In pictures: the people's pedalboards

Power to the people

Pedalboards, pedalboards, pedalboards. When we're not analysing star 'boards (you can see plenty of those in our monster pro pedalboards gallery), we're looking at each other's, gazing in wonder and, most likely, envy.

As anyone who's spent literally days of their lives wrangling with patch cables and isolated power supplies will know, putting together the perfect pedalboard is a fine art, and like any fine art, it should displayed - perhaps in a physical gallery, perhaps in an online one. And that's where we come in.

Ahead are the 'boards their owners deemed fit for inclusion: among them, you'll find the boutique, the beautiful and the bonkers, but above all, you'll discover plenty of inspiration for your own rig.

Your pedalboard here!

If you'd like your pedalboard to appear on MusicRadar, join our burgeoning Facebook group dedicated to the art of pedalboarding. Share your photos and we'll upload our favourites on this here gallery.

Alternatively, email us at contact@musicradar.com with photos and a brief description (and preferably, a signal chain) using the subject line, 'The people's pedalboards'. In return, we'll share them for all the world to see, along with a pithy caption and your name up in interweb lights.

Patricia Serrano

Patricia’s ’board carries all the hallmarks of a guitarist in the know, with some bonafide classics and unsung heroes. She’s even filmed a video playing through the whole lot! Some very tasty tones here...

Signal chain: Manlay Sound Ronno Bender, Mooer Eleclady, Fulltone Dejavibe, Manlay Sound The Sound, Z.Vex Box Of Rock, MXR Carbon Copy, Korg Pitchblack, Catalinbread Topanga

David Lee

David has gone Keeley mad with his 16” Pedaltrain, kitting it out a pair of the company’s Workstations and the pimped-out Compressor Pro. We’d love to have a play through this one.

Signal chain: Tapestry Audio Bloomery Active Volume, Keeley Compressor Pro, J Rockett Archer Ikon, Xotic Ac+, Analogman SunBender MK1.5, Keeley Mod Workstation, Keeley Delay Workstation

John ‘Bongo’ di Filippo

“While modest, my board covers the bases for an old guy (70) that played in a cover band till the 9:30 start time, 2/3 sets, low pay, and cheap beer got to him,” jokes John. “Nowadays jamming with friends is just right.

“My ’board is set up with most used pedals up front. Signal chain is tuner to wah, wah to fuzz, fuzz to OD, OD to boost, boost to chorus, chorus to reverb, reverb to amp. Voodoo Lab Pedal Power Iso 5 powers the whole shooting match. I enjoy messing with the settings.

“When playing, I know things are just right when my wife comes in and tells me it’s too loud. Too loud - how can that be?”

A philosophical conundrum, indeed. Looks like there’s a gap on the ’board that needs filling, too...

Daniel Poe

Daniel knows where it’s at, equipping his ’board with a Mooer Radar, in case an amp isn’t available - otherwise it stays out of the chain.

“I am very pleased with this and it looks like this pedalboard will be pretty much fixed without any more changes,” Daniel says, proudly.

“I use this pedalboard with clean amps and it works great with the music I play, which is mainly blues, jazz, pop, and rock.”

Signal chain: Line 6 G30 Receiver >> Tomsline Tuner >> Dunlop GCB-80 Volume Pedal >> Dunlop GCB-95 Wah Pedal >> Mooer Yellow Comp >> Boss FB-2 Feedbacker/Booster >> Ibanez Tube Screamer Mini >> Mooer Hustle Drive >> Mooer Black Secret >> MXR Classic 108 Fuzz Mini >> Mooer Micro Preamp US Classic Deluxe (Only in use if no amp is available) >> TC Electronic Corona Chorus >> TC Electronic Pipeline Tap Tremolo >> Boss DD-20 Giga Delay >> TC Electronic Hall of Fame 2 >> Mooer Radar (Only in use if no amp is available) >> Out

Powered by a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power Digital and a separate 12 V power supply for the Mooer Radar

Macca

An individual known only as ‘Macca’ (we’re assuming it’s not that Macca) sent in this almighty configuration, which really runs the gamut of tonal possibilities, ably controlled by Joyo’s PXL-Pro.

“The compressor, drives and Rat form loop 1, which goes straight into the amp front end, he explains.

“The rest forms the effects loop. Two power supplies fixed on the underside supply the juice.”

Andrew Moore

New additions to Andrew’s capably equipped ’board include the Electro-Harmonix C9 and MXR Carbon Copy.

It’s now so well-stocked, he’s contemplating a switching system. We don’t blame him: there are an awful lot of sonic options here.

Jimmy Takacs

“Just did a rearrange, took all the pedals I need to be able to easily get to and put them on the bottom row,” explains Jimmy

 “Using the Blurst as my wah and the Harmonist for dive bombs. So stoked.”

