10 Cool Boutique Pedalboard Companies

10 Cool Boutique Pedalboard Companies

Why be normal? These pedalboard companies aren't...

by Monique Hernandez-Fuentes

The guitar pedal industry is thriving with new releases all the time. But when it comes to displaying your large Strymon (or whatever!) pedalboard collection, hauling them all around individually seems silly. Check out the list below for 10 cool boutique pedalboard companies and get inspired to organize your guitar pedals!

West Coast Pedal Boards - based out of Northern California, West Coast Pedal Board sources as many of their guitar pedalboard components and materials from the U.S. as possible. They offer an online Pedal Board Customizing Tool, which lets you build the custom pedalboard of your dreams. Their pedalboards include special angled pedalboards, flat pedalboards, pedal demo pedalboards and even their signature "Little Rock" series of pedalboards. Make your own custom pedalboard as wild or as mild as you'd like - choose from tolex, figured wood or even tie-dye pedalboards. Complement your pedalboard with a matching case or optional flight case for your pedalboard.

Trailer Trash Pedalboards - headquarted in Southern California, Trailer Trash Pedalboards makes four general shapes of pedalboards: the FlatTrash pedalboard, the FlatTrash with Riser pedalboard, ProSeries pedalboard and the awesome GlowTop pedalboards. Trailer Trash Pedalboards make hard-wired pedalboards and take pride in wiring their pedalboards professionally. The result is a high-quality and unique pedalboard with total sonic clarity - and man, those GlowTop pedalboards look pretty sweet.

Temple Boards - Temple Boards use a cutting-edge, modern design with an awesome system for easily installing your guitar pedals that they call the Quick Release Mounting System. This pedalboard system is great for those who hate the mess and annoyance of Velcro®. Also highly convenient is their Temple Modular End Panel System, which provides fully interchangeable connectivity. Optimized for constantly evolving pedalboard configurations. "Tetris-ing" your guitar pedals has never been simpler.

Creation Music Company - over in Bixby, Oklahoma, the cool folks at Creation Music Company not only have angled pedalboards and flat pedalboards, they recently created the unique laser topper pedalboards for ultimate customization of your wah/volume pedals. Creation Music Company is even experimenting with guitar pedal storage via the addition of the clever “pedal wall” to their product line – a neat way to store your Velcro’d guitar pedals when not in use on your pedalboard!

Chemistry Design Werks - these folks over in Minneapolis, MN have created a unique pedalboard experience. The Holeyboard Design allows you to affix your guitar pedals quickly and easily with zip ties, so there's no need for Velcro. The angled riser (the “Top Deck”) allows for reaching your back-row guitar pedals without a lot of footwork, not to mention ease of storage for your guitar power supply right underneath. The pedalboard also features three integrated handles for ease of movement no matter where your gig is. The pedalboard's design follows the arc of your foot, so the design is intuitive and also looks great.

Aclam Guitars - made in Barcelona, these anodized aluminum pedalboards are lightweight and can be upgraded easily to suit your growing guitar pedal collection. Using their Fastener System, it's easy to add or subtract guitar pedals with a simple screw gesture. You can use  different accessories for each pedalboard they offer to keep expanding even further, whether you want to add a riser or even add an extension.

GroundSwell Pedalboards - hailing from Gainesville, FL, the GroundSwell pedalboard collection includes simple, beautifully designed wood boards. Wood base customization options for these unique pedalboards consist of oak, walnut, curly maple, mahogany, red padauk, butternut, cherry, wenge and zebrawood with natural, jet black, and rustic ebony board plating.

Helweg Design - from Lawrence, Kansas, Helweg Design presents a unique pedalboard design, the Openwing Series, for easy guitar pedal arranging. The wing slots function as handles and allow for patch connections as well as guitar instrument cables. The electronic components of these pedalboards mount into metal, not wood, for reliable support. And customization options are available: choose from industrial textured upholstery or woven vinyl coverings. With a low-profile front row, you should have no problem accessing all of your guitar pedals.

Schmidt Array - innovative German design makes the Schmidt Array pedalboards really stand out. Based on an arched shape, the pedalboard also has a hinged top deck, allowing for careful storage of your guitar power supply. Color options seem limitless, and there’s even a handy additional lid for the case available to match the sleek design of the pedalboard.

Phantom Pedal Boards - simple yet functional is the name of the game with Phantom Pedal Boards. Phantom uses a classic slanted board that comes in a variety of sizes, complete with custom spec’d tolex wrappings of your choice. More recently, they've experimented with integrating a BOSS TU-3 Tuner and NS-2 Noise Suppressor seamlessly into the pedalboard. Can’t wait to see more of their active-circuit pedalboard integration in the future!

Once you have the boutique pedalboard of your dreams, congratulations! If you need help organizing your guitar pedal chain, Guitar Tricks has you covered with this introductory tutorial. Happy pedalling! -HC-

Reprinted with express written permission

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Monique Hernandez-Fuentes writes for GuitarTricks.com, home to 11,000 guitar lesson videos, free guitar chord charts, an interactive forum and more.