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



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.



Take out the "guts."



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



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





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



And sand/spray/repeat.



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



Which really helped with drying out the clear coats.



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!



A quick pedal layout...



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

The next day we made some risers.



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!



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



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



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!



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



Another layout/spec. Placing velcro...



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



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!



The final board - better pic to follow in daylight!

looks great! And I dig how you guys are rockin life

AxAxSxS wrote:looks great! And I dig how you guys are rockin life

Yeah man. Super cool!

dude.. nice work!
that looks really awesome. the finishing on the wood really takes it up a notch. I also like how you put it in the lid of the case instead of the big section.
I really need to step my game up, I just throw my pedals on a big wood slab and throw that into a shitty old suitcase I found in my basement stuffed with a pillow so they don't move around

Wow, that looks great. I like the design of this much more than most boutique/custom pedalboards out there.
I'd buy one for sure.

The pictures in this thread are much more awesome than i was expecting. that pedalboard looks great!

OddKnowledge wrote:The pictures in this thread are much more awesome than i was expecting. that pedalboard looks great!

Thanks! I'm happy I can finally put my photo degree to work, haha (even if my camera is based in my phone).

shred wrote:dude.. nice work!
that looks really awesome. the finishing on the wood really takes it up a notch. I also like how you put it in the lid of the case instead of the big section.
I really need to step my game up, I just throw my pedals on a big wood slab and throw that into a shitty old suitcase I found in my basement stuffed with a pillow so they don't move around

kosta wrote:

AxAxSxS wrote:looks great! And I dig how you guys are rockin life

Yeah man. Super cool!

Thanks guys!

greyscales wrote:Wow, that looks great. I like the design of this much more than most boutique/custom pedalboards out there.
I'd buy one for sure.

I'm starting a cross-country trip in a few days and I've said that if I find any similar suitcases for a decent price I'll snag 'em and send them Pauls way so we can make a few more of these, not as a business, but maybe toss 'em up on Etsy for fun ya know? I'll let you know if we ever do (in years of visiting junk shops I've rarely come across a suitcase like this one that was affordable).

Board looks awesome, nice work

the chicken looks pretty good

Nice! That rules, great job. Looks tiny in the first few pictures, but then you realize it's freaking huge. With tons of looping!

Awesome!

Looks great!

Awesome stuff. I scored some old tweed suitcases from my grandpa, and I've been meaning to build a suitcase amp with them. Just haven't found the time yet

New pics up!

This is easily the nicest looking suitcase board I've ever seen! Well done!!!