Which Pedal Board???

[Monsta-Tone]

I've been looking at Pedal Boards, but there are so many choices.

With or Without Power Supply?



I am looking for a pedal board with a hard case and power supply.

I saw on the American Musical site that they have a Furman and an SKB that are about the same size, and have about the same features.

The Furman is $100 more though.

What do you guys use, and why???????????

 

[Brewski]

Hey Monsta, I use a Pedal Train. Reason- It was simple and flexible. I have a soft case for mine, although they are offered with hard cases. That would have been the better way to go. The soft case is cheap and I may try to find a hard case down the road.

For a power supply, I use a DC-Brick. I figured that with seperate components, I wasn't stuck with a $350 integrated system. If my power supply were to go, then I can just replace it without a lot of hassle. It's also easy to rearrange the pedals and get to the cables and wires, if I need to. So far, it's worked out very well. They come in 3 sizes, depending how much real estate is needed.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

Yeah, that's what I was wondering about.

I didn't want to spend a lot of money and have something fail. I do really like the 120v & 9v options though. It seems like other options would be larger than the integrated ones.

 

[Brewski]

Yeah, that's what I was wondering about.

I didn't want to spend a lot of money and have something fail. I do really like the 120v & 9v options though. It seems like other options would be larger than the integrated ones.

I haven't needed to do it yet, but on the larger two Pedal Trains, I could mount the DC-Brick on the bottom side of the board, which would give more room for additional pedals or just keep everything as compact as possible.

There are other power supplies out there, but I didn't want to spend the money and didn't need the addtional power options. There's no right or wrong, get what meets your requirements. 8)

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I'm just wanting to get the best bang for the buck, but also something that is really convenient and sturdy.


The Furman looks really well thought out, although a bit over the top on options.

 

[Laskyman]

What do you guys use, and why???????????

I had a board made by NYC Pedalboards- it was important for me to have room for my Roadster footswitch and all of the usual suspects (pedaltrain, pedal pad, SKB, Warwick, Lyt, Furman, gator, etc) just didnt have enough space for me to allow that. The NYC boards also dont come with power supplies, so you aren't "handcuffed" to a power unit that doesnt completely fit your needs. Overall, I am very pleased with the build quality and appearance of my board- a great value for the money.
I have a Voodoo Lab PP2+ as it has all the power options I need- and some I could "grow into" if my pedal board changes. There are other capable less expensive options if you dont need all that the PP2 has to offer. The voodoo lab pedal power is bulletproof.
Here is a link if you want to check out the NYC boards...

http://nycpedalboards.com/

Happy Hunting-

Laskyman

 

[boogietone]

I have a pedaltrain. Very happy with it so far.

 

[DeFrag]

I have a Furman SPB-8 & absolutely love it. Great features, stereo, power available for pedals.

For a smaller board, I'd recommend a PedalTrain.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

A friend of mine brought over a Gator last night. Anybody have any experience with them?

It seems a little cheap, made out of particle board, but he only wants $90 for it with a power supply. I looked at Musician's Friend and they are about $140 with the power supply that he has on it.


I'm thinking that it will do for now. It's really small though, and I'm sure I'll eventually grow out of it, which means my kid will have a new pedalboard by the time he's 5! :lol: He already has a Wah, Distortion, Crate Amp, and Squier Mini Strat. He's only 3, but already has great feedback! :lol:

 

[plumptone]

Hey Monsta - I use a board built by NYC Pedalboards. I've been using it for probably 3 years now, and it's held up great. The downside (if you can call it that) is that these boards don't come with any power supply, but in my opinion this isn't necessarily bad, since you can then pick and choose what you want to use for that. These are based on the standard hook & loop (velcro) approach. If you use the heavy duty stuff on your pedals, they don't shift at all.

There are a couple of things you need to know about these:

1. You can select from a good variety of stock sizes to fit your particular needs.

2. If you don't see a size you need - he will build one custom to your specs.

3. They look good, function very well, and are solidly built. Not ATA, but better than anything with a soft case. Rubber feet on the bottom, as well as on the back for standing it upright. Solid hardware throughout.

4. If you go with this - get the butterfly latches - that way there's nothing protruding up from the front lip - giving you completely unobstructed access to the pedals.

5. Good low-profile: sits close to the floor, not like some boards that are like a step up to reach the pedals.

6. You can add a second level riser either now or in the future.

7. He'll make a special cut-out for your wah and/or volume pedal.

8. Most importantly, he's great to deal with - fast turn around, will answer any and all questions promptly.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

How are the corners on the case? I bought a couple of rack cases that had extremely sharp corners.

 

[plumptone]

The corners are hard molded plastic. This is not an ATA case, and there's nothing metal (other than the locks and hinges) on the outside at all. This is a back-of-the car/trunk-friendly board. Here's a pic - not that clear, but you'll get the idea.

 

[DeFrag]

I bought the Gator powered tote for my son & its ok.. had to send the 1st one back as it was broken.

Here's my homemade gigging board:

 

[Monsta-Tone]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

That is freaking awesome!


I figured that I could give the Gator one to my son too once I can afford a better one. Money is a little tight right now.

 

[plumptone]

Crown Royal - nice touch.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

:lol: :lol: :lol:


OK
2 questions:

How are the MXR pedals? Do they suck tone?

'59 Bassman? How is that pedal?

 

[camsna]

:lol: :lol: :lol:


OK
2 questions:

How are the MXR pedals? Do they suck tone?

'59 Bassman? How is that pedal?

1) Depends on the MXR pedal.
2) The '59 Bassman pedal is...okay. So is the Deluxe Reverb one. Neither one floored me. But when played through a super clean and SUPER balanced amp (Jazz Chorus) - they do pull off their respective tones.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

OK, so it just simulates the amp it is named after?


Don't really want one, but I've been out of the pedal loop (pun intended) for a while now.


I think I really just need a compressor, digital delay and another distortion or OD pedal and I'm all set.

 

[plumptone]

Monsta - I like the MXR pedals because they sound good to me, and for the quality, they are well priced. The phase 90, in particular, is the only phaser pedal I'll use. It's not true bypass, so there's definitely a little tone- wierdness present. If I was inclined to solve that problem, I'd keep that particular pedal, but run it in a separate bypass loop. But as you can see, space is somewhat scarce for me on my board.

I like the MXR dynacomp too. It's always on when I play clean. I will be updating this in the not too distant future with either a Barber Tone Press, which comes highly recommended, or a Keeley Compressor.

And FWIW, that T.C. Electronic pedal is a superb digital delay, and well worth a try if you're in the market

 

[Animeka]

Which cable solution are you guys using? I saw the George L's on ebay, to make them to proper lengths... are there other/better solutions?

Marc