A while back, I found myself in need of a pedal board to hold a modest amount of hardware for various gigs. I only really needed a tuner, compressor, and DI, but I made it a bit bigger so it could hold a few more things. A fuzz and then a utility slot for whatever I might find myself playing.
Instead of buying something I, of course, made my way to the workshop, dug out some scraps, and built my own. It turned out perfect for my needs and has traveled with me to many sessions. No complaints.
However, I’ve been getting into something different lately that has changed my pedal board needs. I’ve always been attracted to ambient/experimental music and tried producing some in 2024, but wasn’t a good enough musician yet to make any headway. So, I’m diving back into that world with my bass and guitar pedals!
The last time I tried this, it was in the computer with a DAW and lots of plugins and I got overwhelmed with choice. This time, I’m intentionally working with limited options and budget-friendly choices to find my way.
Once again, I opted to build my own board. I learned a few things from the first one and went with much thinner wood for weight savings. I also didn’t see the need for an opening in the middle of the pedal path and opted for just one central opening between the two halves. This worked out well with the odd sized pedals like the Pigtronix Infinity 2.
The original board is white oak top and walnut base. The new ambient board is cherry top and white oak base. I love that even fully loaded you can see the cherry between the pedals. I love looking down to adjust something and see my handiwork. Not only did I build the board, I built the majority of the patch cables between the ambient pedals. It was a super fun process.
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