DIY - PEDAL BOARD SUPPLIERS

Started by Elantric, February 01, 2012, 11:27:19 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Elantric


Elantric

Make your own custom pedalboard with these cool modular units

http://www.digitalaudio.com/product/stompblox-modular-pedalboard/

One thing's for sure - guitarists (and bass players) love pedals. There's literally millions of stomp box effects floating around out there, with new ones being released practically on a daily basis. They give us a huge variety of sounds - colors for our musical palette - and because of that, it's fairly rare to find a player who hasn't collected at least a handful of them. Once your setup expands beyond more than a couple of pedals, it's time to start thinking about putting together a pedalboard. A good pedalboard can keep your effects ready to go without the constant setup hassles. The first step is to lay out your essential pedals and get an idea of how much space you're going to need and how large of a pedalboard to buy, but what if you want to add something else to your rig later? With most pedalboards, once you've used all the available space you're stuck choosing between not adding the cool new pedal, swapping out another pedal to make room for it, or ditching your current board and buying something larger. Digital Audio Labs has come up with a rather interesting solution to this dilemma with their Stompblox Modular Pedalboards. Let's take a look at what makes them unique.   

StompBlox Pedalboard package contents



What You Need To Know

The Stompblox modular pedalboard line currently consists of three products; Stompblox, Stompblox Extend and the Stompblox Riser. All three are made from metal and heavily powder-coated in black. These modules use tabs and slots built into the units themselves, as well as a few strategically located permanently attached thumb screws to hold and lock everything in place while allowing you the freedom to expand the size of your board whenever you need to. The modular design also allows you to customize the layout of your board, and to change it at will.
StompBlox layouts

The 12.5" W x 8.5" D x 2" H Stompblox unit is the main building block of the system. The height of the rear of the unit can be elevated to 3" so that the board sits angled instead of flat. As you can see from the images, the deck area of the Stompblox has lots of regularly spaced cutouts. Not only does this reduce weight, but it also provides plenty of places to route your wiring beneath the deck of the unit. Flipping the StompBlox over, you'll notice that beneath those holes in the deck are tabs, and those tabs also have slots machined into them that serve as built-in anchor points for your cable ties.

StompBlox underside

Stompblox Extend is designed to attach to the rear of any Stompblox unit. It also measures 12.5" wide, and extends the depth of the Stompblox board by another 4.75" when attached. Unlike the open bottom design of the Stompblox, it has a heavily slotted bottom tray and removable top tray; this allows you to mount power supplies and other items inside. One internal thumb screw that remains attached to the unit is included for connecting to modules to the side of the Stompblox Extend, while two large removable screws at the rear hold the top plate in place.

StompBlox Extend top front
StompBlox Extend side viewStompBlox Extend with top plate removed and power supply inside

Stompblox Riser is a 2" H x 4" W x 6" L modular riser for raising pedals above the surface of the Stompblox. They can be snapped into any of six different positions on a Stompblox, and up to three Stompblox Risers can fit on one Stompblox. As with the Stompblox and Stompblox Extend, there are pass-through holes on each surface for your cable routing.

Stompblox RiserRiser mounted on StompBlox

Digital Audio Labs thoughtfully includes accessories with the various units to help you complete your board. No, they don't include any pedals or a power supply - you'll need to provide those yourself, but they do give you a decent amount of hook and loop (velcro) material to use for mounting your pedals to your pedalboard, as well as mounting brackets, zip ties and hardware for mounting a power supply inside the StompBlox Extend, and extension support "feet" that allow you to angle the deck of your board a bit more if you prefer.

StompBlox with feet extended

Each StompBlox unit also includes a nice heavy-duty bag for storing and transporting the board, with a large and handy second pouch for storing your cables in. Even better, two of the bags can be fully unzipped, laid out flat, and then zipped together to form a larger bag that is approximately 13.5" x 26", which is large enough to fit a pair of StompBlox boards with StompBlox Extend units attached to each of them inside.


