Do you guys use pedal boards?

[Doug Robinson]

I’m thinking about it. Under my double keyboard stand would be to the right my Hammond SK one volume pedal and then moving left a sustain pedal for the Hammond and to the left of that a sustain pedal for my lower keyboard, the Casio.

[CEB]

Yes depending on what you mean.  Nothing like my guitar pedalboards that are filled with effects pedals, volume pedal and tuner .....

 

I mount power distribution, power supply/supplies, Damper/footswitches/expression/swell pedals/etc... into a pedalcase.  It speeds up and streamlines setup and teardown times.  Just laydown the case, lift the lid, plugin stuff and go.

 

 

[Jose EB5AGV]

Some weeks ago I posted what I built, which could be adapted to mostly any keyboard support. Nothing too fancy, but cheap and effective. It worked nicely for my first gigs back in July:

 

My DIY pedal board

 

I plan to add an expression pedal and another sustain pedal for future gigs

 

[timwat]

Yes, I'm very similar as Ed. 

 

My pedalboard is for power strip, Key Largo, damper pedal and Lester K. It keeps the power supplies for the KL and LK in one place (replaced the wall warts with 3rd party inlines), power lines from keyboards short, and all the cabling fast and idiot proof. 

 

The board packs into a wheeled ATA case for ease of schlep as well.

[Tom Williams]

Yep.  Six piano-type pedals (the leftmost is continuous), possibly expanding to 7 now that my controller (lower keyboard) can take two switches; plus two CC pedals on the right.

The piano-type pedals are all affixed to one plastic panel which sets directly under the keyboard stand.  Their cables are zip-tied into a fake snake, and all plugs are labelled with their destination jacks.

CC pedals, not on the pedal board, sit to the right of the stand.

Panel and CC pedals all have 40-grit sandpaper attached to the bottom.

Panel, CC pedals, stand, and keyboardist all sit on a 4'x6' indoor-outdoor rug.  Well, the keyboardist actually stands.  I guess the stand stands too.  Due to aforementioned sandpaper, slippage is nigh-nonexistent.

 

Pedal Functions from left to right:

Steel guitar bends | Leslie speed toggle | soft | sostenuto | damper | <- all upper keyboard ||  Lower Damper | Upper expression CV | Lower expression CV

 

 

[Stokely]

Mine is a Donner with long-ish unfolding legs so that I can velcro/strap a few large wall warts on the underside.

On top are my two monitor headphone amps (Behringer p16m when we use our PA, a Rolls P55 for others), a Lester K which hasn't been seeing use, and my Key largo.  Ironically my footswitch and sustain pedals aren't actually on the pedalboard, but they get carried in the pocket of the Donner bag.

The main benefit is that the four wall wart units are pre-wired to a power strip, so I just need to plug that in at the gig.  Some audio connections (KL monitor out to the Rolls, the Lester K to the KL etc) are also pre-wired.

On the downside, it's a bit of a hassle to adjust the P16M channels as it's on the floor.  

The Donner bag fits perfectly into my Husky rolling tool cart.  Logistically I have a really nice setup right now, easy to transport and quick to set up/tear down.   One or two keyboards, a stand, that Husky, my fan and optionally a rug (which helps when standing and also with my two loose pedals.  Looks cool too!).  Mic boom is in the Husky and attaches to either of my keyboard stands so that's one less loose item to forget.

[Docbop]

60 odd years of play guitar and bass and I was never into pedals so never needed a pedalboard.    A one point in the height of m Clone-Carlton dayz  and using a volume pedal now and then I contemplated making a board to hold the volume pedal and the one other chorus pedal I would use.    Now because I did some recording and pit band work I did have a collection of pedals in case one was called for I could get the job done.    One thing I HATED then and still do is distortion, fuzz type pedals.  I prefered the organic sound of small amp cranked up over any pedal.   

 

I always  thought it was humourous guitarist who go spend thousands on a vintage guitar then plug it into a sea of pedals.   Then say don't this guitar sound great.   No you've reduced the guitar to the equivalent of a keyboard MIDI controller it's just triggering notes. 

 

[BenWaB3]

Just started using one a couple of weeks ago. In my case it was to anchor a GSI Gemini module that makes up for the sub-par Rhodes, Wurlies, clavs & ac, pianos in the Hammond SK Pro. That meant I needed to add a mixer (the aux in on the SK is already occupied by an iPad). This arrangement saves a fair amount of setup time since the Gemini is permanently wired to the mixer & all I need to do is run the AC plug to an outlet. Then the audio cords & USB from the SK are permanently wired to the Mixer & Gemini so I just need to run the loose ends out to the SK.

[Doug Robinson]

Yes, that’s what I would probably do too, put my small mixer down there as well.

[octa]

bought this pedalboard recently but haven't set it up yet. It's pretty small but gonna put Vent ii, Key Largo and maybe one other (line 6 hx stomp or old memory man, if it'll fit) on there. Probably should've ordered a larger metro but was planning to use it mainly with guitar/bass initially. Maybe it will help to diminish setup/breakdown time.

 

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PTM16HC--pedaltrain-metro-16-hc-16-inch-by-8-inch-pedalboard-with-hard-case

[stoken6]

I use a guitar pedalboard for my expression and pair of sustains - a Rockboard Tres 3.0.

 

There's a bay for the MOD 3 patchbay (described in this thread https://forums.musicplayer.com/topic/172628-guitarists-have-the-best-toys/) which gives me very tidy connections for keys, mic and foldback. Two looms break out to my boards and my Rolls monitor mixer (I use the holes intended for adding LED lights). The second picture shows how it gives a neat appearance on stage. 

 

Cheers, Mike.

