
Do you really need two fuzzes? If not decide which one is most versatile and which stacks best with other pedals.
Like lots of others have said get a switcher which does midi and also one that can change the position of pedals in the signal chain (really useful for the H9): gigrig or Boss ES8. This is the most important thing to do in my opinion.
Also a tiered board would increase your pedal real estate significantly.
Sorry about the essay but I've just been through something similar so its fresh in my mind.
Great content by the way
Peter Jessop
Hey Peter. Good on you for speaking honestly.
There are so many ways to be rude while being critical, so kudos for just sticking to being practical!
GigRig, Boss Looper, American Looper... or my favorite, Carl Martin Octa-Switch!!! Problem Solved!
Just added an ES8 to my board and it is indeed a game changer and already used the loop order with the H9 max. Worked great! But it also is throwing a wrench into ,my thinking. I have several dual pedals that are not as optimized. Nice learning through trial and error isn't it! Evolution.
Calypso Reese thanks very much
Jack Minear yeah I understand the issue with dual pedals. I decided to set up my D&M drive before start of a song and use it either as a boost for solos or for Rhythm and use an alternative pedal or amp channel for whatever the D&M wasn’t doing if that makes sense.
Hi,
I think it’s important to have some before/after stories like this, as people are encouraged to get together as many pedals as possible, whereas in a live situation, the board has to be ‘live-able’ ... as far as switchers go, I wholeheartedly recommend the Gigrig G2 as well as their modular power supply system ... G2 has re-orderable loops and so it’s easy to change things round, and I’m sure you’d then find a position / combination where that JHS Colour Box was useful to you - it is based on Neve pre-amps after all, and Neve knew what he was doing... Good luck with the rebuild...
That was just as helpful as a seeing a successful build.
Ah man, I feel your pain. Been there many times. Learned a pedal board is like a pizza, you can’t put everything you love on top and get a tasty result.
Stefan Hamilton that is literally the best analogy.
Damn well said
So true
Stefan Hamilton 6
RE: Pizza toppings. Speak for yourself! ;)
As a size 14 foot who is starting to get into building a pedal board, I appreciate your honesty.
Thank you so much!!! I can't TELL you how many people have said things to me like, "There's so much space between your pedals! If you arranged them better, you could get more in there or get a smaller board!" Or... I could have enough space to actually operate the board live without having to point my toe like a ballerina! Thank you for advocating for function over form!
This guy needs a switcher. Problems all solved.
I love my Strymons, but unless you are changing settings during a gig, there are many great smaller delay and verb pedals out there. My Strymons are just used in a reamp loop in Logic Pro now. If you’re doing session work, and that’s where the versatility of the Strymons becomes necessary, then just keep them in your bag, not on the board.
If you are not using some of the pedals, then why even have them on the board? It's not rocket surgery. Your foot is big, get rid of a pedal and make more space, which will also give you more power to other pedals, solved.
Part of the reason I put this board together was for a specific label showcase gig I had recently where I needed almost every pedal on the board (except the Colour Box) moving forward I’ll be able to downsize
radialdrift did you just say ‘rocket surgery’?
"Rocket surgery" 😂🤣
I have used boosters made from 1x3s cut into pedal sized pieces and velcroed between board and pedals. That way I had tiers so I could use a lot of pedals in tight spaces. For the power issue you can daisy chain the extras.
@@Alexanderzzzzon Just like Drain Bramage.... I LIKE IT!
Loop switcher and a multi tier board. The best thing I ever bought for my board was a Boss ES 8 switcher. Once you've had one you'll wonder what you ever did without.
I have an ES-5, but feel the same way.
I don't judge other people's boards because I don't know what their needs are for their gigs. I always tell my students when putting a board together to "think of the essentials" and then show them what I use. I get a lot of church gigs and blues/rock gigs, so I built a board for both. The signal path is Volume Pedal, Tuner, Compressor, Dual Overdrive, Delay, and Reverb. That's all I need, and for the blues gig, I typically switch the Volume Pedal for a Wah if the gig calls for it. But, that's all I really need, and working guys have to think that way.
Since you've made this video on what not to do maybe make a video in helping to identify what a player needs for a specific gig like "Building a Worship Pedalboard Tutorial" or "Building an RnB Pedalboard." I know for me I just leave essential pedals on the board and adjust one or two for the gig if it calls for it but others might enjoy that, and if it may seem too tedious or unnecessary maybe do guide videos into playing in specific genres. I'm not sure if you do that already, but I know when I teach my more advanced students they ask me questions like that a lot.
Keep posting! You're doing great.
Nice, I thought that I was crazy because I don't use modulations.
Antonio de Jesús López Alarcón No, you're not crazy.
I'm not knocking modulation either. I just don't use it enough to invest in it.
