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Building a Suitcase Pedalboard (with photos)


npfrs

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So the other day I found a suitcase in a local junk shop.

 

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I was thinking "This would make a great pedalboard!" So I bought it and started the process, with a lot of help from my buddy Paul, of making that instant dream an instant, of sorts, reality.

 

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Take out the "guts."

 

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Paul had the idea to use some cedar planks he had laying around. I was skeptical at first.

 

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However it didn't look half-bad when we mocked it up.

 

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After some sanding we sprayed it with some random polyurethane clear coat that was laying around.

 

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And sand/spray/repeat.

 

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By then it was time for a post-birthday/pre-show meal.

 

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Which really helped with drying out the clear coats.

 

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For something that we thought we'd just mock-up quickly for a show before taking it apart and starting again the next day... it actually turned out really well!

 

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A quick pedal layout...

 

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And at that point the project was put on hold to play a house show!

 

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The next day we made some risers.

 

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We also got some latches for the suitcase, although I'm still looking for nicer ones to replace these in the future. Function over fashion for now!

 

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We made a shelf to hide the power supplies and did a pedal layout with risers.

 

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It all looked good so we added some handles (top and right) and scured the "power shelf."

 

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All that's left now is to place the velcro, place the pedals, wire it all up, and write music. More photos to follow with each of those steps!

**UPDATE**

 

The velcro is being placed and I've attached the power supplies with it as well. Fortunate note = the M9 wall wart also fits underneath the shelf and can be velcro'd in. Score!

 

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The risers are also attached using velcro. It'll make it easier to move them around if ever necessary; I'm thinking ahead.

 

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Another layout/spec. Placing velcro...

 

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Velcro done, risers in place, making cables - so tedious.... thank goodness for a cold brew!

 

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I asked Paul to put his stamp on the board. It's a sig made with a bent paper clip and just gets hammered in. Happy to have a good friends mark there to remind me of the fun we had making it!

 

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The final board - better pic to follow in daylight!

 

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Here are some final photos. The biggest problem was the weight of the board, being in the lid, was making the whole case buckle when lifted form the original handle, attached to the case part. So I got a nice handle and we screwed it into the board/suitcase so when you lift, you're lifting the board itself, not a chipboard case. MUCH BETTER!

 

Here she is:

 

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And in the included leather case:

 

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Glamour shot of me playing it:

 

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And the rest...

 

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