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VoodooJeff
bordonbert
Raf0419
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    Pedal board, pedals - Care to share?

    Raf0419
    Raf0419


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    Post by Raf0419 Tue Jan 12, 2016 3:23 pm

    I'm at best a home enthusiast and still I'm incredibly happy with my FSM-432 and GM36 setup. That being said, I occasionally need to disconnect everything from the amp to prevent friends of the "little ones" from tampering with the gear. As a result I'm planning to build a pedal board in the very near future. While I don't have many pedals I'm interested in knowing how those with a pedal board have set them up - especially if the FSM 432 is on the board. I find its shape is great as a stand alone, but awkward when setting up things around it! I have some ideas on where I want to go with my build, for example a single connection point for all cables from the amp, but I thought it would be fun to see what others have done.

    Yes I know images of pedal boards are all over the internet, but this could still be fun and enlightening. Who knows? A good discussion of design and pedal use may even come of it.

    What say you? Care to share/post an image (or more) of your pedal board?
    bordonbert
    bordonbert


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    Post by bordonbert Tue Jan 12, 2016 4:35 pm

    I refused to pay out a ridiculous sum for a couple of bits of welded scrap angle iron or tube brand new.  In a fit of pique I made my own from a few pieces of scrap wood I had lying around!  That's not a job that's highly thought of by many and even to me it was just a temporary job to carry a sparse few pedals until I found something more normal which was cheap.  But after using it it's so good I wouldn't swap it now.

    It's a two tier job, low front shelf and raised and angled rear shelf with PSU underneath that. It has all connections, (In, Out, Power, Loop In, Loop Out, Switching x 2), via sockets on a small metal plate on the back.  That allows me to use a Snake, (also home made), to carry everything in one bundle.  It has space for more pedals than I will ever use but I'm not a pedal freak.  I use my FSM432 independently of this but connected to the switching pedals set up for Boost and Effects Loop.  Overall it makes for a big footprint on the stage but somehow it always ends up manageable.
    Raf0419
    Raf0419


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    Post by Raf0419 Tue Jan 12, 2016 7:39 pm

    Bordon I'm on the same wavelength. I'm a capable carpenter so I plan to put together something very similar. However in my case I hope to place the FSM on the board. I'm planning a snake as well. Should I be concerned with running my effects loop cables next to the FSM midi cable? Need I be concerned with interference or sound degradation?
    VoodooJeff
    VoodooJeff


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    Post by VoodooJeff Tue Jan 12, 2016 10:43 pm

    One of my students makes some very affordable custom pedal boards. www.rokfujazmusik.com

    My rig is very simple, but I still use one of his boards. My H9 lives on the cab, right next to the amp. I have the FCB1010 midi controller, my wah, and my wireless on the board (it`s a stomp box style wireless).
    bordonbert
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    Post by bordonbert Wed Jan 13, 2016 4:55 am

    You shouldn't have a problem with interference Raf. The midi spec is isolated balanced current loop in a twisted pair cable. When a signal is sent up the cable you have one wire taking the current "up" and a second taking the same current "back" as a loop, and they are twisted together internally as a means of creating short patches of reversed field which cancel out in any nearby cable which should pick anything up. As long as your cable conforms to that it should mean noise free use.

    Wow, that's a simple rig Jeff. I find that impressive and very refreshing in someone who plays at the level you do. It's testament to the GM's flexibility. You don't need boost, distortion, reverb, chorus, flanger, phaser, tremelo, or delay in your pedals. We've never had it so good! And those simple wooden boards look neat. I can never understand why they absolutely have to be manufactured like steel scaffolds. How much abuse do professionals give their gear for Pete's sake? Has the rock and roll abusive lifestyle shifted focus from TVs in hotel rooms to pedal boards?
    gravydb
    gravydb


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    Post by gravydb Wed Jan 13, 2016 8:30 am

    Yeah if I were in your scenario Raf I'd definitely get a pedalboard so that the whole thing can be stowed away with minimal disconnecting/connecting. My pedalboard is thankfully simple due to relying solely on the GM as far as distortion and effects go - no need for add'l pedals. I really just have 3 items on the board: the FSM, a volume pedal (which is in the amp's fx loop), and a Boss Looper pedal which is separate from my rig (I use it for something other than looping).

    If you're running more than a couple/few cables I recommend using 'Pedal Snake' to bundle them together. I like a tidy stage area Smile The pedalboard itself is homemade, it's just a panel material 1/4" thick and about 12"x36". There's extra space available on it because I used to have a G-System on it with a couple exp pedals.

    Pedal board, pedals - Care to share? 20150927%20pedalboard%20800x600_zpsk1kjhug7

    I have the GM racked, along with a power conditioner and tuner. My signal path is:
    gtr->wireless (rx sits on top of my rig)->tuner->GM36 (volume pedal in fx loop)->CC212 cab
    This is one of the simplest rigs I've ever owned and I'm loving it! Mr Bill agrees!

    Pedal board, pedals - Care to share? IMG_1499_zpsepaqx5vk

    Pedal board, pedals - Care to share? 2014-07-07211744601x800_zps918cbb29


    Last edited by gravydb on Sun Jan 17, 2016 7:39 pm; edited 3 times in total
    Raf0419
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    Post by Raf0419 Wed Jan 13, 2016 11:04 am

    Nice Gravy! I love the simplicity of the setup you and Jeff maintain.  In general I'm anal about keeping things neat and hope to have something similar. I recall reading that you engage effects for your band with the looper - super cool! The snake is exactly what I had in mind. I'm thinking I'll build a board out of wood and have a single connect disconnect point/area. I really don't want anything more than my wah, tuner and volume pedal along with the FSM though I may keep space for the occasional OD or fuzz pedal as well.

