Step-by-Step Pedalboard Build \/\/ DIY Set up for Doom, Stoner, Sludge

My pedal collection was unruly, and it was time to reign it in, get it all nice and organized, and set up on a pedalboard. If you can relate, here is the full step-by-step process for building an ultimate rig for Doom, Stoner, and Sludge bass!

Objectives for the Build

When putting together this board, I had two main objectives.

2. A clean, organized home base: I wanted a nice, clean, organized board that I can use at home for recording bass lessons and gear demos.

4. Portability: I need it to be portable so I can easily take it to band practice and gigs without having to lug around additional gear and breaking my back.

Essential Gear Checklist

To build a board, you need a few key things:

• The Board: I chose a Pedaltrain 22x18 inches. I could've gone bigger, but portability was key, and this size leaves plenty of room.

• Power Supply: I went with the One Spot C12. This has way more power than what I currently need, but I'm planning ahead. Some pedals (like a Strymon) require a little more amperage than others, so it's best to play it safe and plan for variance.

• Zip Ties: You can never have too many. These are essential for keeping your cables organized and neat.

• Velcro: A layer goes on the board, and pieces go on the back of the pedals. This is crucial for keeping them secured when I'm transporting the board so I don't need to reassemble the layout every time.

• Patch Cables: These connect all the pedals together.

• Power Cables: These get the juice to the pedals.

Mounting the Power & Laying the Foundation

The first task is mounting the power supply. Mine came with brackets that I screwed into the pedalboard. I'm housing the power supply underneath the board so it's tucked away, leaving maximum space on top for the pedals. A key thing to remember is to line it up so the main power outlet sticks through a slot in the board, allowing you to easily plug in the power cord.

Once the power supply is secured, it's time for velcro. I laid strips across each of the bars on the pedalboard and then applied the mating velcro to the back of every pedal I planned to use.

Building the Signal Chain: Utility Pedals

We start the signal chain with utility:

2. Tuner: The first pedal is the road-worn Boss Chromatic Tuner (TU-2). I use the bypass out so I can keep it on all the time. Since I use the mute on my Darkglass amp footswitch, I can afford to place this one in the top right corner, a spot where I don't need to access it as much.

4. Compression/Boost: Next is the Strymon Compadre Compressor. Since I switch between using my fingers and a pick, a compressor is a must—it evens the playing field. The Compadre also has a great boost (clean or with a little dirt), which I wanted easy access to, so it goes in the bottom right corner.

The Foundation of Doom: Dirt & Gain Stacking

Now we start laying the foundation of doom with the distortion, overdrive, and fuzz pedals. My general rule for gain stacking is to put the lower-gain stuff first and then proceed to the higher-gain stuff further down the signal chain, as this works best for my ear.

2. Fuzz Lord Drone Master (Tone Shaping): This is the first dirt pedal, and I never turn it off. I put just a touch of gain on, crank the level all the way up, and leave it on, using it as a tone-shaping pedal that warms everything up.

4. Fowl Sounds Obsidian (OD/Distortion): This one goes next. It sounds killer, like a cranked Orange amp.

6. Fowl Sounds Backstabber (Fuzz with Blend): This has serious amounts of fuzz and a crucial blend knob. I like to use this one to lay a thick layer of dirt while still allowing a good amount of clean signal to come through.

8. Fuzz Lord MF2 (High Gain Fuzz): This is essentially a Big Muff on steroids, offering crazy amounts of fuzz. I use this one for special occasions when I need something that really stands out and beefs everything up.

10. Darkglass M500 Footswitch: I also included the footswitch for my Darkglass M500 amp head, which I use for muting and accessing its distortion channels, placing it in an easy-access spot.

Modulation, EQ, and Looping

To round out the board, I added a couple of effects and a utility pedal:

2. Delay: A classic Boss DD-5 Delay goes down here.

4. EQ: I’m adding an EQ pedal. I was using this for a boost, but since the Strymon now handles that and the Drone Master handles a lot of tone shaping, it’s not as critical, but I don't feel right without one on the board.

6. Looper: The final pedal is a Looper. I use this almost daily for gear demos, so it needs to be in an easily accessible spot.

I left a little room on the board for future reconfiguration and experimentation.

Final Setup and Advanced Pedalboard Tips

After laying out the pedals, the patch cables were connected, and the power cables were run underneath. I used zip ties to keep everything nice and tidy, ensuring there are no loose wires. The final test confirmed it was all working, with all the gain stages stacking really well!

Here are a few advanced tips to help you maintain and use your new rig:

2. Use Contact Cleaner: Get an electronics cleaner (specifically a contact cleaner) and use it to spray out the connectors where your input and output jacks go. These spots can get full of grime and dirt, and cleaning them goes a long way toward keeping your pedals from getting noisy or crackly.

4. Label Your Power Supply: Use a piece of masking tape on the back of the power supply and write down where each of the connectors is going. This can save you a lot of time and headache if something stops working. You can troubleshoot it on the fly much quicker.

6. Get a Clip-On Reading Light: Take a small reading light and clip it onto your pedalboard. This is great if you're playing at a dark venue or a practice space, allowing you to quickly check your settings and connections before playing.

That's the full build! The board is now nice and organized, highly portable, and ready to crank out the heaviest riffs I can throw at it. Give these steps a shot if your pedal collection is getting unruly, and remember that sometimes the best tone comes after a little careful organization.

Grab everything you need for your Pedalboard here:

Pedaltrain Pedalboard: https://amzn.to/2ZybSPo

Trutone Power Supply: https://amzn.to/3kixOpL

Patch Cables: https://amzn.to/2Ro9V3K

Velcro Roll: https://amzn.to/2ZBbHTk

Zip Ties: https://amzn.to/32p2TBO

Electronics Cleaner: https://amzn.to/3bSIjgx

Reading Light: https://amzn.to/3msMkgy

All of my thanks and gratitude,

🦍Jered ⁣⁣

@beholden.to.the.riff