Limitations

The StompBlox Risers allow you to raise individual pedals, but there is no way to set up a two tiered pedalboard that allows you to place pedals partially under the tier with the StompBlox Riser units. However,  you can use three Risers to create a second level across the entire rear half of a StompBlox unit. The underside of a traditional open-front second tier is typically used for cable routing, power supplies, direct boxes, buffers and other items you typically don't need to access while playing, and the design of the Stompblox products easily accommodates those sorts of items; all three Stompblox units have plenty of room for "under the deck" audio and power cable routing, and the Stompblox Extend has enough space inside for power supplies, direct boxes and other bulky items that you need, but want to hide out of the way.


Conclusion

The StompBlox modular pedalboard products represent a really cool idea that I think a lot of musicians will appreciate. Even better, that idea has been well-implemented; it's obvious that a lot of thought has gone into the products, from the ease of assembling the modules to the pass-throughs and anchor points for cables, built-in adjustable feet, flat or angled deck capabilities and thumb screws that remain attached so that you don't lose them. The machining is also first rate. Everything fits together easily and with precision. I also appreciate how the edges are all well rounded, with no sharp corners to cut yourself on.

Being able to adapt your board to suit your needs is a game-changer. With a Stompblox board players will no longer have to start all over with a new, larger board once they have outgrown their current one. Instead of losing money when you sell your old, used one, your StompBlox board can simply be expanded. Change your mind about how you want to arrange the modules? Unlike a traditional custom-built board you can reconfigure the layout and shape at will, going from a basic rectangular board to a U or an L shaped one as your needs and preferences dictate. The adaptability of the StompBlox system means that you can adjust your board to suit the gig on a case by case basis. Need to take a smaller board to a gig with a tightly cramped stage? Just remove a Stompblox module or two with the essential pedals from your larger board and take that with you. Solidly built, with unprecedented flexibility, StompBlox boards are a real winner, and bound to be very popular with players everywhere.


Resources

Stopblox $59.99 MSRP, Stompblox Extend $34.99 MSRP, Stompblox Riser $9.99 MSRP (available direct from Digital Audio Labs)

Digital Audio Labs product web page

http://www.digitalaudio.com/product/stompblox-modular-pedalboard/


Elantric

#27
Ebay Seller : protaitone1012   


Sells many Build it your self kits with a pack for $12.99 with free sipping includes painted metal MXR size chassis, four 1/4" jacks, one 3PDT foot switch  and wiring plans for External Loop stomp box: often cheaper to use these as the basis for your own new branstorm DIY pedal.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/protaitone1012/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=

Elantric

#28
If you need to run 8 signals  + shield with a quality plug - consider using these

Very high quality! About the size of a MIDI plug

http://www.ebay.com/itm/151314160121?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
5pcs Aviation Plug 8-Pin 16mm GX16-8 Metal Male Female Panel Connector Silver  $7.00 with shipping



Hurricane

Quote from: tekrytor on May 07, 2012, 09:37:55 PM
Update on my controller projects, good news on the HighlyLiquid CPU. I finished the foot controller MIDI side and it now gives me 4 extra footswitches and 1 extra expression pedal for use with control assigns. Photos below.

I'm now moving on to the XBEEs and the in/on guitar MIDI controller with the second HighlyLiquid CPU. I should have the XBEEs working later this week, if work permits me some "play" time. I would have had all this wrapped up two weeks ago, but I started a new job and the hours are a bit intense at first. Gotta pay the rent before working my projects.

If you want to see the code for this application of the HighlyLiquid CPU using 4 Normally Open momentary switches and the potentiometer in the footpedal to send MIDI CC# 1-4 on the switch LO to HI transitions and MIDI CC# 12 for EXP, see my second post on the following thread at HighlyLiquid:
http://forum.highlyliquid.com/showthread.php?t=804

I set the GR-55 controller ASSIGNs Source Mode to MOMENTARY for the switches and select the corresponding CC# to the switch to toggle delay or distortion, etc ON/OFF.

Basically, I'm using these to drive GR-55 controller assigns. This is a 5-on-the-floor and soon, I will have 5 on the guitar also. I'm thinking of adding two or four additional switches on the guitar mounted controller for MIDI PC or Bank inc/decrement to free up the S1/S2 switches for other things. Since there are only 8 control assigns, I will have a few spares for PC messages.

