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Out of context: Reply #137

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  • mg337

    Just did a DIY project this weekend using an ikea Hejne shelf to build a new pedalboard. Thought you guys would like to see the photos and the walkthrough of everything:


    Fully assembled, wired up, ready to go. Before mounting everything I did some test runs of cable length, and power cable arrangement.


    If you're familiar with these, you know the drill. It's plain, it's cheap, it's 30"x18". Take a slat off the second shelf and attach it to the back.


    After assembling the board, I stained it in the evening, putting an even coat of dark walnut that covered it 100%. I don't do much woodwork and thought I'd like the solid dark walnut, but the next morning it just looked like paint, and the wood had no character it. You couldn't even see the grain... So I took a chance and started sanding, sanding off as much of the stain as I could, and ended with what you see in this photo. Loved seeing the grain come through and was already thinking "not bad for a cheap piece of wood!"


    After the entire thing was sanded, I thought I'd experiment a little and use a rag to rub in some more stain. I used a light amount across the entire surface, and if you compare to the previous photo, it nicely filled in the light spots. At this point I was incredibly pleased with how it was looking. Applied a few coats of satin finish and let it dry.



    Pedals mounted, essential delay and reverb pedals towards the bottom.


    New Empress Reverb

    New Pedal - Empress Reverb:
    I’ve never had a reverb pedal and have always used the spring reverb on my amps. Needed something that would be consistent between playing through amps, and direct recording. I’ve obsessed over reverb reviews on here and on YouTube and thought I was going to get a JHS Alpine until I decided to go a bit beyond that and get something with tons of versatility. Came down to, you guessed it: Strymon Big Sky vs. Empress Reverb, and got a chance to test out the Empress on Saturday at Chicago Music Exchange. Loved it immediately, and the few hours I’ve spent with it at home have been fun. It’s exactly what I wanted/needed.

    Making the pedalboard:
    Started and finished a weekend project to build a new pedalboard after outgrowing my previous one that I’d used since about 2004, in various configurations, in the band I was in through 2010. I’d been wanting a Pedaltrain board, but also wanted new gear, and then started considering a custom wood build or a Gorm / Hejne board to save some money. I didn’t have access to decent saws and woodworking tools for a few weeks, so decided to take the Hejne route.

    I won’t bore you all too much with the process, but here are a few key takeaways. I knew I wanted to stain it, but honestly hadn’t done much woodworking in my life. The assembly was incredibly easy, and I applied a coat of dark walnut stain to it after sanding it some. It ended up looking like I had just painted it... Maybe I wasn’t thinking I should stain it and then said it, or, maybe I didn’t realize I should have put a much lighter coat on. Did all this on Saturday night, and Sunday morning it was complete dry but just looked sloppy - practically solid brown, with no grain showing.
    Took a chance and started sanding, and immediately loved the results. Realized that probably should have been my original intention. Long story short... sanded the whole thing, then took a cloth and rubbed in a light coat of walnut stain to fill in the light spots. It was looking great. Applied 2-3 coats of satin spray finish, and let it dry.

    Pedal attachment:
    I intended to do full velcro strips from left to right across each piece of wood, but liked the wood so much I ended up cutting pieces to fit each pedal, using 2” wide Velcro. Most of these pedals will stay put for a long time; I fortunately have space for a couple additional pedals if I pick up anything new.

    Power Supply:
    There’s a surge protector mounted on the underside with screws and Velcro, and I’m still using a Godlyke PowerAll Daisy Chain configuration. It’s what I used in my band for years and though I’ve been planning on something like an ISO brick, I’m going to stick with this because there’s really no noise at all. It’s nice and quiet, everything is 9 volts and I don’t yet see a reason to spend $ on something with nominal improvement.

    Signal Chain:
    I’ve played with a stereo setup for years and continue to play and record that way at home, whether through amps (Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, VOX VR30 or Crate VC30 (all tube amps)) or direct into an Apogee Duet. So, still have a stereo setup and it’s now as follows:
    Line In > Boss Tuner > Volume Pedal > MXR Dyna Comp (80’s) > MXR Distortion + (80’s) > MXR Micro Amp > Earthquaker Afterneath > EHX Stereo Pulsar > Boss Flanger > Boss Phaser > Boss Chorus (stereo split starts here) >>>> Boss DD-20 Delay > Empress Reverb >>>> Stereo Left: Boss DD-3 Delay > EHX Nano Looper 360 > EHX Big Muff (Russian, 90’s) > Out to Hot Rod Deluxe - Stereo Right: EHX Little Big Muff > Out to VOX VR30

    mg33 7Permalink
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    • Looks great!
      Nice one      set
    • real nice, was checking out that empress recently too. using a stereo pedalboard myself with my JC40 and loving it.kingsteven
    • ^ Nice! I first debated the Foxpedal Magnifica and the JHS Alpine. $200-$250 range. Kept researching and decided to choose betweenmg33
    • The Strymon Big Sky and the Empress. Seemed like a decent amount of people had better things to say about the Empress over at r/guitarpedals on Reddit.mg33
    • How high is that? My pedals are taking over my synth desk, and I want to move them a level down (but not on the floor).section_014
    • Kingsteven - do you like Slowdive? I think they use JC40's. Regardless, go get mind blown at this live song: https://www.youtube.…mg33
    • The girl in the blue hair though... she needs to get it together.mg33
    • section_014 - It's angled downward from front to back, maybe 3" down to 1" ?mg33
    • Mmm, dark walnut stain - my standard go-to for making cheap shitty plywood look a bit swag :) I just used some yesterday!detritus
    • hah, yeah man just saw them live a few months back! HOF is my go to atm, but shrunk my live pedal board down for touring so it's not even on there!kingsteven
    • I want that Empress reverb!ok_not_ok
    • Nice detritus! I don't do much woodworking; I was totally pleased with how this turned out.mg33
    • ok_not_ok - I really didn't think I'd spend that much but what the hell. My main goal was to ensure I had same reverb through amps as I do for direct recording.mg33
    • Sweet board. Nice mix of pedals indeed, what kinda vibe do you play?smellvetica
    • I just stained a piece of pine but didn't take it anywhere near as nice as yoursset
    • smellvetica - Was in a band from 2004 - 2010 and now do more home recording, ambient, instrumental stuff. Here are a few links:mg33
    • Nice! has the palette look to itdbloc
    • Head just exploded. This is so goodbklyndroobeki
    • Thanks dbloc and bklyn!mg33
    • smellvetica, here are a few things I've recorded: http://mg33.net/musi…mg33
    • http://mg33.net/musi…mg33
    • http://mg33.net/musi…mg33
    • I don't know how to write upbeat music. :(mg33
    • Nice man! I have two Blue Sky's...one for the large rig, and one for a smaller one. I couldn't be happier with the Strymon stuff.JackRyan
    • I'll have to check out the Empress though, seems sweet. Can you call up presets with midi on that thing?JackRyan
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