Putting it all together

Cable management, velcro, pedal position

When it comes to cable management, a pragmatic view is that pros need perfect routing and cable ties – but tying down everything makes day-to-day tinkering and changing out pedals a pain. Instead, focus on keeping things tidy enough that when you pick up and move the ’board, things won’t snag or get damaged. Velcroing pedals in place, and gaffa-taping the main cable runs under the ’board also works, but you can use zip-ties if you want to commit. Bear in mind with zip-ties that if a cable dies live, you’ll need to cut the ties to debug it.

Where you place your pedals is a matter of personal taste, but put the pedals you use the most along the bottom row. Anything you need to reach for dramatic moments, especially live when there’s a dark stage, should be in a foolproof place. For example, you might place a looper, drive, fuzz and pitch shifter on the bottom row to avoid live mistakes. Effects that have tails are more forgiving of errors when turning them off, so delay and reverb are fine on the second row.