Howdy Folks! We met up with Kerry "2smooth" Marshall and pimped his pedaltrain! We used a piece of laminated plywood from GoMc, and upgraded Kerry's rig to be more reliable, aesthetically appealing, and tour-proof. Would you do this upgrade to your Pedaltrain?
@@VertexEffectsInc This video came at the perfect time. I've been thinking of transitioning to flatboard, but now I don't have to. :) I can have the best of both worlds.
I can understand insetting the top of the board but why the bottom? Mason, I have seen several of your videos and one thing is common. You take a lot of interest in how each artist you are building for intends to use their board. Love that.👍👍👍👍
For me, one takeaway from this is don’t bother getting a Pedaltrain that you’ll need to add a board on top and get something that already has more top surface area like a Rockboard or a Temple Audio or anything similar and avoid the hassle of needing to modify.
Mason, you gotta get R&D working on a signature pedalboard system. I just put a Pedal Train board together (my first) and I'd love to do these modifications you did for Kerry. I don't have the time or skill to do it though. And I did so much research on different brands of systems and really, none of them felt perfect. If someone could design something that works right out of the box for 90% of the players out there, they'd corner the market. Great vid!
I don't use as many pedals as this and I have them in signal order, I actually never even thought about laying it out to optimise space and then cabling it signal wise if that makes sense. Thanks for another great video.
Awesome video, would really appreciate a video where you talk about how to solder DC power cables to length / best practice for reusing old cables (both patch cables and power).
It's not pronouced See-Ox, but like Chucks. Poul who runs the company is of Polish decent, hence the funky spelling/pronouciation. Their PSUs are build like tanks, and they deliver, I have them on my own, and have put them on other peoples boards, for the last 16 years, and they have never failed me.
great video,great work,cool ideal on the Pedal Train pimp job. Sweet playing and yes...that PRS is drool-worthy.By the by... 11 dislikes? That's just silly.
Mason, can you.also recommend a company that makes gig bags, or a tutorial on building a gig bag for.our boards if we don't want to go with a road case. Or even recommend a road/flight case. Thanks!
We kind of have a nontraditional system for how we do things, because it’s all going to RU-vid the structure requires a lot from the client, we also have an application process since we have so many inquiries every month and we only build about two rigs per month, you can email us and we can provide all the details info@vertexeffects.com
hello !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! kerry had taken a big kick in his face when he played after mason intervention!!!! Wouaaaaaa lolllllll Mason the doctor for sure men!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s a game changer - learned it from XTS in Nashville, it’s a smart idea to really maximize space so you don’t have to worry about having to hit the channels on the Pedaltrain for a solid Velcro mount. What color DGT!?
@@VertexEffectsInc it's a subtle violet with a 10 Top. Under stage lighting, it almost looks more brown. www.rainbowguitars.com/guitar/paul-reed-smith/dgt-purple/pr14208529/us
@@VertexEffectsInc I'm a country player but when I started doing church gigs years ago I started youtubing all his videos. Total monster. Plus you gave me some ideas on pimpin my pedaltrain 👍
Have to say the lay out you ended up with would actually have fitted on the pedaltrain just fine, seems to me that he just dint want a flat board like your normal set ups dnt think turning a pedaltrain into a flat board is really the solution if the PT isnt working plenty of other boards that you can pick from, still a super clean build as always however.
