Custom Pedalboard Build 2021

This is my second full pedalboard build. My first board was a huge success, however, after using it for only 3 months I grew to hate it. So I built a new one! Success!

The pedals are wired around a Electro-Harmonix Tri-Parallel Mixer (Green box), so that I can blend in girthy heavy distorted tones on top of light and fluffy ambient textures.

Scroll further down for build pictures!

The completed board, top view

Completed board, side view

Cable management is relaxing!

Underneath the upper deck, showing a couple “Always on” pedals.

The Build Process!

Every good design starts with a plan! The board was fully modelled in SketchUp, and pedals were laid out for a perfect fit. Bonus, room for expansion.

The rear of the board.

Start of the build process. Plywood was primed and painted black, resulting in a beautiful smooth and durable finish. Aluminum stock was sized, pre-drilled, and notched.

Lower panel built. Parts of the upper deck can be seen behind.

Upper deck parts cut and sized. I cut some smaller spacer blocks for a perfectly spaced layout.

Upper deck parts married to aluminum C-channel.

The aluminum C-channel had to be notched out so that it would sit flat on the lower supports.

Upper deck attached to the main aluminum support structure. I used CA glue to temporarily attach all the parts together, ensuring nothing moved around when screwed together.

All aluminum parts were pre-drilled and countersunk.

Dry-fit of the upper deck, auxiliary deck and lower deck.

Testing the hinge mechanisms to make sure everything is lining up correctly!

I built a custom interface box for this board. Here is a picture of the wiring half complete. An interface box allows me to insert my instrument cables into a device that is NOT an expensive guitar pedal.

This will save wear and tear on my actual pedals, and all the parts in the interface are easily replaceable.

Interface box complete, and tested. Everything worked first try.

Interface box installed in the now completed board.

Power supply wired in. Its wired to a heavy duty switch (with fuse), one button to turn the whole board on, and one location to plug the power cable into.

Rough layout of the pedals, things still moved around a bit from this particular photo.

The completed board placed on top of my old board. Smaller footprint, but MORE space for pedals. Also, much MUCH lighter. The entire board (With pedals) weighs in at about 50lbs.