Thinking Of An Entrylevel Pedalboard (SKB PS8) Specifically

[Jamie Black]

Hi all, I thought I would consult the collective wisdom here on purchasing an SKB PS8 powered pedalboard. I did a quick search and nothing came up specific to the PS8.

http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-SKB-PS8-LIST

I would be using this in a low speed, high drag kind of way. Mostly to keep my pedals organized and ready to go rather than fumbling to hook them all up when I want to play. I don’t anticipate a lot of traveling with the pedalboard, just over my brother’s to jam.

I currently have a cry baby, MXR basdass 78 distortion, MXR carbon copy and Boss chorus and I will probably add two or three more pedals to that over time so the size of the board is about right. Does anybody have any experience with this model pedalboard? Alot of on-line reviews have been favorable, but some quite poor. Just wondering if anyone has hands on familiarity with this one.

[6Shotsdown]

I don't think there is anything wrong with that except that there is nowhere to run cables out of the way on it. I recently upgraded from the Boss BCB-60 board which is really useful if you have just a few pedals. It has a place to hide cables and is self enclosed for easy travel. The downside is that it can really only fit boss size pedals and a cry baby size wah(which seems ok for you).

[Jamie Black]

You know, the BCB-60 was one of the first powered boards I noticed but I quickly dismissed it because I didn't think my cry baby would ever fit. It's a bit more than I wanted to spend but I've overcome that obstacle before for something I really wanted, err needed. I wasn't so concerned about hiding the cables but I can see how it could quickly turn into a plate of spaghetti.

[6Shotsdown]

One of the top panels comes out specifically for a cry baby. Unfortunately, I have a Bad Horsie. But I loved how the lid just fit right on and I could take it. I just outgrew it. Incidentally, if you are in the LA area, I have one for sale!

[Jamie Black]

I'm in Michigan, though LA sounds a bit nicer. It's cold and rainy right now. I looked at pics on google and it appears that as you say, I could remove a panel for the cry baby (sacrificing the space for the tuner) then put five more pedals in it? I don't think that would fit into my plans, I figured I would add a flanger, phaser, OCD or other similar and a tuner.

[studio1087]

Looks nice. Musicians Friend is charging $88.

The pedal area is 12 x 19 and it powers 8 pedals. The carry bag looks ok. Why not?

I like SKB and Gator products in general. Two solid brands. SKB makes great guitar cases.

The only bump up that I would look at (just to compare) would be a PedalTrain Junior. 13 x 17. You can pull all the power and guitar cables down under and zip tie them in a very tidy fashion. These are $99 and you can buy. 1-Spot power supply for $30.



I'm just showing this for comparison. The SKB looks very nice.

[bossking7]

Yeah, the SKB does look good.

[peaveycaster]

Pedaltrain is great bang for the buck. I love mine.

[Jamie Black]

Thank you all for your input. I was trying to keep this at $100 +/- $10 because I still need to buy the interconnecting cables and those little buggers are spendy. I think what I'll do is search the interwebs for a deal on a used pedaltrain jr and if I don't come up with anything it sounds like the SKB will do the job.

[vjf1968]

Originally Posted by Jamie Black

Thank you all for your input. I was trying to keep this at $100 +/- $10 because I still need to buy the interconnecting cables and those little buggers are spendy. I think what I'll do is search the interwebs for a deal on a used pedaltrain jr and if I don't come up with anything it sounds like the SKB will do the job.

Just keep in mind that with the Pedaltrain your getting a solid piece of equipment that will probably outlast you. I rather spend more for a one time purchase then buying a cheaper product twice.

[6Shotsdown]

You can get creative with pedal placement on the Boss but it is limited, that's why I upgraded. I made a pedaltrain knockoff out of wood and it's really cool. Now I just need to get a road case for it. Another cool thing about the boss board is that it comes with a daisychain and all the patch cables. The SKB may do that as well.

[Jamie Black]

I considered a DIY one at first but with my building skills I figured it would turn out being an extreamlly heavy plank of wood so I decided to buy one. I'm on the trail of a used pedaltrain, so in a day or so I should know which way I'm going to go. I know the old adage buy once, cry once but I tend to wrestle with it as I'm a frugal bastage LOL.

