Pedalboard Build 2018 || What Not To Do

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[@stefanhamilton8713]

Ah man, I feel your pain. Been there many times. Learned a pedal board is like a pizza, you can’t put everything you love on top and get a tasty result.

[@alexj3007]

Stefan Hamilton that is literally the best analogy.

[@alexmurphy5289]

Damn well said

[@jimmygugino3024]

So true

[@Geokas300]

Stefan Hamilton 6

[@Rob0917]

RE: Pizza toppings. Speak for yourself! ;)

[@peterjessop1878]

If you still want a very flexible board I would do the following: get rid of tremolo, colour box, tuner and bit commander. Choose which of the strymon pedals you can live without because of the H9. Do you use the looper in the timeline? if so keep that and maybe get a smaller reverb pedal e.g. Source Audio Ventris. If not then dump it as the H9 can do everything else Timeline can.(though not analog dry thru) H9 also acts as your tuner by the way. I'd also get a smaller volume pedal or even consider an expression pedal instead given the capabilities that will give you with the H9 and strymons as well as potentially being able to act as a volume pedal Do you really need two fuzzes? If not decide which one is most versatile and which stacks best with other pedals. Like lots of others have said get a switcher which does midi and also one that can change the position of pedals in the signal chain (really useful for the H9): gigrig or Boss ES8. This is the most important thing to do in my opinion. Also a tiered board would increase your pedal real estate significantly. Sorry about the essay but I've just been through something similar so its fresh in my mind. Great content by the way

[@calypsoreese3559]

Peter Jessop Hey Peter. Good on you for speaking honestly. There are so many ways to be rude while being critical, so kudos for just sticking to being practical! GigRig, Boss Looper, American Looper... or my favorite, Carl Martin Octa-Switch!!! Problem Solved!

[@trebleboost7]

Just added an ES8 to my board and it is indeed a game changer and already used the loop order with the H9 max. Worked great! But it also is throwing a wrench into ,my thinking. I have several dual pedals that are not as optimized. Nice learning through trial and error isn't it! Evolution.

[@peterjessop1878]

Calypso Reese thanks very much

[@peterjessop1878]

Jack Minear yeah I understand the issue with dual pedals. I decided to set up my D&M drive before start of a song and use it either as a boost for solos or for Rhythm and use an alternative pedal or amp channel for whatever the D&M wasn’t doing if that makes sense.

[@aculeus1971]

Hi, I think it’s important to have some before/after stories like this, as people are encouraged to get together as many pedals as possible, whereas in a live situation, the board has to be ‘live-able’ ... as far as switchers go, I wholeheartedly recommend the Gigrig G2 as well as their modular power supply system ... G2 has re-orderable loops and so it’s easy to change things round, and I’m sure you’d then find a position / combination where that JHS Colour Box was useful to you - it is based on Neve pre-amps after all, and Neve knew what he was doing... Good luck with the rebuild...

[@ElijahRock92]

As a size 14 foot who is starting to get into building a pedal board, I appreciate your honesty.

[@rohankhemraj]

That was just as helpful as a seeing a successful build.

[@dkerwood1]

Thank you so much!!! I can't TELL you how many people have said things to me like, "There's so much space between your pedals! If you arranged them better, you could get more in there or get a smaller board!" Or... I could have enough space to actually operate the board live without having to point my toe like a ballerina! Thank you for advocating for function over form!

[@johncarter6519]

I don't judge other people's boards because I don't know what their needs are for their gigs. I always tell my students when putting a board together to "think of the essentials" and then show them what I use. I get a lot of church gigs and blues/rock gigs, so I built a board for both. The signal path is Volume Pedal, Tuner, Compressor, Dual Overdrive, Delay, and Reverb. That's all I need, and for the blues gig, I typically switch the Volume Pedal for a Wah if the gig calls for it. But, that's all I really need, and working guys have to think that way. Since you've made this video on what not to do maybe make a video in helping to identify what a player needs for a specific gig like "Building a Worship Pedalboard Tutorial" or "Building an RnB Pedalboard." I know for me I just leave essential pedals on the board and adjust one or two for the gig if it calls for it but others might enjoy that, and if it may seem too tedious or unnecessary maybe do guide videos into playing in specific genres. I'm not sure if you do that already, but I know when I teach my more advanced students they ask me questions like that a lot. Keep posting! You're doing great.

[@Lobberzillo]

Nice, I thought that I was crazy because I don't use modulations.

[@johncarter6519]

Antonio de Jesús López Alarcón No, you're not crazy. I'm not knocking modulation either. I just don't use it enough to invest in it.

[@jelliclecat3445]

This guy needs a switcher. Problems all solved.