 

[RABid]

Been using pedals on synths for as long as I have been playing (40+ years). Started out with a bit of distortion and a talk box on the MiniMoog. Now I use various Line 6 and Roland multi effects. I find them easier to control and adjust than the built in effects of modern keyboards. Why let guitarists have all the fun? Plus, I play some guitar and bass. I have the pedals laying around. Why not use them? I also use them with my modular.

[Stokely]

That's an interesting point, as I'm trying to improve my guitar skills to the point where I'll venture on stage    Something like the line 6 hx stomp could be pretty cool to use with my keyboards, hooked up via the aux loop on the Key Largo.  

I'm considering selling my mint Lester K because I simply don't use it (I was planning on gigging the Forte by itself at some gigs, not going to do that now).   My Modx has organ covered with b-3x on the ipad.   If I do I might get the EH v256 vocoder pedal.   The Modx has a vocoder but I'd need a second microphone or a decent switcher...while he EH pedal can just be bypassed and I could use my main vocal mic.  Still kicking around the possibility.   I wish that little Waldorf string machine module had a vocoder (Streichfett)...seems like a real missed opportunity there.

Unfortunately I probably can't use the Modx to send midi to it, because it's set to use usb with the ipad.  It's an infuriating limitation of the Modx; if it was per-patch it wouldn't be that big a deal but it's a global setting.

[Doug Robinson]

7 hours ago, stoken6 said:

I use a guitar pedalboard for my expression and pair of sustains - a Rockboard Tres 3.0.

 

There's a bay for the MOD 3 patchbay (described in this thread https://forums.musicplayer.com/topic/172628-guitarists-have-the-best-toys/) which gives me very tidy connections for keys, mic and foldback. Two looms break out to my boards and my Rolls monitor mixer (I use the holes intended for adding LED lights). The second picture shows how it gives a neat appearance on stage. 

 

Cheers, Mike.

 

Thanks Mike! It looks like a great solution for me, but I have a question about the height of the board itself. At the lowest point looks like it’s about an inch high. That hasn’t bothered you in terms of using the sustain pedal?

[stoken6]

20 hours ago, Doug Robinson said:

Thanks Mike! It looks like a great solution for me, but I have a question about the height of the board itself. At the lowest point looks like it’s about an inch high. That hasn’t bothered you in terms of using the sustain pedal?

I'm fine with it. I play standing, for what it's worth.

 

Before I got the pedalboard itself, I had the patchbay mounted on the top surface of a sheet of plywood with my pedals:

 

 

Cheers, Mike

[Lou_NC]

This is the only kind of "pedal board" I've ever had under my keys. Never saw the need for anything else...... 🙂

[SamuelBLupowitz]

I've gotta take some pointers from all y'all about cable management and pedals. Even with my homemade pedalboard and some velcro ties, it's a damn mess on and around my rig.

[synthdogg]

I put together my first pedal board earlier this year, and I absolutely love it. It’s kind of addicting too, my wish list of pedals is growing rapidly!

[Doerfler]

1 hour ago, synthdogg said:

I put together my first pedal board earlier this year, and I absolutely love it. It’s kind of addicting too, my wish list of pedals is growing rapidly!

 

Effects pedals are indeed a rabbit hole.

the is a very active thread on the Guitar Forum here at MPN which closely follows almost every pedal release.

 

 

[Iconoclast]

I've run organ through pedal boards.  For a long time I used to run my XK3c through a Line6 PodXT floor on it's way to the motionsound KBR3d. I used it a lot for delays, chorus and flanger and usually tried to fit in one solo a night with the wah pedal, and the volume pedal on the PodXT worked as the organ's volume pedal.

I've kind of gone the virtual direction and run more VST's in the post signal chain now. I do this by running everything in the rig back through an I/O device and then through mainstage, so I can use any of my VST effects on the output of my real instruments.  Now you're in virtually unlimited territory. Honestly, just having a really good EQ makes a huge difference. Much smaller footprint, quicker setup at the gig, and more flexible...and less 9v's.

[Dave Bryce]

1 hour ago, Iconoclast said:

I've run organ through pedal boards. 

Me, too… 😁

 

 

The bottom row (except for the Eventide H9 Max on the far left) is for my guitars.  The TC Polytune and yellow Morley Power Wah/Volume pedal are also part of the bottom row.  The Morley is wired after the Phase 90 and before Swollen Pickle fuzz box in the chain.

 

The bottom row and my Hammond run into an AB-Y box (on the floor, to the right of the RAT) which feeds either/both of them to the top row.  
 

The big ol’ Morley ABC Pro (switcher/combiner) routes the output thusly:

• A out feeds the Iridium amp/cab simulator and H9, which are wired to the PA in stereo

• B out goes to Leslie 145 via the Leslie Preamp pedal to the right of the Morley PW/V

• C out sends to the Vox AC15

 

 

dB

[stoken6]

17 hours ago, SamuelBLupowitz said:

I've gotta take some pointers from all y'all about cable management and pedals. Even with my homemade pedalboard and some velcro ties, it's a damn mess on and around my rig.

Split braided loom is your friend. Versatile and relatively cheap.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Noah DC]

3 hours ago, stoken6 said:

Split braided loom is your friend. Versatile and relatively cheap.

 

Cheers, Mike.

There was a great thread on this topic that I used to build a particleboard/car carpeting setup for my pedals a few years ago (might have featured an earlier version of stoken6’s arrangement?), but it seems like it may have been dropped from the archives somewhere along the line. 

[MAJUSCULE]

7 hours ago, stoken6 said:

Split braided loom is your friend. Versatile and relatively cheap.

 

Cheers, Mike.

 

Yeah, I need to do this, and soon.

[Dave Bryce]

Me, too.  Mine’s a mess…but then again, I tend to swap stuff in and out of it…

 

dB