Hey Rohadt, some things you might consider. 1) adding the plywood allowed us to have the pedals supported no matter where they lived on the board. The back row had to be fully up against the edge of the board in order to have all four corners of each pedals supported. This however presented an issue because Kerry's jacks kept getting broken in transit and on stage because they were so exposed, but moving them in the amount we did (about 1.5") would have one-third of the pedal unsupported, and even with good quality velcro, could have the back lift off because there is no surface under the footswitch which is where the majority of the weight is coming down when you step on the pedal. 2) the routing area is much cleaner and will allow you to better separate your audio paths and power paths to eliminate added noise 3) the troubleshooting aspect of a flat board where all cables are routed top side is much easier to track down an issue, routing under a Pedaltrain is not ideal, and can create a real nightmare if you have to figure out a bad cable going between top and bottom. Although the power supply is underneath (which I don't always like for noise issues especially with linear toroid transformer style power supplies), the pedal connections are mostly routed top side as well for easy trouble shooting, getting the best of both worlds from Pedaltrain and Flat Board style rigs. 4) It's a way cleaner visually, and if you're using 3/8" ply in this side, you're talking about 2-3 pounds max depending on the quality of plywood you use. Kerry lost a few pedals and downsized a few pedals so there was no added weight to this particular rig and by adding the surface we were able to add reliability to the overall system.
Interesting video...I find I learn something new each time I watch of the Vertex videos. Nice job utilizing the existing pedalboard to save some cash for the owner. Is there a story of the two Boosts? One white and the other...red/orange? Keep these coming!
I eat these videos up. Thanks for providing this great service. I have an original Pedaltrain and want to figure out the best way to mount my power supply (truetone one spot pro cs7) on the underside. Do you have any recommendations or have you done a video on your technique? Thanks in advance Dr. Rig!
Michael Phillips you can cut out the aluminum where the cables would live or mount it top side (adding the plywood like in then video would help with that).
hey mason! great job on this rig! i just finished mine and i used a temple audio pedalboard. do you have any thoughts on the temple audio pedalboards? thanks!
Have you considered making a true bypass looper? I think it would be a big seller, if it is priced with the rest of the popular true bypass loopers out there. Thanks for the video, brother.
I haven't, not sure what I'd bring to the table that isn't already there. The RJM stuff is pretty great, Boss is also doing great stuff on a budget. I try to stay away from stuff that I can't make an obvious improvement or differentiator - but I'd love your feedback on what you think would make it better than others.
I've not thought about it, I've only done a few boards like this and typically the weight savings would be in the 1lbs range and would be expensive because it would just be a one-off and most shops have a minimum. I figured the 1 lbs savings in weight compared to a high quality birch-plywood would be minimal and the offset in cost would be prohibitive. It would totally work, just might be pricy.
I love this stuff, man. I would kill to have my rig organized like this! I have a maxed out Novo24. However, I feel like I would be limited with something like this, like I wouldn't be able to experiment with new pedals without having to take it all apart. Nonetheless, I would love to have my board like this.
See the playlist, there are lots of those videos: 1) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QahzBHLSfS8.html 2) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-iMalcGeN0p8.html 3) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-G5cC8l03wGM.html 4) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ur75eTvARys.html
Hi Mason, love your videos, very useful. Would you do something about how to avoid, track down and fix ground loops, hums and buzzes in a system? Keep up the good stuff!
Hey TIO as always great vid man!! Hey can you PLEASE post like a list of pedals in the order they should go? I couldn’t find anything like that in your channel. I have: Line 6 wireless->Tuner->wah->OCD->Texas Trouble->MXR Distortion->EQ->Phaser->Tremelo->Delay->Reverb->Volume pedal->Looper->Hot Rod Deluxe amp. I do not use FX LOOP. Is that path ok?
Yo PRIMO! I like this order, maybe try Phaser before drives, and volume pedal after drives. Effects loop isn’t necessary if you’re going to use the clean channel of the amp.
Vertex Effects thank you!!! Your word is golden around my house!! I use the volume pedal like a master volume. When ever your in San Diego let me know, we’ll grab some fish tacos and a Modelo...
@@dbltap3332 it's still a master volume if you put after drives, the delays will trail off, as will reverb, but it won't add volume or output after the volume pedal. Try it and see for yourself.
Hey Mason, have you considered making a 'board building course for DIYers? It'd be super helpful and I'm pretty sure you'd make all the money. Win win.
We talked about doing some things at Sweetwater, I just don’t know that I have the time to organize something that’s really well segmented and spaced out for DIYers, it would almost be something that I would have to partner with an organization that already has that format, something like a TrueFire. Thoughts?
