Pedal Boards for Steels

Hal Braun · From: Eustis, Florida, USA

How do those of you with pedal boards use/mount/position them? I have a standard "guitar" pedal board that sits angled on the floor and is meant to be accessed by foot switch while standing up..which is obviously problematic while sitting at a steel with your feet otherwise engaged..

I saw Robert Randolph's rig where he mounts his on a case to the right and presses buttons by hand, and I saw one mounted on a plywood board attached to a drum throne base..

I saw a remote switch "pod" that works a remote location board but that makes it hard to adjust pedal settings...

There are some really creative brains on here and I hate to try and reinvent a wheel..

Thanks!

Justin Emmert · From: Greensboro, NC

I have mine mounted in a metal flight case. I open the case and just set it in the ground or a chair beside me if available. Some steel seat companies make a case with legs.

Lane Gray · From: Topeka, KS

Look up Bessdang Gizmos. He makes a tray that sits between the legs
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2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

I've seen some guys have what is basically a metal tray that clamps onto one of the rear legs. I think there are a few guys that make this kind of stuff, but I've never indulged. As Justin said, you can get some steel seats with a side-mounted tray.

If I'm using pedals, I just velcro them inside a Dell laptop case which more or less resembles a typical guitar pedal case, and leave it on the floor- or if I have room, a stool or chair next to me. But I don't generally turn stuff on and off a lot for steel.

I have occasionally thought about mounting a leg clamp to a reverb, delay, and overdrive, as done with my Sarno Freeloader, Goodrich Matchbox, and so on - e.g., http://www.sarnomusicsolutions.com/products/fl.html - just a small chain of pedals down the right rear leg.

Hal Braun · From: Eustis, Florida, USA

I thought this looked like a possibility... leg mounting probably wouldnt work for me as I have a couple of big pedals (H&K Rotoshpere, Wren and Cuff Caprid, etc) I did take the wah off the board and put it next to the volume pedal ala Robert Randolph.. but still have a 24" by 12" pedal requirement...

Larry Allen · From: Kapaa, Kauai,Hawaii

I use a MIDI controller to get the 8 effects programs I use and a wrist switch to activate the Leslie....pretty easy, never have to look down...Larry Smile

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Excel steels & Peavey amps,Old Chevys & Motorcycles & Women on the Trashy Side

Rich Upright · From: Florida, USA

I do the Robert Randolph thing, as I'm always adjusting things, sometimes on the fly. I use my hand to turn pedals on & off, as I spend 1/2 night on steel. & 1/2 night on guitar.
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A couple D-10s,some vintage guitars & amps, & lotsa junk in the gig bag.

Dustin Rigsby · From: Parts Unknown, Ohio

I'll second Bessdang Gizmos ! He built me a tray for my RP 150 that mounts on the leg of my MSA. It's slick as a whistle. Very Happy

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D.S. Rigsby

Jim Sliff · From: Lawndale California, USA

On my Fenders...and the GFI Ultra I had, with some slight modification - I mount them upside-down on the rear apron with dual-lock Velcro.

That way I can literally "kick" them in with a knee. I've gone to micro-sized pedals - Mooer, Hotone, Joyo plus a two-stage cheap Artec boost mounted between the controls with two mini-toggles up top.

It really works great - I run the power daisy-chain along the front apron, the George-L connectors along the rear apron and cross all wires at as close to a 90 degree angle ad possible to reduce hum (although with most modern pedals hum in't much of an issue, especially in a band situation. I do have a couple different noise gates I can use when playing with a real quiet group.
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No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional

Joe Naylor · From: Avondale, Arizona, USA

I build effects boxes on legs

padded lid to hold things in place in removable lid

another example

I make a couple different standard sizes

Joe Naylor
www.steelseat.com
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Joe Naylor, Avondale, AZ (Phoenix) Announcer/Emcee owner www.steelseat.com *** OFFERING SEATS AND Effects cases with or without legs and other stuff ****** -Desert Rose Guitar S-10, Life Member of the Arizona Carport Pickers Assoc., Southwest Steel Guitar Assoc., Texas Steel Guitar Assoc., GA Steel Guitar Assoc., KS Steel Guitar Assoc. (Asleep at the Steel) tag line willed to me by a close late friend RIP

Hal Braun · From: Eustis, Florida, USA

Some inventive ideas, especially velcroing the pedals to the back apron!

Thanks for the pictures Joe, that looks like a very tidy and workable solution!

Jim Priebe · From: Queensland, Australia - R.I.P.

I work all mine with the right foot. Fast to setup and pack. Only 3 cords to plug in. Effects are all preset. Only problem is seeing the display when playing in bright sunlight.

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Priebs GFI ('09)Short-Uni10. GFI ('96)Short-Uni SD11. ('86)JEM U12
www.steelguitardownunder.com

Bryant Aycock · From: Pikeville, North Carolina

I use Velcro to mount the three pedals I use to the right side of my seat. I turn them on and off with my right hand. I don't have to move either foot or my left hand.I never take my eyes off my guitar neck. It works really well for me.