[@TenThumbsProductions]

The last thing you want is to quick on a gnarly fuzz pedal 😂

[@gianlucabernacchi]

genuinely cant believe this guy doesnt just fix the issues

[@dowaliby1]

Almost every lesson I've learned in music has been the hard way. (e.g. trading my early 60's LP gold top 40 years ago for a guitar I ended up hardly ever playing). As in life itself, I think that's just the way it works. It's great when we can share what we've learned from experience with others to help them avoid making the same mistakes, as Brett has done here. There is so much valuable information on this video, and I have no doubt it's going to be a big help to a lot of musicians.

[@byebyebeano8616]

Call Daniel Steinhardt at the Gig Rig!

[@MrRadialdrift]

If you are not using some of the pedals, then why even have them on the board? It's not rocket surgery. Your foot is big, get rid of a pedal and make more space, which will also give you more power to other pedals, solved.

[@RhettShull]

Part of the reason I put this board together was for a specific label showcase gig I had recently where I needed almost every pedal on the board (except the Colour Box) moving forward I’ll be able to downsize

[@jamessss7655]

radialdrift did you just say ‘rocket surgery’?

[@Alexanderzzzzon]

"Rocket surgery" 😂🤣

[@collintheplonker4809]

I have used boosters made from 1x3s cut into pedal sized pieces and velcroed between board and pedals. That way I had tiers so I could use a lot of pedals in tight spaces. For the power issue you can daisy chain the extras.

[@Cougar139tweak]

@@Alexanderzzzzon Just like Drain Bramage.... I LIKE IT!

[@nenadkarisic7726]

Rhett, first of all, recent subscriber speaking here, i enjoy your videos, awesome job and as they say - keep 'em coming! :) But, if i may i would like to share some of my thoughts with you regarding this topic, and what i have always regarded as simple, somewhat obvious priorities when designing all of the layouts of my gigging pedalboards to date: 1) Only what is needed and necessary -- as you realised yourself, having excess pedals on the board makes things unnecessarily crowded and just more difficult for precise live use. Trim it down, leave what is essential for the gigs you need the board for. I know that this most probably clashes directly with the needed versatility, BUT, if being honest, i think we all realise at a certain point, that more often than not, we tend to keep some pedals on the board even if we don't use them that much. I stopped doing that because i can't stand having something on the board if i don't use it on a regular basis. 2) Front row of pedals should be those that are being stomped on THE MOST -- i know that this (well, as everything else, i guess :) ) is strictly personal thing, depending on needs, habits etc, but i always, and i do mean always fill the front row with pedals that i use the most, so that they are most accessible for stomping, but always paying extra attention to the spacing betweeen the switches. You saw for yourself what can happen if the two wrong things are too close one to another. So, cramming as many pedals as possible is not the best idea most of the time, especially if the board is for live gigging, where all sorts of things can happen. I always tend to populate the front row with drives and a delay (because of the tap tempo which gets corrected all the time), and IF there is leftover space, maybe i'll put something else in there, but only if it doesn't make it too crammed for stomping with average care and precision. 3) Wah/Volume/Expression pedals to the side of the board - this is also strictly my personal taste, but for example, having a fairly large pedal of that type in the middle of a densely populated board as you do (and we should keep in mind - those pedals are being used in a picky, more delicate manner compared to the simple stomping of the footswitch), would make me somewhat uncomfortable because i would have to pay extra attention of not screwing up my settings of the neighbouring pedals every time i go near that wah/volume/expression. Since the physical placement of pedals does not have to follow the signal flow, i feel that people should take advantage of that fact more often. That's all. The rest of the decisions take secondary priority compared to those three. Everything else must be according to those three basic principles. And this way of board layout and design has served me well for over 700+ live gigs. I hope this was somewhat helpful, looking forward to seeing more quality content. :)

[@bwall615]

I was watching your "How to stack overdrives" video, when you went to turn on your Vertex SSS, you angled your foot in a way to only hit it. I instantly knew your pain. LOL. So, I built a DIY oversized board, that only goes from home to studio. Purposely built so my size 9 1/2 only hits one pedal.

[@cluecumber]

whether you're building a pedal or a pedalboard, rushing it only leads to more headaches and work later on. think long and hard about it before you drill/solder/attach anything anywhere. good that you made a video about this. a good-looking pedal/board means nothing if it's not functional.

