Pedalboards

[philtre71]

Apologies if this has been discussed before.

 

I have four: a Yamaha sustain, a Roland expression pedal, a Boss FX5 that I use for patch changes in Mainstage, and an MAudio sustain that I use to trigger Leslie on/off. All of these, apart from the sustain, run into an audio front interface which is also on the floor beside the pedals.

 

I"m fed up with these all moving about during gigs, and thinking about buying a pedalboard case where the four pedals could be securely Velcro"ed. This would also mean that I bring one case to the gig (in a larger bag) rather than having four different pedals rattling around.

 

So how do the rest of you using multiple pedals organise your rigs, and avoid the dreaded 'sustain pedal keeps drifting further and further from me...."?

[matted stump]

My rigs always always have a pedal board with all pedals securely fastened. Then, my stand always has a stop bar to positively keep the pedal board from sliding away.

[philtre71]

Thanks...do you use a standard guitar pedal board case or something custom?

[Dr88s]

I have tried pedalboards but have consistently run into two problems.

 

1. Guitar pedalboards are quite high off the ground, and I find it ergonomically uncomfortable and tiring on my foot and ankle to have an often used sustain pedal that high.

 

2. Despite rubber feet and the like, they still have a tendency to creep away unless affixed with some secondary method.

 

I made a homemade solution which I have been using for a few years and love. At my local home renovation shop, I found a cheap scrap piece of perforated board/pegboard which I had cut to size. On the underside, I glued shelf runner/carpet liner which has a high degree of friction and keeps the little sucker firmly in place. On the upper surface I places a few rows of Velcro.

 

It is very light and the profile extremely low off the ground. The pegboard adds less than 1 inch.

I am not at home to send a picture but can send some photos later.

[Sam Mullins]

I've been using the Gator Pedal Tote with two Yamaha FC-7 and two sustain pedals (of varying types) for years. Works well for me and not outrageously priced. All four pedals velcro to the base. I do secure the base with gaffer's tape on most gigs but there are other ways of addressing the slippage issue (against stand, on mat, rubber feet, etc.)

[philtre71]

I have tried pedalboards but have consistently run into two problems.

 

1. Guitar pedalboards are quite high off the ground, and I find it ergonomically uncomfortable and tiring on my foot and ankle to have an often used sustain pedal that high.

 

2. Despite rubber feet and the like, they still have a tendency to creep away unless affixed with some secondary method.

 

I made a homemade solution which I have been using for a few years and love. At my local home renovation shop, I found a cheap scrap piece of perforated board/pegboard which I had cut to size. On the underside, I glued shelf runner/carpet liner which has a high degree of friction and keeps the little sucker firmly in place. On the upper surface I places a few rows of Velcro.

 

It is very light and the profile extremely low off the ground. The pegboard adds less than 1 inch.

I am not at home to send a picture but can send some photos later.

 

 

That would be great...my biggest concern with a standard pedalboard is that I play seated and I suspect most pedalboards are designed to be accessed from a higher angle than a conventional sustain pedal

[matted stump]

Thanks...do you use a standard guitar pedal board case or something custom?

 

Slab 'o wood.

[aellison62]

My solution is really inexpensive, and easy. I bought a rubber backed welcome mat type carpet (approx. 18'' x 30") and made sure a piece of velcro could stick to it quite snugly (the carpet has to have a certain kind of texture for this, some are better than others)

I then applied velcro strips to the bottom of each of my four pedals and just stuck them on the carpet where I wanted them. They don't move on the carpet, the carpet doesn't move....done. To transport, I just kinda roll up the whole thing pedals and all and place it in my car.

[CEB]

I play standing and I play from a bench. Don"t matter I always use these. Flip the lid and go.

 

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Road-Runner/Effects-Pedal-Board.gc

[CEB]

[matted stump]

Cool stage.

[D-REXx]

My solution is really inexpensive, and easy. I bought a rubber backed welcome mat type carpet (approx. 18'' x 30") and made sure a piece of velcro could stick to it quite snugly (the carpet has to have a certain kind of texture for this, some are better than others)

I then applied velcro strips to the bottom of each of my four pedals and just stuck them on the carpet where I wanted them. They don't move on the carpet, the carpet doesn't move....done. To transport, I just kinda roll up the whole thing pedals and all and place it in my car.