The last thing you want is to quick on a gnarly fuzz pedal 😂
genuinely cant believe this guy doesnt just fix the issues
Get some barefoot buttons to avoid stepping on knobs. Theyre about $10 a piece. I didnt wanna spend money on switch caps before, but its the best addition to my board! It essentially eliminates the chances of stepping on other buttons and messing up knobs
I love em. Just got 6 Barefoot Buttons in Clear . . . for my Boss DD-500 and my Strymon Big Sky. Makes a Huge Difference for Accuracy.
Its really something you never knew you needed until you get them.
Having a Soul Food around a Boss pedal, I needed those switch covers. And they look sharp. I got mine off EBay 10 for $16. Only use 3 now, but as anyone with G. A.S. knows..
Search eBay for pedal cap or footswitch topper, you can get 5x metal for $10-$15 or 10x plastic for $5-$10
Probably the mini size though.
Call Daniel Steinhardt at the Gig Rig!
Almost every lesson I've learned in music has been the hard way. (e.g. trading my early 60's LP gold top 40 years ago for a guitar I ended up hardly ever playing). As in life itself, I think that's just the way it works. It's great when we can share what we've learned from experience with others to help them avoid making the same mistakes, as Brett has done here. There is so much valuable information on this video, and I have no doubt it's going to be a big help to a lot of musicians.
Awesome video! I’m so happy you learned and are adept at sharing that learning. It’s not failure if you can make a lesson of it.
I don't get it -- if you get rid of those redundant pedals you mentioned doesn't it solve all the issues (clears up space, not as many power cables needed)?
Hey! Another nice video!
I designed you another board, with a couple of extras, note that the Boost pedal showing is taking the place of the Steel String, (they didn't have the steel string on the site... lol)
Anyway, here's the signal chain I would recommend:
Guitar > Volume Pedal (Volume Pedal out to Tuner) > HoofReaper > ES-5 > (In the loops they can be rearranged with the Boss ES-5) 1. Tremolo 2. Boost 3. Steel String 4. LightSpeed 5. Bitcommander > H9 > Timeline > Big Sky > Amp
You can use the Boss to send tap tempo and everything through Midi and control turning everything except the fuzz on and off. It also has buffers in and out so you can keep a strong signal without messing with the fuzz. It also gives you plenty of space to work with where you're not hitting things you don't want to hit.
Here's a little picture of what it would, kind of, look like. Also, you can power the entire thing with very simple power supplies. Let me know if you have any questions about any of this, I'd be happy to help out any way I can. thaddaeus@chasingthetone.com
www.dropbox.com/s/ccyeds3k8qbcumh/Screen%20Shot%202018-09-12%20at%201.06.01%20PM.png?dl=0
whether you're building a pedal or a pedalboard, rushing it only leads to more headaches and work later on. think long and hard about it before you drill/solder/attach anything anywhere. good that you made a video about this. a good-looking pedal/board means nothing if it's not functional.
You keep some gear in your car? That's where stuff gets nicked.
Puny Gods probably just a staged portion of the video.
Acturas I think he just wanted everybody to see his car.
People in nice neighborhoods don't typically steal from vehicles on residential property in broad daylight in the USA.
@@weedshoes5089 Well la-di-da... God for you and all the other nice people living in the nice neighbourhoods!
@@PaavoLammikko just stating facts. There are still areas in the USA where people do not feel the need to lock their doors. No need to take offense.
For what it's worth I've lived in areas where being white outside at night is a risky endeavor. No grocery stores and you can't get food delivered. It sucks but it's all about demographics.
Working with Schmidt Array for a full-proof board is a kick ass idea & removing redundant pedals so you have space to stomp is definitely wise. But also, maybe you should consider using 1 of em midi/switcher thingies. GigRig it buddy 🤘
Well, GigRig switcher or not, drop Daniel Steinhardt a personal message about this situation. From pedalboards to optimising power usage, the man's a bleeding genius.
It would be impossible for me to agree more
I can relate to this. I spent a year, in which I got 3 boutique amps in a box, some really nice time based effects, 11 pedals in total, built the board itself, and decided to be an inventor and power it all, by lithium ion battery pack. Well of course I needed to learn that you can't just use adaptor cables for the 5 to 9v jump required. Then I learned a real good lesson about isolated power supplies. Yes, I learned a lot and came up with an elaborate 12 circuit individually voltage adjustable power supply running off my original battery pack (by the way, my electronics background could be classified as "average guitarist" level). And it was quiet. And it sounded good. Then just take a wild stab at what happens next. Ding ding ding! You are right! Dude! I need a Joyo switcher real bad, can't live without it, gotta get one! Well I got one. And yes it was a super pain in the ass to have to re wire it AGAIN after having just made 30 or so custom length Canare wire cables. Duhooooh... Didn't see that coming. And then, the final of all improbabilities. A sudden windfall of money, allowing me to replace my so so effect platform amp with a Friedman...Who needs those amps in a box now? Such a labour of love, I actually am pretty proud of my originally 12 dollar Ikea challenge pedal board. I am gonna feel like a real heal as I part it out to be replaced by yes.....An HX Effects. I might even miss that colourful 3 tiered monstrosity. Great video by the way, thanks man.