[@oansun]

Agreeing with a few others I've seen: a switcher I the solution. If you have a power or cable failure, it's so much easier to isolate the issue on the fly and won't leave the rest of the board unusable. You have those wonderful midi pedals, you should take advantage of it. Keeping things tidy and attractive is a good idea, it shows you care. People do kind of hate the "instagram era of pedalboards, usually because they don't have the time to dedicate on such a project. Musicom and Boss make excellent solutions, but I think you don't want a larger size board. Morningstar ML5 or VooDoo Labs Hex are switchers you can fit under the board and control with a small midi switcher (both are easy to chain together). You can even have a switcher off you board if you'd rather not take a pedal off with just a midi out on the side of the board. You will have to essentially double your cable count, however, so it isn't exactly the cheapest option. But it's the most ideal for your setup

[@WemmertGuitars]

oansun u

[@chrisrobson2203]

I keep my wah and volume pedal off the board and all the effects on the board only. That being said.. I've effed up my pedal board and reconfigured it numerous times before I got happy. .. what's refreshing about your video and all your videos really, is that you're so humble and honest about your learning experiences. *Respect

[@lynyrddeville]

I can relate to this. I spent a year, in which I got 3 boutique amps in a box, some really nice time based effects, 11 pedals in total, built the board itself, and decided to be an inventor and power it all, by lithium ion battery pack. Well of course I needed to learn that you can't just use adaptor cables for the 5 to 9v jump required. Then I learned a real good lesson about isolated power supplies. Yes, I learned a lot and came up with an elaborate 12 circuit individually voltage adjustable power supply running off my original battery pack (by the way, my electronics background could be classified as "average guitarist" level). And it was quiet. And it sounded good. Then just take a wild stab at what happens next. Ding ding ding! You are right! Dude! I need a Joyo switcher real bad, can't live without it, gotta get one! Well I got one. And yes it was a super pain in the ass to have to re wire it AGAIN after having just made 30 or so custom length Canare wire cables. Duhooooh... Didn't see that coming. And then, the final of all improbabilities. A sudden windfall of money, allowing me to replace my so so effect platform amp with a Friedman...Who needs those amps in a box now? Such a labour of love, I actually am pretty proud of my originally 12 dollar Ikea challenge pedal board. I am gonna feel like a real heal as I part it out to be replaced by yes.....An HX Effects. I might even miss that colourful 3 tiered monstrosity. Great video by the way, thanks man.

[@xMasterxRazorx]

The guys at my church have always had hugely oversized boards (compared to the small number of pedals on them) and it makes sense for this very reason. I very rarely see either of them hit a pedal unintentionally.

[@ronniewilliford3449]

This seems like a pretty normal thing to go through. I've done it myself. It's kind of a pain in the ass but ya just rethink and adjust. I discovered I didn't need as many pedals as I tried to fit at first. I think of it as packing a suitcase for a trip. Only bring what you really need and leave open space in case you want to add something at the last minute. I've been playing 35 years and I still make adjustments.

[@shakeyperspective3981]

I recommend the Road Rage True Bypass Looper. They are available in combinations of 4-16 'staggered' loops. The are hand built and made of thick anodized aluminum. True pro quality! They use Neutrik jacks, Taiwan Blue 3PDT switches and audiophile grade hookup wire. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

[@d3210210]

Good video, thanks for the insight. Something I suggest you consider looking into are "Barefoot Buttons". I found they made a huge difference in hitting effects more reliably. Plus they look amazing.

[@kadourimdou43]

You keep some gear in your car? That's where stuff gets nicked.

[@RobertNolan]

Puny Gods probably just a staged portion of the video.

[@PaavoLammikko]

Acturas I think he just wanted everybody to see his car.

[@weedshoes5089]

People in nice neighborhoods don't typically steal from vehicles on residential property in broad daylight in the USA.

[@PaavoLammikko]

@@weedshoes5089 Well la-di-da... God for you and all the other nice people living in the nice neighbourhoods!

[@weedshoes5089]

@@PaavoLammikko just stating facts. There are still areas in the USA where people do not feel the need to lock their doors. No need to take offense. For what it's worth I've lived in areas where being white outside at night is a risky endeavor. No grocery stores and you can't get food delivered. It sucks but it's all about demographics.

[@Quimmoo]

Man, I feel that. I've designed my first board myself and it was a horrible mess, so I've decided to downsize the number of pedals and create a layout using modulargrid. I've got every measurement right, I set up all the pedals, got all cables managed and the board looked absolutely fantastic. And was an absolute horror to play, with little to no space between pedals. Lesson learned.

[@clauseclause6640]

Some throats: 1) interchange 2 pedals on bottom (empress and fuzz) with 2 pedals above them 2) or just use loop switcher 3) or just remove 2-3 pedal to leave more space for big foot))

[@franklippens5313]

very helpful demo. Re your powersuplly issue; get yourself stuff from The Gigrig (Dan Steinhard from That pedal show). It's very versatile, has endless power and if you run short of outlets just get another isolator unit and you have another 4 outlets. It's not cheap but the best out there

[@OutstandingBill1]

I would put the volume pedal over on the right. It's the one you use most, so having it at the edge of town means you have enough room regardless of what you're wearing on your feet. Anyway, if you get a GigRig it can't go in the middle any more :)

[@stuffnuns]

I did a similar mistake of getting the stompers too close together. Before I committed to a layout, I gave it a day or two just letting the layout sit there and talk to me. And, still, the first layout I went with had problems. O man, how did you end up with your expression pedal not at the east or west end of your board?!? As soon as you pulled it out, I knew what happened - and you told the story of hitting your fuzz box while at the volume pedal. Ack! I really appreciate you sharing your mistakes. On my first build, I didn’t pay mind to the rule, “measure twice to cut once.” My new rule is “measure 3 or 4 times, then think about it for an hour, then cut. After that, just know you’ll have to redo the whole thing in a week.” As much as ya plan, when you start actually using the board, all your mistakes become glaringly apparent. I’ve been building my new board layout slowly, checking the placing and spacing for ease in performance. Bon chance on your next build!

