How to Build a Custom Pedal Board

Written by admin on June 3, 2009 – 6:06 pm -

If you’re a guitarist with an abundant amount of pedals, you know how frustrating it can be to keep them all organized and powered, and a Custom Pedal Board is the solution to this problem. There are pre-made pedal boards available for sale, but the benefits of a custom made one is that you get to design it to exactly match your needs.

Below is a checklist of all the supplies you’ll need and some general steps to follow to get your pedal board up and running.

1. Pedal Board Base

You’ll want a sturdy base for your pedal board, so I recommend using a piece, or pieces of plywood. When you are selecting your base, you need to keep size in mind. Before you purchase the supplies, lay out all of your effect pedals in the order you’ll want them on your board.

Take measurements of the general area around them and use that as a guideline. Make sure to leave enough space though for a pedal power supply box, and any future pedals you might want to add down the road.

Here are some examples of plywood based pedal boards:

Tip: Although your pedal board base does not need to be as elaborate as the ones featured above, you should at least make sure one side of it is elevated. This makes seeing and hitting your pedals much easier.

2. Pedal Power Supply

There is no way you’ll want to power all the pedals on your board with batteries, or individual AC Adapters. For this you’ll want to use a Pedal Power Supply. A Pedal Power Supply is a single unit you’ll mount on your board that will provide power for all of your pedals.

I recommend using the Voodoo Lab Power 2 supply. This unit comes with everything that you’ll need to get power to your pedals.

• 8 completely isolated 9V outputs
• Powers PSA, ACA, and Twin BOSS pedals
• Powers all Line 6 Stompbox Modelers and ToneCore pedals
• Powers 18V pedals via optional cable

3. Velcro Tape Strips

Now that you’ve designed your pedal board base, and have selected a power source for your pedals, it is time to start laying down some double sided Velcro strips. The Velcro strips will allow you to easily attach/detach your pedals for easy organization.

You’ll want to lay out your strips horizontally across the base from side to side, leaving enough room between each strip for a series of effects pedals.

You’ll then place a small piece of the opposite side of the Velcro stripping on the back of any pedal you’ll want to place on your board.

This is the method I use, and it does a very good job of holding your pedals in place.

To find Velcro Tape strips for sale on EBay click here.

4. Attaching Effects Pedals

Now for the last step, attaching your effects pedals to your pedal board base.

At this point in the assembly process, you should have a finished pedal board base with a power supply attached as well as strips of Velcro tape laid out.

If you have not done so already, horizontally place small pieces of Velcro tape on the back of your pedals.

The ordering of your pedals definitely does make a difference, and to help you in this process I’ve explained the proper way to order guitar effects pedals in a separate post.

Also make sure you have the proper guitar cables you’ll need to connect your pedals together. You don’t need huge cables for this, usually 6 inch or 12 inch cables will work fine.

5. Power On

Here is the moment of truth!

The last step in this process is making sure all of your effects pedals are plugged into the main Pedal Power Supply. If they are, turn on the supply and give your pedal board a test.

Things to Test:

• All pedals turn on and function
• All pedals are secure
• Power Supply is secure
• One pedal’s placement does not interfere with the functionality of others

That’s all there is to creating your own custom pedal board. Hopefully you’ve found this guide helpful, and now have an awesome board.

If you decide to purchase a pre-made pedal board, you can do so here through this site.

Do you have an awesome board you would like to share with the world? If so, submit a picture and pedal lineup to admin@rockdistortionpedals.com

Tags: Custom Pedal Board, Pedal Board Design
Posted in Pedal Boards | 2 Comments »