The Smorg Custom Build Thread...

dindude · January 2016

I've made a few custom size boards for people over the last 6 months or so and each time I intend on doing a photo diary of the process but time is always tight so I end up focusing on getting the board finished and out to the customer, and the diary idea disappears.

Well this time I'm going to build a custom size for myself and time isn't so important, so I thought I would document it here for anyone who's interested, so long as you can put up with my idle ramblings and be a little patient, as this will take a good couple of weeks to come together.

I'll show the thought process behind my decisions and also an insight into the build process of the board.

I REALLY do over-think my boards, what pedals go on them, what stays off (often overlooked), power, layout etc. I guess that's how I came to start making my own, and then making them for other people. And I know I'm not alone here, looking at some of the boards on this here forum.

Smorg btw is very much a labour of love, it doesn't put food on the table, I just get a kick out of making them and seeing them in use from other players.

So after that little intro, the first question is what is the board for?

If you are someone who chops and changes pedals all the time then I always recommend a standard size, off-the-shelf job, choose the right one and it will have enough flexibility to see you through.

However, thats waaaaaay too easy!, my intention with this is to make my chosen pedals really work for me, from a space point of view and a practicality point of view.

This has pretty much been my board for the last 6 months or so, very simple, very effective, and on a standard Grab600.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/03ed898c20c3d980b7745bfd486c8a4a_zps7sl53w3y.jpg

Over the last month or so, I wanted to make it just a little comprehensive, whilst still keeping the "simple as possible mantra" that I have.

A few things needed fixing for me, fundamentally I wasn't happy with my high gain sounds. The Sick As is the best low gainer I've tried, the LGW the best mid-gainer - and the Amber on its own or the SA stacked into the LGW provided the high gain.

Both were great sounds, but just not quite what I was looking for. High gain is tricky one for me as I don't want the traditional modded Marshall bite or the smooth Boogies sound either - not really sure how to describe it really, but I want a gainy but lively extension of an overdrive sound, not "distortion" as such.

I also missed having a Trem pedal after getting rid of my Tremulator, and after going Snark for a while, I wanted a pedal tuner too.

So after much faffing around and experimentation these are the pedals I'm gonna go with, for me they really represent the best of the best for their respective roles that I've tried.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/41329025e3c8ed06f22597eee7ac2af1_zpsjzbl2hex.jpg

This is them on a standard Tier500. Now any sensible person would just go with it and relish the challenge of filling that remaining space. Nah, I don't want anything else on there, and I've thought long and hard too. Anything else just messes with the vibe maaaan. Having said that I may still keep an off-board fuzz for those moments - but it will be a battery only, no led, guitar input first unadulterated fuzz pedal.

So two things came to mind, a). I can make it more compact and b). I want to overcome some tap-dancing issues with the various drive stacking combinations and also getting to the pedals on the back row.

More on this in the next instalment.

So lesson number one - if you're going custom board, be very sure of your pedal selection.

TimmyO · January 2016

Nice

dindude · January 2016

So pedals chosen, the next consideration is if I want to add any switching, something I've never done before, but with a few different fav stacking combinations it has become a real consideration.

Basically I rarely stack the Sick As into anything, I run it alone for edge of break-up, and then run either the LGW, the Unimos, or the LGW>Unimos together for various amounts of gain. Not to say there aren't good sound stacking the Sick As into the others, just not at the settings I tend to use the Sick As at, that's all.

I've narrowed it down to 5 (!) options varying in sophistication:

Option 1. No switching options, run all 7 pedals in line and switch them in and out as required.

Simple as it gets, the only problem is say I want to go (as an example) from Sick As on it's own to the LGW stacking into the Unimos, that's 3 stomps to get from one sound to the other.

Option 2. Run something like the Skreddy Dual Loop, which switches between two distinct loops. I would run this with the Sick As in Loop A and the LGW>Unimos in Loop B. This way I can flick between either Clean or Sick As when Loop A is selected and then (pre)select either LGW, Unimos, or both in Loop B. Very simple, only down side is that if I did ever want to stack the Sick As into the other drives for a particular sound I would need to re-patch.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/DualLoop_zpstjwgbucd.jpg

Option 3. Gigrig Quartermaster QMX 4, I would patch Sick As in Loop 1, LGW+Unimos in Loop 2, Trem in Loop 3, Tuner in Loop 4. The Swirl would feed the input and the Delay would come off the output, which suits me as the delay is my only buffer in the chain thus I would want it always on.