[@anniedarkhorse6791]

Even me, in my Woman's boots, couldn't use that board. Nice that you were honest and made your mistakes into a useful video.

[@stutty1400]

First things first. Keep your volume pedal on the right hand side (if you're right handed), take off the redundant and unused pedals and rewire. You will have so much more space. When placing the pedals, make sure you have space to operate the various footswitches. We all learn through experience. It's a good looking board Rhett, now you can make it better :)

[@moshezarviv1252]

as always , very honestly done video. the sign of those fellows whose main goal is to improve in life. so according to what you said, my 2 cents in a very easy step : taking off 2 pedals will resolve main of your complains. - power issues - pushing buttons errors etc.. - give your volume pedal "breathing" - get all your main pedals in vertical position back. cheers from Israel.

[@asilve3]

I went through a similar thing. I've got a loop switcher now which makes turning on certain effects a lot easier and less risky for a crowded and large board. Its working for now but I think it might be better to run 2 smaller boards than cramming everything into one.

[@spookypen]

"Less is more"

[@JohnsDough1918]

More is more. MOAR.

[@juandelacal8343]

More more and more +more=Yngwie

[@collintheplonker4809]

Tell that to Gilmour

[@sparkyguitar0058]

Mooer is more. Since most are mini's you save space. And since most are small mV's you can power them easier. Guess I got lucky cause my 1st board I got 15 powered pedals and outs on the side.

[@yourbuddykevin]

pedal placement was something i never considered. I also play at church, and I remember going tap dancing my board to get ready for a recognizable guitar hook in the song, only to step on the POG accidentally, then frantically try to turn it off, only to turn off the OD. I also had my tuner set to kill the signal when tuning, and have many times accidentally killed the signal during songs... I think I need a bypass looper. lol

[@Chord_The_Seeker]

Great and informative video. I’m still building my collection of pedals to put my board together, and I’m almost at the point where it’s time to actually do it, so this kind of advice is invaluable to me.

[@MrJeffcondit]

I know this is a super old video, but I saw the original build a few months ago and feeling claustrophobic just looking at it. I've seen your more recent build where you have a shelf for the Strymons. I don't understand why more people don't use a shelf. I also like my main pedals to be close to the ground and the ones I don't need to hit as often on the shelf. I generally keep my delay on a quiet slapback, so that doesn't get touched and my modulation pedals don't get used every song, so they are up there too.

[@sighzmyk]

I really enjoy your videos. For several reasons. You have a certain helpful quality that shows through; that you want others to benefit from your experience and knowledge. And generally you seem like a really nice guy. If I were much younger and lived in your area; I would enjoy hanging with you and talking shop. I have been a musician, practically all my life, and have had various musical experiences that I value and cherish. But the one thing I've never done (for reasons too involved to go into here), is go on tour with a band. So, in a way, I am living vicariously through you when I see your videos of your travels and gigs. And I do really like the instructional videos, like this one and the others you did on building a pedal board. And the ones on equipment you like and use - guitars, effects, amps, etc. Keep it up. I am now a subscriber. BTW, your wife is gorgeous. You are a lucky man.

[@RhettShull]

Thanks for the kind words Thomas!

[@jefflazare924]

You're making me so glad I'm happy with 2-4 pedals at at time.

[@OneMoreAstronaut]

This kind of confirms why I think I'm going to go with a tiered board...something like the Friedman. You lose out on some real estate, but you're not stepping on your front row when trying to reach the back row. And, it keeps you from cramming pedals too close together, at least front to back. Just found your channel a couple of days ago Rhett. Good stuff.

[@RhettShull]

Thanks! Im looking into a tiered board I saw at NAMM. Ill be sure to keep everyone updated

[@stefanopellegrini7094]

Man, your videos are not only perfectly done, but VERY useful, thanks from Argentina!