Sorry, the photos are not better. I will also take some better inside shots once I add the XBEE. For now, the third and fourth photos are the M-Audio Black Box before, and photos one and two are after, connected to the GR-55. I was going for a small footprint that's lightweight but adds a lot of control options. I picked up the Black Box for about $35 a few years ago. For this project, I yanked the cable, added two more momentary switches, two MIDI jacks, a MIDI activity LED, the HighlyLiquid CPU, and a power jack. I'm running it off a standard 9VDC effects wart. Oh, and when it's all done, it will have an XBEE sticker and be BLUE too!!!

Really interesting project ,it's got my attention thanks for posting this .

Could such a set up as this control my Roland GR33 and/or my T.C.Helicon Vocal Live 3 X and duplicate the function of the T.C.Helicon Switch 6 ?


And also function/trigger/control the expression pedal of the VL3 X

EZ :

HR


admin

https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/Pimp_Your_Pedalboard_7_Pedalboard_Add_Ons_to_Consider


Pimp Your Pedalboard: 7 Pedalboard Add-Ons to Consider
Rebecca Dirks
October 21, 2009
1
a A
We've all been there. You roll into a gig and the headlining band takes one look at your whip and says, "Maaaaan, that rack is whack." Well, we're here with all the bling you need to school the posers on your next gig—spinners for your pedalboard's wheels, custom flame paint job, and an iced-out handle.

But seriously, sometimes a small, inexpensive improvement, or two, can go a long way to freshening up your rig and making life onstage a lot easier. We've rounded up eight such improvements, ranging from items you won't be able to live without, to a few more frivolous toys for the arsenal.

Pedal Riser
The Pedal Riser from StageTrix debuted at Winter NAMM '09, and we were immediately struck by its simplicity and effectiveness. A discrete metal platform fitted with Velcro, the pedal riser has two purposes: cleaning up your pedalboard and making sure your stomps are accurate.

The latter is achieved quite simply. The Pedal Riser's 1 1/16" height raises your back line of pedals just enough to keep your feet clear of the pedals in the front. The real value to the Pedal Riser, however, is in organization. It is designed to cleanly run your pedals' cords beneath and through the product to eliminate clutter. To make the most of the Pedal Riser, you might want to look into custom cable kits (see below) for the cleanest board possible. The Pedal Riser is solid and well-built of 18-gauge steel, with cleanly-applied Velcro on top (female) and bottom (male). The company also offers compatible Velcro Pedal Fastener kits for $9.99 for a pack of three. The Pedal Riser is certainly a professional-grade product, though outfitting a board with four or five of these might become a bit costly.

MSRP $23.99
pedalriser.com

Batt-o-Meter
The Batt-o-Meter is a new product from Keith McMillen instruments that they've dubbed, "the world's first battery tester for musicians." Outfitted with a special 1/4" plug called the Power Probe and a side testing panel, the Batt-o-Meter tests voltage, hours remaining, percent of battery life, and type of battery in any 9V pedal (or guitar).

When we first heard about the Batt-o-Meter, we were skeptical of its usefulness. When it arrived, however, we found ourselves grabbing every pedal in range (and thanks to this month's pedal roundup, there were a lot) and testing its battery health. We can definitely see where a person who doesn't use AC power would find this as a welcome relief from unscrewing back panels and licking batteries. For those who use active guitars, it is particularly appealing.

The product is easy to use—insert the plug into a 1/4" input jack, hold the Test button and read the display (a key to the abbreviations is found on the product's packaging). The Batt-o-Meter also can test 9V and AA or AAA batteries externally on its side panel. The device runs on a 9V battery itself, which—of course—it can test by holding the power button.

MSRP $34.95
keithmcmillen.com



Relentless tweakers pay attention—the Pedal Flex is up your alley. Fashioned with a knob on one end of a wire and a clasp section on the other end, the Pedal Flex transfers your tweaks to the pedal below. A mic clip is included to mount the Pedal Flex at a convenient height.