By using the flip flop function of the QMX I could achieve the same results as option 2 above but also at the flick of a switch return to normal operation like option A, useful for the odd occasion I want to experiment with the Sick As for stacking. The other advantage of the QMX - I could also flip flop the Trem so that I could be one button push away from a Trem'd clean sound to either the Sick As on it's own or any of the LGW/Unimos combinations. Using Loop 4 for the Tuner would mean I could place it anywhere out of reach and it wouldn't matter.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/tgr-qmx4-400_zpscta0nang.jpg

Option 4. Option 4 would be to use the One Control Salamandra - this is a 3 loop box that has 16 presets that can put the three loops in any order and apply a buffer per preset if required, also has a dedicated tuner out.

Obvious advantage would be to patch the three drive pedals into the three loops and have any permutation of stacking available at the flick of a switch, with the Swirl feeding the input and the Trem and Delay coming off the output.

Downside, I think I would possibly spend too much time dicking around with the various permutations. Also, Only two recallable programmes before you have to hit the bank button takes away a lot of the advantages.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/OC_zpsvlx8i62l.jpg

Option 5. Something like the Musicomlab 8L. Now we are getting complex, I could patch the whole lot through the various loops and have presets with Trem/Delay/Swirl ready to go, as well as the various drive combinations.

Disadvantage is that I think I would quickly loose where I was with it all and just want to be able to kick pedals (particularly Delay/Trem/Swirl) on and off at will.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/musicomlab_EFX_8L__06752.1439885617.728.485_zpsasxwvvfa.jpg

Choices, choices. I told you I over-think it!

dindude · January 2016

The above options have been in consideration for a while and I've pretty much ruled out option 1 and option 5. Option 1 because I really fancy switching between the drives more easily and Option 5 because it just get's too complex.

For Options 2 and 4, the board may be not far off a Tier500 after all, that last space (although in a different place) would be filled by either the Skreddy Dual Loop or (at a push) the Salamndra.

For Option 3, it would lean towards a different layout, so out comes my highly sophistiacted "pedalboard layout programme", AKA Excel.

It's not exactly CAD but it's never let me down. I could do something like this:

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/0ca56f06a88a01836fcc6241d4a614c7_zpsk2tlbb2m.jpg

And planned out on the floor (minus the Gigrig):

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/d822616099935f9c7c1b6ec883c0b777_zpsr5pqqmyp.jpg

Quite liking this middle-ground option, it would be nice and compact, give options but not be too complex. But I need to sleep on it.

Lesson number 2 - know what you want your pedals/board to do for you!

dindude · January 2016

In the words of Roger Waters "is there anybody out there....."

Anyways, I've decided I'm def going for the Gigrig QMX option 3. So this is the bit where I've got my pedals sorted and I make contact with myself regarding a custom build option.

Time now to draft up a few different options on what the board could look like, but I also need to consider what power supply I'm going with and cable options too (soldered vs more compact solderless ones) as this will also help determine the board size and height.

More musings on this to follow....

hubobulous · January 2016

Yes, I'm here!!

Following with interest. I think sometimes its just the nature of a build thread, or suchlike where people watch and read, but unless there's questions etc for them to respond to, things stay quiet.

But for me, I'm really enjoying reading this. I like to know the thinking behind people's work rather than just pretty photos, so the substance that you're adding is being appreciated.

I'll be vocal from now on, I promise ;-)

PVO_Dave · January 2016

Following too

dindude · January 2016

Cheers fellas, I do get that such threads don't necessarily drive reciprocation.

joeyowen · January 2016

I'm loving it so far!

dindude · January 2016

So whilst I'm waiting to get my hands on the Gigrig QMX, time to look at a few options.

There are basically three different elements to a Smorg Pedalboard:

1. The frame - this is built from 25mm x 25mm square Aluminium tube. Whilst I make it that pedals can happily overlap onto the frame, I tend to plan so that the pedals sit just within, which suits my Pedal-OCD and allows a bit of wiggle room. It also allows room for jack plugs etc without them actually exceeding the frame edge.