This video is why I love your channel...you're honest, and you're real.
This seems like a pretty normal thing to go through. I've done it myself. It's kind of a pain in the ass but ya just rethink and adjust. I discovered I didn't need as many pedals as I tried to fit at first. I think of it as packing a suitcase for a trip. Only bring what you really need and leave open space in case you want to add something at the last minute. I've been playing 35 years and I still make adjustments.
Agreeing with a few others I've seen: a switcher I the solution. If you have a power or cable failure, it's so much easier to isolate the issue on the fly and won't leave the rest of the board unusable. You have those wonderful midi pedals, you should take advantage of it. Keeping things tidy and attractive is a good idea, it shows you care. People do kind of hate the "instagram era of pedalboards, usually because they don't have the time to dedicate on such a project. Musicom and Boss make excellent solutions, but I think you don't want a larger size board. Morningstar ML5 or VooDoo Labs Hex are switchers you can fit under the board and control with a small midi switcher (both are easy to chain together). You can even have a switcher off you board if you'd rather not take a pedal off with just a midi out on the side of the board. You will have to essentially double your cable count, however, so it isn't exactly the cheapest option. But it's the most ideal for your setup
oansun u
I've made some of those same mistakes. I think when people have that many pedals on a board, they generally have a switcher to control it all. That should solve the button & knob accidents, and then if you find when you're setting up your patches that you don't use certain pedals for tones you want, then take them off the board. I found the Boss MS-3 to be a great "brain" for the board, because it also has built in effects, in addition to FX loops, MIDI control, expression, amp switching, etc. Still, if you ever need something that's missing, or are using the H9 for something, you can always pop in one of the on-boards. Also has a built-in tuner. It's a great size to integrate with a board where you need space for your favorite analog pedals. The main limitations are that it only has 3 loops and they have to be adjacent in the chain. If you remove the bit commander and have a little more vertical space for the H9, you might consider the Barn3 OX9 to get some more functionality out of the H9, including built-in tuner, phrase looping, expression switching, etc. (then again, if you have the MS-3, you can have that trigger a lot of those functions on the H9 via MIDI).
I keep my wah and volume pedal off the board and all the effects on the board only. That being said.. I've effed up my pedal board and reconfigured it numerous times before I got happy. .. what's refreshing about your video and all your videos really, is that you're so humble and honest about your learning experiences. *Respect
I was watching your "How to stack overdrives" video, when you went to turn on your Vertex SSS, you angled your foot in a way to only hit it. I instantly knew your pain. LOL. So, I built a DIY oversized board, that only goes from home to studio. Purposely built so my size 9 1/2 only hits one pedal.
Some throats:
1) interchange 2 pedals on bottom (empress and fuzz) with 2 pedals above them
2) or just use loop switcher
3) or just remove 2-3 pedal to leave more space for big foot))
OK, sorry for the long reply, but my opinion. Pull off the Color Box and Bit Commander are they are not used. Unless you need a bunch different delays and reverbs running simultaneously, remove the Timeline Big Sky and get a second H9. Run one H9 in mono (pre/post... check Eventide website for details), that will also allow for removal of the Tremolo (and give you back the functionality of the Bit Commander). Next add a midi enabled loop switcher, something like a Musicomm Lab EXF-LE or even a Boss ES-5. This will give you both presets and handle midi switching of the 2 H9s. please don't hesitate to message if you think I can be of more assistance. And yes I agree, having a pro shop do your board is a GREAT idea. Dave Philips at LA Sound Design would be my first call.
I started off building and trying to get as many pedals as possible. Now, I’ll play with at max 5 pedals and that includes tuner/ vol pedal. But that’s for my needs. Just try to play with the least amount of pedals. You’ll be able to focus more on the playing and enjoy it more and less worrying about stepping on the right pedals. Howdy from Texas!
I recommend the Road Rage True Bypass Looper. They are available in combinations of 4-16 'staggered' loops. The are hand built and made of thick anodized aluminum. True pro quality! They use Neutrik jacks, Taiwan Blue 3PDT switches and audiophile grade hookup wire. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.
If you've large feet/wear boots, I strongly recommend a tiered pedal board. I also suggest ditching any pedal you don't use in for at least 75% of the gig. Anything else can be thrown in the loop/in front of the amp (depending on where your board is).
Check your total power draw, and upgrade your supply as required. You've a couple of Strymon, try one of their supplies, if you've not already.
Outside that, well, I'd say switch over to as many Boss Pedals as possible, but I'm a bit of a fanboy of Boss, so maybe I'm biased? lol
You nailed it - That's an Instagram board, not a practical one. I've built those myself too and the realisation part sucks.