Even if you're a dial-it-and-leave-it type when it comes to live shows, the Pedal Flex does have some studio or practice applications— you can dial in your sound without interrupting your flow to bend down and tweak the knobs. While it's not for everyone, if you've got the cash and the drive, the Pedal Flex could change the way you look at using pedals.

MSRP $69.99
pedalflex.com

P3 Phantom Power
Also announced at Winter NAMM '09, the P3 Phantom Powered Pedal System is the first way to power your pedals without a power supply or battery—instead, the power comes through the cables connecting your pedals.

You can use the P3 system in a number of ways, but the least invasive method is an external kit. Produced as part of Fuch's Plush pedals line, the external kit features a Power Station and Power Splitter. The Power Stationis a self-contained DC power supply that feeds power to the Power Splitter, which then distributes the power to your pedals.

Existing pedals and amps can be modified to run the P3 Phantom Power without the external kit by Fuchs, AnalogMan and Barber Electronics. Currently the P3 system runs only 9V power, but the company says they are working on 12V, 18V and 24V compatibility.

Plush Power Station MSRP $189
Plush Power Splitter $149
Full Kit MSRP $295
p3dals.com

Custom Cabling
One of the best, easiest and least expensive ways to make your pedalboard clean and organized is with custom cabling. George L's was an early pioneer in the realm of customizable cables. You can purchase George L's cable by the foot in red, black, blue, purple or white, and with either brass and nickelor gold-plated 1/4" right angle or straight plugs. No stripping or soldering is required for the George L's cables, and they offer a lifetime warranty on the plugs.

George L's offers seven different colors of jackets, meaning you can mix and match colored cable and jackets to color code your pedalboard for convenience. They also have cable clippers and testers available.

Planet Waves also offers a Pedal Board Kit with 10' of cable, 10 right-angle plugs and a mini cable cutter. This is a simple plug-and-play solution with solderless 24K gold-plated plugs. The Planet Waves kit is as easy as cutting the desired length (cables are pre-marked in foot increments), loosening a screw on the plug, inserting and twisting the cable and tightening the screw. The company has a very simple and clear instructional video on their website.

In addition to the kits, Planet Waves offers a Cable Cutter/Tester ($30) and bulk cable (25', 50' and 250' increments) and plugs. George L's Cable $1.95/ft. Plugs $31 – $33 for four georgelsstore.com Planet Waves Pedal Board Kit $96 Bulk Cable $32 – $304 Plugs $10 – $15 each planetwaves.com

Pedalboard Lights
We love pedalboard lights both for making your board stand out on stage and making it easier to see. For the latter, Mighty Bright makes the aptly named Pedal Board Light (pictured), which features two flexible arms, one with red LEDs and one with white LEDs. The red LEDs light the pedalboard discretely, while the white LEDs provide brighter light. The light is powered by either AAA batteries or an AC adapter sold separately.

If you're looking for something a little flashier, a colored LED bar may be the way to go. You can buy LED rope lighting from Wal-Mart or Target (particularly around the holidays), but a company called Monkey Dream is making instrumentspecific LED bars. Also ideal for amps or cabs, the bars will also more than do the trick for a pedalboard. The bars run on 12V power and are attached by Velcro. They are offered in 10", 13" or 16" increments in either blue or green, and custom lengths are available.

Mighty Bright MSRP $34.99
mightybright.com

Monkey Dream MSRP $20 – $30
monkeydream.com

Neutrik TRS Locking Connector
When you're ready to get serious about your pedalboard, Neutrik locking jacks are a great addition. Used by many of the custom pedalboard companies, the Neutrik jacks protect you (or your bandmates) from accidentally unplugging your cables.

Available with either black or nickel metal housing and silver or gold contacts, the jacks lock automatically when the plug is inserted. Unlocking is as simple as pressing the red tab on the jack. Installation takes a little more effort than the other ideas presented here, but the peace of mind is worth it.