2. The Plate(s) - The Grab range has one single plate with a gap at the top to allow power cables to get the power supply underneath, the Tier has two plates with a gap at the top and in between the two plates for the same purpose.

3. Legs / Feet - The Grab has feet of varying size to give it height, the Tier has metal legs at the back to give it increased height.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/113128ef-6c99-440a-ae11-e1634f5e2e85_zpsgsc7ulsh.jpg

All of the above 3 elements can basically be custom sized to give whatever is needed, which gives a pretty big scope. I have however turned people away on custom enquiries when they basically ask for something that doesn't fit the core Smorg design. I.e. I have had requests for holes in the plate, or very thin rails, or even to have it made out of wood! There are often better options for this, a bit liking going to Fender to make your ideal Les Paul.

So anyway for my build, the frame pretty much speaks for itself, I think I have the right dims but I will check once I have the QMX in my grasp and have decided on soldered or solder less cables.

For the plate, two options spring to mind.

One big single plate with a gap at top for power supply cables to get underneath, just like a deep Grab really, like this.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/PB1_zpsfn83jv30.jpg

Or Two plates like a Tier with a gap between, albeit the depth of the two plates would be reduced from standard 125mm (to around 100mm each), like this.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/PB3_zpsefkfuaal.jpg

I don't intend on running any audio cables under the board, just power cables so either could work and I think the first option would be neater as the pedals would have a solid plateform to sit on, even though the power cables from the front row would need to run to the top of the board (not a big problem).

Here's a basic depiction:

First Option with pedals - my preference at the moment.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/PB2_zpsvxloejbt.jpg

Second option with pedals - although not exactly to scale you can see that some pedals would likely overhang the gap between the two plates, not the neatest solution.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/PB4_zps264vos3c.jpg

The feet / legs options will follow, I first need to decide if my current power supply meets my requirements. But basically I know I want to keep the height / angle as small as possible as the bulk of the switching will be done from the front row.

More to come...........

Strat_a_tat_tat · January 2016

I see there's a review of your boards in the latest Guitar and Bass!

I'm off to read it now...

dindude · January 2016

Strat_a_tat_tat said:

I see there's a review of your boards in the latest Guitar and Bass!
I'm off to read it now...

Oohhhh haven't seen it myself yet! Very interesting....

Strat_a_tat_tat · January 2016

@dindude

9/10.... impressive!

dindude · January 2016

Strat_a_tat_tat said:

@dindude
9/10.... impressive!

Cool!

rsvmark · January 2016

Good work - and enjoying the thread. I can understand your preference for option 1 as it fits your set up better. Would option 2 be more flexible (and therefore more attractive to customers) assuming you were to put it into 'production' as a standard product?

dindude · January 2016

rsvmark said:

Good work - and enjoying the thread. I can understand your preference for option 1 as it fits your set up better. Would option 2 be more flexible (and therefore more attractive to customers) assuming you were to put it into 'production' as a standard product?

Yeah possibly. I am thinking about doing an "inbetweeny" at some stage.

hubobulous · January 2016

I think option 2 is better as well. I know your OCD doesn't like the overhang, but Option 1 seems less flexible for the cabling.

Both are cool though.

ThorpyFX · January 2016

lovely pedalboard build. I like the ability to change the feet height. thisll help cable routing etc.

Strat_a_tat_tat · January 2016

hubobulous said:

I know your OCD doesn't like the overhang...

This place never ceases to amaze me... where else can you get info. on pedal board layout... plus advice on minor mental health issues?

oaf · January 2016

I like the look of the Tier with the two gaps... much more flexible. OCD schmoCD!

BigMonka · January 2016

I love build threads like this

On your Excel layout plan is it worth putting on the input/output/power locations on each pedal to help you work out neat routing and whether the central gap in the second option would be worth it?

I prefer the second option for flexibility, but would the overhang of the pedals stop the pedal switching feeling as solid when you step on them? (although I know you won't need to often due to the new looper/switching system)

dindude · January 2016

Hhhhmmm, think I'm gonna go with the one big plate TBH. I wanna kind of prove the concept that wires on top can be just as neat, if not neater, that running underneath.