Very nice - it’s been a while since we’ve seen a DOD Phasor. Also, we like the fat burger next to the Fat Sandwich.

Dethniteblod

Although the name scares the bejesus out of us, Dethniteblod has generously sent us a detailed explanation of their rig and the thinking behind it.

“My guitar goes to the Super Hard On which splits it to my tuner (And I might use that as a DI point.) and Lo Fi Looper then Looper into Boss Line Selector with two loops: one modulation (MXR Phase 95 to MXR Micro Flanger) and distortion (Green Rhino to Zvex Fuzz Factory to Fender Pugilist Distortion).

“This way, I can switch quickly from mod to distortion (Smashing Pumpkins-style) or switch the distortions off and use the phaser and flanger mixed with a clean signal.

“Then from the Line Selector to a new addition, the Stone Deaf Tremotron (built by the great Luke Hilton), to sculpt the clean or distorted sound, and then lastly, like most people, into a MXR Carbon Copy.

“If I was playing live, I would stick my Line 6 M9 on the end for extra delays but if I'm recording I use delay plugins so I can properly sync the guitar to the track later on.”

Ivo Kuijf

These here are Ivo’s twin bass pedalboards: the effects reside at the back of the stage, the controllers at the front.

“The Soleman/boss/expression control the SA pedals, synths and a laptop running samples, loops etc,” Ivo explains.

“The EBS is always on, the MXR set to match venue and vibe. Signal: Tuner > Kingmaker > Multicomp > Preamp/DI > Mercury > Nemesis. Power brick hidden under our band logo.”

Fernando Fmrat Ramirez

“Pedalboard 2019... any suggestions, comments or tips?” muses Fernando. Don’t change a damn thing, says us!

There’s no arguing with the pedal choices here - we’re particular fans of the Dr Scientist Reverberator and Red Panda Particle combo, plus the Keeley Dark Side. Epic!

Steven Bailor

Steven has kindly given us a description of this talk box-equipped beast:

“In case it's not obvious, order is tuner followed by whatever else (Banshee is only on the way out and only on one of two outputs) in any order you want and you can run whatever you want in parallel (all thanks to the Sound Sculpture Switchblade 8F), with anything else or everything else or whatever combination floats your boat, and then Banshee if you want (oh, and Banshee can run in parallel with whatever else since there are two outs).

“Phase issues won't exist, because I've incorporated a phase inverter too. TOO MANY CHOICES! (And that's just the front end unless I use this standalone; in which case that's all I get - so sad.)”

Dylan Steed

Trusty Steed has made some savvy decisions in kitting out his ’board, with some choice picks from TC Electronic’s budget range and a couple of neat mini pedals to boot. Impressive real estate use, too!

Frédéric Dao

Now we’re talking! Frédéric’s ’board is ready to handle high-gain amp-overdrive thrills, and we’d wager EVH is an influence, too…

Scott Wallace

Scott is a man after our own hearts, supplying a proper, actual signal chain! Thank you, Scott.

Superb picks across the ’board here, too - The Bends, Ventura Vibe and Nautila are real unsung heroes.

Signal chain: PolyTune >> Ventura Vibe (split to 2nd amp - Katana) >> The Bends Compressor >> Tube Screamer Mini >> Nobels ODR-1 >> Carcosa Fuzz >> REVV G3 Distortion >> AMP (Laney L5) >> FX Send >> Nautila Chorus >> Flashback Mini >> Marine Layer Reverb >> Ditto Looper >> FX Return >> 1x12 Laney Cab

Anciferov Alexey‎

“Just some pedals to play metal riffs” says Anciferov. Well, yes, but what pedals they are!

We bet that Horizon Devices Precision Drive and Mooer Radar combo sounds beastly.

Nikhil Dass‎

The generous guy that he is, Nikhil gone and sent us an essay on his thinking behind this ’board, so we’ll leave it to him...

“I'm pretty old school in my approach to playing guitar, so for a while I thought that maybe 4-5 pedals would do it for me. Yeah, right.

“Signal chain: Gibson or Epiphone Les Paul > the stuff in front of the amp > Marshall DSL100H or 2555X > effects loop stuff > aforementioned Marshall

“Stuff in front of the amp:

“Korg Pitchblack Mini - I'm one of those guys who's never been able to fully appreciate polyphonic tuners

“TC Electronic Sub N' Up Mini - currently loaded with a TC TonePrint that has an organ-like modulation on it, except I've tweaked it so the octave up control affects not just the level of the octave up, but also the mix of the modulation (i.e. fully counterclockwise is no modulation, fully clockwise is throbbing modulation)

“CAE MC404 Wah - tweaked so the yellow Fasel inductor has a little less Q than stock, and the red Fasel has a little more

