Keyboard pedalboard

[EdMusic]

Hi

 

Just bumped into this ad. Looks very nice and tidy altough the backside of the neutrik-chassis looks somewhat fragile.

 

Anyone uses something like this. At this moment my pedals move all over the floor and am looking for something thats keeps them in place.

 

http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo142/edmusic/Pedal_1.jpg

 

http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo142/edmusic/Pedalbaord_2.jpg

 

Rgds Edwin

 

 

 

[Ian Benhamou]

Yeah, I've been looking into making myself a custom pedalboard for my keyboard rig. Nothing as sophisticated as that though.

 

That looks incredibly hi-tech. Notice also that he's using FC-9 pedals which explains the patchbay at the front.

 

I was aiming more for something like this.

 

 

[Sven Golly]

Not sure about our European friend, but Ian you might want to look into Pedaltrain pedalboards, especially if you're using anything that uses DC or AC power supplies.

 

I'm looking at putting one together with the PT-2, which would give me room for my Ventilator remote pedal, my TC Helicon Harmony M, and all my control pedals, and gives me the option for soft case or flight case.

 

They've got various sizes available, and the bonus here for keyboardists is that they don't come with a power supply (you can use one of the various PSU that's on the market for pedalboard use), so if you're not using anything that requires power, you're not wasting money.

[Sven Golly]

Oh, and for the OP, you'd end up with the same result as the one pictured in your post with a $2 piece of plywood (or MDF), some fabric to cover it, and some screws & cable ties.

[Stormfront]

Here is the one I built, like Sven says, all you need is a board, some screws and ty-raps. I went a little overboard with the covering and edge treatment but it works well when I use two boards.

 

http://www.petehanratty.com/pedals.png

[EdMusic]

I actually was thinking of ply-wood, black paint and velcro-tape my pedals on it, but the Pedaltrain looks much better and includes the bag

 

Thanx !

[timwat]

Plywood, Krylon and velcro leaves a lot more money for hot dogs and Top Ramen. Have never lost style points at a gig due to a DIY pedal board.

[C.J. Lewis]

Hi Edwin - after trying to gaff tape a double sustain, single sustain, 3 footswitches, & a Leslie pedal - then carrying it all plus 2 DI's and a Furman power supply, I finally created these:

 

(FYI, this link could come across a bit spammy )

 

www.groundcontrolsurfaces.com

 

Super high quality materials and expert craftsmanship, mil-spec hardware, and a final solution for those migratory pedals.

 

Here's a couple of pics of the boards in different configs - sorry about some of the pic qualities (!):

 

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn208/ivorycj/Web%20pics/IMG_0698.png

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn208/ivorycj/Web%20pics/IMG_0842.jpg

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn208/ivorycj/Web%20pics/IMG_0748.jpghttp://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn208/ivorycj/Web%20pics/IMG_0757.jpg

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn208/ivorycj/Web%20pics/IMG_0231.jpg

 

They've made a few keyboard players' lives easier ;-)

[Bridog6996]

I was aiming more for something like this.

 

I've been using the powered version of that same Gator board for a few years now. It's working out pretty well.

[Synthoid]

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn208/ivorycj/Web%20pics/IMG_0231.jpg

 

All that gear on a V stand? You're brave.

 

[mate stubb]

A neatly harnessed pedalboard is the only way to fly. It's maddening to chase pedals across the floor when trying to play.

 

http://www.hotrodmotm.com/images/stage/pedalboard3.jpg

[AnotherScott]

Hi Edwin - after trying to gaff tape a double sustain, single sustain, 3 footswitches, & a Leslie pedal - then carrying it all plus 2 DI's and a Furman power supply, I finally created these:

 

(FYI, this link could come across a bit spammy )

 

www.groundcontrolsurfaces.com

Some of the most important info is missing from the site (or at least I wasn't able to find it)... the weight and the prices of the models... the Launchpad and Landing Zone look interesting to me...

[Mogut]

Great thread!

 

I need to do something like you guys have done, at the moment I just deal with pedals creeping all over the place underneath my quiklok WS-550

 

I'd love to see more pics of what everyone else does

[Ian Benhamou]

Not sure about our European friend, but Ian you might want to look into Pedaltrain pedalboards, especially if you're using anything that uses DC or AC power supplies.

 

Yeah I know all about the Pedaltrains: all the guitarists I work with have'em. I'd use that more for my guitar rig. For keyboard pedals I don't need power and I want something with little height. I play sitting down and I definitely want my heels on the floor when using a sustain pedal.

 

I think I'll just do a simple DIY from plywood and shitload of velcro.

[Seannn]

http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo142/edmusic/Pedal_1.jpg

 

Hey Ed,

 

That's one good looking pedalboard! I currently use a number of pedals for my keyboards. Though the sustain pedals move around on occasion, I'm happy with leaving those on the floor. On the other hand, it's harder to kick my guitar pedals back into place.

 

I use those pedals for both my keyboards and mics, and I'm planning to get some larger reverb units as well. I want to better organize my setup, and plan on buying the Pedaltrain PT-2 board with a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus power supply.

