There are many factors to consider when setting up your pedalboard beyond the sound you want to achieve. How big should your board be, how many pedals do you need, what’s the right power supply, soldered vs solderless, managing pedalboard real estate and cables – just to name just a few.
The whole process can seem overwhelming, but with a little research and planning, building a professional set up yourself is totally possible. Here we’re going to show you how.
Planning Your Layout
Start with the sounds you need. Write them down along with the pedals that will help you to achieve this.
Next, list each pedal’s size dimensions; you can find these in the specs section of each pedal’s website. You can find information on the required power there too.
Once you’ve compiled your list, calculate what size board you need. Don’t forget to leave room for cable jacks, channels and power cables.
When you’ve gathered all your pedals, lay them out in order and make sure that each footswitch is accessible. Again, plan where your cables will go. As a general rule, you should place the pedals you use most in the front row, closest to you.
How do I manage lengthy power cables and create cable channels?
Lengthy cables and messy webs on a board are big frustrations for home builders. But unruly power cables are not just an aesthetic issue. In transit and while performing if cables snag, become loose or connections are damaged, you could be stuck with a faulty set up. Troubleshooting, especially while on the road, can be time consuming and costly. Keeping your cables organized ensures you have a long lasting pedalboard, which also looks great.
The all-new MONO Pedalboard Accessory Kit has been thoughtfully designed to work intuitively with your MONO Pedalboard to keep your cables in check. The cable management system includes two Tracks, 10 Tags and 20 Tie-Wraps.
Clockwise from left: Tag, Track, Tie-Wrap (Tech Specs below)
The MONO Track has been purposefully designed to slot directly into the pill shaped holes on your MONO Pedalboard. In just a few seconds, you can slot these into place and neatly loop lengthy cables on the underbelly of your pedalboard giving you a clean and tidy finish. No more custom-cutting of power cables needed, which takes time and technical knowledge to do so in a safe manner.
The MONO Tag & Tie-Wrap are perfect if you are looking to create your own cable channels on top or underneath your board. Running cables in channels not only looks neat and professional, but will make it a lot easier to troubleshoot any problems if they do arise at gigs or on tour.
All the materials are lightweight, low profile and quick and easy to use. See the Tag, Tie-Wrap and Track in action below…
How can I create better access to my footswitches?
If you are planning a board with multiple rows, footswitch access becomes an important consideration. With a compact board, reaching the correct footswitch without affecting any other pedal settings or knobs, can be a challenge. We designed MONO Rise and Rise+ so you can access any footswitch and reach your desired sound with ease.
Use them to elevate any second and third row pedals that you want to access more easily. Mount smaller pedals on Rise, and larger pedals on Rise+.
Rise (Tech Specs below)
Rise+ (Tech Specs below)
How do I get a professional pedalboard setup at home?
Pro pedalboard setups haven’t always been possible at home. But now, with MONO’s Pedalboard Accessories Kit and Rise/Rise+ you can achieve a performance-ready setup without having to custom-cut your own cables, drill through your board, or add any unnecessary DIY modifications. Our new products are all sleek in design and durable, so your board will be both easy to set up and able to stand the test of time.
But don’t take our word for it, check out what professional pedalboard builders Goodwood Audio thought when we set them a challenge to set up a board using only MONO Pedalboard Accessories. Spoiler alert: It works.
For the full pedalboard catalogue, click here…
Don’t forget, we’d love to feature your pedalboard setup! When you have yours looking droolworthy, tag us on Instagram @monocreators.
Tech Specs
Pedalboard Accessories Kit
What’s included:
- 2 x Track
- 10 x Tag
- 20 x Tie-Wrap
Tag
- Material: Polypropylene
- Colours: Black
- Dimensions: 20 x 20 x 5mm
Track
- Material: Polypropylene
- Colours: Black
- Dimensions: 122 x 42 x 19mm
Tie-wrap
- Material: Nylon
- Colours: Black
- Dimensions: 3.6 x 120mm
Rise
- Material: 3mm thick, Anodized Aluminium
- Colours: Silver / Black
- Dimensions: 3.54 x 5.12 x 1.32″
- Weight: 0.14KG
What’s included:
- 4 x Rubber Feet with Adhesive Backing
- 2 pairs of 3M Dual Lock Tape
Rise+
- Material: 3mm thick, Anodized Aluminium
- Colours: Silver / Black
- Dimensions: 7.09 x 5.12 x 1.32″
- Weight: 0.27KG
What’s included:
- 4 x Rubber Feet with Adhesive Backing
- 4 pairs of 3M Dual Lock Tape