 

I did exactly the same thing; our lead guitar/BL calls it my 'magic carpet". The cheapest mat seemed to work the best with the stick-on velcro strips. I mostly play standing, or sometimes just barely sitting on a high stool, and the sustain pedal wasn't quite at a comfortable angle, so I Gorilla-taped a felling wedge underneath it and it's good for either playing position. And as you say, just roll it up and it's easy to transport (mine goes in a gym bag).

[Dr88s]

Here are the pictures I promised, of the front surface with Velcro, the rear surface with the rug gripper, and a side view to show how thin the whole thing is.

 

[Nathanael_I]

The pegboard idea is great. I've been meaning to make a pedalboard, and it is clear the guitar ones are made for standing. I also like the rug idea - very similar and points out that it doesn't have to be rigid to work well.

[philtre71]

The pegboard idea is great. I've been meaning to make a pedalboard, and it is clear the guitar ones are made for standing. I also like the rug idea - very similar and points out that it doesn't have to be rigid to work well.

 

Absolutely...the pegboard looks good, and I hadn't thought about something 'rollable' like a rug. More pics of pedal setups welcome!

[philtre71]

 

Very cool. Like the hat!

 

[Tom Williams]

I've been doing the welcome mat thing for a while, and my main problem is that the velcro is stronger than the adhesive. If I have to move something a couple of inches, the velcro stays on the rug instead of staying on the pedal, and I have two exposed glue surfaces to try to rejoin.

[CEB]

Cool stage.

 

Thanks. Playing in this band the KB risers are very functional. It"s pretty common to have lots a drunken women on stage. We can generally keep the girls off the risers. The original guitarist would get upset if someone stepped on a pedal. He left a while ago. We got a talented 26 year old replacement who has no problems with drunk women rubbing on him. ð

 

[rickzjamm]

Your own personal riser... nice.

 

[artdob]

My solution took me to get a custom pedalboard put together by the folks at West Coast Pedalboards. This board is designed to accept three inputs, all stereo.

input 1 goes to the Chorus box and Flint (Tremolo/Reverb). I use this to run an 88 key master controller for pianos/electric pianos. The sustain pedal also connects from the pedalboard to the 88-key board

Inputs 2 and 3 can be toggled by the custom stereo AB switch I had built by Analog man. The selected board (in my case DX7II and OB3 squared organ), route to everything else on the board. One of the foot controllers I use for volume, the other one I have wired to the El Capistan pedal.

This solution finally solved pedal creep and a mess of pedals and cables under my board.

(Hope the picture posts as I'm using the attachment manager to try to get a visual here - if not I'll try another update).

 

 

[matted stump]

That is one pretty toy box!

[RandyFF]

My solution took me to get a custom pedalboard put together by the folks at West Coast Pedalboards. This board is designed to accept three inputs, all stereo.

input 1 goes to the Chorus box and Flint (Tremolo/Reverb). I use this to run an 88 key master controller for pianos/electric pianos. The sustain pedal also connects from the pedalboard to the 88-key board

Inputs 2 and 3 can be toggled by the custom stereo AB switch I had built by Analog man. The selected board (in my case DX7II and OB3 squared organ), route to everything else on the board. One of the foot controllers I use for volume, the other one I have wired to the El Capistan pedal.

This solution finally solved pedal creep and a mess of pedals and cables under my board.

(Hope the picture posts as I'm using the attachment manager to try to get a visual here - if not I'll try another update).

 

 

Very interesting collection of boards! I suppose when you've got great pedals you can make even a DX7II sound anyway you want it to.

 

Your pedalboard is larger than most i've seen, and with super great boxes. Would be interesting to see pics of it with your current rig, and definitely more descriptions of various ways you run these effects for different sounds with different boards.

 

Am hard pressed to understand what you described. A stereo out from the keyboard goes to your pedalboard, which is then made into 3 stereo outs (you said ins), which then goes out to various fx, some of which can be switched up with the A/B box? Sorry, a more long-winded description would be appreciated of the way you've got everything wired up, esp with the 3 stereo inputs of your pedal board. And the A/B switch?