@@VertexEffectsInc Sweetwater & Truefire are both great companies. Both could definitely help with production values. Going the Truefire route might improve your reach, but would cost you most of the profit (I think). If I were you, I'd think of it in terms of selling my byproducts. For example, you're already gonna solder a lot of patch cables, why not film that and talk about what you're doing (& why)? Whatever planning you'd do for a Sweetwater masterclass would give you the syllabus for the course. You could film (& update as necessary) piecemeal and put it up on Teachable. Also, not sure how important production values would be for the DIY crowd-I'd take a useful course with a bit of camera shake and just-ok audio over a less-detailed one that's super slick. I have a fair amount of experience designing online course syllabi; happy to share my approach if you're interested.
@@VertexEffectsInc Those amps are boss! Back in the 80's (while living in SF) I had a buddy who had a *Mesa Boogie* full stack, a Gibson Les Paul Custom "Black Beauty" and an EHX Memory Man. He got me into listening to Jeff Beck.
Wondering if the added 3/8-1/2” of plywood makes it harder to close the case... I have the PT-Pro, and it already feels like I’m pushing down pretty hard on my effects in the back row... nothing crazy up there either... just typical “Boss” height stuff. Did you guys run into anything like that, good doctor? 🤔
We didn’t run into any issues, however the pedals are not very high on the back row. There are no taller than a normal pedal train with maybe some taller pedals on them. Everything fit perfectly.
Excellent video, Mason! Amazing work and production as always. I have a semi-related question. If 2 different players (both using semi-hollow guitars) try plugging their boards into the same amp at different times and 1 is quiet when playing a high gain drive and the other needs a noise gate to eliminate hum, would the drive pedal be causing noise or would it be a cable routing issue?
Turn the volume off on both guitars and plug into the amp and see if the noise is the same, that would tell you if perhaps you have more sensitive pickups on one guitar over another, perhaps one has unpotted pickups? If there is still a noise difference, then it's likely something on your pedalboard that's causing a problem. Could be a combination of things, not just one. Cabling is a big thing, having high quality soldered connections is a big thing. Also having a high quality soldered instrument cable is important to. I leave some recommendations in my description box for my favorite cables to use if that's helpful.
Vertex Effects Thank you! I did try straight into the amp for both and only happens when the 2 different pedal boards are plugged in. If anything, I use all Mogami soldered cables on my board and for the guitar but the noise happens with my setup. I’ll look into some of the ones that you use.
@@zackguitar07 try the guitar volume off thing first just to isolate if the pickups have something to do with it. Having higher output pickups might also exaggerate the issue.
I use pedaltrain pedalboards now because after 30+ years of cobbling together pedalboards out of plywood I decided enough was enough!! I prefer the fact that they're more portable & the overall build is more professional looking even though I've built them!!! I could pay a fortune for a professional built pedalboard,but as I like to continually tweak things & change things is it really worth it? I haven't built a bad board & by using simple common sense I do ok!! I'm in no way criticising professional pedalboard builders,but for me it's not cost effective for me at this point in time (maybe one day when my music sells millions (don't laugh because I believe & one day I might get lucky & I'll call the rig doctor & get him over to England!!) but never say never!!
The point of our videos is to show DIYers how to optimize their rigs like a pro. The pedal trains are ok - the main issue is power supply choice and the proximity of your pedals above it. If you don’t use a switching supply, the power supply can be a real issue. If you’re using high quality soldered cables I think you’ll sound just fine if you’re observing most of the pedalboards best practices.
I have a PedalTrain Terra 42. I'll be laminating the bottom of the plywood surface with ABS laminate and formica on the top. In order to reduce weight (my back would thank you), is 1/2" plywood what you would recommend or could I use something lighter lighter like 1/4" or 3/8"?
I would actually, time permitting, if I were building this rig again would have just done it with aluminum like we did on our John Mayer giveaway rig with Sweetwater ( you can find on our channel). I got Fix Pedalboards to make me a sheet of powder coated aluminum that matched the size of the TP and was pre-drilled for me. Make it super easy and way less weight than the laminated wood.