My current board is still tight, but with a lot more thought put into accessibility and switch placement. No sideways pedals, using pedal risers and Barefoot Button Tall Boys for tight spaces really helped me a lot.
..which is why I'll never have anymore than 4 to 5 pedals ...tuner , line 6 modulation pedal in front ( which works fine for effects ) Duallist OD , Exotic boost and delay .....done ....no compression pedals etc etc ....in saying that , great video Rhett , keeping it real ....cheers
From this video to the other one with Mason, it looks like you solved all of your headaches with boards. Tiers, switchers and not putting a volume pedal in the middle are the best things!
and I like your comment in there, "I....need.....more......power"
First things first. Keep your volume pedal on the right hand side (if you're right handed), take off the redundant and unused pedals and rewire. You will have so much more space. When placing the pedals, make sure you have space to operate the various footswitches. We all learn through experience. It's a good looking board Rhett, now you can make it better :)
I always put the overdrive pedals in the first row of my pedalboard, because I alternate from clean to dirt parts very frequently, or at least I have to do that the easiest way possibile without troubles. Hitting a delay and a boost of volume for solos is also something you have to be able to do easily, so they usually are next to the drives. All the other pedals can be placed in a second, elevated row. Yes, elevating pedals with little bits of plywood covered with isolating tape is both fun and useful: all the problems of accidentally moving pedal settings will be gone!
Good video, thanks for the insight. Something I suggest you consider looking into are "Barefoot Buttons". I found they made a huge difference in hitting effects more reliably. Plus they look amazing.
Simplify your setup for live situations. As a guitarist in a shoegaze/alternative band... I change my setup depending on the tour or on the material we'll be playing. Sometimes I just buy a smaller pedal with a similar sound to make some space. Or buy one that can combine two effects.
Have you considered removing the volume pedal and having it beside the board? If you could have a little more space between the pedals, some of your issues would improve. Secondly, wouldn’t changing the direction some pedals are facing, stop your foot turning them off and on by mistake? If you could find ways to free up some space (as you said some pedals weren’t getting used much), and changed the orientation of some pedals, you might find it a lot more useable.
I was thinking the same ... why couldn't you move the volume pedal as you suggest and also move the wah off to the side? I find that my Dunlop Crybaby occupies the most board real estate hands down.
I really enjoy your videos. For several reasons. You have a certain helpful quality that shows through; that you want others to benefit from your experience and knowledge. And generally you seem like a really nice guy. If I were much younger and lived in your area; I would enjoy hanging with you and talking shop. I have been a musician, practically all my life, and have had various musical experiences that I value and cherish. But the one thing I've never done (for reasons too involved to go into here), is go on tour with a band. So, in a way, I am living vicariously through you when I see your videos of your travels and gigs. And I do really like the instructional videos, like this one and the others you did on building a pedal board. And the ones on equipment you like and use - guitars, effects, amps, etc. Keep it up. I am now a subscriber. BTW, your wife is gorgeous. You are a lucky man.
Thanks for the kind words Thomas!
Brave confession! Admirable. My solution (I also have big feet) is to put most used pedals in front row, with space. Least used on top. Volume (or wah) pedal on far right edge/bottom. It's ok to have open space. Good luck! 🙂
Best way to build a board is to start off with only a few essentials and then add more as you go, if a pedal doesn't work you will know straight away.
I think I've learned a lot through building a few boards myself. After trying many pedals, I've settled on the very pedals that I will use night after night. I then chose the size board to hold my pedals. I don't want an oversized board that I have to drag out to my car or van at the end of the night when I am tired. So, I've got my board down to two rows of pedals and give enough space between them that I don't hit an unwanted switch. I placed risers underneath my board's back so I don't mess up the front rows settings. I've very happy with how it ended up. I think sometimes it's good to go through the growing pains to be smarter about it all. Well, for me at least.
The guys at my church have always had hugely oversized boards (compared to the small number of pedals on them) and it makes sense for this very reason. I very rarely see either of them hit a pedal unintentionally.
Nobody “needs” that many pedals on a board. 6 pedals tops including a tuner. 🤘🏻
Rhett, first of all, recent subscriber speaking here, i enjoy your videos, awesome job and as they say - keep 'em coming! :)
But, if i may i would like to share some of my thoughts with you regarding this topic, and what i have always regarded as simple, somewhat obvious priorities when designing all of the layouts of my gigging pedalboards to date:
1) Only what is needed and necessary -- as you realised yourself, having excess pedals on the board makes things unnecessarily crowded and just more difficult for precise live use. Trim it down, leave what is essential for the gigs you need the board for. I know that this most probably clashes directly with the needed versatility, BUT, if being honest, i think we all realise at a certain point, that more often than not, we tend to keep some pedals on the board even if we don't use them that much. I stopped doing that because i can't stand having something on the board if i don't use it on a regular basis.