 

 

A lot of keyboard players seem to have the mindset that because we have built-in EQs, FX, Compressor, Gain, that we don't need external FX. But I think its way cool, something I'd like to do more. There's something great about the immediacy of an external effect, and the awesome collection you have certainly does go way beyond any boards built-in capability.

 

So is that the travel case that it's sitting on? And being that most of those fx are optimized for guitar, how well does it translate to the hotter input signal from a keyboard? I imagine some of those effects would be cool to have mounted close at hand.

 

Is this a studio setup or do you gig out with this pedalboard?

[artdob]

Picture attached of the rig - sorry the resolution is a bit blurry. Also have no idea how to actually embed the photo on this forum as some other posts have done.

 

Will try a better description here.

 

The bottom board, Alesis QS1 drives a Roland XV-2020 on the left side. I've used the Roland for piano and electric pianos via additional SRX boards. The output of the Roland goes into input 1 of the pedalboard. Input 1 is only connected to the Strymon Ola (Chorus) and Flint (Tremolo/Reverb). I'll use the Chorus for Rhodes type sounds. I'll engage the tremolo as fitting for Wurli sounds. I have a 1/4 connection on the pedalboard to accept an input from the QS8's sustain jack, so that I can use the fixed sustain pedal on the pedalboard. I had the sustain pedal positioned up higher on the pedalboard so that I can rest my foot on the lower end of the pedalboard.

 

In input 2, I plug in the DX7IIFD. In input 3, I've had an input of the Oberheim OB3 module (which has a midi connection to the DX7II). So via the AB box, it toggles between inputs 2 and 3 so that I either play the DX7 natively, or when on B, it takes the input of the Oberheim organ module. That route (inputs 2/3 - I get to pick one via the AB box), goes to the Mobius, El Capistan, Timeline, Big Sky and Ventilator. As the DX7II is a very dry sounding board with not effects, these options give me options to improve the sound of that board. Mobius is used for occasional phaser on string pads, otherwise the DX7II will get a dose of the BigSky's reverb. I typically used the El Capistan for one Reggae type number. The timeline delay and Neo Vent are used for the Oberheim module - the Vent making an incredible improvement for the OB3.

 

The second photo shows a side view of the pedalboard with the 6 inputs. The singular extra jack takes a feed for one of the foot controllers - which I use to control volume on the top board (DX7II/OB3 module combination).

 

Lastly, I had the folks at West Coast pedalboards create the spacing that you'll see on the rear side of the pedalboard. That allows it to sit over the bottom of an X-stand on which I have the DX7II.

 

I use this pedalboard for gigs and rehearsals. Has helped with setup time for a number of the items that previously were scattered on the floor in a mess under the keyboards. I chose the Strymon pedals as when I was doing research, came across folks noting that they pair well with keyboards. I've had no issues with sound from the Strymon boxes and they have served me well.

 

I just recently sold my OB3 box, and am uncertain about the future of my DX7II. As my rig evolves, will see what happens with the pedalboard. If the DX7Ii gets purchased by someone, the replacement for it will likely be a Hammond XK5 as most of what I play via the DX7II has been the organ box. For the past few months, I've also been favoring piano and EP via Korg Module on my iPad versus the Roland. I would say the piano sound on the XV2020, even though I had the expansion card, was the weak spot of this setup. So far Korg Module has been completely reliable in both rehearsals and gigs. Rig (as I suppose is the same with other folks in the forum), is in an ever evolving state.

 

Hope this expanded description paints a better picture of how I use this pedalboard.

[Dr Mike Metlay]

It"s pretty common to have lots a drunken women on stage. We can generally keep the girls off the risers. The original guitarist would get upset if someone stepped on a pedal. He left a while ago. We got a talented 26 year old replacement who has no problems with drunk women rubbing on him. ð

Man, I have been playing the wrong kinds of gigs.

 

[RandyFF]

Picture attached of the rig - sorry the resolution is a bit blurry. Also have no idea how to actually embed the photo on this forum as some other posts have done.

 

Will try a better description here.

