Pedalboard Build - The Un-Handyman's Guide

A couple of years ago I was looking at pedalboards like the Pedaltrain models which seem to be slightly dominating the market at the moment trying to work out why they are so expensive. I could see that it makes sense to have an angled board so you can easily reach the pedals at the back of your board, plus the gaps between the rows leaves ample room for cabling to look tidy and discreet, but being a student I couldn't afford to pay over £100 for these luxuries, so I planned a way of making my own!

The only material I used was one long piece of wood cut to different lengths. I measured out the amount of space I'd need to occupy my current pedal selection, plus enough room for expansion, then ensured this would fit in my existing flight case (which it just about did), then did my initial sketches. I wanted to have four horizontal rows of wood spread equal distances apart, leaving plenty of room for cables but not too large a gap so that smaller "micro" pedals would not fall through the gaps. These four horizontal rows would be supported by three vertical columns, one at each side and one in the middle. Finally, the last piece of wood would be divided into two equal lengths and placed perpendicular to the top of the pedalboard to angle the pedalboard up slightly.

I worked out the length of wood I would require and what dimensions I wanted the wood to be, then went to my local wood shop and bought a piece. I then used my plan to cut this length of wood to the pre-calculated measurements - four long pieces, three slightly shorter pieces, and two shorter pieces.

Next I laid out all the pieces minus the two supporting bits and used a pencil to mark out where the screws would go. It wouldn't matter if I screwed into the wood from the top of the pedalboard, as I would be covering each row with velcro. After marking out where each screw would go, I measured the depth of the two parts of wood together and found screws which would be long enough to join the two pieces without coming out the bottom of the lower piece of wood. I then drilled holes into each of the screw markings, and finally screwed all the pieces together, including the two supporting pieces to the reader of the board.

I didn't immediately put any finishing on the pedalboard, I was quite happy with the unfinished wooden look at the time, however I have since finished it in a darker wood stain in a matte finish, which I think looks a bit better and doesn't stand out as much on stage. Of course everyone will have their own preferences about colour and finishing, but I would recommend attaching the velcro to the pedalboard before painting it or anything. This is because the strength of the velcro could pull off the paint and come attached. You will just have to be careful when painting it that you don't go over the edges of the velcro!

Hopefully you've enjoyed this little how-to piece about building a pedalboard. Please let me know if you choose to build a pedalboard similar to mine, and show me pictures! Make sure to be following The Pick on social media and remember a new review comes out every Wednesday.