BigSteve22
Hero Member
- Messages
- 2,798
I have only recently developed an interest in using effects pedals. Aside from an amp's built in reverb, and a noise gate, I never really used anything. A few years ago I purchased a Fender Mustang I modeling amp, and I must say I enjoyed playing with the various built in effects. This, I believe, is where the infection started.....
First pedal, after the Boss NS-2 noise gate, was a Korg Pitchblack tuner. Very handy to have a tuner right in line with the signal. Several months ago I saw a demo of Electro Harmonic's Pitch Fork pitch shifter. I was hooked, and recently bought one to play with. A few weeks ago I heard a TC Electronics Corona Mini Chorus, I now have one of those too.
The wife was pretty understanding about the tangle of patch cords and power bricks arrayed on the living room floor, but I'm also pretty sure the understanding would soon reach it's limit. So to tidy things up a might I decided to get a pedal board. I was surprised at the cost of these things. Even the some of the simple "framed plywood" ones from Rauch are over $100, so I decided to make my own. It's small, only hold 4 pedal or so, but I needed to see how it would go together and figured that would be a good size for a proof of design, and I could make it from stock on hand. (Except for the electronics.)
So here it is. It's got a Danner power supply built in, and 2 locking feed thru jacks. Solid oak frame, screwed together, with oak dowels covering the heads, and an oak faced plywood top.
A few lessons learned. First off, although these things ain't exactly rocket science, there's a lot more to them than just a wooden frame to keep stuff off the floor. The internal components take up more room than I had expected, so everything's packed kinda tightly together in there. (I had intended to take a shot or two of the inside, but after doing a fit up, I decided it would be a total PITA to tear it apart again, so....)
Biggest pain was the rectangular cut out for the power inlet, and I only decided to do it after the frame was assembled, which didn't make it any easier. The jack assemblies require a 7/8" hole but the fit is damned tight, and I needed to sand down the inside locking buttons to make it a little easier. (BTW, Rauch wanted $24.99 apiece for the jacks, found them on ebay for less than $8!)
My next one will be a little larger, and incorporate a few things I learned this time around. But for the moment, this will have to do.
First pedal, after the Boss NS-2 noise gate, was a Korg Pitchblack tuner. Very handy to have a tuner right in line with the signal. Several months ago I saw a demo of Electro Harmonic's Pitch Fork pitch shifter. I was hooked, and recently bought one to play with. A few weeks ago I heard a TC Electronics Corona Mini Chorus, I now have one of those too.
The wife was pretty understanding about the tangle of patch cords and power bricks arrayed on the living room floor, but I'm also pretty sure the understanding would soon reach it's limit. So to tidy things up a might I decided to get a pedal board. I was surprised at the cost of these things. Even the some of the simple "framed plywood" ones from Rauch are over $100, so I decided to make my own. It's small, only hold 4 pedal or so, but I needed to see how it would go together and figured that would be a good size for a proof of design, and I could make it from stock on hand. (Except for the electronics.)
So here it is. It's got a Danner power supply built in, and 2 locking feed thru jacks. Solid oak frame, screwed together, with oak dowels covering the heads, and an oak faced plywood top.
A few lessons learned. First off, although these things ain't exactly rocket science, there's a lot more to them than just a wooden frame to keep stuff off the floor. The internal components take up more room than I had expected, so everything's packed kinda tightly together in there. (I had intended to take a shot or two of the inside, but after doing a fit up, I decided it would be a total PITA to tear it apart again, so....)
Biggest pain was the rectangular cut out for the power inlet, and I only decided to do it after the frame was assembled, which didn't make it any easier. The jack assemblies require a 7/8" hole but the fit is damned tight, and I needed to sand down the inside locking buttons to make it a little easier. (BTW, Rauch wanted $24.99 apiece for the jacks, found them on ebay for less than $8!)
My next one will be a little larger, and incorporate a few things I learned this time around. But for the moment, this will have to do.