2) Front row of pedals should be those that are being stomped on THE MOST -- i know that this (well, as everything else, i guess :) ) is strictly personal thing, depending on needs, habits etc, but i always, and i do mean always fill the front row with pedals that i use the most, so that they are most accessible for stomping, but always paying extra attention to the spacing betweeen the switches. You saw for yourself what can happen if the two wrong things are too close one to another. So, cramming as many pedals as possible is not the best idea most of the time, especially if the board is for live gigging, where all sorts of things can happen. I always tend to populate the front row with drives and a delay (because of the tap tempo which gets corrected all the time), and IF there is leftover space, maybe i'll put something else in there, but only if it doesn't make it too crammed for stomping with average care and precision.
3) Wah/Volume/Expression pedals to the side of the board - this is also strictly my personal taste, but for example, having a fairly large pedal of that type in the middle of a densely populated board as you do (and we should keep in mind - those pedals are being used in a picky, more delicate manner compared to the simple stomping of the footswitch), would make me somewhat uncomfortable because i would have to pay extra attention of not screwing up my settings of the neighbouring pedals every time i go near that wah/volume/expression. Since the physical placement of pedals does not have to follow the signal flow, i feel that people should take advantage of that fact more often.
That's all. The rest of the decisions take secondary priority compared to those three. Everything else must be according to those three basic principles. And this way of board layout and design has served me well for over 700+ live gigs.
I hope this was somewhat helpful, looking forward to seeing more quality content. :)
very helpful demo. Re your powersuplly issue; get yourself stuff from The Gigrig (Dan Steinhard from That pedal show). It's very versatile, has endless power and if you run short of outlets just get another isolator unit and you have another 4 outlets. It's not cheap but the best out there
Building a pedalboard is piece of art :)
My board's being built right now, with room to grow and space for my feet to switch comfortably. It's been a 10+ year journey. So stoked!
Move the hoof and diamond pedal toward the back and move the spring and Greer to the front. Then turn the Greer 180. The color box might also be better suited toward the back of the chain. You could fix all these issues in 30 min of ripping velcro and using a few longer cables to run under the board. Just a thought.
The best thing I ever did for building my studio pedal board was to get a BOSS ES-8.It made sense after I built it with my friend who made many pedal boards ! He's an electronics expert tech so that helps!We ran with all Evidence cables at custom built lengths .For Power : A Decibel Eleven & Voodoo labs Power supplies. Everything is plugged into the ES-8 in various places .The I have a mini Dunlop wha & Mini Dunlop volume pedal there plugged into the Expression ports. A Mini TC Poly tune plugged into the tuner port, Keeley Compressor (Loop1), Nobles ODR-1 (Loop 2) ,Fulltone OCD (Loop 3), Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret 2 (Loop 4)Lovepedal Kalamazoo (Loop5) ,Eventide H9 Max (Loop 6), TC Alter ego Vintage Delays x4 (Loop7) after that I plug into a 4 Channel Voo Doo Labs Amp Selector.I Plug into (Channel 1) a Vox AC-30 with Blu Alnico Celestion Speaker with a Celestion Greenback speaker .Then into (Channel 2) Roland JC-77 for clean. Then into (Channel 3) to Fender 68 Deluxe Reverb with a EV EL 12 M 200 WATT speaker ,Then into (Channel4) a Rozon (Custom made amp) 4 Channel 75 watt rack Mount amp powering a 4x12 enclosed cabinet with G12 T 75 watt Celestions. I pretty much have everything I need at my studio sound wise covered.But the quest for tone never stops!
I did a similar mistake of getting the stompers too close together. Before I committed to a layout, I gave it a day or two just letting the layout sit there and talk to me. And, still, the first layout I went with had problems. O man, how did you end up with your expression pedal not at the east or west end of your board?!? As soon as you pulled it out, I knew what happened - and you told the story of hitting your fuzz box while at the volume pedal. Ack! I really appreciate you sharing your mistakes. On my first build, I didn’t pay mind to the rule, “measure twice to cut once.” My new rule is “measure 3 or 4 times, then think about it for an hour, then cut. After that, just know you’ll have to redo the whole thing in a week.” As much as ya plan, when you start actually using the board, all your mistakes become glaringly apparent. I’ve been building my new board layout slowly, checking the placing and spacing for ease in performance. Bon chance on your next build!
Man, I feel that. I've designed my first board myself and it was a horrible mess, so I've decided to downsize the number of pedals and create a layout using modulargrid. I've got every measurement right, I set up all the pedals, got all cables managed and the board looked absolutely fantastic. And was an absolute horror to play, with little to no space between pedals. Lesson learned.
I would put the volume pedal over on the right. It's the one you use most, so having it at the edge of town means you have enough room regardless of what you're wearing on your feet. Anyway, if you get a GigRig it can't go in the middle any more :)
Without going to a midi switcher, start with eliminating the jhs color box, tremolo, and whatever EQD pedal that is. Move your volume pedal to the bottom right corner and use H9 for all modulations, big sky for reverb, and timeline for delay. Don't complicate things by requiring so much from each unit.