[@diego2112gaming]

If you've large feet/wear boots, I strongly recommend a tiered pedal board. I also suggest ditching any pedal you don't use in for at least 75% of the gig. Anything else can be thrown in the loop/in front of the amp (depending on where your board is). Check your total power draw, and upgrade your supply as required. You've a couple of Strymon, try one of their supplies, if you've not already. Outside that, well, I'd say switch over to as many Boss Pedals as possible, but I'm a bit of a fanboy of Boss, so maybe I'm biased? lol

[@Beto7909]

The problem with the volume pedal I also had it, in my case if I push the distortion, I ended with volume down at the same time! So I changed it to a pedal that has two switches , Which the main switch is not close and if the other is activated nothing happens. Love your videos broth! Thanks to you I have setup I rethinking about all my gear! Saludos desde Ecuador.

[@MarkKusha1]

As a bass player with a pretty similar board as yours, the boss ls-2 is a life saver. I run most of my pedals through it. I have everything that I need on before the song starts, and with one button, I can turn on/ off 2 entire signals. That being said- I kinda hate my board too haha I also have a hoof reaper that I constantly accidentally hit on. I’m starting to think of just downgrading to a simple board. Tuner- comp- octave- Fuzz.

[@jazzblasterrr]

Move the hoof and diamond pedal toward the back and move the spring and Greer to the front. Then turn the Greer 180. The color box might also be better suited toward the back of the chain. You could fix all these issues in 30 min of ripping velcro and using a few longer cables to run under the board. Just a thought.

[@MrDanielDumas]

I think with that many pedals I would use something like a Boss ES-8 or a Crocodile Tail. You’re obviously going to trim some fat off the board which will free up power and space and once you do that, you can have a switcher which will make effect switching more convenient and reliable but it will also clean up your signal path giving you truer tone. Thanks for your videos, I learn a lot from your honesty.

[@yrebrac]

Glad you get to the point quicker in your more recent videos.. and don't really need to see you get your keys and open the boot to make a point :)

[@nicksmith5202]

Re: not having enough outlets on your power supply- it takes a little research, but most pedal companies show the Current Draw of a pedal, either online, in the manual, or on the pedal itself. Figure out how much Current an outlet puts out, then daisy chain as many pedals as you can, without going over. I use the One Spot/ Truetone daisy chain cables with my Voodoo Lab Mondo (and my old 4x4), and have combined as many as 5 or 6 pedals on one outlet, with no ill effects (no pun intended).

[@anthonyskinner2674]

This is the exact reason I am running my single pedals with a multieffects pedal set up as a back up to emulate my single pedals should something go out of wack in my single pedal chain live.

[@jchabo82]

I would definitely bring the two pedals you hit at the same time down in front since you use them so much. Get rid of the bit commander, tremolo and color box. Move your volume all the way to the right. That should be enough room to space things out a bit.

[@worshipguitarjapan]

Hey Rhett!! Thanks for sharing your experience. I can really relate to this video because before I got my Pedaltrain Classic Pro my pedals were all in a very tight position and I would frequently touch cables and switches when turning on a pedal and would even touch the power cable, causing unwanted noise. From that I realized we just don't have to populate the whole board because there is not only problem with turning on a pedal accidentally, there is also problem with power supply, which I tried to solve using my Korg tuners but a couple of times I stumbled upon the problem with voltage requirement and saw pedals that wouldn't power up.

[@Holtenstein]

I always try to keep expression pedals and tap tempos on the sides of the board with space around them. Also, I've found running 2 power supplies is better than a single larger one. This helps isolate certain noisy or hi-fidelity pedals as well as provide more options. It also looks like the case is big enough to support an addition of a tier. Thus making some easier to reach. I'm sure someone has pointed out and you've updated since, but larger add-on buttons may help too. It's all trial and error if you don't have it custom built.

[@639dida]

So in other words, you are bored with this board. Thanks for sharing Rhett! I have been watching your videos these days and absolutely love them! Props from Greece! Keep it up!

[@markbratton111]

You know, I couldn't agree more, Rhett. Many pedals that I have on my board are all wish-list pedals that I wanted individually but did not give much thought into whether they 'played nice' together. In specifics, my distortion stacking. I also wish I had investigated on a better delay pedal.. I digress.. Thank you much for this video!

[@honeynut2307]

Take off the Big Sky and use your H9 for Reverbs, like some on here have said use only what’s necessary...Also a small Looper pedal would help you out at shows especially if a cable goes bad you can always just turn off that loop...And you don’t have to go all the way on a computer/midi based looper...American Looper, Loopmaster and several other companies make skinny little strips that are easy to navigate through and take up little space on the front of your board and that way you don’t have to tap dance and hit knobs😉 Good Luck, that’s what works for me without going to Gigrig or Boss ES-8 or One Control...Also Line 6, Kemper or even Axefx have floor units that make it easy if you Need all those effects all the time

[@enzonuestro1721]

I had the same dilema after having my then set up for 4 years. i ended up swapping my pedaltrain pt3 to the new classic one and got rid of my loop switcher and removed pedals that i really didnt need. i bought some barefoot buttons for the pedals i constantly turn on and off. also decided to keep those pedals closer to my feet for easy reach. I decided to get my volume pedal out of my chain since i constantly ride my volume knob more often and i really dont do swells or anything...