    Because I almost always practice solo I have a looper and a few pedals that I A-B to another amp for those times I want to play over one tone using a different tone. This adds a good bit to the board which is also why I wanted a single connect/disconnect area. I would love eliminate the A-B switch and other effects. I'm intrigued by Jeff's FX loop solution https://handkusers.forumotion.com/t146p15-fx-loop-question as it would allow me to eliminate quite a bit from the board. Though I'm a capable DIYer, I'm not comfortable performing the mod mostly out of fear of installing the wrong part. With any luck I hope to find an amp repair shop locally to perform the mod. Doing so would go a long way in allowing me to simplify my setup!
    Zybler
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    Post by Zybler Fri Jan 15, 2016 4:44 pm

    Like to share my homemade pedalboard. It´s just a simple plywood where I clamped the pedals with cable strips. In the front I mounted the FSM-432, was and volume to the right and in the back I have an elevated platform for pedals so they ar easy to control. I´m using a Pedal snake where everything is running, midi, effect loop and power for the pedals. Really convenient with inly one cable. The Pedal snake is always connected to the board so I just have to connect it to the amp.

    I also built a stand for the speaker so its angled toward my ears instead of my knees + some feet  for the amp so its leveled and get a better airflow. I really like my setup, I just have to build a box for the board to make it perfect  Smile

    The signal goes from Guitar -> Wah -> Volume - >Amp -> send -> Hall of fame -> return.

    Pedal board, pedals - Care to share? Img_4510
    Raf0419
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    Post by Raf0419 Fri Jan 15, 2016 11:25 pm

    Zybler I really like how you maintained the curvature of the FSM across the front of your board. It's quite clever and sharp!
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    ConradK


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    Post by ConradK Sat Jan 16, 2016 4:07 am

    Here's mine guys

    Volume pedal, eq and looper are in the effects loop of the amp. The unknown red pedal is a vocal pedal which is not connected to my amp but which I keep on my pedal board for convenience

    https://2img.net/h/i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah16/Conradk1/C2D53B86-13EA-46EC-8456-076F66C1957E_zps7ukvkdno.jpg
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    Post by ConradK Sat Jan 16, 2016 7:10 am

    Here's mine guys

    Volume pedal, eq and looper are in the effects loop of the amp. The unknown red pedal is a vocal pedal which is not connected to my amp but which I keep on my pedal board for convenience

    https://2img.net/h/i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah16/Conradk1/C2D53B86-13EA-46EC-8456-076F66C1957E_zps7ukvkdno.jpg
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    Post by ConradK Sat Jan 16, 2016 7:18 am

    Zybler
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    Post by Zybler Sat Jan 16, 2016 8:32 am

    Raf0419 wrote:Zybler I really like how you maintained the curvature of the FSM across the front of your board. It's quite clever and sharp!

    Thanks, here is a picture that show how I follow the curvature even for the elevated platform. I still have room for two more pedals.

    Pedal board, pedals - Care to share? Img_1510
    bordonbert
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    Post by bordonbert Sat Jan 16, 2016 9:12 am

    I got round to taking a couple of pics of my current one.  It's a really sturdy design well braced as you can see from the underside picture.  It's fairly bulky as I prefer to keep things tidy and regimented rather than just stick anything on at odd angles to squeeze as many pedals in place as I can.  You can see I have a rear socket board made from a piece of scrap aluminium which takes all connections.  This means my snake is neat with all cables the same length, and it can be fitted very quickly.

    The pedals I use are really not of interest, we will all have our own choices and some of mine are my own design anyway.  This was conceived at the time when I was using a TM36 hence the switch units for channel and loop/boost selection and I didn't have the FSM432 to think about.  I preferred at that time to keep the rest pretty generic, I don't have a huge selection of pedals and I prefer to play sparse for most things.

    Pedal board, pedals - Care to share? Pedbrd10

    Pedal board, pedals - Care to share? Pedbrd11

    I take my hat off to you Zybler, I love that design.  Two things stand out.  The first is that, like Raf I'm highly impressed with your idea of curving it to match the FSM432, that's really clever and something I will consider myself.  The second is that you have kept it fairly shallow by having a separate area on the side for your rockers which stops them fouling the elevated area or drooping across it.  Like you I liked the idea of a flat low front shelf and an elevated rear shelf.  It gives me an under area for the PSU and an easy way to distribute cabling to keep it reasonably tidy.  It seems obvious now to see that third low level area to the side but I never thought of that.

    I can definitely feel a MkII GM36 model about to be launched now based more on your lines. The worm is in the brain and wriggling about!
    gravydb
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    Post by gravydb Sat Jan 16, 2016 1:43 pm

    I love em all! Nice work guys!
    Egads
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    Post by Egads Sat Jan 16, 2016 3:55 pm

    I continue to go back and forth between simple amps and the Grandmeister. My only complaint, and the reason the GM isn't my main gigging amp is that it didn't replace my need of a pedal board, as I had hoped it would.
    I gradually found myself adding pedals back into the mix.

    That said, here is a quick, cheap way to bundle cables for the pedal board to amp/foot controller runs:
    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004UHQNUU/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2BCTROPCF0IFB&coliid=I37YRAZGKE42O4

    The 1/2" handles 2-3 cables easily. If you are also doing effects loop runs, try the 3/4" or 1". Singe the ends if you cut it, and use velcro straps to tie off the ends on the finished bundles. Quick and easy!
    Raf0419
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    Post by Raf0419 Mon Jan 18, 2016 7:27 pm

    Egads - Great tip! Thank you. That will certainly come in handy when I get around to my build.

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