You should make a video about building a small board with all the essentials for a church gig!
So true, so many boards look great on Instagram but when it comes to playing actually live they must be impossible.
You kind of want more space if anything, having everything tightly packed means you're going to he pressing everything! When you're live you need to be able switch quickly. Without triggering the wrong effects/pedals. So yeah more space is needed, bigger boards dependant on what you need are the key
Re: not having enough outlets on your power supply- it takes a little research, but most pedal companies show the Current Draw of a pedal, either online, in the manual, or on the pedal itself. Figure out how much Current an outlet puts out, then daisy chain as many pedals as you can, without going over. I use the One Spot/ Truetone daisy chain cables with my Voodoo Lab Mondo (and my old 4x4), and have combined as many as 5 or 6 pedals on one outlet, with no ill effects (no pun intended).
Great. Pull out the redundant pedals to make a mini board for grab and go. Get a looper strip for the front of the big board so that you never need to step over pedals. Done.
So in other words, you are bored with this board.
Thanks for sharing Rhett! I have been watching your videos these days and absolutely love them! Props from Greece! Keep it up!
Why don’t you just take the colour box off? It would free a power cable and give free real estate to help with the drives and volume petal/fuzz situations. Thanks for making content like this Rhett!
Perhaps consider putting a blocking raiser underneath those two pedals in the centre in order to raise the height of them that way you are unlikely to turn the knobs of the fuzz pedal. You could get a smaller volume pedal too and wear sneakers not wide fancy shoes!
I would definitely bring the two pedals you hit at the same time down in front since you use them so much. Get rid of the bit commander, tremolo and color box. Move your volume all the way to the right. That should be enough room to space things out a bit.
Thats why you always need a switcher like es 8 from boss
Even me, in my Woman's boots, couldn't use that board. Nice that you were honest and made your mistakes into a useful video.
Thanks so much for your video with the pedalboard ! Are use volume pedal separate from pedal board right on the floor and also it’s good and comfortable for the body position for playing live music a couple hours
I always try to keep expression pedals and tap tempos on the sides of the board with space around them. Also, I've found running 2 power supplies is better than a single larger one. This helps isolate certain noisy or hi-fidelity pedals as well as provide more options. It also looks like the case is big enough to support an addition of a tier. Thus making some easier to reach. I'm sure someone has pointed out and you've updated since, but larger add-on buttons may help too. It's all trial and error if you don't have it custom built.
Great video! Totally agree. It took me a while to get mine done too. I appreciate your advice. I kept mine simple too. Compressor, overdrives, Preamp to Boss Volume pedal then to Zoom G3 for all delays, reverb to the Joyo Cab Box and that finally worked for me. Definitely keep enough room purposely on the board to step on the right pedals at the right times!
I went through a similar thing. I've got a loop switcher now which makes turning on certain effects a lot easier and less risky for a crowded and large board. Its working for now but I think it might be better to run 2 smaller boards than cramming everything into one.
I think a Rhett Shull-Daniel Steinhardt video is order where he designs you a kickass board with a Schmidt Array
pedal placement was something i never considered. I also play at church, and I remember going tap dancing my board to get ready for a recognizable guitar hook in the song, only to step on the POG accidentally, then frantically try to turn it off, only to turn off the OD. I also had my tuner set to kill the signal when tuning, and have many times accidentally killed the signal during songs... I think I need a bypass looper. lol
I know this is a super old video, but I saw the original build a few months ago and feeling claustrophobic just looking at it. I've seen your more recent build where you have a shelf for the Strymons. I don't understand why more people don't use a shelf. I also like my main pedals to be close to the ground and the ones I don't need to hit as often on the shelf. I generally keep my delay on a quiet slapback, so that doesn't get touched and my modulation pedals don't get used every song, so they are up there too.
as always , very honestly done video. the sign of those fellows whose main goal is to improve in life.
so according to what you said, my 2 cents in a very easy step :
taking off 2 pedals will resolve main of your complains.
- power issues
- pushing buttons errors etc..
- give your volume pedal "breathing"
- get all your main pedals in vertical position back.
cheers from Israel.
I feel like I'm looking at a mirror image of myself a few years back. Two things: A programmable looper is one of the best investments you can make after a tuner and an isolated power box (hint: If you're comfortable soldering, there are DIY options out there for pretty cheap).
Take off some of the pedals you're not using to make room for it. There's nothing better than being able to make presets to call up without tap-dancing.