 

Does anyone have feedback on these models? I will certainly share my board with you when it's complete!

 

Best,

 

Sean

[theGman]

I just use 3 pedals, so I just cut to fit a section to fit the floor area a piece of dark gray hall runner carpet (which is rubber backed) from Lowes, and use velcro on the bottoms of the pedals.

Being soft, it just rolls up loosely and goes into a nylon bag.

 

The rubber back means it won't slide on any kind of flooring.

The velco is handy so that if I ever use just 1 instead of 2 keyboards I can quickly remove the extra pedal(s).

 

Paul

[Seannn]

I just put the final touches to what I aimed would be my ideal pedalboard, those several months ago.

 

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd455/seanseannseannn/pedalboard.jpg

 

One of my mics runs through the EHX pedal, while the other runs through the delay/EarthQuaker Devices reverb pedal. I have XLR's from the mic going into XLR-1/4" high-low impedance transformers, then outs from the pedals going through DI's, to be sent to the PA or my audio interface.

 

The overdrive is for my Korg R3 on my side, and my analog delay/phaser/flanger are for my Juno-60. In this new layout, everything is in front of me. I'm no longer using a pedal for the Juno-G as I expect it to be replaced by a Korg SV1 soon enough, and there are enough on-board effects to get me by. It's powered up by a Carl Martin Pro Power box that my father and I screwed onto the board today. I was previously using an adaptor with five extensions, but I have too many pedals now, and wanted something cleaner. (I have rackmount digital delay and lots of other stuff lying around, but that's more for studio use.)

 

Overall, I think it's a very nice setup. It leaves me room. Frankly, it sounds great and it's just what I need! My sustain pedals stay on the ground next to my stands, and eventually I hope to replace my two-tiered X-stand with a two-tiered Z-stand so my pedalboard could fit under it more snuggly.

 

 

@Swen - your post reminded me to add that this is a PT2. I bought it with a flight case.

[Josh Paxton]

I recently assembled my first "pedal board," and while it's an order of magnitude simpler and more humble than most shown here, it has changed my life:

 

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/7766/pboard.jpg

 

Indoor/outdoor mat from Home Depot: $2.97

Velcro for pedals: already had it

Scissors to cut notches for the legs of my stand: already had 'em

Always having my pedals in exactly the right place, and never having to chase them: priceless

 

Plus it weighs almost nothing, and at the end of the gig it rolls up and fits in my cable bag. Quite possibly the best usefulness-to-cost ratio of any peripheral I've ever bought.

[Rhodes54]

I like the Home Depot roll-up idea. I might be worried about 'stage dust' collecting in the pots. I have a DIY plywood and velcro thing already.

 

The real reason I'm posting is for a cable solution. With 3 pedal switches and 2 Expression pedals, that's 5 jacks to plug in each time. (I think I overheard at a party that most cables fail at the jack.) What I'd really like is some kind of a single 12-wire multipin connector snake that ran between the keyboards and the pedalboard. No power, no midi, no audio.

 

Something more trustworthy than this:

http://gallery.me.com/rhodes54/100122

 

[Sven Golly]

(I think I overheard at a party that most cables fail at the jack.) What I'd really like is some kind of a single 12-wire multipin connector snake that ran between the keyboards and the pedalboard. No power, no midi, no audio.

 

How do you propose to eliminate the keyboard connections, namely the jacks that you have heard are the common point of failure? :sonfused:

 

In audio setups, D-Sub connectors are the most common multipin connectors, but I fail to see how this is going to help your situation, unless you mean something other than what you posted.

 

Oh, and your link isn't publicly accessible.

 

[Rhodes54]

Sorry, I can't figure out how to get the picture into my post. HTML is disabled, but I don't see where to turn it on.

 

I've basically got four (soon five) female to female 1/4" adapters hot-glued to the pedal board. Each pedals' cable plugs into one side of the adapter and then I have either phono or TRS cables running from each adapter to the control or hold jacks on the keyboards. I guess I would need a D-Sub to 1/4" patchbay(?) on BOTH ends; one on the pedal board and one on the keyboard end. Maybe not D-Sub, maybe just a 12 wire wiring harnass like you'd find on a car stereo?

 

Thanks for the reply

Stewart

[Theo Verelst]

"none"

http://www.theover.org/images/dsc01257bmc.jpg

 

On second though this image I just took might better fit in the "keystand DIY" thread, but I never thought it needed to solve anything in particular except the slipping problem, on this isolated carpet floor that isn't much of a problem except for the self made wooden pedal, which is solved by rubber bands, the manufacturer-provided Kurzweil pedal stays in place nicely.

 

The stand has isolation between the keyboard to prevent a racket when I play (not always subtly) late at night. I used to own a Yamaha pedal which also had rubber. Maybe a stand could provide some back-side wooden beam to keep pedals.

 

THeo

 

[Sven Golly]

Sorry, I can't figure out how to get the picture into my post. HTML is disabled, but I don't see where to turn it on.

 

No worries.