@@VertexEffectsInc Unfortunately, I’m committed to plywood since I already ordered the ABS and Formica laminates. :( With that in mind, would 1/4” work, or should I go with thicker plywood?
Since the top surface of the board has a formica laminate, did you do anything to prevent the formica from cracking when you drilled holes for the cables?
Can you go a little more in depth on the mounting of the top for the PT3? I'm thinking about doing the same since I now have a PBC 6x and the PT design doesn't seem very switcher friendly, but I'm not super handy. Like...I own tools...but that's about it. ;-)
Hey Mason and Gang. I'm ordering my parts to do a project like this to maximize area for a pedal train. The link in the description for GoMC navigates to a page to custom order specific size laminated board. However, it has an aluminum U-channel which I don't want. Do they have an option for a laminated board without the aluminum U-channel...? I learned tons from your channel which has helped me help my guitar friends here in Phoenix. I am truly grateful for your willingness to share all the info and tips. Thank you, johnWphx
The tuner is coming out of the Tuner Out on the Volume Pedal, however when I see Kerry later this month we're going to route it out of the Vertex Boost so it doesn't load the signal down - we didn't notice a problem, but because we had about 8 hours to do the entire rig and had to make few time saving decisions - this was one of them. We're also going to add a small interface under the board as well when we update in a few weeks.
Hey Mason. What's your opinion on those Dunlop VP's? I've have an Ernie Ball that I'm not exactly in love with. Would love to switch it out, and those Dunlop ones seem pretty sturdy, and slightly smaller footprint too
Rig Doctor….love your videos; HELP….I am looking for a soft shell case (similar to what comes with a pedaltrain)…..BUT….I want wheels on soft shelled case. I DO NOT want a super heavy plywood tour case. I just want a roller-bag. WHERE?
Ok I’ve ordered the Classic 2 PT what size is that GOMC board you used to cover the PT??? I want to do this as well. You know me Mason! I always take your recommendations!!!!
@@VertexEffectsInc I'm finding out that companies are starting to finally build for PT boards. Should have been doing that long ago since PT doesn't. PT just makes bigger boards. Pretty soon the front of the stage is covered in PT board....lol. Can't see the crowd cuz my PT board is 18 ft wide now!!!! LOL Get your buddies to help us too. The PT board market is wide open and you need to jump on it before PT gets wise and starts making this stuff and putting it in Guitar Center down the street.
Great video as always, Mason. I am beginning to question if I am getting the most out of my gain stage signal chain, but it is all locked down on my board. So I am hesitant to tear into it. I am running a Soul Food (always on) into vintage DOD FX50 Overdrive into a Way Huge Saucy Box into an TS9 Tubescreamer into a Big Muff Pie. Any thoughts on this?
If you’re not stacking these (combining them), it doesn’t really matter assuming you like everything to be driven by the Klon style thing (Soul Food). My instinct would be to put the Big Muff first and Saucy Box last. If you like the vibe the Soul Food imparts you could put that after the Big Muff and then leave the DOD and TS9 where they are sequentially.
@@VertexEffectsInc Thank's for the reply. I do stack them, except for the Big Muff Pi. It gets too unruly at that point! It seems that I am most likely not getting the full benefit of stacking as they are now. The changes/tones are subtle
@@VertexEffectsInc Will do. Now I just gotta get the nerve up to undo a board that took a month to put back together after my power supply upgrade! Thanks for the advice!
Hi @Vertex Effect, I’m trying to rebuild my pedal train, can you help me with one thing. Where can I buy the birch plywood for pro classic 32”x16” Thanks
$30ish as I recall. It was one of those situations where the shipping was almost as much is the item itself, this would be something you could pretty easily make yourself if you needed to.
Hahah - I mentioned midway on the video that the boost that Kerry originally had had gotten kicked by a roadie with a cable in it and broke the input jack. I didn’t have time in the eight hour span of the build to repair it before he left for tour so we loaned him one of our demo boosts in the meantime.
