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So I am wanting to hear some opinions on how others deal with preventing signal loss. I have been planning my first custom pedal board. The idea is to have everything mounted, plug and play. This has been a long process of deciding what I want and what I need and through that process I have ended up with more pedals than I originally intended, I am still trying to narrow that list down and figure out my final configuration but since I am still in the end going to have at least 15 pedals I will be using at minimum and they are going to fit on my custom board, I am now considering two boards. Thinking about signal loss has me thinking that instead of running the two boards together, I could plan set lists around the boards where I use one main board for most stuff and the other board for the few songs I need it for. Of course that also takes some more figuring out in which pedals would go on which board and I know there are people that run 15 or more pedals on a single board so I am just looking to hear thoughts on the subject of signal loss in long signal chains and things people do to prevent it and those with experience running excessively big boards and what they do as I try and plan my final build.

my problem with the 16-pedal board i used for several years wasn't signal loss, but rather line noise from daisy-chaining. it's possible that the little Solidgold FX buffer i used on the end of the chain helped, but i haven't done enough A/Bing to say for certain.

If you have a buffered pedal within the first 3 boxes on your board you shouldn't have an issue. I have I think 20 pedals on my board at home and no issues with signal loss that I can complain about. Make sure you have clean isolated power for all your pedals, good cables, and short cable runs. The more gear you add, the more infrastructure becomes important to keep your rig sounding good.

dubkitty wrote:my problem with the 16-pedal board i used for several years wasn't signal loss, but rather line noise from daisy-chaining. it's possible that the little Solidgold FX buffer i used on the end of the chain helped, but i haven't done enough A/Bing to say for certain.

Well I guess line noise is another big issue as well that I was just including in "signal loss", wondering if certain patch cable quality would help with that or if it's just given when daisy chaining so many pedals together. Either way I am trying to figure out the best route to go. I was hoping to keep it down to 10 pedals or less but that just isn't going to happen so far I am finding everyone useful in one way or another but I certainly am unlikely to use more than three at a time and some pedals will likely just be used for one song .So in that regard I would think figuring that out and having a separate side board that can easily be swapped out that has those pedals that are used stand alone for one song might go on their own board and just tailor sets around grouping those songs together unless I can find a way to prevent signal loss and line noise with them altogether.

whoismarykelly wrote:If you have a buffered pedal within the first 3 boxes on your board you shouldn't have an issue. I have I think 20 pedals on my board at home and no issues with signal loss that I can complain about. Make sure you have clean isolated power for all your pedals, good cables, and short cable runs. The more gear you add, the more infrastructure becomes important to keep your rig sounding good.

Any advice on patch cables or good isolated power sources? I am using ispot for power right now which I know isn't probably a good long term solution power wise but I guess I certainly feel like I lack knowledge on powering pedals in a daisy chain and what is necessary and good and why. I appreciate any help, I have listened to a few of your bands tracks and they sound really good btw!

Glitches&switches wrote:

whoismarykelly wrote:If you have a buffered pedal within the first 3 boxes on your board you shouldn't have an issue. I have I think 20 pedals on my board at home and no issues with signal loss that I can complain about. Make sure you have clean isolated power for all your pedals, good cables, and short cable runs. The more gear you add, the more infrastructure becomes important to keep your rig sounding good.

Any advice on patch cables or good isolated power sources? I am using ispot for power right now which I know isn't probably a good long term solution power wise but I guess I certainly feel like I lack knowledge on powering pedals in a daisy chain and what is necessary and good and why. I appreciate any help, I have listened to a few of your bands tracks and they sound really good btw!

Yeah you're 100% going to need to dump the 1spot and get Voodoo Lab power supplies that can meet your needs. Depending on what your pedals' current draws are you might be able to get by with just a pair of PP2+ or maybe a 4x4 and a PP2+. Lots of high current pedals will mean you need their bigger power supplies. It might seem like a lot of cash to do all the infrastructure right but those are bits of gear youll keep pretty much forever and they'll make the difference between a noisy muffled rig and a clear signal path.

I've always found paragraphs to be effective.

That said I have a voodoo labs power supply I can send over to you for cheap if you'd like. It's USA power so it serves no use to me now.

D.o.S. wrote:I've always found paragraphs to be effective.

That said I have a voodoo labs power supply I can send over to you for cheap if you'd like. It's USA power so it serves no use to me now.

Awesome! PM me, I am at work right now but will be free in about 6 hours!

from recent experience, i'm afraid there's no way to get rid of line noise if you're daisy-chaining more than 3 or 4 pedals. that's the major reason i haven't recompiled my board cos i can't afford an isolated power supply until like November.

D.o.S. wrote:I've always found paragraphs to be effective.

On topic, I always find a buffer somewhere in the train does the trick. I have a few pedals with them so i never think about it

I heard the Form2 prevents signal loss.

UglyCasanova wrote:I heard the Form2 prevents signal loss.

Damn is this that dude

I would absolutely worry more about isolated power than having a custom board made. Also, maybe don't have everything mounted. Are you certain about your pedal order for the foreseeable future? Like you're not gonna get a wild hair and throw a fuzz at the end of everything or your reverb at the front? What if the day after you mount everything, the most amazing tantalizing new pedal comes out and you have everything set in stone?

I hope if you're really considering this, it's for a practical reason and not for cool points

whoismarykelly wrote:

UglyCasanova wrote:I heard the Form2 prevents signal loss.

Damn is this that dude

This is indeed, that dude.

This is ideal, only because it removes all the shitty guitar playing from my signal (still looking for a permanent solution, though).

whoismarykelly wrote:

UglyCasanova wrote:I heard the Form2 prevents signal loss.

Damn is this that dude