My Do-It-Yourself IKEA Pedalboard Build Thread

[Armchair Bronco]

Originally Posted by laundromatt

great write-up. i've got a pedaltrain myself (a birthday gift), but i'm sure it'll be helpful to someone else out there.

looking forward to your clone build. i saw the other thread where you were deciding between GGG and BYOC. i'm interested in seeing how things turn out for you.

Yeah, I don't have a choice about building it now. Someone at work offered to sell me his vintage 80's ProCo RAT. I asked if I could borrow it for a couple of days first, and I left $70 in earnest money. Then, like a complete idiot, I sent email to the guy telling him how great the pedal was and how I'd like to go ahead and buy it from him.

He responded by saying he was now having second thoughts and that he wanted to try the pedal out again himself after 20 years!

I'm such an idiot!!! Should have just kept my mouth shut. Anyway, the GGG pedal will be perfect because it's a 100% copy of the circuit used in the vintage ProCo RAT from the 1980's, and someone on this site offered to give me the LM308N chip I need to make this a perfect clone.

I just wish that my soldering skills were better...but at least I got in some more practice with this project.

[gitarzan]

He responded by saying he was now having second thoughts and that he wanted to try the pedal out again himself after 20 years!

What a jerk.

[dB]

EXCELLENT thread; thanks for sharing.


dB

[Armchair Bronco]

Originally Posted by gitarzan

What a jerk.

Not really. We'd never agreed to consumate the deal. But that was because I asked for some extra time to try it out.

If it were me, and I was thinking about giving up a pedal that I'd purchased back in the early 1980's, I'd think twice about it, too. The thing is: it's so hard to guess the value of vintage pedals. I asked him to name a price that he thought was "fair". Maybe I should have suggested something right from the start and just bought the pedal outright.

There's still hope he'll give it up since he's a bass player now and the ProCo RAT is really more of a guitar pedal as basses tend to lose some low end with it. He'll let me know this week what's up. But I'm expecting the worst.

[Armchair Bronco]

By the way, for folks who haven't been to IKEA before, here are links to the 2 parts I used:

GORM Shelf


The shelf also includes 4 iron-looking bolts.

GORM Height Extension Post

[umasstele]

Armchair Bronco: thank you very much! I have this week off for spring break and am planning on building a pedal board. I am seriously considering using your design....(assuming you dont mind of course!)

[Yoni]

I used an ikea cutting board when I made mine. I love it.

[tazzboy]

Looks good. I don't have Ikea store here in Eugene, Or. So I will have to stick to Home Depot or Lowe's Home Improvement.

[Armchair Bronco]

Originally Posted by umasstele

Armchair Bronco: thank you very much! I have this week off for spring break and am planning on building a pedal board. I am seriously considering using your design....(assuming you dont mind of course!)

Go for it! My only contribution to the Gorm design was a giant can of orange spray paint offset by some black velcro! I can't take credit for anything else.

Originally Posted by tazzboy

Looks good. I don't have Ikea store here in Eugene, Or. So I will have to stick to Home Depot or Lowe's Home Improvement.

There's no real magic to the IKEA Gorm design. In fact, if I had a table saw (which I don't) I'd just cut up some pine pieces according to my own specs using the Gorm for inspiration. The shelf is just 3 pine slabs nailed to some "L" shaped rails. If you can cut the rails from a square piece of pine, you're golden.

If I did have the appropriate tools, then I'd think about making another pedalboard using a really nice hardwood, like some figured walnut or something but still based on the basic Gorm layout. But instead of using Velcro, I'd use some miniature rare earth magnets to attach the pedals to the board. I'd make some kind of thin wooden tray to hold each pedal and I'd secure the pedal to the tray with Velcro, but this would not be visible. Then, I'd put rare earth magnets on the bottom of the tray. These would attach to the top of the pedalboard.

But none of this is possible without a decent table saw and a dedicated spot in my garage...

[harvdog]

I loved your design idea so I made my own. Shortened the board a bit and used a different color. Thanks for the great idea.

Here is my IKEA pedal board:


Here is the underside which could use a bit more work:


Here is the board with my Gretsch:

[Sheik Yerbouti]

Yup, your work inspired me as well.

[Armchair Bronco]

^^ Nice job, guys! I like 'em both!

Just got back from vacation or I would have responded earlier. I'm glad you were each able to take a simple design and put your own spin on it. Both of the boards look like they belong in their respective homes.

Plus, you guys probably saved enough money to make a major down payment on a new pedal!

The Legendary IKEA Gorm Pedalboard FTW!

[castpolymer]

I just finished my pedal board (which was heavily influenced by your design ). I will post pictures in a few days once I receive the last pedal I ordered. Thanks for posting this project, its simplicity is genius.

[11 Gauge]

Fantastic work, A.B.!

You know you've done something really good when you have at least two other folks actually implementing your idea!

I have 3 speparate (homebuilt) pedalboards which are all very spartan in appearance and function, and need to be overhauled. There's an IKEA on the way home from my wife's job, so I think it's time to order some 1Spots and 3 of those Gorms.

Thanks for the wonderful idea and well illustrated write-up!

[FirstBassman]

Great job A/B! Congrats.

Originally Posted by Armchair Bronco

Now it started raining and I was unable to finish painting the underside for nearly a week.

It was raining? In Seattle!? I'm shocked!

[Unadan]

How many other guitar gear related boards was this posted to? Seems like I've seen this before elsewhere.

[IggyT]

Hi ArmchairBronco,
this is brilliant! I picked up the IKEA parts yesterday and will get started soon. this is way better than velcro on the carpet in my family room!
iggy

[edd677]

I had some serious doubts at first but that thing turned out awesome, great work. May have to build my own, if I ever get into pedals, or electric guitar for that matter.

[Unadan]

It looks very nice but I'll take a Pedal Train Jr. over this any day.

[markxander]

LOVE this design
I just bought my Gorm shelf this morning, going to start painting tonight
Hopefully pics in the next few days

People's personalities are really coming out in some of the design choices