If I had a dollar, nickel or dime (if this was 10 years ago - a penny) for every time I heard a guitar player say, "I'm not going to change this pedal board for years to come." I'd be moderately comfortable - financially speaking. If you must use an online app to plan your layout make sure to leave room around all the pedals in case dimensions are a bit off and/or jacks and power taps don't line up quite as expected. Use these apps as an outline only! Don't buy pedal boards based on a packed layout from an online app unless you're willing to ditch a pedal when they don't all fit! Yes, you can do all of this on an online pedal board planning app, but just keep in mind that they are not 100% accurate. Like the old saying goes, "When your layout is tight, plug your jacks in, right?" It's so easy to underestimate how much a plug takes up. This might look like putting your updatable pedals on risers or on the back row so they can be updated without ripping up your board.ĭo your layout with jacks, midi plugs and power taps in the pedals. In the same way, make sure your USB jacks for updating pedals are also easily accessible. It might be as easy as a side panel jack, but if its not, make sure your first and last pedals can be easily accessed. This seems like a no brainer - but it's easy to forget!ĭo you know where you're going to plug your guitar in and your amp out? Make sure to plan this out in your layout stage. Do you prefer to tap your midi controller with your right or left foot? What about volume swells? Are those easier with your left or right foot? So make sure to place these first!Īfter this make sure you consider what foot you prefer using each of these pedals with. If you think of a volume pedal, midi controller or wah for example, you will most likely want those on the bottom row. Match pedals to taps until all of your pedals are paired with a power tap.Īs far as placement on your layout goes, some pedals are more flexible than others. It would make sense to put that compressor on Tap 8 or 9.
To each of the taps you wrote down on your power supply match up the pedal (or pedals) that best suit that tap.Īs an example, you might have a compressor that can run on 9-18v (you can power it with 9v, 12v or 18v). This must be where the buddy system was invented - This step is crucial! Match up a pedal or pedals to each power tap Write down each tap, it's voltage options and current output. For the Strymon Zuma as an example, you have 9 isolated outputs to work with. This will assure that you don't miss anything that takes up space on your layout.Įvery isolated power supply has a certain amount of outputs. Write every pedal, fixture and power supply down on paperĪnything that needs to be velcro'd down or takes up any room should be written down on paper. How do you avoid this and other common layout mistakes? He's got some layout chops - we only had to move a couple pedals in the middle row to suit his signal chain** **It's worth noting that the above picture was sent to us by Michael Pope before his latest setup. This bliss-filled paradise can be derailed by something as simple as forgetting that you need to fit a tuner on this compact masterpiece.Īt this stage, it's probably easier just to learn perfect pitch or astrophysics than to start your layout from scratch. All the jacks line up just right, the power taps fit in just the right slots and the colour of each pedal perfectly compliments its neighbour (this is obviously the most important part of the layout process). All the pedals come together as if the board was predestined to live in this format. There is something satisfying about seeing a great pedal board layout. I hope this saves you some time and stress in your future builds! 1.
There are so many more that we could add to the list, but this is my top 5. This blog is the culmination of those common, easy to make pedalboard mistakes. It's meant re-working boards, junctions and cables to make sure I can deliver on what I promised. It's not the case! I've made some rookie mistakes and I've seen a lot of other people make rookie mistakes as well. That I've never forgotten a pedal, I've understood every piece of gear I've been using and all of my junction boxes have worked perfectly the first time. I wish I could tell you that after all of my years working with musicians on their guitar rigs that I've never made a mistake.