[6Shotsdown]

Yeah, my old man does wood work so when I say I made it what i meants was, I stood there and watched and got cold beers as required.

[vjf1968]

Originally Posted by 6Shotsdown

You can get creative with pedal placement on the Boss but it is limited, that's why I upgraded. I made a pedaltrain knockoff out of wood and it's really cool. Now I just need to get a road case for it. Another cool thing about the boss board is that it comes with a daisychain and all the patch cables. The SKB may do that as well.

Actually Mono Case now makes cases for Pedaltrain boards just go to www.monocase.com

They are a little expensive but they are built to last.

[ChipOnly]

I'm wary of pedalboards with integrated power supplies - I suspect that is where corners are cut, and a poor power supply can contribute to noise.

If you can afford it, a pedaltrain and isolated power supply (PP2+, BBE, etc) is the way to go. Both are lifetime investments that hold good resale value if you ever decide you don't want or need them anymore.

Pedaltrain and one-spot is fine too - chances are your pedals will get along fine daisychained, and if they don't, power the offender with a seperate power supply or a battery.

There is a lot to be said for a DIY board as well. I got a $5 hardshell suitcase from the thrift store, cut a piece of scrap plywood to fit it, and attached some rubber feet. The IKEA Gorm pedalbaord project is def worth a google, and I've read the gun cases make good, inexpensive pedalboard cases, if you don't mind walking around with a gun case.

[McGlamRock]

I actually have the pedal board you are considering. It'll do the job for you but the main power supply for the board uses a very thin cord and is NOT grounded. I worked for a sound engineer part time in college, so I've done a pretty good job preserving the cords. Also, the power is daisy chained, so if one of those 1/8" inputs on the board itself goes bad, all the inputs after it will also stop working. I still use the board, but I power the pedals with a Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2 Plus. The carrying case far from sturdy. One of the main zippers is immobile and all three zippers' are broken.
If I did it all again I would have gotten the pedal train with the Voodoo Labs power supply.

[Jamie Black]

6shotsdown said

Yeah, my old man does wood work so when I say I made it what i meants was, I stood there and watched and got cold beers as required.

That's pretty much me man. If you threw me in a woodshop I could probably cause a fatal incident with a tape measure.

At first I was more concerned with the fabric of the ps8 being cheap and tearing off but the more I read, the more I'm concerned about the self contained power supply. Like I said, this is going to be low speed and stay mostly in my dinning room, uhmm I mean studio LOL. I will want to take the rig out though if I jam with someone so the bag being sturdy IS and issue.

I'm chasing a used pedaltrain jr so if I can snag that tommorow I think I'll start with the one spot power and if my needs change I'll upgrade from there. The IKEA board looks like a cool project but if I involved any friends who are good with wood working tools it could take a long time to finish as they're pretty busy. And, they don't drink beer so I can't use that as a bribe to speed the project up.

[6Shotsdown]

Originally Posted by ChipOnly

I'm wary of pedalboards with integrated power supplies - I suspect that is where corners are cut, and a poor power supply can contribute to noise.

If you can afford it, a pedaltrain and isolated power supply (PP2+, BBE, etc) is the way to go. Both are lifetime investments that hold good resale value if you ever decide you don't want or need them anymore.

Pedaltrain and one-spot is fine too - chances are your pedals will get along fine daisychained, and if they don't, power the offender with a seperate power supply or a battery.

There is a lot to be said for a DIY board as well. I got a $5 hardshell suitcase from the thrift store, cut a piece of scrap plywood to fit it, and attached some rubber feet. The IKEA Gorm pedalbaord project is def worth a google, and I've read the gun cases make good, inexpensive pedalboard cases, if you don't mind walking around with a gun case.

That's funny, I'm considering turning my old BCB-60 into a gun case!

[Jamie Black]

Well, I missed out on the used pedaltrain I was chasing. While waiting for my brother's tele to get set up at the guitar store I ended up buying a gator with an pre-mounted external power supply & carry bag. They didn't have any pedaltrains and the dimensions were so close I figured I'd get it done and give this a try. It looks like depending on what cables and creative spacing I come up with I can get another 3-5 pedals on.




Thanks for all of the input, it was a great help

[6Shotsdown]

Congrats! I almost got that one because of the power supply. I'm 1 Spotting it for now. I like your collection.