Number Two: To fix the power problems, daisy chain. Daisy chaining gets a real bad rap, but in the 12 years I've played guitar (8 of which I've been using pedals, 4 of those I was building them), I've rarely found problems with them. Most of the bad rap comes from companies or salesmen trying to sell you isolated power boxes. Most pedals don't require anything close to 250mA of current, or even 100mA! Just looking at your board, I think you could get away with chaining 4-5 of those pedals out of one 9V 250mA jack on a standard isolated power supply with no sound or performance issues. You can either measure the current draw of each pedal yourself or often the current draw will be printed somewhere in the user-manual. Just be sure not to confuse which pedals might be tip-positive.
Man, your videos are not only perfectly done, but VERY useful, thanks from Argentina!
A quick solution to this board: perform barefoot. I know guys who do this all the time.
Problem: I don't endorse this method. I've been in too many bars, with too much broken glass on the floor. I've seen the driest hardwood stages with splinters the size of 10 penny nails with rusty 6 penny nails sticking out of them. And I'm from Kansas, the land of tumbleweeds and stickers in the lawn. It may be overkill, but I wear steel-toe boots for many fine reasons in addition to this.
Gotta agree with you, Rhett. You've created a monster instead of a beast of a rig. I'd like to think I'd steer clear of this sort of thing, but my minimalism cuts both ways, and I see myself doing this as well. The flavor of the disaster would be different, but it'd still be a boondoggle.
Yuppers, that would be to tight for me! Good luck on your new set up
I had the same dilema after having my then set up for 4 years. i ended up swapping my pedaltrain pt3 to the new classic one and got rid of my loop switcher and removed pedals that i really didnt need. i bought some barefoot buttons for the pedals i constantly turn on and off. also decided to keep those pedals closer to my feet for easy reach. I decided to get my volume pedal out of my chain since i constantly ride my volume knob more often and i really dont do swells or anything...
You're making me so glad I'm happy with 2-4 pedals at at time.
in my opinion, you need to downsizing your pedalboard. Since you have bad stocking dirt, remove the canyon. As you mention, you have redundancy in modulation, remove the trem, so that you have lots of space, then change them with disaster switch pedal for easiest way to dial all your pedals..hopefully it will help..
The problem with the volume pedal I also had it, in my case if I push the distortion, I ended with volume down at the same time! So I changed it to a pedal that has two switches , Which the main switch is not close and if the other is activated nothing happens. Love your videos broth! Thanks to you I have setup I rethinking about all my gear! Saludos desde Ecuador.
Hey Rhett!! Thanks for sharing your experience. I can really relate to this video because before I got my Pedaltrain Classic Pro my pedals were all in a very tight position and I would frequently touch cables and switches when turning on a pedal and would even touch the power cable, causing unwanted noise. From that I realized we just don't have to populate the whole board because there is not only problem with turning on a pedal accidentally, there is also problem with power supply, which I tried to solve using my Korg tuners but a couple of times I stumbled upon the problem with voltage requirement and saw pedals that wouldn't power up.
First look at your board, yep, obviously too crowed. I have regular feet and would have a hard time using it without hitting something. If you do want to carry all the pedals, maybe build two, side by side? And if you can you’ll have one with the majors and one with the minors which you can leave out for some gigs. Cool video, nice of you to share your thoughts and feelings about this.
I have a gigrig G2 that honestly, is overkill for my current gigs. Before I just had a 2 loop switcher. As soon as I bought it, it changed the way I used my board in a big way. The ability to combine pedals and turn a "patch" on and off at once is a godsend. It also keeps stuff out of the signal path for when you don't need it. Size is obviously an issue, but to echo other comments: get a loop-switcher!
You know, I couldn't agree more, Rhett. Many pedals that I have on my board are all wish-list pedals that I wanted individually but did not give much thought into whether they 'played nice' together. In specifics, my distortion stacking. I also wish I had investigated on a better delay pedal.. I digress.. Thank you much for this video!
Glad you get to the point quicker in your more recent videos.. and don't really need to see you get your keys and open the boot to make a point :)
The dude has every pedal and piece of gear on earth and is unhappy. Oh what a world.
He is using this as advice for beginners.
Few things are as frustrating as cable issues in the middle of a show. Earlier this spring I got rid of all of my solder-less cables because they were not reliable anymore. I'm at the stage where I'm building my board and doing a ton of research on possible purchases. I would like to fit a lot into a small space too as I have a Novo 24 as well. My plan is to get a switcher. Have that hooked up to the 6 pedals at the top of my board. Then purchase "risers" from Pedaltrain to elevate the ones that are closest to the switcher thus making it much easier to switch on and off without hitting anything else.
If I were you I would definitely look at the possibility of using the risers. Pedaltrain sells them and I believe they're pretty inexpensive. They make them to fit one, two or three pedals. Could be a simpler solution to the issue. Another idea would be to have multiple boards. You play a lot so it seems like it would be worth it.
Sorry for the long comment, I've been in my first gigging band for just about a year and appreciate the hell out of the advice you give.
When I first saw your board I thought about some of the issues that you said in this video. Nice to see that you are willing to teach others about your mistakes. Great video.