MSRP $12.99
neutrik.com

The Flip-Flopper from Pedal-Racks
The Flip-Flopper is a brand-new, potentially must-have product from Pedal-Racks. There are a number of DIY projects out there to create a box that swaps the order of your pedals in your signal chain. The Flip-Flopper puts that idea in a one-button box with six input/output jacks. At press time, a Flip-Flopper was on its way to us—we'll have more information on its functionality when we get our hands on it.

MSRP $119
pedalboards.com

admin

#34


admin


Elantric

#37


http://www.st-professional.com/cms/en/products/tag/Push%20Button%20switch



Push button switch, 4PDT, momentary circuitry , PCB mounting Made in Italy.

The switch box is made of plastic . The actuation part is made of brass turned nickel plated.

The contatcs are made in bronze gold plated, and are Self-cleaning in order to guarantee a safe and durable life.

We tested the parts for mare than 20.000 cycle of  actuations.

This switch has a solid structure and makes it ideal for the most demanding applications.

The product is supplied with a two nuts and one washer.

http://www.st-professional.com/cms/en/products/content/pushbutton-switches
http://www.st-professional.com/cms/en/

Elantric






admin


admin

#44
My bit of trivia to share for pedal Board Builders who use a mix of Boss Line 6 and DigiTech pedals


I found these right angle DC power cables with the internal Center is a spring type which can reliably accommodate both 2.1 mm and 2.5 mm DC power connections on FX pedals

CY 60cm DC Power 5.5 x 2.1mm / 2.5mm Male to 5.5 2.1/2.5mm Male Plug Cable Right Angled 90 Degree
https://www.amazon.com/Power-2-1mm-2-5mm-Angled-Degree/dp/B016BJGZ2U/ref=as_sl_pc_tf_til?tag=-20&linkCode=w00&linkId=&creativeASIN=B016BJGZ2U
DC Power 5.5 x 2.1mm / 2.5mm Male to 5.5 2.1/2.5mm Male Plug Cable
Right Angled 90 Degree Plug
Both connector are 5.5mm (outer)/2.5mm (inner) size
Also can work for 5.5/2.1mm socket
Length: 60cm

admin

#45

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/low-end-theory/869317-diy-breakout-box-rme-babyface.html

The construction was straightforward, particularly since the pinout is given in the manual. The most difficult part was tracking down the parts. In case anyone else is interested in building a similar box, here are my notes:
The most difficult parts to track down were MIDI plugs that fit in a standard D-series cutout. I eventually tracked these down (via an old GS thread) to Redco. Redco also has engraved label plates available, though my layout is simple enough that I didn't bother with labels.
Tracking down a reasonably-priced box was tough. There are some on eBay, but they lack the side cutout and cable gland. I bought the box from AudioCon (who offer a similar pre-made breakout box). I'm happy with the the quality, though I should note that they ship from Israel, so it took a couple of weeks to arrive.
RME's manual has all of the shields connecting to pin 9 on the d-sub connector. Based on comments on their forum, I found -- and confirmed with a multi-meter -- that only the headphone cable's shield goes to pin 9, and the other shields connect to the d-sub shell. I did the same.
Switchcraft makes a feed-through d-sub connector that fits in a d-series cutout and could be used in place of a permanently attached cable. It does not appear to be compatible with the extension cable included with the Babyface, though.
The standard straight d-sub hoods have absurdly small cable openings. The right-angle version (part 9H-RA at many vendors) is much better, though one of the locking screws has to pass between the cables. I just left it out.




Switchcraft EHMIDI2 D Series Midi Feedthru
https://www.redco.com/Switchcraft-EHMIDI2-D-Series-Midi-Feedthru.html
http://www.switchcraft.com/Drawings/EHMIDI2_CD.pdf
http://www.switchcraft.com/ProductSummary.aspx?Parent=1124

http://www.switchcraft.com/Category.aspx?Parent=1087



http://www.switchcraft.com/Documents/EDG4.pdf

admin

#46
https://blog.native-instruments.com/incorporating-effects-pedals-into-your-traktor-setup/





https://www.nicerackcanada.com/#latest-news

LOCATION
HOURS
388 Carlaw Avenue Suite 106-D
Toronto, Ontario Canada M4M 2T4



By Appointment call (647) 345-6433


admin

#48