Suitcase pedalboard build

[RBS_Johnson]

Hello all,

I have been getting more into effects lately and wanted an easy way to take them to band practice. I didn't want to pay for a commercial board, so I'm building one. I paid more than I wanted for the suitcase, but it's the right size and I like the interior/exterior better than my other options.

I've got a volume pedal on the way, but I'm probably not adding much else for awhile. Spaced so that i can put any of my pedals anywhere, if I get more then eight total I'll have to rearrange the velcro. The board will be permanently affixed to the case, still deciding on the deep/shallow side to hold it.

I'm still deciding where to mount the power and audio jacks. Any feedback will be appreciated!

-Jake

 

[Mosfed]

Hello all,

I have been getting more into effects lately and wanted an easy way to take them to band practice. I didn't want to pay for a commercial board, so I'm building one. I paid more than I wanted for the suitcase, but it's the right size and I like the interior/exterior better than my other options.

I've got a volume pedal on the way, but I'm probably not adding much else for awhile. Spaced so that i can put any of my pedals anywhere, if I get more then eight total I'll have to rearrange the velcro. The board will be permanently affixed to the case, still deciding on the deep/shallow side to hold it.

I'm still deciding where to mount the power and audio jacks. Any feedback will be appreciated!

-Jake

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Pretty cool. Maybe try stiff foam instead of wood to lighten the load a bit?

 

[RBS_Johnson]

Pretty cool. Maybe try stiff foam instead of wood to lighten the load a bit?

Ya, its going to be pretty heavy as most of the wood is 1" thick oak. That's just what I have a bunch of around. I think the mkII will have more focus on lightness.

 

[ELynx]

Subbing, because I plan to do the same.
I found old used case, basically in dumpster, and stored it in cold "quarantine" for debugification, just in case.

About weight - why not plywood? Where I live I can get a 1.5 x 1.5 meter sheet, cut to my specs, for (roughly converted) 8 dollars. IMO about 0.6 mm thickness will do.
Cut several boards in width of briefcase, height of about pedal, and two or three boards height of briefcase. Make a grid frame, so you can wire underneath. I guess plywood can be glued together, or bolted with short self-tapping screws.

My main concern for this is access to pedals, especially volume and others that has regulator. If lowest pedal point is below briefcase side height then you will not be able to press it down completely without lifting heel off the ground.

 

[Ethan Block]

I did something very similar, but I used a brief case rather than a suit case. It is just deep enough to fit all of my pedals, some picks, ear plugs, cables, and power sources. The pedals are velcro-ed to the bottom of the brief case and I broke the hinges to allow the case to open up a full 180d

 

[jcerio]

That is very cool! Perfect match with the Peavey amp! There's no school like the old school!

 

[RBS_Johnson]

Subbing, because I plan to do the same.
I found old used case, basically in dumpster, and stored it in cold "quarantine" for debugification, just in case.

About weight - why not plywood? Where I live I can get a 1.5 x 1.5 meter sheet, cut to my specs, for (roughly converted) 8 dollars. IMO about 0.6 mm thickness will do.
Cut several boards in width of briefcase, height of about pedal, and two or three boards height of briefcase. Make a grid frame, so you can wire underneath. I guess plywood can be glued together, or bolted with short self-tapping screws.

My main concern for this is access to pedals, especially volume and others that has regulator. If lowest pedal point is below briefcase side height then you will not be able to press it down completely without lifting heel off the ground.

I definitely could have used plywood, I have plenty of extra in the garage. I just like the look of the oak and I was using small off cut pieces from other projects. Plus I like the rough edge where the cables go through. I`ll try and get a side shot of my board in the case to show how the pedals sit in relation to the sides.

I did something very similar, but I used a brief case rather than a suit case. It is just deep enough to fit all of my pedals, some picks, ear plugs, cables, and power sources. The pedals are velcro-ed to the bottom of the brief case and I broke the hinges to allow the case to open up a full 180d

I thought about something simpler like what you have, but I really like the look I`m heading towards.

That is very cool! Perfect match with the Peavey amp! There's no school like the old school!

Thanks! I`m using it with my `77 Ibanez Jazz copy right now, so even the bass fits visually.

-Jake

 

[BaileyMan]

I did something similar with a plastic $3 briefcase from a thrift store. It's kinda janky and I love it!

 

[neuman]

Cool reuse.
I'd make up a patchbay for power and guitar/amp in and outs. No holes in the case itself.
Build the board high enough for a power supply under and grab a 125 type box, few 1/4" jacks and and iec connector for the AC power cord.

 

[RBS_Johnson]

I did something similar with a plastic $3 briefcase from a thrift store. It's kinda janky and I love it!

