Trying to buy a pedal board and need some sage advice!

Lay them out on the floor, leaving space enough for plugs connecting them, then measure the overall dimension and compare with available pedalboards. Are you thinking of an off-the-shelf board like a pedaltrain? Or a custom or homemade outfit?

I've had the same Pedaltrain Junior for several years. It's fine, fairly light, not too expensive. It's 18 inches by 12.5 inches.

 

Ahhhh. the joys of shopping for a pedalboard. My search has undergone several "phases." As KC mentions, the best place to start is by laying your pedals out, connected, and measuring the approximate size/space you need. Also, consider future expansion, if that's a possibility or not. And budget may or should be a consideration.

I started with a couple homemade boards, using mdf from Lowe's and a tablesaw. I powered with a 1-Spot daisychain (whatever they're called). But it was heavy. Then, I saved. Eventually I bought a Pedaltrain Novo 18 with a TruTone (formerly 1-Spot) CS-12 power supply. I outgrew that and expanded to a PT Novo 24 with the same power supply (sold the Novo 18 to a bandmate). The PedalTrain's are nice, rugged, and light. They are definitely more professional looking than a homemade board, if you play out.

While the idea of a board + a smaller rig is nice, I find it impractical. And fuzz and wah certainly have their place in the blues! So I would go with just one do-it-all board. Honestly, at the moment, I've sold a few pedals to fund other stuff (a camera upgrade), so right now the PT Novo 24 is a bit too big, but I'll keep it in case I want to add to the herd later. Pedal Train is the industry "standard" for a reason, in my mind, but there plenty of options out there.

 

Pedal Train is the way to go. I have tried different ones and it is the simplest and most rugged and is light too. The one I use for gigs is in the hard case which is worth the extra money. I have mostly wampler pedals in mine so I wanted them protected. I also have the voodoo labs power supply which i feel is a must and it has brackets and hides underneath. Very well thought out and clean setup. I also have a nano which I have 4 pedals and a one spot that I use for jams. It has the soft case which is nice but putting in in and out jacks with the knobs a bit.

 

This board could work.
Power for your pedals and reverb unit.
You can add or subtract the extensions if you choose.

https://www.amazon.com/Tiered-Accel-XTA-15-Pedalboard-Extensions/dp/B01L9HX7FC

 

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/manufacturer/Pedaltrain

Check out the Nano +

Powering it up (I use One Spot systems on three boards, love their stuff) ....

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1SpotComboPk

 

Cut a piece of 1/2" plywood to size. Paint it black. Put rubber feet on the bottom. Use velcro to attach the pedals. Drill holes in the mdf to run cables through to keep it looking clean if you like. I like the 1 spot power

 

These may help:
http://pedalboardplanner.com/
http://www.pedalplayground.com/

 

^ This ^

 

Sometimes, you don't know what will work for you until you use it. I'm a big fan of prototyping it out on a wood board. Even if you end up with a commercial product, you'll be more comfortable in laying out cash for it.

I'd think generally in terms of Pedaltrain's standard sizes, as well as compatibility with Mono's three sizes of Pedalboard gig bags, or at least the equivalent.

... Thom

 

This makes sense to me, I have a hard time understanding why the manufacturers are able to charge the prices they do for these things (I do not use a board)

 

the only thing I can say is to buy more real estate than you currently need because you'll use it eventually.

 

This is the best plan, imo. One can find remnants of plywood at most lumberyards for a few bucks and most will cut to size.

 

diy...found an old shallow drawer, a piece of ply and a couple of hinges total $5...and easy to add more real estate

 

I also like the diy option. You can make it any size you want and fancy or simple, depending on your tastes.