 

The bottom board, Alesis QS1 drives a Roland XV-2020 on the left side. I've used the Roland for piano and electric pianos via additional SRX boards. The output of the Roland goes into input 1 of the pedalboard. Input 1 is only connected to the Strymon Ola (Chorus) and Flint (Tremolo/Reverb). I'll use the Chorus for Rhodes type sounds. I'll engage the tremolo as fitting for Wurli sounds. I have a 1/4 connection on the pedalboard to accept an input from the QS8's sustain jack, so that I can use the fixed sustain pedal on the pedalboard. I had the sustain pedal positioned up higher on the pedalboard so that I can rest my foot on the lower end of the pedalboard.

 

In input 2, I plug in the DX7IIFD. In input 3, I've had an input of the Oberheim OB3 module (which has a midi connection to the DX7II). So via the AB box, it toggles between inputs 2 and 3 so that I either play the DX7 natively, or when on B, it takes the input of the Oberheim organ module. That route (inputs 2/3 - I get to pick one via the AB box), goes to the Mobius, El Capistan, Timeline, Big Sky and Ventilator. As the DX7II is a very dry sounding board with not effects, these options give me options to improve the sound of that board. Mobius is used for occasional phaser on string pads, otherwise the DX7II will get a dose of the BigSky's reverb. I typically used the El Capistan for one Reggae type number. The timeline delay and Neo Vent are used for the Oberheim module - the Vent making an incredible improvement for the OB3.

 

The second photo shows a side view of the pedalboard with the 6 inputs. The singular extra jack takes a feed for one of the foot controllers - which I use to control volume on the top board (DX7II/OB3 module combination).

 

Lastly, I had the folks at West Coast pedalboards create the spacing that you'll see on the rear side of the pedalboard. That allows it to sit over the bottom of an X-stand on which I have the DX7II.

 

I use this pedalboard for gigs and rehearsals. Has helped with setup time for a number of the items that previously were scattered on the floor in a mess under the keyboards. I chose the Strymon pedals as when I was doing research, came across folks noting that they pair well with keyboards. I've had no issues with sound from the Strymon boxes and they have served me well.

 

I just recently sold my OB3 box, and am uncertain about the future of my DX7II. As my rig evolves, will see what happens with the pedalboard. If the DX7Ii gets purchased by someone, the replacement for it will likely be a Hammond XK5 as most of what I play via the DX7II has been the organ box. For the past few months, I've also been favoring piano and EP via Korg Module on my iPad versus the Roland. I would say the piano sound on the XV2020, even though I had the expansion card, was the weak spot of this setup. So far Korg Module has been completely reliable in both rehearsals and gigs. Rig (as I suppose is the same with other folks in the forum), is in an ever evolving state.

 

Hope this expanded description paints a better picture of how I use this pedalboard.

Thanks! That's a great setup. Looks like you've got a lot of flexibility.

 

So the 3 stereo outputs from the fx go into a stereo mixer?

[djdisbro]

Relatively simple DIY.

 

[vonnor]

I've done the whole modular pedalboard thing since '89. This is my latest version.

 

For this one, all keyboard outs and ins go thru a 12chan snake that pigtails at the rear keyboard connections. The snake runs to a junction box that ties to each pedal, or to the output connector that also snakes to the rack. Very easy setup, just two multi-pin snake connectors then plug all the rear panel keyboard jacks. MIDI, Audio, Control/Damper... it all goes thru the snake to where it needs to go.

 

Side-note: The steel rods make the Apex stand rock solid. I hate any wobble while I'm playing.

 

(Leslie speed kick-switch on the bottom of the column there)

 

 

~ vonnor

[Daddyg3042]

that's one slick rig, Vonner!

[EscapeRocks]

Cool, as always, Vonnor.

 

Question: That seems like a pretty far reach to fully engage the FC7's. When I use my Apex, the pedals are on the front side of the legs.

[vonnor]

That seems like a pretty far reach to fully engage the FC7's.

Yeah Dave they're a bit of a reach, but mostly for fading in/out pads on intros/outros and conditional toggling (or x-fading) between patches in Cantabile during a couple songs. I'm not much of a real organ player where I'd need to ride the swell. The damper pedals I just rest my heal on the edge of the pedalboard and use the column as tactile positioning with the side of my foot.