Now that you’ve got your stompboxes, pedalboard, power supply and cables, let’s get to the really fun and practical part – putting together your pedalboard! This can be separated into a few key steps, which we’ve detailed below. Like with any musical equipment, generally speaking, the more costly the item is, the better quality materials have been used to construct it. This is true with pedalboards. Many of the top-end offerings use aircraft-grade aluminum for its exceptional durability and longevity. The lower-priced pedalboards are more likely to use lesser-quality materials. It is when you come to that realisation that you should start investing in guitar pedals. Coming in all shapes and sizes, the amount of pedal options is vast. From the wave of overdrives out there to more niche effects like ring modulators, the sheer level of choice might seem slightly overwhelming at first. As with all musical equipment and accessories, there’s a vast range of pedalboards on the market. It can be just as easy to find a sub-par pedalboard that is likely to break after a short while, as it is to find an outstanding offering that will provide years of reliable usage. These are tone modifiers and sweeteners, and they include effects like chorus, phase, flange and vibrato. Traditionally, these can be noisy effects, and placing them before gain-increasing pedals like distortion or compression will tend to intensify their noise.

Who is this best suited for: Due to the large dimensions of the Standard 2.0, this pedalboard is highly suitable for guitarists, bassists, or keyboardists who have a substantial selection of pedals. It’s a great choice for musicians who frequently move their equipment from the practice room to the stage. The angled top tier of the Holeyboard 123 means that a power supply can be securely mounted. There are several locations that you can attach your PSU, and no additional parts are required to do so. The hardware is made from stainless steel and the main chassis from aircraft-grade aluminum. Myself and many other musicians rate Voodoo Lab amongst the leading producers of power supplies, so it’s no surprise that they also produce fantastic pedalboards. Perhaps my favorite thing about the Dingbat is that you get a pre-mounted PSU – the Pedal Power 2 Plus, which I regard as a highly reliable power supply unit. For example, more intimate performances may require the narrowing down of one’s pedal collection, and this board-case combo is ideal for those kinds of situations.

How Do I Put My Pedalboard Together?

When we said that there’s only one method we’d recommend when it comes to powering your pedals, this is it. A decent, fully-isolated pedalboard power supply will ensure that your pedals are getting pure and clean electricity. If you want to keep the noise of your guitar signal to a minimum, then this is the most efficient way to prevent any annoying buzzing or hum! In addition, chorus, phasing and flanging all introduce time delays and pitch fluctuations that create a sense of spatial movement similar to what happens in the physical world. Placing them after amplification-style effects like distortions and overdrives produces results that are in keeping with naturally occurring sound. There’s also the matter of cables, of which you’ll need many, each cut to the minimum length to ensure signal integrity and keep your layout tidy. The confusion only gets worse once you go online and see the plethora of pedal board models and options available to you. For this example, I’m using Truetone/Visual Sound’s 1 Spot power supply. The 1 Spot is a nine-volt adaptor that takes up just one power strip outlet, yet it can accommodate up to 20 guitar pedals. It works with more than 90 percent of the effect pedals on the market, including those that use popular adapters from Boss, Danelectro, Dunlop, Korg and others. In addition, as you add more pedals to any setup, it’s possible to introduce noise and hum by having too many effects on the same power source.

This includes filters (which can boost and cut frequencies), compressors (which reduce dynamic levels but can also boost the overall signal), and all types of distortion and overdrive pedals. Tone modifiers such as chorus, phase and flangers go next, followed by ambience effects, such as reverb, delay and echo. The effects in a signal chain can be arranged and grouped into four general categories: My Review: Featuring a simplistic design, the compact PB-05 by Mooer is an affordable pedalboard which, compared to similar products, rivals much pricier options in terms of quality and performance. When designing this pedalboard, Mooer used a unique injection molding technology, which forms a rigid platform when combined with the custom aluminum alloy chassis. Compared to other similarly sized pedalboards, the Dingbat certainly stands out. It’s exceptionally roadworthy for starters, and although Voodoo Lab offers other variations of this product, the standard model is an ideal blend of transportability and spaciousness.Who is this best suited for: A high-quality flight case and pedalboard, the G-Tour by Gator is well suited to professional musicians who are constantly on the move. It’s one of the most secure cases available today, so if you want to provide maximum protection to your pedals, you’ll love this high-end offering. On the other hand, placing a compressor before a wah pedal can help you control some of the guitar signal’s inherent brightness that can make some wahs sound shrill and piercing at the top end of their range.

Many pedalboards either come with a dedicated space to fit a power supply. In some cases, the boards themselves are permanently powered with a fixed PSU. Powering your pedals is something you need to consider, as it’s simply not practical to use individual plugs for all of your pedals. Who is this best suited for: If you’ve got a medium-sized pedal collection of around 6-10 regular-sized stompboxes, the Sound Town ATA pedalboard, and hard case is worthy of your attention. The soft case that is included with the NOVO 18 is also built to a very high standard. It comes with a cushioned shoulder pad, which is very forgiving and reduces tension when moving the pedalboard around. The ergonomic incline design of the NOVO 18 makes it comfortable to use and creates adequate space underneath for mounting a power supply or connecting patch cables.Compact and Efficient: The DP-1’s compact size makes it a breeze to integrate into your pedalboard setup. It doesn’t hog valuable real estate, allowing you to optimize your pedal arrangement efficiently. If you’re still a little unsure of which pedalboard you should go for, rest assured. After reading the remainder of this guide you’ll know exactly which qualities to look for, and the negative aspects to avoid. Why Do You Need a Pedalboard? There is no right or wrong answer here; it’s up to your own personal preference. I find that having a tuner in my pedalboard is easier than having to connect to a separate one when I need to tune up. But before we look at all of the key stompboxes you should have, you may already be thinking ‘which guitar pedal should be my first?’. Well, that’s an easy one – a tuner pedal! Tuner Pedal

If you end up with issues with noise, hum, hiss, or an overall dull sound, the following sections can help you fix the problems. But ensuring that you have a solid foundation for your stompboxes is more important than the pedals themselves. And with your new pedalboard, you’ve got one! Who is this best suited for: With its modest price tag, durable build, and generous number of accessories, the Luvay XL Pedal Board is a great choice for all guitarists and bassists. Its large surface area also makes this pedalboard suitable for those who have a substantial collection of pedals.A highly-regarded example is the all-encompassing Voodoo Lab Mondo, which features 12 full-isolated power outputs. With the ability to switch two of it outputs to 12V, as well as boasting four outputs that supply up to 400mA of current, this pedal power supply is suited for hefty pedalboards with lots of stompboxes.