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Cool! I'm thinking about stickering mine up once the design is "finalized". For this version anyway, lol

Cool reuse.
I'd make up a patchbay for power and guitar/amp in and outs. No holes in the case itself.
Build the board high enough for a power supply under and grab a 125 type box, few 1/4" jacks and and iec connector for the AC power cord.

I think I'm using the deep side of the case though, so I don't know where I would put a patch bay that wasn't mounted to the case. Already have a power supply underneath and a computer type connector for the 110v power in.

 

[RBS_Johnson]

Got my volume in. Yes, it's just a single pot mounted in a box. Side shot showing the relative height of the pedals to the case.

-Jake

 

[neuman]

Replace 2 sets of jacks with an IEC; keep one set of jacks top mounted for cabling into/out of the briefcase and the second set facing board for board connections.

Thinking of that upper left corner by the tuner.

Kinda spit ballin’ here.

 

[RBS_Johnson]

I'll keep that in mind, it seems like a viable solution. For now I'm going to use it at practice plugged into the pedals until I figure it out.

 

[LukeSlywalker]

Looks great. Nice work. and I like the natural wood. That will be heavy, though.

I carry my pedalboard in a similar old suitcase but I take it out of the case when using it live. I use foam on the inside for extra protection and to keep it all tight.

I flip the case on its side and it’s a great side table next to my rig.

 

[RBS_Johnson]

Looks great. Nice work. and I like the natural wood. That will be heavy, though.

I carry my pedalboard in a similar old suitcase but I take it out of the case when using it live. I use foam on the inside for extra protection and to keep it all tight.

I flip the case on its side and it’s a great side table next to my rig.


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That looks pretty cool. The suitcase looks bigger than mine. I saw quite a few that were just way too big for my needs while I was shopping for them.

As far as weight, I know that TB can be all about lightweight sometimes. I can dig that. But I could fill my suitcase with depleted uranium and it wouldn't be as heavy as my Peavey MKIV head....

-Jake

 

[pbass74]

Looks cool. I used an old briefcase and a piece of 1/4" plywood. Put velcro strips horizontally across the plywood and the opposite direction on my pedals. I have to remove the board from the briefcase to play, but it works pretty good. Yours looks cool with the rough oak, and from the photos it looks like you have two height levels for the rows of pedals--nice!

 

[RBS_Johnson]

Looks cool. I used an old briefcase and a piece of 1/4" plywood. Put velcro strips horizontally across the plywood and the opposite direction on my pedals. I have to remove the board from the briefcase to play, but it works pretty good. Yours looks cool with the rough oak, and from the photos it looks like you have two height levels for the rows of pedals--nice!

Thanks! Ya, I've got two tiers of pedals. The lower is set to just clear the lip of the case so I can still stomp them, and the other has a little rise so I can stomp them without hitting the knobs on the lower level

 

[catcauphonic]

Very nicely done I especially like the 2 tier system you got happening.

As a regular thrift store shopper, I've scored a couple really nice hard and soft stylish carry cases for my hybrid heads.

I'm starting to aquire a few pedals myself, and tomorrow I'm gonna go out casing some cases. Soon my partial plethora of pedals will have a permanent place to park, as well

Subbed for more good ideas!

 

[sigterm]

probably put the jacks to the side of the case, it wont be audience facing that way and if you use a snake it should help keep it out of your feet. if you plan to add a loop controller might want to be able to have bi-level with enough room for the power and the cabling so the looper can hang out front, or use some hinges to have a drawer come out to ground level for it. old bike tires are good for rubber stops/feet to keep it from sliding if you tap dance a lot. pretty cool rig there.

 

[RBS_Johnson]

Very nicely done I especially like the 2 tier system you got happening.

As a regular thrift store shopper, I've scored a couple really nice hard and soft stylish carry cases for my hybrid heads.

I'm starting to aquire a few pedals myself, and tomorrow I'm gonna go out casing some cases. Soon my partial plethora of pedals will have a permanent place to park, as well

Subbed for more good ideas!

Post up a thread if you find anything cool!

probably put the jacks to the side of the case, it wont be audience facing that way and if you use a snake it should help keep it out of your feet. if you plan to add a loop controller might want to be able to have bi-level with enough room for the power and the cabling so the looper can hang out front, or use some hinges to have a drawer come out to ground level for it. old bike tires are good for rubber stops/feet to keep it from sliding if you tap dance a lot. pretty cool rig there.

Some good ideas here. I'm new to effects, so I don't have a plan for what's next yet. I'm thinking of the jacks on the side(probably all on one side). For now I'm looking at a simple in/out for in front of the amp, and I'll probably a second loop for running in the effects loop of one channel of the amp. I have scavenged rubber feet from parted out amps/electronics.

I'm just now finding out about loop controllers.