What is fun is that, whilst in a state of flux, the pedals are "loose" at the moment, so each evening I'm picking off one, or two maximum, to plug in and play with. Quite liberating as you get to relearn that pedal or two without distraction.

For a nano-second I considered a micro board with just the Unimos and the Counter Point. I dialled my amp with a bit more girth than usual and got some stunning sounds with two pedals.

But don't worry, I'm better now.

ThorpyFX · January 2016

You know, I've often thought, wouldn't it be nice to have a large pedalboard that had a pull away small section in it to use as a grab and go board.

dindude · January 2016

The Gigrig Quartermaster QMX 4 has landed. Gigrig stuff isn't the cheapest option but the quality of the unit is very high. The switches are a joy to use, and having them all evenly spaced and consistent in feel is a real boon that I didn't expect.

Initial bit of testing, there is a very very slight loss of high end compared with going direct to the amp but this is par for the course going through 4 switches and extra cable, no matter how high quality, and nothing a buffer at the end can't compensate for.

Layout seems to work as planned.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/7d35935f07e8fcbc074acd325657ded0_zpsovyshvhi.jpg

Now to the choice of cables. Was thinking of going Evidence SIS solderless, the best solderless I've used. But there is enough room to go soldered so I might get Kabl to knock me up some bespoke sizes, it will probably end up being cheaper and I do suffer a little from solderless-anxiety! (To go with my board-OCD).

Then if I get time tomorrow I need to test my Cioks DC5 to see if it can power all 8 devices happily. It has enough overall power for sure, but three of the five outlets I will need to double up so its just which combinations keep noise at bay.

Other decisions:

LGW and Trem can run up to 18v, so will test them at 9v, 12v, and 18v to see what works best.

Can't yet decide whether to run LGW-Unimos or Unimos-LGW, both stacking combinations sounds great.

Fez · January 2016

Great thread, need to read the review in G&B which I bought the other day.

dindude · January 2016

Found time this morning to spend an hour or so in tangle of wires and this is what I've learnt.

LGW into Unimos is the right way around, sounds epic for full fat lead tone.

With the Sick As into the LGW I also found a great sound for a higher gain but brighter tone suitable for neck pickups.

Because of the above I think each of the three drives will get their own loop in the QMX, the Unimos and Sick As will flip/flop (as I never use them together) and the LGW in-between them gets kicked on and off to give the above fatter sounds when need.

The Flip/flop function on the QMX is great, I'm sold. Spend a little time setting up the levels, then flicking between 5 core gain levels is a joy. Clean/Sick As on its own/Sick As stacking into LGW/ Unimos on its own/LGW stacking into Unimos.Then kick in Delay or Swirl as required.

It then got me thinking, the Trem almost stands alone in this set of sounds. I tend to use it on its own just with clean amp and amp reverb. I like having Trem around but it's not a core sound for me.

So I'm thinking of maybe leaving it off board and just use it when inspiration strikes. I've also got a full size fuzz face which I'm leaving off board for the same reasons - I want one around but don't use it all the time. It kinda works because the fuzz face will always go up front and the Trem can go last in line, so no patching to do if I want to use them. The Trem is also pretty power hungry at 300ma so this helps.

The board could then be more compact like this:

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/c95ad85a344d22e102ba878f5da17995_zpsdx6m6luz.jpg

Hhhhmmm, food for though.

Good job I'm not in a rush with this board!

dindude · January 2016

Right, enough time spent deliberating and considering in a mess of wires: ;http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/IMG_1153_zpsmfvgjg8f.jpg

Decision time..............

After all that I'm pretty much going with my very first thoughts.

The Trem stays, it's just too good a pedal to leave off and I need to remember that one of my original intentions was to have a more comprehensive board. Not only that but the clean boost side is really useful for clean gain make up when using the straight clean sound of the amp. I always find that Overdrives sound best slightly pushing above unity gain, but that usually leaves the core clean tone wanting, this is neat solution to it. The position of it on the board means I can leave the boost always on (activated by one of the loops in the QMX), and can still get to the Trem on/off switch on the pedal itself.

