Happy New Year, readers! Very happy to see the back end of 2016. Let’s hope for better events in 2017, US politics notwithstanding.

First some great gig-oriented news: the new year is looking good with shows lined up perhaps every month until April, with appearances at the Salty Dog, Saturday, January 14, the Amsterdam Bicycle Club, Saturday February 11, the Linsmore, Tuesday, March 14, and Relish, Saturday April 22. Details are in the sidebar. My new 2017 poster is on the left. The Salty Dog is a new venue for FatC, and we want to make a good impression, so we hope a lot of you can be there. The show starts at 9 — really!

Promo done, here is this week’s topic: pedal boards. Non-musicians are free to tune out at this point…

I wrote a bit on gear quite a while back, and even included a shot of some of the equipment in the ManCave. Included was the PedalBoard Jr, on the left below. Over the last week, I put in some upgrades, and it now looks like the version on the right.

version 1: a Mooer micro-flanger is partially cut off on the left.

version 2

I really have liked the smaller of my pedalboards for portability and a minimal stage footprint. I have recently started using a looper for live shows (hopefully tastefully), and added a second delay, so I had to figure a way to incorporate these without taking up more surface space. I also wanted to change the orientation of the tremolo pedal (the small black one in the top row (version 1).

After a few measurements, it became obvious that the only way to do this was to add a second level. I’d also have to swap the Boss tuner for the smaller TC Electronics that I use in PedalBoard Sr. After a trip to Canadian Tire and Lowe’s, all it took was a bit of sawing (a cheap plastic cutting board), some drilling, and paint to prep the “second floor” platform.

After extending the cabling for the 9 volt power supply, and repositioning some of the Velcro fastener, the whole thing was re-assembled. The great byproduct of two levels is that there is a space for cabling and jacks in the gap between the levels.

So here is another look at the finished product. I’ve had it out for a jam last week and it performed pretty well..just working on getting all the levels balanced.

Next week, back to the songs. There’s a new one freshly written and it may even end up recorded for that blog. Until then, be well!