Tight pedal board or breathing room?

[TJSlice]

Whats yall's opinion on really tight pedal boards? Below is a pic of my new board I put to together to have as a back up/ minimalist board (got a case that fits it too for cheap). I found out I was able to squeeze all my currently used pedals on there and have been toying with the idea of using that instead of my AXS PedalPad. I've been on a portability kick lately, lol...

My one issue was that if something happened (pedal or cable dies), since everything would have custom lengths, I'd have a hell of a time rearranging pedals if the need arises. But I love the idea of a clean, neat, small board.

Opinions? Do you guys prefer crammed boards or do you like some breathing room?

 

[glassjaw7]

I say use every last inch of the board! As long as it's functional and you can step on the switches and fit your foot between pedals it's all good.

 

[LesPaul1967]

Looks great! I hope you have some seriously thin and flat right angle connectors on your patch cables

 

[The Hoff]

Personally I try and get them close as possible.

More room = more pedals

From those two pics I think the "tighter" one looks better too

 

[some dude]

I like having more space. I also don't like reaching over pedals if I can avoid it.

 

[TJSlice]

Here is my other board (old pic) with those same pedals (minus TL-2 and a Shure instead of X2).

It's a great board, but like I said, been on a "make everything as compact/take up little space as possible (while still keeping the same functionality)" streak. Playing around with some pancake connectors I had lying around, the smaller board would be probably too tight, although the Decimator can probably be probably be kicked off the board for now, as any noise I do have is the "normal amount", and to kill it I've been having to crank the knob high enough to cut off some sustain. Think I might downsize to the smaller board for the time being, then if I have to add more effects I can pull out the bigger one again and make the small one a backup/fly-in type of board. Built the board and bought a new case it'll fit in for about $50 total!

 

[Ventura]

I say use every last inch of the board! As long as it's functional and you can step on the switches and fit your foot between pedals it's all good.

Ultra tight, with full access underneath to troubleshoot bad cables, etc.

2 cents,
V.

 

[CaseyCor]

Somewhere in the middle for me, I guess. I like to keep everything tight, but I've added a small bit of space between pedals in the past out of necessity when playing live. I think the best way to do it is just start with everything crammed in there, and play "live", whether its an actual show, or you're just going through songs from start to finish like you would with a band. That way you can figure out exactly what you need, and if the configuration works for you. I learned that having a small space between pedals was easier for me on stage, but it's not a necessity at home/rerherasal.