So the final layout with rather crude cable routing.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/FinalPB_zpsdjb8tpmt.jpg

Swirl feeding input of the QMX

The Sick As in Loop 1

LGW and Unimos together in Loop 2

Trem / Boost in Loop 3

Tuner in Loop 4

Delay coming from the output of the QMX

All 4 loops set to flip/flop mode meaning selecting one turns off the other that is on at the time.

I can go from boosted clean (with or without Trem) on footswitch 3, to hairy tone on footswitch 1, then gain sounds (medium or high depending on which (or both) of the LGW and Unimos are switched on) on footswitch 2, and mute/tuner on footswitch 4. All one switch away. Bliss.

Other decisions:

I'm going with Evidence Audio SIS solderless - just gives me more flexibility than having bespoke soldered cables made.

I'm sticking with my Cioks DC5 power supply, I've not come across any issues by doubling up on some of the outlets.

And this means because it's such a slim power supply I can go with feet rather than legs and keep it nice and low.

So a word on feet. I use two sizes, one 10mm high and one 15mm high. However, by combining them I can achieve 25mm (10mm+15mm) and 30mm (2 x 15mm) feet. Like this.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/IMG_1154_zpsni3dyntf.jpg

A standard Grab board BTW has 10mm at the front and a 10mm+15mm combined at the back to give it it's slight angle and enough room underneath for a small power supply.

Because this board is deeper the angle will be shallower, so (without trying to relearn Triganomitry) I will use a 10mm at the front and 2x15mm at the back, which will give a nice angle and plenty of clearance for the Cioks.

Think that's it, I'm finally ready to start building the board!, although that will be likely at the weekend / early next week.

It's been a fun process so far, really looking forward to what this board gives me, it ticks every box on paper from my original brief.

hubobulous · January 2016

Interesting to hear it when it's built :-)

dindude · January 2016

So a bit of a delay building this as I was prioritising customer orders over my own whims!

Now ready to get going, and REALLY missing not having my pedals set up. Amazingly, I haven't changed my mind on anything during this pause, so all remains as planned.

The first stage is to prep the Aluminium.

I've cut the top and bottom tubing to size. The tubing comes to me pre-anodised in black but looks a bit battered and bruised, like this:

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/Img1_zpszly9cxrt.jpg

A combination of a few different grades of wet sanding and the scratches come out a treat and you end up with a lovely brushed look.

The photo below is after first pass of the heaviest grade - I do this before building the frame so that I can check that there are no deep rooted scratches or chips that won't come out with sanding, I can then reject before it's too late if needed. Once the board is assembled, I'll go back over it with a finer grade to get it looking even nicer.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/Img2_zpsvpek1cme.jpg

Incidentally, I'm sure Gibson are using wet sanding as one of the reasons for charging £7K for their True Historic's this year - maybe I'm missing trick!

For the sides, every Smorg that goes out the door (aside from maybe the very first two or three) have a Silver Anodised finish like this:

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/Img3_zpspq1vgf5s.jpg

However, for my own build, I'm using up some raw Milled Aluminium that I have left over from the Prototyping stage and first few builds, I don't mind this shinier rawer look, it's just not easy to get scratches out of and doesn't look as clean and professional as the Anodised I now use. But for my own build I'm not as fussed, so here are the sides of the frame:

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/Img4_zpsqlw88fag.jpg

The plate I get pre-cut for me by a local company as it requires specialist and heavy duty machinery to get it accurate. They can do any size for me and various thicknesses depending on the build, and they rarely get it wrong, they are mm precise!

Here I've gone for the standard 4mm thick plate - it will need some prep to get the edges smooth, which I do again by wet sanding, albeit with a rougher grade.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/Img5_zpshqvvz4xh.jpg

Next stage will be to assemble and glue the frame........................

dindude · January 2016

Frame glued and assembled. The plate has had the edges tidied up and smoothed off, they are razor sharp when they come to me.

Here is the plate being test fit with the frame - absolutely perfect fit.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/1370ac46cfbcc91c615324ca544ed16c_zpscu38xbtw.jpg

dindude · January 2016

I apply the Velcro to the plate before the plate goes on to the frame. A unique depth this one, but I've carried the Smorg look with thre strips of 50mm Velcro.

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/15acfcef496adcf854d3878fcf122927_zpsebgzlfr4.jpg

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