Hello all, and welcome to my blog. Today we're going to talk about how to (or not to) build a pedal board. I've recently constructed one of my own and I thought I'd share my experience (in pictures!). Before we begin, let's look at a list of materials you may want to have at your disposal:
1. Pedals
2. Wood (preferably not hardwood)
3. Circular saw
4. Table saw (though not essential)
5. Power drill
6. Screws (size will vary)
7. T-square and Tape measure
8. Pencil
9. Indoor/Outdoor Primer*
10. Paint*
11. Paintbrush(es)
12. Velcro (I used industrial strength. I guess it depends on how hard you usually find yourself rocking/laying down the funk)
12.5 Half a brain
*these items are particularly discretionary, used primarily for durability and longevity, and to make it look purdy.
Now that you've reviewed the list of materials, let's begin.
1. First, I chose the pedals I wanted to have on my board. This can be a particularly difficult task for those of us who are shifty in nature. I was forced to be objective and choose only the pedals I knew I would need for the function the board was going to serve. With Violence Against Robots, I decided the following pedals were necessary:
Sansamp Programmable Bass DI
EHX Big Muff Pi
Line 6 Echo Park
Boss OC-3 Super Octave
Then, I arranged them in a way they would fit on the board, or, more importantly, the way they go together with the cables and power supplies provided. Another factor to take into consideration (and certainly most primary) is, of course, the order of the pedals which serves you best. Take time to play with their order and get the signal chain together correctly so you're not distorting your octave when you meant to octave your distortion. Capisce? Take a look:
2. Next, I took my handy-dandy tape measure and came up with some rough estimates in terms of height and width of the board based on how I arranged the pedals above. I then drew up some plans on graph paper using a simple scale (2 squares/inch) just to make sure my pedals would all fit. After I found that they would fit, I finalized my plans and drew up some more for side panels to tilt the board forward a bit.
3. Fortunately, my father had some spare wood in the basement for me to use. Later on, I'll complain about how hard it is to drive screws into hardwood 2x4s. I would advise you not to use hardwood, should you choose to pursue this endeavor. It's solid, sure, but it's hard to deal with, especially for a first-timer. Luckily, my cross panels were made from some other kind of wood that wasn't so hard. I made the side panels from 5/8 inch plywood. It was all scrap wood and it was all beautiful.
4. Then I proceeded to cutting. If you're like me and didn't think about cutting length-wise with a circular saw until you actually had to do it, there's still hope. I don't have a picture of it, but what I did was set up two short piles of scrap wood and made my own table saw of sorts by resting the wood I wanted to cut on the piles, with the cut made in between. It's pretty dangerous but they were quick cuts, so I didn't feel too awful. Also, a quick safety note: when using power tools, as an extra precaution, I like to unplug them when I'm not using them. This way they're guaranteed not to go off. Unless there's a poltergeist, in which case I've got bigger problems.
5. Pedal Board! ASSEMMBLLLLE! After I had made all my cuts, I began to assemble the board itself. I began by squaring the first cross board against the right 2x4. Next, I used a drill to drill two holes through both pieces. Next, I drove a screw in, by hand, to secure the two pieces. Before I let go, I drove the other screw most of the way in so I wouldn't lose my position. An important note: when you're drilling the intial hole, make sure it's smaller than the width of the screw, or it won't do a cotton-pickin' thing. After I had those two screws completely in, it was all down hill from there. Take a look at some pics, it's pretty self explanatory:
6. Onto the final, beautification, fortification, zombie-nation steps. First, the indoor/outdoor primer was applied to the entire thing. I wouldn't have used primer if my dad hadn't also had some sitting around. I applied one coat and let it dry. Next, I used white paint. One coat did the trick and again, I let it dry. I suppose spray paint would also work, but I would have had to pay for that.
7. And finally, the velcro. Before you begin your own project, realize this: the velcro will be most of the project cost. If not, it will cost the most of any singular item. It was expensive. More than you might think at least. Maybe just because I got industrial strength. Whatever. I got the 2-inch width to keep application simple: one strip on each bar. Next, of course, the velcro also had to be applied to the pedals. I tried to avoid covering up things on the backs of the pedals that looked important like serial numbers and such, because I'm not sure how easily this stuff will come off.
8. And then, VOILA! (I didn't oversize it. The Q-tron and the Octavius Squeezer are invisible...)
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