Pedalboard Cases

Pedalboard cases... Loads of pedals, ever changing needs, the desire for a new sound or a new way of doing things with the latest and greatest pedal, different needs for different gigs or worship events. So where to begin with pedalboards and what are the choices anyway?

Here's 4 suggestions from my experience of pedalboards in ascending costs...

1. Kinsman KUPB5 - this is a great pedalboard case to start with. It's made from ABS panels with some aluminium edging. Its dimensions are:

• External Dimensions- 22” x 13 1/2” x 4” deep
• Internal Height- 3 1/4" (8.5cm)

The board itself is excellent for basic use, but isn't very tough. However, I've successfully used around 6-8 pedals packed very tightly in this case. However, this wouldn't be possible without the basic moulded patch leads! The inside is very basic, no board but simply felt.

You will need to get some strong velcro. I actually used some 'egg shaped' foam on top of the pedals when transporting the case to keep the pedals from slipping off!

Here's a link (no affiliation) - http://www.dv247.com/guitars/kinsman-kupb5-guitar-effect-pedalboard-case--56959

2. The Spider Pro Large Pedlaboard Case (from flightcasewarehouse.com, again no affiliation).

This board is an absolute beast. It's a fully fledged flight case, with 7mm black laminate, aluminium edges, eggbox foam in the lid, padlock lugs. The corners are rounded aluminium, there is an excellent carry handle. All-in-all a professional and touring spec'd case. Inside you've got a good deal of padding and a board to velcro your pedals to, or even use pedalboard fixings (from johnnyshredfreak.com for example) or just drill through to create holes either side of your pedal and attach your pedals with cable ties. It's a big beast due to the thickness and strength of the case, but this is well worth it. You may also want to attach something to the base of the plywood included to 'raise' its level when in the case (making it easier to attach leads 'in' and 'out' of the pedal chain). Velcro included but nothing special.

• Int Dims: w620mm x d370mm x h110mm
• Ext Dims: w650mm x d404mm x h156mm

The case can be found here - http://www.flightcasewarehouse.co.uk/music/typeproducts2.asp?id=3878-4748 - they're also available in small, medium, XL and XXL. Great value.

3. The Diago Showman Pedalboard (or the smaller 'Gigman' or larger 'Tourman').

These British made boards are great and very intuitive cases. Plywood is used across the case with thick foam top and bottom (meaning that there's little room for movement of pedals within the case - great unless you have large pedals that are 'higher' than normal ones). No rubber feet under the case unlike the other boards is a slight weakness.

The case itself is much wider than other cases at 750mm and slightly less depth than the Spider Large for example. Outsides are covered in black cloth and the corners are finished with aluminium. Again, regular velcro included but you'll want to upgrade this most likely. A great balance of features, more expensive than the Spider Pro Large, the Showman is around £100m cheapest price.

• Internal width - 750mm
• Internal depth - 350mm
• Internal height - 100mm

http://www.diago.co.uk/pedal-boards/pedal-boards/overview.html

4. The 'Grand Master' in this shootout is without a doubt the Pedaltrain range - http://prostagegear.com/products/pedalboards/

We'll have a look at the Pedaltrain 2 (with hard case) in this 'review'. Basically the pedaltrains come with a frame and the option of a soft or hard case (has to be the hard case!) The pedaltrain is unique among boards as it's really designed with the player in mind. The inside frame has a slight elevation and is made up of a frame with two other parallel 'bars' running across the middle of the board (with gaps) to allow you to place your power supply and wiring underneath the frame. The frame can easily be lifted out of the case to provide a sturdy and playable setup. This level of thought is what sets this board apart. However, you pay for this with the Pedaltrain 2 costing around £200.

Frame

- 22x12x2.5 inches

- 4 lbs

Hard Case

- 23.5x18x7 inches

- 9 lbs

Finally, what about velcro (if you intend to use that). Any suggestions? Well, yes the 'Pedalboard Tape - Better Than Velcro' which you'll find on ebay for £9.99 for 1m. (No affiliation)

And patch leads? Well these do make a big difference especially if you have a number of pedals. The stock 'moulded' patch leads are fine, but for something more, I'd recommend the cables hand-made by weardaleelectrics on ebay (no affiliation). The ones I purchased had Amphenol ends and Van Damme Pro Patch cable.

Hope this helps some of you!

Update Sept 2011 - Which case did I go for? I managed to pick up a flightcasewarehouse Spider Pro at half price on their 'used' section. It's a beast, but nothing can beat it at the price I got :)