The Problem With Pedal Boards

So I was about to play a set when I decided to move my pedals around. I had a solid break in the action so I went to work. Long story short, I had completely dismantled my board and was trying to re-rout my Ernie Ball Volume Pedal... Action time came and my board was still a useless pile of pedals... I tried to wire up a small chain of my key stuff, but there wasn't time. I went straight to the amp and made due.

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Pedal Boards Are Complected

Whether you have five pedals or fifty, pedals need to be set up correctly or they wont work. Have a cable in the wrong spot, or slightly unplugged and there won't be any sound. Have a bad cable and there could be all kinds of terrible sounds. Bad ground can be a killer too. Noisy pedals will need to be tamed with some kind of gate. Batteries will run out. Everything needs to be running correctly for it all to work.

They Add Tons of Cable

Between each pedal is a patch. Most patches are about 6 inches. I have about 15 pedals on my board, so that means adding at least 7.5 feet. Opinions about buffers not withstanding, This extra cable can add capacitance, in turn reduces your tone's clarity. Smart usage of buffers can help with this, but also add more complexity to your rig.

The Bigger The Board, The Bigger The Headache

Just like my case, it you want to move things around or change something, it often involves moving everything. This can be difficult and time consuming. The patches, the power, it all has to be moved and re-arranged. The Order and placement all have to be considered. All things considered, your signal chain can take hours of consideration. Many of my idle minutes are spend thinking about what pedal should go before or after another.

Even though Pedal Boards are a huge pain, and they can even hinder you sound if you aren't careful, they are still a staple of guitarists' rigs. Your pedals make up as much of your sound as the guitar and amp you choose. So whether you run one or one hundred effects, the end result has to be something that you are satisfied with.