This kind of confirms why I think I'm going to go with a tiered board...something like the Friedman. You lose out on some real estate, but you're not stepping on your front row when trying to reach the back row. And, it keeps you from cramming pedals too close together, at least front to back. Just found your channel a couple of days ago Rhett. Good stuff.
Thanks! Im looking into a tiered board I saw at NAMM. Ill be sure to keep everyone updated
As a bass player with a pretty similar board as yours, the boss ls-2 is a life saver. I run most of my pedals through it. I have everything that I need on before the song starts, and with one button, I can turn on/ off 2 entire signals.
That being said- I kinda hate my board too haha I also have a hoof reaper that I constantly accidentally hit on.
I’m starting to think of just downgrading to a simple board. Tuner- comp- octave- Fuzz.
Rhett...get a loop switcher!!! One with memory like the G2 so you can use any combination of pedals at any time. I use the joyo pxl pro, but if I could afford the G2 I would get that
I finally sat down and watched this video. I know it’s old (especially in terms of RUclips) , and I guess I’m just gonna throw my two cents on here.
I love the JHS color box. It’s one of my favorite devices ever built, but it only ever sounds good to me plugging my guitar into it, and then going straight out to the board. There are certain sounds it does, it does them really well, but it does not play well with anything else in my opinion. The clean tone from another brick in the wall? I can mail that with the color box. Revolution by the Beatles? Perfect. But again I have to go straight into the pedal, straight into the board.
I remember seeing Jerry McPherson, on tour with Amy Grant years ago. He had a giant pedal board, with maybe half a dozen pedals on it. There was so much space between every pedal. When I asked him about it, he said it was because if something broke, he could wire around it really quickly. Also, he knew he would never step on anything incorrectly, as each pedal had so much space around it.
I appreciate you sharing your failures. I think as people, we learn more from attempting something and feeling then we do by getting it right the first time. Appreciate you sharing this one a lot parents
Thanks for sharing. I ended up adding a Voodoo Lab Digital supply to the VL Pedal Power 2 Plus and that solved my power supply deficit issue. I can run 9 or 12 V. I have a Pedaltrain PT-Pro, so I think it’s wider than yours appears to be. My size 10s work fine even wearing boots! I even have a little unused real estate, hmmm, what to add next....
I bought myself a Quartermaster 8 from GigRig (Daniel from That Pedal Show) and that allows me to access all effects at the bottom of the board. I'm limited to 8 Pedals unless I put some in front or after. But I find it just the right amount to cover everything in sounds I need. I'm using the Evidence Audio solderless cables which are fantastic - power supply is the fantastic CIOKS DC10. I"m super happy with this board - which is a NOVO 24 as well. I've sent you a picture on twitter.
I needed to see this. As someone who scaled down and still had a cake and eat it mindset I needed to see this
I feel ya, dude. Sometimes gotta go through it to know. If it were me, I’d keep the processors (strymon, eveneide) a few select gain pedals, and the volume pedal - and pull everything else. Maybe consider using the volume pedal as an expression pedal for the H9 and swelling with you volume knob. That’s what I did and much happier for it.
Rhett, I don't know many of your pedals, but a new arrangement would end most of your problems. Of course that if you won't use a Fuzz in a gig, just velcro it out! But I understand you want to carry your complete babies all around. Would you excuse me providing a few suggestions?? On the right of the volume you have a white and a black/blue pedal. Why don't you swap the volume for them? The volume should be at the right edge of the board. Then at the volume heel position, the switch of the black/blue pedal is centered to the pedal, far away from the volume. You won't turn if off anymore!! And at the right of the volume you won't have anything, which may allow you to even slide your foot a little more to the right. Ok... next suggestion: Lightspeed and Steel String now. I would put the big red pedal above your Fuzz (considering that you swapped the volume with the pedals I've suggested before). Then I would stack the Lightspeed and the Steel String (the smaller of these two below). Then once you have them stacked, pay attention to this: IF the red pedal is above the Fuzz, the left switch would be close to the Lighstpeed/Steel String. Then the upper pedal of these should be rotated to have the switch pointed to the left, giving you space to kick the switch of the red pedal. Finally, the lower pedal of the Lightspeed/Steel String stack: as you have the upper pedal rotated with the switch towards the left, the pedal below should have the switch towards to the right. I'd suggest it to the be the Streel String as the switch seems more distant to the end of the pedal, giving you maybe an inch of distance from the fuzz. That's it. Just a humble suggestion. You've done such a great job... but it doesn't seem that hard to correct the layout and the usability of this great pedalboard. Sometimes a great viewing layout doesn't work. Maybe a more usable layout would make you happier. And if you get sick of any pedals, throw them over here to Brazil that I'll be glad to adopt them into my pedalboard family to be happy with new brothers with plenty of space in my pedalboard lol. Congrats man!