[@Tone-Oz]

Perhaps consider putting a blocking raiser underneath those two pedals in the centre in order to raise the height of them that way you are unlikely to turn the knobs of the fuzz pedal. You could get a smaller volume pedal too and wear sneakers not wide fancy shoes!

[@10sassafras]

Great. Pull out the redundant pedals to make a mini board for grab and go. Get a looper strip for the front of the big board so that you never need to step over pedals. Done.

[@Nick-Nasty]

I'm on my 3rd setup on my board, and it's just a learning experience. Gets better every time.

[@Zuhlsmann1]

Few things are as frustrating as cable issues in the middle of a show. Earlier this spring I got rid of all of my solder-less cables because they were not reliable anymore. I'm at the stage where I'm building my board and doing a ton of research on possible purchases. I would like to fit a lot into a small space too as I have a Novo 24 as well. My plan is to get a switcher. Have that hooked up to the 6 pedals at the top of my board. Then purchase "risers" from Pedaltrain to elevate the ones that are closest to the switcher thus making it much easier to switch on and off without hitting anything else. If I were you I would definitely look at the possibility of using the risers. Pedaltrain sells them and I believe they're pretty inexpensive. They make them to fit one, two or three pedals. Could be a simpler solution to the issue. Another idea would be to have multiple boards. You play a lot so it seems like it would be worth it. Sorry for the long comment, I've been in my first gigging band for just about a year and appreciate the hell out of the advice you give.

[@alfredadrianbasino2205]

in my opinion, you need to downsizing your pedalboard. Since you have bad stocking dirt, remove the canyon. As you mention, you have redundancy in modulation, remove the trem, so that you have lots of space, then change them with disaster switch pedal for easiest way to dial all your pedals..hopefully it will help..

[@bobbreckenkamp4641]

Great video with a lot of great points. I do a lot of fly dates and the motto "less is more", is more important than ever. This video hit the key issue in that when something goes wrong, it's always just minutes before curtains are up and you don't have time to start pulling shit apart to see what is going on. Talk about stressful. I play country so I am lucky to not need as many pedals, just 6 including a tuner. I try to also pick pedals with dual function. Since I use slap back 98% of the time, I can easily combine reverb/delay into either my Wampler Etheral or a Dispatch master. I set the reverb and forget it. Same with the delay. I also like to use smaller pedals when possible. The Wampler Tumnus is small and is a great option. I also use an inexpensive and small Mooer Pitchbox for my chorus. It's just one sound, but it only gets used 2-3 times so it's cool. It's not what I have on my main (big) board that I get to use on bus runs, but it works fine for a 60-90 minute fly-show. And there's room to get to everything fast....THAT IS SO IMPORTANT...... The power supply is smaller, too. And it all fits in a laptop bag that fits into my carry on backpack together with a few clothes......and my guitar flight case doubles as my suitcase for the rest of my clothes!! Smells like dirty sox now.........sorry to be long winded. Great video!!!

[@toddklein4076]

Rhett...get a loop switcher!!! One with memory like the G2 so you can use any combination of pedals at any time. I use the joyo pxl pro, but if I could afford the G2 I would get that

[@pistolgoo]

Best way to build a board is to start off with only a few essentials and then add more as you go, if a pedal doesn't work you will know straight away.

[@michaelkelly6583]

As far as I’m concerned this video ought to be the primer for anyone looking to set up a board. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[@joedave3483]

Great vid. For anyone using/splitting their modulation FX through an FX loop. I had similar volume pedal issues. Saved a ton of space by taking my volume pedal off the board

[@joedave3483]

With the volume pedal off the board you can stand anywhere with it and you’re not straightjacketed to your pedalboard. It’s also very quick to flip pre/post reverbs or delays if you want to change tail dynamics.

[@The5thGen]

Thank you for sharing. I have always used only one or two pedals without a board. But, now, I want to make a board. Your video is very helpful.

[@passionplayer7]

Great point about pedals being too close, I got the Novo 32 just to give me extra space between pedals, Paul Gilbert mentions this constantly.

[@MrDavemiley]

Can you say . . . Loop switcher ? Gigrig, RJM ??

[@cometoyoursenses9310]

Buy a delay pedal which is smaller than timeline and has also lots of options (example: tc nova delay) put it at the end of the pedalboard (remove the bigsky and timeline) with the h9 max. You will have lots of space and enough for delay and reverb.