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

I only use 3 pedals at the most. Two have a leg clip that I mounted to them. I clip the on my 2 right legs and they are within easy reach (actually, I put a "t-nut" in the bottom of one unit, and use the leg clamp that came with my Strobo-Flip tuner. If I use distortion on a gig, I either use a Damage Control Liquid Blue or a Digitech Distortion Factory pedal. The Liquid Blues is way too heavy to mount on a leg. I have thought about putting a clip on the digitech, but for now, it's just on the floor to the right of my volume pedal. This way, I don't have an extra pedal board to carry around. But for those that feel the need to have a lot of stomp boxes, a pedal board is the answer. A lot of good suggestions above.
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Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 54 years and still counting.

Larry Allen · From: Kapaa, Kauai,Hawaii

For my distortion I took the unit off an old MSA and remounted on my guitar. Larry Smile

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Excel steels & Peavey amps,Old Chevys & Motorcycles & Women on the Trashy Side

David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

I've done a bit of raving about pedals that have, like, five knobs and three footswitches - I mean, think....

Dave Koltai at Pigtronix kindly made me a customized foot switching box so that I could access just about all of the Infinity looper's functions with my feet. And a LOT of pedals nowadays are coming with jacks on the back that let you use an expression pedal and/or a footswitch box to wake things up and chase them around. But I do get a little huffy about something like the new E-H 45000 looper, for $478.50 street, and in the very fine print you find that it's essentially crippled without the $119.90 footswitch; like, for example, if you want to know what patch you're playing on (?) you gotta spit up the whole $598.40. Going whole-hog on the extra footswitches and pedals is the only way you can negotiate many pedals if you need them next to you to get at the knobs.

You do see many, many limber young YouTubite six-stringers crawling around on the floor but I play STEEL GUITAR and FRETLESS bass - who's going to hold the notes for me? And in the sweepstakes of "crafty sales tricks" I've lately noticed that crafty sellers like proguitarshop and Andertons (U.K.) have erected little sloped shelves maybe 8 inches high, and they conduct reviews sitting on a low chair, in front of their little risers - Look Ma! Stomp it with your feet! Twist it with your hand! Shelf NOT included with purchase price... Rolling Eyes

A lot of these 3rd generation high-end pedals do have the connections to go fully MIDI, if you want to figure out the programs - rock stars with guitar techs love that? And there are other switching boards that will allow you to rout a bunch of different effects in any different order so a single button can replace all the tap-dancing. A guy named Bob Bradshaw has been building these for pro guitarists since the 1980's but it's blown up now, there must be a dozen builders big and small to cure your every woe, including that uncomfortable fat wallet.

I'm still working out a lot of placement and function locations for the mad-scientist recombinant looper monstrosity I'm working on, but I will DEFINITELY be figuring out and finding a builder for a board just for those and/or their switches. They all have the momentary super-light touch buttons to push, and the main point of this board isn't protection but TO KEEP THEM ALL IN THE SAME PLACE relative to each other! When I can't see what I'm doing and tend to nudge them around a bit, much excitement abounds as soon as I lose just the first switch down yonder. Whoa!

Jamie Mitchell · From: Nashville, TN

Allan Jirik · From: Wichita Falls TX

I built this stand as I needed the effects at a level where I could see them.

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

Even I might find that volume pedal a bit hard to get to.... chin?

Allan Jirik · From: Wichita Falls TX

That's a Black Box, the volume pedal is where it's supposed to be. I'm relearning after a 30 year defection to banjo so I play mostly at home. However I have taken the rack out several times, the effects are held on by velcro and it fits fine in the car.

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

I love the natural sound of steel guitar. I use my Fender amps reverb, and sometimes the Echoplex that I got from Don Dixon. I find effects annoying.
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Dr. Z Surgical Steel amp, amazing!
"74 Bud S-10 3&6
'73 Bud S-10 3&5(under construction)
'63 Fingertip S-10, at James awaiting 6 knees
'57 Strat, LP Blue
'91 Tele with 60's Maple neck
Dozen more guitars!
Dozens of amps, but SF Quad reverb, Rick Johnson cabs. JBL 15, '64 Vibroverb for at home.
'52 and '56 Pro Amps

Ben Waligoske · From: Denver, CO

If you only need a couple pedals and can live with using a daisy chain (no problem for me), I've had good luck with the Pedaltrain Nano board for steel: http://www.guitarcenter.com/Pedaltrain-Nano-Pedalboard-with-Soft-Case-107218273-i1735586.gc

Fits right between the legs of my steel next to the volume pedal, and just the right size for my tuner, a modulation effect, and a delay when the situation calls for that type of stuff... They're a little harder to track down now as Pedaltrain has released some newer models, but if you can find a regular old Nano, I think it works great...

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

Kevin Milner · From: Los Angeles, California, USA

I just have a regular guitar one on the floor that I operate with my hands. I'm flexible and have long arms though. See it on the right of this picture:

https://instagram.com/p/5lAA5fhlWH/

I also use my feet when I'm playing lap steel (sanding up)
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GFI S10-P Ultra -> Milkman 40w Pedal Steel Mini or 300w Half & Half (or Sarno SGBB/Nashville 112 or '94 Twin Amp or Homebuilt 5e3)
Effects: Cali76-CD Compressor -> EP booster -> Sarno Earth Drive -> Earthquaker Devices Zap Machine -> Earthquaker Devices Grand Orbiter Phaser -> Caitlinbread Dirty Little Secret Mk III -> Malekko Envelope Filter -> Hilton VP -> Pedal Projects Klone -> Tech 21 Blonde -> Strymon Timeline -> TC Electronics Spark Mini Boost -> Strymon Lex -> Strymon Flint

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