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Not much of a pedals guy. Had been just velcroing a blue note OD on top the amp but wanted to shake things up for my next record so i put this together last year.
I hate tap dancing and i hate sudden jumps in gain so at full volume i.e cranked Twin this is an "always on" board that still lets me utilize my guitar vol control for gain amount. R to L=Cornerstone labs Gladio clone, Spaceman Equinox clone, Spaceman Meridian. Strymon Ojai power supply. Ernie Ball cables for the purple tone. I built the board itself from cedar and pine scraps.
I always hear digital artifacts in the highs with gain so its an all analog board.
The Gladio OD has a very slight edge vs my trusty Blue Note. The Equinox is a pultec style EQ and let me clean up the highs which can get kind of messy with a cranked amp. The Twin's EQ is pretty limited IME so I get better control now.
The icing on the cake is the meridian. I never bonded with reverb or delay save for the $$$ Fender tank/head. I was playing with a cheapo amazon pedal that have me a cool doubling effect that made my note sound bigger, not doubled. Too much floor noise from the crap unit so i bought the meridian ($) and set it so slight you dont notice it unless its shut off. Gives me a big sound.
Lastly i bought a harbor freight knockoff pelican case to tote it in. Foam is precut, just remove what you dont need. Very cool for $30.
I sunk a lot of thought and research into this board and quite a few bucks. Really enjoying it though it is a game of diminishing returns. Someday I might replace the Gladio with a Royal Overdrive if $ allows. They are amazing sounding units. I hope you enjoy the thread.
Lets see your gig boards.
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02-20-2026 03:23 PM
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Well done brother. Looks well functioning and effective. Digging the Texas shout-out.
I recently built a new board from scratch, bought a fresh pedal train, some ABS etc.. it was a tad more involved. But it is mostly studio pedals. My gig board is often just a tuner and a El Pescadero!
A junction box and small gig rig, I built custom length mogami cables etc.. I have put together many over years, but this one just had a bit more to work through. Direct signal and effect loop combo. Quite a bit of tweaking. My preferred boards are always similar your own. I am still using this board, so that says alot about the function. It does get pedals swapped out a bit.
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Nice board! Looks like you have put some serious time into that! Love the Lehle volume, those are top of the line. And the Cali 76 is among a select few comps I've given a hard look at but I honestly don't think a compressor is worth it for me. Still, a great piece of gear. What power supply did you use? Is pedal train the P.S? I can't say I'm very impressed by Strymon's power supply build quality. The black power supply section of mine failed with very little use and the barrel connectors just seem cheap for what they charged. I would probably use a Cioks next time.
Originally Posted by Rodney Gene
Well done brother. Looks well functioning and effective. Digging the Texas shout-out.
I recently built a new board from scratch, bought a fresh pedal train, some ABS etc.. it was a tad more involved. But it is mostly studio pedals. My gig board is often just a tuner and a El Pescadero!
A junction box and small gig rig, I built custom length mogami cables etc.. I have put together many over years, but this one just had a bit more to work through. Direct signal and effect loop combo. Quite a bit of tweaking. My preferred boards are always similar your own. I am still using this board, so that says alot about the function. It does get pedals swapped out a bit.
The Texas shoutout is courtesy of Wayne @Griffin Analog. He really hooked me up. Dude will clone anything he can get a reliable schematic for and use top quality parts to do it and even do custom graphics. His pricing is also really fair. It's worth mentioning that I've always hated pedals with internal dip switches and trim pots because accessing them is a headache. On my request he moved all the trim pots on the Gladio to the front of the pedal which put it into another league. That is the SC model but I have the dual channel model also but found myself using the blue side more than the green as it was very similar to my Blue Note so the SC makes a trimmer gigging board.
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I’m not posting my board because it is funny.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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You get in here and post it Miller!!! Originally Posted by Christian Miller
LOL
My board doesn't exactly scream pro either but it's the first board I've ever used that had an actual power supply instead of just 9v batteries, lol.
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Very nice Free the Tone collection! Originally Posted by Rodney Gene
Well done brother. Looks well functioning and effective. Digging the Texas shout-out.
I recently built a new board from scratch, bought a fresh pedal train, some ABS etc.. it was a tad more involved. But it is mostly studio pedals. My gig board is often just a tuner and a El Pescadero!