“Fulltone Supa Trem - set up as an always-on clean boost, and when I want a subtle tremolo I can hit the hard/soft switch

“MXR Gypsy Fuzz - purely self-explanatory

“Wampler Tumnus - a lot of players use this as a (sorta) clean boost, but I've got this dialled in for more gain when the situation requires it; this also helps smooth out the fuzz and give it some more mids so the fuzz doesn't get lost in the mix

“MXR Phase 95 - currently in script Phase 90 mode, can create some neat textures when paired with the fuzz or stacked with the tremolo

“Effects loop stuff:

“MXR 10-band EQ - helps to tame the fizziness of the DSL

“TC Electronic Spark Mini - I ride the volume knobs on my guitars to get clean tones, so I usually kick this on so I don't completely disappear from the mix when I roll the guitar volume back

“MXR Smart Gate - in the absolute last place in the chain it can go; if I ever upgrade to an isolated power supply, I'll probably flip this

“Boss DD-3 - see Gypsy Fuzz

“TC Electronic Hall Of Fame Mini - currently loaded with TC's basic plate reverb TonePrint, this is mainly used with my 2555X as that doesn't have onboard reverb

“Power: One Spot daisy chain
Patch cables: EBS flats, Ernie Ball
Board: Temple Audio DUO 24
Patchbay: Loopmasters Three-way
Lights: Temple Audio RGB LED strip”

Sean Ag

“Wuddup group!” Sean presumably yells as he leaps into the fray with this finely tailored affair.

The handcrafted board comes courtesy of Dr. Kron Kraftwerx, but the choices are all Sean’s. Whammy into Echoplex Delay into Phase 90? Noice.

Ivan Destruktor

A full signal diagram? Ivan, you spoil us! And that’s the first appearance of a talkbox on TPP that we can recall, too.

“Almost all pedals are cheap ones,” Ivan says. “But what matters is the passion of building, I agree that pedalboard creation is an art and needs to be shared. In my case, I like a pedalboard with tons of colours and flavours.”

Derek Blow

EHX fan Derek is new to the pedal game and busy setting up his ’board for maximum tone.

The only placement we’d question is the Silencer and Cock Fight – stick those up front, we say!

Jess Rahbek

“I play in the Danish country band Bound By Law,” begins Jess. “The pedalboard is a Pedaltrain Nano+. The signal chain is TC Polytune > TC Spark Booster > Nobels ODR-1 > MXR '78 > Ibanez DL5 > Joyo Tremolo.

“The pedalboard is powered by a Cioks Adam as it fits under the Nano+ and can switch between 115V and 230V. There are four power outputs from the Adam, so the ODR and '78 are sharing an output, while the power out of the Polytune powers the Spark.

“In order to limit the size and weight I had to find alternatives to my old ’86 RAT distortion and Memory Boy Deluxe but it should get the job done just fine.”

We whole-heartedly agree, especially with the classic Nobels Overdrive on there.

Nick Dee

Nick is a serial offender on TPP, and this entry might just be his most obscene yet.

There’s so much to admire here, from the selection of off-the-wall pedals (like the Hologram Dream Sequence, Fuzz Factory 7 and Meris Polymoon) to the meticulously put-together homemade. Then there’s that Stratocaster sparkle. Drool.

Andy Hosker

Some classic Vox picks appear on Andy’s ’board: a proper Tone Bender and the ol’ Cooltron Over The Top Boost. We love the delay settings stuck to the Boss DD-7, too.

Here’s the signal path provided by Andy:

Loop1 > 1960s Vox Tonebender MKII > Loop2> TU2 > Cali 76 > Vox OTTB > 4-channel soft switch true bypass looper (1. Heavily modded TS9, 2. RAT, 3. PedalProjects Growly, 4. PedalProjects Klone) > PedalProjects Bufferlo (underneath) > > NGR Poker BC107> Mini Volume pedal > DD20 > Cathedral > DD-7 > Trelicopter > Zcat Hold Reverb > Ditto Looper > EHX Holy Grail Nano > amp

Adam Craig

A very neat setup, this: an expert use of space has enabled Adam to fit just about the maximum he can get on his Pedaltrain. Impressive picks, too.

Signal chain: Tuner > Mosaic > Spark > Tumnus > Broadcast > Muff > Plimsoul > Gypsy Vibe > Tremelo > Flashback Mini > RV-6 Reverb > Ditto

Paul Cutrona

“It's simple (and recently more simplified), and nothing boutique, but it works for me,” says Paul.

“The Mistress, Canyon, Crayon and looper go in the amp loop (DSL100 stack or DSL40 depending on the gig). The rest are in front of the amp.” Noice.

Edward Worrall

Edward is really speaking our language: Strymon BigSky and Eventide Space? Happy trails, indeed.

