Get On Board: TTK’s Top 5 Pedalboards

Chaos is a gig without a pedalboard. Nothing says amateur more than plugging in ten different pedals at the beginning of every night only to unplug them before packing them away after the show. A well-crafted pedalboard makes it easy to set up and your pedals will last longer because you’re not stressing those connections night after night. With 30 Pedals in 30 Days around the corner, we here at TheToneKing.com wanted to give you a heads up on a couple of our favorite pedalboards.

 

1001081pt_jrhc_lg3 Pedaltrain

Pedaltrain’s design is simple, elegant, clean, sturdy, and light. And sometimes, a simple design is all you need. Packed inside a Hardshell ATA Flightcase, your pedals will probably outlive you only to be discovered in the distant future by a species of man who will undoubtedly worship you as the god of rock!

There’s no question that Pedaltrain is the biggest name in pedalboards right now.

Pedaltrain pedalboards come in eight different sizes. So, if you have four pedals, or twenty-four, chances are you’ll be able to have enough room to spread out. Whether it’s the 14” x 5.5” NANO or the 42” x 16” Grande, all of Pedaltrain’s pedalboards are made of welded aluminum alloy tubing. No matter how hard you stomp, you’ll probably break every bone in your foot before you manage to break a Pedaltrain.

 

Holeyboard

hb wide center 1

If Pedaltrain isn’t for you, you need to check out the Holeyboard by Chemistry Design Werks.  Inspired by the skateboarding wave of the early nineties, Holeyboards are about as street as you can get. But keeping it street hasn’t made Holeyboards any less functional. In fact, Holeyboards offer the greatest functionality when it comes to pedal placement. Your pedal will fit just as comfortably on this board at a 45-degree angle as it would straight ahead.

While we know that black is the color of metal, every pedalboard out there thinks that everything needs to be bathed in it. Holeyboards aren’t afraid to move away from the monochromatic world of black with natural finishes as well as an array of different pigments. And, yes. You can get a Holeyboard in black if you really want to. One of the most innovative features of the Holeyboards is the raised shelves that make it possible to stomp on those pedals in the back row without having to dance around. If you want a pedalboard with as much personality as your pedals, then you’ll want to check out a Holeyboard.

Watch TTK’s Pedal-board Playlist on YouTube. Click here.

 

bcb_60_inside_mainBOSS

To live like a boss, you must own a BOSS.

Sorry, couldn’t resist.

But to most players, the BOSS BCB-60 pedalboard has always been the de facto pedalboard. Molded in lightweight durable resin that can withstand being tossed around the back of a U-Haul, the padded interior is customizable to fit just about any pedal that you can throw in there. Handy little compartment gives you a spot to mount your tuner, and the onboard adapter can power up to seven individual pedals.

The BOSS BCB-60 is probably one of the easiest pedalboards to deal with. If zip ties or Velcro make you nervous, the BCB-60 makes it easy. To top it all off, the thing is its own carrying case with a carrying handle. So, in a bind, you could use it to bludgeon any band members (Drummers) that get out of hand.

 

Trailer Trash

Someone once asked me, “Why would you want a glowing pedalboard?”ResizeImage

To which I answered, “Because it’s cool.”

While Trailer Trash pedalboards are not for the frugal guitarist, they are definitely the coolest looking planks on the block. Nothing says badass like having your face illuminated from below Boris Karloff style from a monster pedalboard that emanates an eerie blue like a box filled with souls.

If you got the coin, you might want to check out the Lamborghini of pedalboards. You could easily break a grand buying one of these bad boys, but it’s worth it if you don’t have to sell your children to get it. And, even then, well…

Are they durable?

Who gives a shit?!

I mean… look at this thing!!! It looks aliens are about to land on the stage and bring intergalactic awesomeness. Besides, do you really think that road dogs like Joe Perry, George Thorogood, Steve Stevens, and the Foo Fighters would tour with anything that’s going to crap out on them?

 

 

imagesBehringer

OK.

I get it.

You can’t go spending a thousand bucks or more on a pedalboard. Your wife wont let you. That’s OK. I get it. Well, if you’re looking for a bargain, then you’ll want to check out the Behringer PB1000.

Modeled after the BOSS classic, the PB1000 gives you twice as much space as the piece that inspired it. Hooking up to twelve 2.5” x 4.5” pedals, the PB1000 includes 1/4” patch cables, 1×12 daisy chain, resin case, power supply, apnd a pat on the head from your wife for not spending the kids college fund on a pedalboard.

 

Spoiler Alert!

As part of our 30 Pedals in 30 Days event, TheToneKing.com will be checking out the brand spanking new ModBoard by ModTone effects. The only modular and expandable pedalboard system out there. So, stay tuned!

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If you want to check out more about these pedalboards, just click on the pics above and you will be taken to their website.

If there are pedalboards that we haven’t covered, we probably haven’t heard of them. If you know any that we should check out, contact us at info@thetoneking.com or leave us a note in the comments below.

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About the Author: Marc published his first novel Becoming in 2010. It’s a kick-ass book with monsters and dreams and stuff, and you should buy it. Since then, he’s written thousands of articles for TheToneKing.com, many of which have been picked up for circulation by manufacturers and other news outlets. His next book, Drugs and Pancakes, should be available early 2014 if his alcoholic editor can find time to work on it in-between destroying his liver and screaming about punctuation. He graduated from Roosevelt University with honors, which means that he’s not as dumb as he looks. He’s been playing guitar for over 25 years, which is almost twice as long as most of his students have been alive.

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