A junction box and small gig rig, I built custom length mogami cables etc.. I have put together many over years, but this one just had a bit more to work through. Direct signal and effect loop combo. Quite a bit of tweaking. My preferred boards are always similar your own. I am still using this board, so that says alot about the function. It does get pedals swapped out a bit.
I have the Future Factory myself - did u place yours after the QMX? I've been debating the same switcher, but just this 1 stereo pedal made me question it... Also, how's the Overdriveland? I've been tempted ever since it came out ...
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Mine varies a bit depending on the gig .
The default is Xotic Super sweet (clean boost)-> Jackson Audio Hourglass dual compressor->Fender MTG tube distortion ( used for a pre-amp only not fuzz) ->Keely Darkside (Multi FX)->Keeley Hooke Reverb/trem Univibe-> Boss Auto Wah-> TC Electronics Stereo chorus/shift/flanger -> sent to 2 amps.
All set to subtle values , like in cooking the idea is to enhance , not overwhelm .
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Cheers bud, appreciate it. Originally Posted by jazzloverfat
You can actually consider this 2 small boards working in tandem - an effects loop section on the left for delays and modulations #6,5,4 (and the rotary mounted on the back) and a small drive section on the right.
Less stomping than it looks like. Junction box and the #3 switcher for send/return - and the #2,1 for drives. The compressor is optional and independent. And the volume pedal is active and first in the chain - an overall volume, not like a passive volume for signal loading.
To answer your question, yes quality switcher. And with a single stereo effect like you have it would be a super pleasure to use.
Like many thing in my lifetime gear enjoyment, it was as much an experiment as it was a solution. In the end, changes are made and we adapt to the realities of the gig.
It is currently setup for direct only, with effects re-arranged and all switches utilized.
Overlandrive? It is very 'thorough' though it gets used less than I thought. I have been a fan and daily user of Yukis work for the past decade and so I tend to look at his offerings alot.
I have so many drives, this one is the CS version, a bit sensitive, even for someone who uses and owns alot of d - style pedals as I do. Worth looking at? Of course, it all adds to the knowledge.
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Mine is a stock Boss ME70.
A few thoughts about it ...
The ME70 is two models ago. There's an 80 and a 90. The ME70 is my preferred unit because it's narrower. It fits in an ordinary rolling briefcase, which the others do not. It also has 4 band EQ where the others have 3 band. It sounds as good as the newer models to my ear -- for the sounds that I use.
Everything is controlled by knobs (except noise gate, which has buttons). There are no menus and no scrolling. Anything can be adjusted in a few seconds.
When you get settings you like, you can save them as a patch and recall them later. Adjustments on the fly are easy. I have four sounds set up (there are four buttons in a bank) so they're all instantly available.
I almost always play with my foot on the volume pedal, which works great.
It's built like a tank. I've used ME models for maybe 20 years, 50, 70, 80 and 90 all without a hitch.
The FX I use are reverb and harmonizer (on zero and -8). I might use an overdriven tone, but I haven't found any I like (and I didn't on the 80 or 90 either); this may be the biggest negative.
Another potential negative is the 4 band graphic EQ, in case somebody would find that more EQ bands would be helpful. I often play through a speaker with 14 bands of parametric EQ available. That may be more overwhelming than helpful. My impression is that 4 bands of parametric EQ would be a good compromise.
Does it sound as good as a custom built board with individual gadgets? I don't know. I'd guess not. But, the issue is whether I can get a good-enough sound, and I can. I'm happy with the solo sound and intermittently unhappy with the chord sound, but I think that's a function more of the guitar than the board.
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Here's my "Grab n Go" pedal board. What you can do with a drill, some bits and a jigsaw. I wanted the wires hidden as much as possible and a quick set-up, change pedals, and keep the mess off of the stage floor. The curved ends are there to allow a closer proximity to mike stands, as I am the lead singer in our group. Power supply can fit below the surface. I add B3 and Leslie tones / chorus to my sound, and this is my favorite OD, the most transparent and closest to PT distortion that I have ever tried.
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I think that it is illegal to have a pedal board that is not rectangular! Originally Posted by Jimmy Mack
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Inspired by surfers.