[@maxisyourfriend]

I feel like I'm looking at a mirror image of myself a few years back. Two things: A programmable looper is one of the best investments you can make after a tuner and an isolated power box (hint: If you're comfortable soldering, there are DIY options out there for pretty cheap). Take off some of the pedals you're not using to make room for it. There's nothing better than being able to make presets to call up without tap-dancing. Number Two: To fix the power problems, daisy chain. Daisy chaining gets a real bad rap, but in the 12 years I've played guitar (8 of which I've been using pedals, 4 of those I was building them), I've rarely found problems with them. Most of the bad rap comes from companies or salesmen trying to sell you isolated power boxes. Most pedals don't require anything close to 250mA of current, or even 100mA! Just looking at your board, I think you could get away with chaining 4-5 of those pedals out of one 9V 250mA jack on a standard isolated power supply with no sound or performance issues. You can either measure the current draw of each pedal yourself or often the current draw will be printed somewhere in the user-manual. Just be sure not to confuse which pedals might be tip-positive.

[@duel2k7]

The reason the colourbox didn't work with the fuzzes is because it'll have a low impedance output. Most fuzzes like a high impedance signal to sound as expected. This is the reason they usually go first in the signal chain. You planned to use the lightspeed and vertex the most, then why not have them at the front of the board?

[@bjornkommedal9364]

You can power two OD pedals using the same power out, you just need some Y cables. Their consumption is minimal, and I've never had any noise issues or other problems combining two OD pedals on the same circuit.

[@hukl3945]

I bought myself a Quartermaster 8 from GigRig (Daniel from That Pedal Show) and that allows me to access all effects at the bottom of the board. I'm limited to 8 Pedals unless I put some in front or after. But I find it just the right amount to cover everything in sounds I need. I'm using the Evidence Audio solderless cables which are fantastic - power supply is the fantastic CIOKS DC10. I"m super happy with this board - which is a NOVO 24 as well. I've sent you a picture on twitter.

[@kuzniak]

Kudos for sharing your failure - I know how much courage that requires, but it was of great value to me. I'm myself planning a board of similar size myself - and your video just boosted the previous messages how essential a simple loop switcher might be for my setup, or how I should really plan to have an "empty space for the extra pedal" built into the design. Good luck rebuilding this one. I am confident that you'll end up with a marvellous setup now!

[@OutstandingBill1]

I second that - kudos to Rhett

[@epiphanysymptom-crisloren7177]

My two cents, if I had your board (bigger than my pedal train FLY), I would cut my stomp box types in half and incorporate a midi switcher. One like the Boss Es-5 or Me-3. You could make saved chains and even incorporate your (hopefully less) stomps in three loops. And for anything you'd want to sync with a daw or to the tempo clock- the Me-3 has built in multi-effects processor too-while being able to do your program changes in your strymon and eventide pedals.

[@TaraSueSalusso]

I’d love to know about your power supply and where are you have it fitted to your board. I hope you find allow that works well for you on your next paddleboard version.

[@andrebrito3816]

What about a looper/Switcher? Really would like to hear your opinion..I am about to purchase a one control one.

[@ThatFairyBoy]

From my perspective my pedalbard build is never "final"; I think part of the enjoyment in using a board is flexibility in trying out different equipment and sounds. If I find im not using a pedal anymore, take it away, and that frees up space either to give more room for the other pedals or to be replaced by another one I want to try out

[@MrEhf111]

Very true and important point,

[@gusecheverri7439]

Nice looking board, although i see what you mean about having too much in a small space. I think you have the solution already, if the H9 can take the place of 2 or 3 pedals then take them out. While you're at it, take out the Colorbox as well. You free up space on the power supply and more space on the board so you can rearrange pedals so they get enough room for you to stomp on them without activating other pedals or moving knob settings. good luck

[@michaelchicolabarbera5071]

Appreciate the candid perspective. It helps.

[@stevethebeeline44]

I'd try this myself. Remove: Colour Box - Empress - Bit Commander - Fuzz 8 Pedals + volume pedal on the board: 1. Poly Tune 2. Boost Pedal 3. Blue Pedal (bottom right - what is that?) 4. Steel String 5. Light Speed 6. H9 7. Timeline 8. Big Sky. Get Fuzz tones from stacking your 2 OD's and 1 Boost like your other video. Maybe get an 8 loop bypass strip. Simple set up and avoids cable and power fails.

[@ronnieeagleandthealchemist2333]

All those midi pedals and no midi control?

[@MrSadriabi]

You can use a loop switcher. I know they are not cheap. You can also leave the volume pedal off the board if it is the first or the last in line. I do that with my cry baby.

[@gr328]

The GigRig modular power supply is great

[@aaronmccartney3102]

Gavin Reid agreed. You can grow it too, which helps a lot.

[@bpdarragh]

I think the thing is with boards is that gain stacking can add a load of pedals (OD/Distortion/boost etc). So very very tempted to set my amp up dirty/overriven and ride the guitar volume. However, OD/Distortion/boost pedals come in so many different flavours. Maybe an equaliser to boost/cut frequencies are what I need?....mmmmh....GASSSSSSSS!!!