 

I've basically got four (soon five) female to female 1/4" adapters hot-glued to the pedal board. Each pedals' cable plugs into one side of the adapter and then I have either phono or TRS cables running from each adapter to the control or hold jacks on the keyboards. I guess I would need a D-Sub to 1/4" patchbay(?) on BOTH ends; one on the pedal board and one on the keyboard end. Maybe not D-Sub, maybe just a 12 wire wiring harnass like you'd find on a car stereo?

 

Thanks for the reply

Stewart

 

Okay, I understand the design, but I fail to see what benefit you'd achieve going with a different multiwire method. Simply snake the 1/4" cables together using velcro wraps, or electrical tape, or cable ties. Regardless, whenever you move your rig, you're going to be unplugging 1/4" connectors from the back of your keyboards, and that immediately defeats your reason for trying a different type of connection.

[Rhodes54]

Actually, I've got my rig designed so that a snake of four cables for the pedals stays connected to the keyboard(s). I drop the snake down through a hole in the keyboard box when setting up and plug the four 1/4" jacks into the aforementioned female/female adapters on the pedal board. Here is a link to the photo, since apparently I'm too inept to figure how to upload a picture:

 

https://files.me.com/rhodes54/6onpyd

 

It's the 4-5 times a week plugging/unplugging of those four into the pedal board that I'm concerned with.

[GovernorSilver]

My roommate uses an Ikea Gorm shelf as her pedalboard. She got the idea while researching pedalboard options. The shelf cost about $6 or $7. Here is an example (not hers - she painted hers red):

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/3186/21completed2.jpg

A shot of the underside showing some wiring:

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/1550/19wiringcomplete.jpg

 

She noticed it was easy to get Velcro'd pedals to fall off her friend's pedalboard by giving it a bump, so she wanted something stronger than Velcro, so that pedals wouldn't fall off by simply tipping the board sideways. She ended up using 3M Dual Lock instead of Velcro. There are different types of Dual Lock and one of the parameters is stem count, which determines grip strength. I think she went for the 250-count Dual Lock. Anything more than that would require a screwdriver to pry a pedal off a board.

[Sven Golly]

Actually, I've got my rig designed so that a snake of four cables for the pedals stays connected to the keyboard(s). I drop the snake down through a hole in the keyboard box when setting up and plug the four 1/4" jacks into the aforementioned female/female adapters on the pedal board. Here is a link to the photo, since apparently I'm too inept to figure how to upload a picture:

 

https://files.me.com/rhodes54/6onpyd

 

It's the 4-5 times a week plugging/unplugging of those four into the pedal board that I'm concerned with.

 

You transport your rig with the keys in the box/stand? Or is it a permanent/house rig?

 

Either way, if it's getting patches/repatched that often, a D-Sub would work, but there are more robust locking multipin connectors that might do a better job for you (and would be easier to solder/repair in the field if the need arises).

 

Do a Google search for Amphenol connectors; you'll need to determine how many connections you need, but based on your description, it looks like 10 pins minimum (2 switch pedals, 2 continuous pedals), unless any of your sustain pedals support half-pedalling (that would be a 3-wire connection).

 

Hope this helps.

 

I'd be interested in seeing pic(s) of the keyboard end of your rig, if you have any.

[Jason Stanfield]

Hi Edwin - after trying to gaff tape a double sustain, single sustain, 3 footswitches, & a Leslie pedal - then carrying it all plus 2 DI's and a Furman power supply, I finally created these:

 

(FYI, this link could come across a bit spammy )

 

www.groundcontrolsurfaces.com

 

Super high quality materials and expert craftsmanship, mil-spec hardware, and a final solution for those migratory pedals.

 

Here's a couple of pics of the boards in different configs - sorry about some of the pic qualities (!):

 

They've made a few keyboard players' lives easier ;-)

CJ, you magnificent so-and-so!

 

You'll be hearing from me soon!

[Rhodes54]

If you can tell me how to enable HTML (or at least how to post pictures in a reply) I'll upload a few of what bandmates disaffectionately call "the coffin"

[Jason Stanfield]

If you can tell me how to enable HTML (or at least how to post pictures in a reply) I'll upload a few of what bandmates disaffectionately call "the coffin"

You need to have the photo hosted somewhere online, then copy & paste the link to the image in your message. Put image tags around it like:

 

[ img ]http://www.website.com/folder/image.jpg[ /img ]

 

(no spaces in image tags)

[Rhodes54]

I appreciate all the help. I still can't get pics to add to my post. All that comes up is the HTML code. They're on a MobileMe gallery if you want to see them.

 

http://gallery.me.com/rhodes54#100122

 

It's just a homemade pine box with a folding lid and standard case hardware. Inside is a ProKeys 88sx, a NanoKontrol and a USB hub. For some gigs, I add an Axiom 49 on top and have cables inside the box already connected.

 

Off to the side of the rig is a Behringer mixer, Lexicon Alpha and a JV-1010 that I keep for sentimental reasons (all the custom patches I was able to edit back in the days of OS 9)

 

When I set up, I just open the lid, drop the pedal snake, plug in two USB cables to the MacBook and wait for the sound guy to tell me there's no point in running stereo.

 

No, I don't use an X stand when playing live. They bang my shins. I have an OnStage table-top stand that I left in Dallas last weekend.