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Jimmy, I'm not familiar with the Roto Machine pedal, I guess it's similar to the Electro-harmonix Leslie speaker pedal? Originally Posted by Jimmy Mack
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I know that the Roto Machine is discontinued, I bought this one used, as my first one died after much use. I don't know the EH one. But, of all that I've heard in the Roto world, I like this one the best. People have spent a lot of money on more $$$ models, but I think this one nails the Leslie spirit the best. My buddy bought something that is highly regarded, and he likes mine better.
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Whether this is classed as funny IDK, but it could be. I don't use it for jazz - I go straight into the amp for that, nothing fussy. I've used the multifx since 1996. The Nobel has been replaced by an MXR microamp.
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I’ve only recently started experimenting with a pedalboard. Currently this is what’s on it. Sometimes I use a Joyo American Sound instead of one of the OD’s (e.g., for plugging into a PA). I also have a couple of other OD’s I swap in (a TS and an OCD). I often still use either nothing or a just an OD and don’t bother with the board. But at least on my blues gigs I like having the trem and delay, and stacking OD’s (great for slide).
Last edited by John A.; 02-23-2026 at 10:37 AM.
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How do you like that Zendrive? Those got pretty popular but I've never tried one. I had an OCD v1, and a VS J&H but always preferred the TS style stuff over the OCD so I sold it. Can't believe what a v1 fetches now, lol. I moved to a Blue Note around 2012, which admittedly is still kinda TS-like but a little more transparent. I like the BN so much I used two of them back when I still played strats but prior to it I used the J&H for about a decade. Originally Posted by John A.
I’ve only recently started experimenting with a pedalboard. Currently this is what’s on it. Sometimes I use a Joyo American Sound instead of one of the OD’s (e.g., for plugging into a PA). I also have a couple of other OD’s I swap in (a TS and an OCD). I often still use either nothing or a just an OD and don’t bother with the board. But at least on my blues gigs I like having the trem and delay, and stacking OD’s (great for slide).
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I like the Zendrive. I'd say it's a coin flip between that and the OCD in terms of top preference. The OCD is better as an "always on" pedal because of the way it cleans up with the guitar volume turned down; the Zendrive is somewhat more colored (in a good way). But truth be told they're all very similar for my purposes (low to medium gain). I've had the OCD for a very long time (it's v 1.4 that I got ca. 2010 IIRC), and the others were all relatively recent acquisitions more out of curiosity and for the sake of experimenting with stacking than out of need or dissatisfaction with the OCD. Originally Posted by DawgBone
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Can you post a link or a description for that case? ty! Originally Posted by DawgBone
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I have this Korg Leslie effect but I currently don't use it. I also have a NUX Roctary which isn't bad. I believe Bonamassa and Meyer use the Korg . Originally Posted by Jimmy Mack
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Sure. Available in orange, black, or drab green. $29.99. The larger case is around $64. Even has holes for padlocks. If your board is extra tall it may or may not fit. I made my board just tall enough to accommodate the Ojai power supply underneath it but I suppose if you are building a board from scratch you could just top mount the power supply. Link below. Originally Posted by enalnitram
Just a moment...
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I haven't used pedals for decades
but for those that do, here's a tip.
Maybe this might be of some help.
With all the knobs' rotations adjusted to your preferred settings:
- carefully pull all these knobs off so as to not rotate their shafts
- replace the knobs straight on with their indicators at 12 o'clock
Now your preferred settings indication for all knobs is visually identical. If the knobs are moved during travel or load in or get moved by a foot bump, one glance informs you. You or even someone else can instantly confirm or restore your preferred settings by ensuring all knobs are turned to point straight up noon.
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Solid suggestion, thanks! Originally Posted by pauln
I haven't used pedals for decades
but for those that do, here's a tip.
Maybe this might be of some help.
With all the knobs' rotations adjusted to your preferred settings:
- carefully pull all these knobs off so as to not rotate their shafts
- replace the knobs straight on with their indicators at 12 o'clock
Now your preferred settings indication for all knobs is visually identical. If the knobs are moved during travel or load in or get moved by a foot bump, one glance informs you. You or even someone else can instantly confirm or restore your preferred settings by ensuring all knobs are turned to point straight up noon.
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That's Northern Tools, not Harbor Freight, FWIW. Originally Posted by DawgBone
Harbor Freight has something similar, very slightly larger and more expensive.
Access to this page has been denied
That's the large, they also have small, medium, and extra large at different prices. Orange, black, and tan. I linked the black because its page shows the exact internal dimensions. That looks to be consistent across all the sizes.
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