Good point! We did have some footage of the drives, well audio at least. Are Sony cameras right on 30 minute loops, and it cut off the first minute or two of the demo before we realize that we weren’t rolling! I have all the audio if you want it, I can send it to you in a Dropbox, otherwise this is what we actually have footage of so that’s what we ended up using in the video. Sorry!
Vertex Effects that’s cool, I watch Kerry’s RU-vid as well, he’s got a great sound going, I was just waiting in the video to hear how it turned out, it’s all good though, I love all the pedal boards you’ve built, amazing stuff
@@VertexEffectsInc haha - your pronunciation of CIOKS caught me offguard when I heard it cuz I have always heard it pronounced "chox". I have no idea what is the right way to say it, I just hadn't heard it that way and it made me chuckle and made me image a Sea Ox, which led to my clearly hilarious, on point quip ;-)
Not sure, I don't have one to test for you - but I'd be surprised if it's at 100mA, typically pedals are listed a big higher than their actual draw - we linked a Truetone mA reader in the description box that could help you know for sure.
Could you provide detailed specs of what screws to buy for someone who wants to do this to their own pedal train but maybe isn't the most knowledgeable when it comes to hardware buying. Also, can we buy precut tops to go on a pedal train from GOMC? Thanks so much!
My pleasure, I am drilling pilot holes into the bottom of the primary rails on the left and right of the pedal train platform. I’m using a step drill bit to do this, boring out the whole until it will clear enough space to fit a number eight wood screw, I used a half inch length. I only bore out the hole on one side of the frame, and then drill a hole on the other side where the wood will be touching so that there’s only enough circumference to clear the wood screw. This means the outside hole is somewhere around a quarter inch in diameter, the inner whole is somewhere around a 16th of an inch. Then you line up your platform, and you can drill it right through very easily and securely. GOMC will make any size platform you want. You can reference this video, mention my name, and ask for Nate or Ed.
Hi Mason, Very nice video. Where can I purchase 1/2" Laminated plywood with formica on top and abs on the bottom in black? Pre cut to 18 by 14 & 1/2 ".
I ordered from GOMC they don't offer just the topper on the website you need to send them an email with your specs. I ordered about 3 weeks ago and the board is finally on its way to me. Hope that helps.
Any idea as to why the D'addario tuners make the high pitch noise when using it on the tuner out of volume pedals? I noticed it after suggesting one to a friend who runs a volume pedal.
I haven’t had time to fully go through it, it seems that it’s only through passive volume pedals, also if you have a pedal on it seems to not do it so it may be something to do with the input impedance having some sensitivity. I like the tuners, just didn’t have time that day to deal with a work around.
@@VertexEffectsInc Well, I'm about to put together a board with it in that configuration. I will, however, have a buffer (Mesa Highwire) in front of the entire pedal board chain so maybe (hopefully) that will mitigate the noise.
@@ggavalakis to me, it really comes down to three things 1) power supply quality and isolation 2) pedal placement relative to supply (especially for linear toroid supplies) and 3) high quality SOLDERED shielded cables (I like Mogami 2319 for patch cables). If you hit those marks, you'll be as noise free as possible for 99% of scenarios.
@@VertexEffectsInc Why do you feel soldered is better for signal noise/clarity? Reliability, I can see. For better or worse, I have the Lava cable Tightrope solder-free pedal cable kit. No issues thus far. However, I'm not a touring musician. I only play 3-4 gigs a months locally.
Drilled out four holes in the corners of the Pedaltrain. I drilled it with a #10 screw size hole, then drilled a second time to get the head of the #10 screw head to clear the outside of the frame. I used wood screws as the screw go through the pre drilled metal but are only secured to the wood. I bought the laminated wood with Formica from GOMC Cases.
I was wondering how the DualLock or Power Gripping will hold on the wood. Also considering Perforated Handy Panel plywood (if aluminum available,better) if possible. You think the grips will hold?