[@V1C10US]

Wear some boots that come to a point at the toe for better switch precision. I love pedals, but modeling solutions are becoming more and more practical. have you used Fractal or Helix?

[@rondunagan6339]

If you’re not happy with your board give it to me.. 🤪

[@RudyAyoub]

Ron Dunagan i'm giving away a pedal soOoOn

[@jerrymartinez2160]

@@RudyAyoub hey I'll take it

[@MrKaufmana1]

I finally sat down and watched this video. I know it’s old (especially in terms of KZbin) , and I guess I’m just gonna throw my two cents on here. I love the JHS color box. It’s one of my favorite devices ever built, but it only ever sounds good to me plugging my guitar into it, and then going straight out to the board. There are certain sounds it does, it does them really well, but it does not play well with anything else in my opinion. The clean tone from another brick in the wall? I can mail that with the color box. Revolution by the Beatles? Perfect. But again I have to go straight into the pedal, straight into the board. I remember seeing Jerry McPherson, on tour with Amy Grant years ago. He had a giant pedal board, with maybe half a dozen pedals on it. There was so much space between every pedal. When I asked him about it, he said it was because if something broke, he could wire around it really quickly. Also, he knew he would never step on anything incorrectly, as each pedal had so much space around it. I appreciate you sharing your failures. I think as people, we learn more from attempting something and feeling then we do by getting it right the first time. Appreciate you sharing this one a lot parents

[@fentonwinmill]

I'm surprised you don't use something like the gigrig. Not only can you switch combinations of FX like a multi-fx but you can also change the order.

[@kaseycollins2358]

I really like my Disaster area DPC 5 controller which loops five pedals and controls four midi devices, and controls the looper on the timeline. It also changes my amp channels. Program it per set to change everything with one button. Pretty sweet. (They don’t pay me- I just love it) it does require power, but it’s worth sacrificing something.

Use that toppers buttons on the switches that are too close and far from your feet . And put your volume pedal at the far right of the board. That would help a lot. Cheers.

[@jonnyfive5000]

I have the same board :) I eventualy got rid if my volume pedal and use my volume control on my guitar. I can think of a few ways of making more room on your board. You may want to set a swell setting on your timeline. And definitely get rid of what youre not using at your gigs. Doesnt mean you couldnt experiment with the non gigged pedals at home. I personally dont have much on the middle row of my novo 24 because I had the same problem of stepping on stuff I didnt want to and it became to crowded for my eyes. I wasnt able to focus because there was "to much" to choose from and to look at. I have about 11 pedals on my board and one is the exp for my neunaber expanse which are powered together. My tuner powers the 10th pedal that my power supply cant. Your h9 is a great "multi effect" Id definitely dive into that cause like you mentioned, you really like a lot of what it does and that should give you some more space to work with.

[@JeanFrancoisDesrosiers]

You're not so far from a perfectly usable board. Just remove 2 pedals, raise the second row and space out the volume pedal. There is no such thing as a perfect board: it's constant refinement.

[@EricRennerYT]

It may sound crazy to you. But the Line 6 Helix is crazy good. Changed the way I gig. At least give it a thought. Everything you'd ever want. It's a MIDI mastermind. And I get more comments on my tone now that I ever have before. I'm not trying to sell you. Just hoping you get it all sorted out. Good luck man.

[@SethDStanley]

Helix is the future! Literally every problem he listed here is solved by the Helix! Such an amazing piece of gear! I'm never going back to analog.

[@joelkeane3160]

Good video. I think with pedal boards we get sucked in by putting together something that looks good. I’ve been there, but the foolishness one feels after playing a gig with such a board is quite horrifying. It really hits home when you fuck up your playing because you’ve chosen style over substance.

[@snkgn]

Called it! As soon as I saw the Volume Pedal position you just know its going to catch everything else.

[@richardmorris363]

Ditto the idea of getting a loop switcher with midi. Take full advantage of the Eventide and Strymon pedals.

[@BillDutton]

Don’t beat yourself up...we guitar players are an odd lot. It’s a vicious cycle that we both love and loathe for sure. That said...less is more...or go with a tiered board and a pro switching system. Always enjoy your videos.

[@splashesin8]

It's a live and learn thing❣️ Might could stick on Velcro something to mod the height of your volume pedal. Could crazy glue some kind of bead bling or key cover, to one of your couple of close switches. I know the cable situation still would be there. Just some stuff I'd probably try in the moment. Tactile stuff just different enough.

[@sergeykobzev3645]

Thanks so much for your video with the pedalboard ! Are use volume pedal separate from pedal board right on the floor and also it’s good and comfortable for the body position for playing live music a couple hours