“Chain goes: AMT Volume, Z.Vex Box of Rock, Fulltone OCD, MXR Dyna Comp, Morley Wah, Hardwire Valve Distortion, Strymon Timeline, Boss DD-7, Strymon BigSky, Eventide Space, BBE Sonic Maximizer. FAMC Liquid Foot Jr for midi control,” Edward elaborates.

“Additional MIDI controlled looper for DD-7, Hardwire and PolyTune. There’s a small loop pedal which acts as a cut off switch so the rig runs super-quite when not playing.”

Martin Drake

There are a few sleeper pedals on Martin’s ’board, including the Visual Sound H2O and Amptweaker TightDrive.

“Not quite finished but tidier than before,” says Martin. “Might find room for a Q-Tron at some point. All going through a Laney IRT-Studio paired with a GS212.”

Andrius Mamontovas

“My custom Lava guitar goes perfectly with all-in-one Aclam Guitars pedalboard,” beams Andrius.

“Two-channel preamp and stereo cabinet simulator by A/DA. And the effects I use to rock on. Strymon Zuma power brick underneath. No heavy lifting and it all sounds very good. Plug and play direct to PA.”

Donny Coyle

Two Tube Screamers and a John Petrucci Dreamscape? Nifty choices here.

“We play a few acoustic songs in our shows so the TC Helicon accommodates this,” explains Donny.

“Signal is split at the noise gate between dirt pedals and verbs/delays. It even has programmable LED lighting on the undercarriage. All patch cables are hand made and I use 3m Dual Lock to attach the pedals.”

Alex Sharp

“Finally got the Mothership rewired after a lot of head scratching and digging out a few more patch cables,” says a presumably exhausted Alex.

“New on my ’board are a TC Helix Stereo Phaser and my Diamond Tremolo has returned, this time running on one side of a stereo rig after tips from That Pedal Show.

Signal chain: TC PolyTune > Analogman Mini BiComp > Whammy V >  
G Lab Wowee-Wah WW-1 > Fuxx Fuzz > EHX Soul Food > OCD > EP Booster > Fender ABY > DigiTech Ventura Vibe > TC Helix Phaser  
=> Left side - HOF mini > Diamond Trem into delay  
=> Right side - straight to delay
> Nemesis Delay
Left amp: Bugera T50 Infinium paired with Celestion V30 cab
Right amp: Laney LC15R with Ragin Cajun speaker

“Pedals are powered by a Truetone 1 SPOT Pro CS12.  

“Guitars are Fender Strat Plus ‘84 with lace sensors and PRS S2 Semi-hollow with Alnico IV pickups.”

Terry Korsmo

We’ve been seeing an increasing number of direct ’boards lately, and Terry’s is a fine, tone-rich example indeed.

Neunaber’s Iconoclast is clearly a winner.

Jairo Ruge

Lovely stuff here: classic MXR modulation and a TC Electronic ambience pair.

Plus, it’s always good to have a capo handy.

Stephen A Wilson

Stephen - no, not Steven - Wilson has put together what he reckons is a pretty versatile setup.

“This ’board covers a lot of ground tonally. I love the Boss CP-1X - I think its seriously underrated. The Looking Glass and Archer pedals stack brilliantly together.

“I upgraded my Flashback Mini to the full blown TC ND-1 which is great, and I’ll never take the BigSky off my board. I like ambient post-rock and this ’board is perfect for my home studio.”

Music to our ears, Stephen.

Ian Cig Roberts

A tidy bass ’board here, especially with the addition of the Zoom MultiStomp.

Graheme Smith

Well, well, we’re starting to see Origin Effects’ do-it-all RevivalDrive on pedalboards.

There are a host of other classy picks here, too: a couple of excellent stompboxes from Catalinbread and Function F(X)’s Accufunkture auto-wah. Nicely.

Marco Formentini

Sweet dirt choices abound in Marco’s rig, including Fredric Effects’ Klon-inspired Golden Eagle and MXR’s underrated Custom Badass Modified OD.

Mark Rice

Mr Rice has given us the full lowdown here - this is a well-equipped contemporary recording rig with a minimal footprint. We dig!

“I’m a gigging drummer, but enjoy writing and producing guitar in my free time,” he says.

“Living in a flat, though, I can’t crank a full volume amp. This board centres around a valve preamp pedal which runs into a digital load box providing a 6L6 power amp section and a vintage Vox 2x12 cab impulse. This is recorded directly into my DAW and gives me high-quality recordings at low volumes.

“The signal chain is Boss TU-3 (lives off-board) > Ibanez Tube Screamer Mini > Boss JB-2 Angry Driver > Two Notes Le Clean Preamp with the TC Electronic Flashback Mini in the FX loop > Two Notes Torpedo Live load Box > Focusrite Saffire