Pedalboard for Beginners: A Complete Guide

Start Small, Leave Your Pedalboard Room to Grow

The biggest mistake beginners make is buying a pedalboard that's already full. You'll have four pedals now, but you'll want more in six months. A proper beginner pedalboard holds six to eight pedals, which gives you enough pedalboard room for a solid rig without taking up your entire bedroom.

Measure the pedals you actually own. Most pedalboards tell you the mounting space in centimetres. Make sure your pedals fit with breathing room on your pedalboard. That means you can add a couple more pedals to your pedalboard later without playing Tetris every time you rearrange your pedalboard.

The Pedalboard Power Thing Is Simpler Than It Sounds

Every pedal on your pedalboard needs power: usually 9 volts, sometimes other voltages. The important bit is checking three things before you connect anything to your pedalboard:

1. What voltage does each pedal on your pedalboard need? Look on the back or in the manual. If it says 9V, that's standard for most pedalboards. If it says something else, remember it for your pedalboard setup.
2. Is the connector the right size and shape for your pedalboard? Most modern pedals use the same connector, but not all. Forcing the wrong connector into your pedalboard will damage the pedal.
3. Does your pedalboard power supply have enough current? This is the part most people skip on their pedalboard and regret. If your pedalboard power supply is weak, digital pedals glitch and loopers fail. A proper beginner pedalboard power supply can run four to six pedals comfortably.

Buy a pedalboard power supply when you buy your pedalboard. A cheap daisy-chain cable seems like it saves money on a pedalboard but it's fragile and noisy. A proper isolated pedalboard power supply costs £50–£100 and it's the best money you'll spend on your pedalboard. Your pedalboard pedals will sound better and behave more reliably.

Order Your Pedalboard Pedals in a Sensible Way

There's a common starting point that works for most pedalboard players. It's not the only way to arrange a pedalboard, but it's a solid foundation for your first pedalboard:

1. Tuner first on your pedalboard. Put it right at the start of your pedalboard so it gets the cleanest signal from your guitar.
2. Modulation pedals on your pedalboard: wah, envelope filter, or similar effects that respond to the original guitar signal on your pedalboard.
3. Drive pedals on your pedalboard: overdrive, distortion, fuzz — these pedals change the basic tone on your pedalboard.
4. Time-based effects on your pedalboard: delay and reverb. These pedals sit at the end of your pedalboard and affect the whole signal.

Try this pedalboard order first. Play with your pedalboard order. If something doesn't feel right in your hands on your pedalboard, adjust your pedalboard order. The difference between this pedalboard order and another order is smaller than the difference between a good amp and a bad one. Get your pedalboard working, then experiment later with different pedalboard arrangements.

Mounting Everything Securely on Your Pedalboard

Use hook-and-loop fastener (like Velcro) on your pedalboard. It's cheap, flexible, and forgiving for pedalboard mounting. Stick a strip on the back of each pedal and a corresponding strip on your pedalboard, then stick the pedals down on your pedalboard. Leave space around the footswitches on your pedalboard so you can actually press them. Clean both surfaces (pedalboard and pedal back) before sticking anything on your pedalboard.

Don't assume your pedals come with mounting tape for your pedalboard. Some do, some don't. Buy a roll of industrial-strength hook-and-loop fastener for a few quid and you're sorted for your pedalboard. If you need to move a pedal around on your pedalboard later, peel it off. If you need to rearrange the whole pedalboard, you can without damaging anything on your pedalboard.

Cables Matter More Than You Think on Your Pedalboard

Short patch cables are better than long ones for your pedalboard. Long cables pick up noise on your pedalboard. Get cables that fit your pedalboard pedal jacks properly — plugs that are too loose introduce intermittent dropouts on your pedalboard, which are frustrating to troubleshoot. A set of decent patch cables for your pedalboard costs £20–£40 and it's worth every penny for your pedalboard.

Organize power and audio cables separately on your pedalboard. Keep them tidy. Label the outputs on your pedalboard power supply so you know which pedal is plugged into which outlet on your pedalboard. Future you will thank you when something glitches on your pedalboard and you need to troubleshoot.

Test Your Pedalboard Before You Gig

Once everything is mounted and connected on your pedalboard, play your pedalboard for a week. Does anything on your pedalboard glitch? Does a pedal cut out on your pedalboard? Is the signal chain in the right order on your pedalboard? Does your pedalboard stay stable when you're stomping on it? Sort out any pedalboard problems now, not at a gig. Spare patch cables and a basic understanding of pedalboard signal flow let you fix 90 percent of pedalboard problems on the spot.

The Honest Truth About Your First Pedalboard

Your first pedalboard will be imperfect. You'll rearrange pedals on your pedalboard. You'll add effects you didn't expect to need to your pedalboard. You'll find out that the order you chose for your pedalboard works better than the textbook pedalboard order. That's normal. Leave room to experiment with your pedalboard, keep cables tidy on your pedalboard, get the power right on your pedalboard, and don't overthink it. A solid mid-range pedalboard (£100–£200 with a decent power supply included) will serve you well for years, and you can upgrade your pedalboard later when you know what you actually want.

Frequently Asked Questions