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Most pedalboards start the same way: a tuner and a drive pedal on the floor, held together by a tangle of cables and a bag of batteries. Then a delay arrives, then a reverb, and suddenly setting up for a rehearsal takes longer than the first song. A pedalboard fixes that. It keeps your pedals in one place, powers them properly and lets you set up in a couple of minutes.
I am a songwriter, and I build FencyGuitar, a guitar learning app, so I care about anything that removes friction between picking up the guitar and making music. This guide walks through building a board step by step: choosing the board, ordering the pedals, powering them and wiring them up. UK prices were checked on 26 October 2026, mostly at guitarguitar.
The Quick Answer
| Step | What to do | Typical UK cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Choose a board | Pick one with room for one or two more pedals than you own | £55 to £120 |
| 2. Plan the order | Tuner, then dynamics and drive, then modulation, delay and reverb | Free |
| 3. Power it | Use an isolated multi output supply if you can | £42 to £200 |
| 4. Wire it | Short patch cables, plus good cables to and from the board | £20 to £60 |
| 5. Fix it down | Hook and loop tape, cable ties | About £14 |
A sensible first board with a few pedals, decent power and cables usually costs between £150 and £250 before the pedals themselves.
Do You Need a Pedalboard?
If you own one or two pedals and only play at home, probably not yet. A single drive pedal on the floor with a mains adaptor is fine.
A board starts to make sense when you have three or more pedals, when you play at rehearsals or gigs, or when you are tired of batteries running out halfway through a song. It also protects your pedals, keeps cables from being kicked loose, and makes your sound repeatable, because every pedal stays in the same order with the same settings.
If you prefer one box that does everything, a multi effects unit may suit you better than a board of individual pedals. Our Valeton GP-50 vs Boss GT-1 vs Zoom G1X Four comparison covers the best budget options.
Step 1: Choose the Board
Measure your pedals before you buy anything. Lay them on the floor in the order you want, leave a finger's width between them, and measure the total width and depth. Then add room for at least one more pedal, because almost everyone buys another.
Small boards for three to five pedals. The Boss BCB-30X was £55 at guitarguitar, a hard shell carry case with space for a few compact pedals. The Pedaltrain Nano with soft case was £63, and the Pedaltrain Metro 16 with soft case was £65. These suit a tuner, a drive or two and a delay.
Medium boards for five to eight pedals. The D'Addario XPND 1 was £79 and can be extended. The NUX Medium Bumblebee pedalboard with bag and accessories was £119, and the Pedaltrain Metro 20 with soft case was £85. The Pedaltrain Classic JR with soft case was £119.
Larger boards. The Pedaltrain Classic 2 with soft case was £149, and Voodoo Lab's Dingbat boards ranged from £135 to £285, with packages including a power supply.
Things to look for. Rail style boards, like Pedaltrain's, let you run cables and mount a power supply underneath. A slight slope makes back row pedals easier to reach. A soft case is fine for car journeys; a hard or tour case is worth it if the board goes in a van or gets checked onto a plane.
Step 2: Plan the Signal Chain
The order of your pedals changes your sound. There are no hard rules, and plenty of great records break them, but this order is the standard starting point:
Tuner. First, so it receives a clean signal. Many tuners also mute the signal while you tune.
Filters such as wah. Wah usually works best early, before drive.
Compressor. Evens out your playing before it hits the drive pedals.
Fuzz. Many vintage style fuzz pedals sound best with your guitar plugged straight into them, so they often go near the start.
Overdrive and distortion. Low gain pedals usually go before higher gain ones. Our Blues Driver vs Tube Screamer vs Klon comparison explains how different drives stack.
Boost. After the drives to lift your volume for solos, or before them to push them harder.
Modulation. Chorus, phaser, flanger and tremolo.
Delay. After drive, so the repeats stay clear.
Reverb. Last, because reverb imitates the room around your amp.
Volume pedals can go early, acting like your guitar's volume knob, or late, acting as a master volume that also fades delay and reverb tails.
Using an effects loop. If your amp has an effects loop, you can run drive pedals into the front of the amp and modulation, delay and reverb through the loop. This keeps time based effects clear when the amp itself is distorting. Small valve combos such as the Blues Junior and Princeton Reverb do not have one; our Blues Junior vs Princeton Reverb comparison covers what that means for pedals.
Modelling amps. If you use a modeller such as a Boss Katana, choose a clean amp model and let your pedals add the dirt, or use the amp's own effects and keep the board small. Our Boss Katana vs Positive Grid Spark comparison has more detail.
Step 3: Power It Properly
Power is where most boards go wrong, and bad power is the most common cause of hum and noise.
Check what each pedal needs. Most compact pedals take 9V DC with a centre negative plug, the Boss standard. Some need 12V or 18V. Look at each pedal's current draw in milliamps (mA), printed near the power socket or in the manual. Analogue drive pedals often draw under 50mA; digital delays and reverbs can draw 250mA or more.
Daisy chains. A single adaptor with a cable that links several pedals is cheap. The Truetone 1 Spot Combo was £41.99. It works for a few analogue pedals, but mixing digital and analogue pedals on one daisy chain can cause hum, and the total current must stay within the adaptor's limit.
Isolated supplies. An isolated supply gives each pedal its own separate output, which removes most hum caused by pedals sharing power. The Ordo OP-8 Isolated Power Supply was £49, the Strymon Ojai was £149, and the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus, a long standing favourite, was £199. Many mount underneath rail style boards.
Plan for growth. Choose a supply with one or two spare outputs and enough current for a digital pedal you may add later.
Never guess voltages. Plugging an 18V supply into a 9V only pedal can damage it. If you are unsure, check the manual.
Step 4: Wire It Up
Patch cables. Short cables link one pedal to the next. Flat or low profile plugs save space. You can buy ready made cables or a solderless kit that lets you cut cables to exact lengths. Keep them as short as practical.
Main cables. You need one good cable from your guitar to the board and one from the board to the amp. Long, cheap cables lose high frequencies, so do not save money here.
True bypass and buffers. A true bypass pedal connects input to output directly when it is off. A buffered pedal, such as most Boss pedals, sends a stronger signal down long cables. With lots of true bypass pedals and long cables, your sound can get duller; one good buffer near the start of the board usually fixes it.
Going wireless. A wireless system removes the cable between guitar and board, which is handy on bigger stages. If you want to try it, Fency Music, our sister store, carries the Xvive A58 Guitar Wireless System, which runs on the 5.8GHz band rather than the crowded 2.4GHz band that Wi Fi uses.
Step 5: Lay It Out and Fix It Down
Put the pedals you stomp most at the front. Drive pedals and delay usually go on the front row; set and forget pedals, such as compressors, can go behind.
Leave room for your feet. Pedals packed too tightly lead to accidental presses on stage.
Fix pedals with hook and loop tape. Pedaltrain's hook and loop tape was £13.99. Clean the base of each pedal first and avoid covering battery doors or screws you might need.
Tidy the cables. Run patch cables under the board where possible, use cable ties, and label the power leads.
Test before you fix everything. Plug in, play every pedal on and off, and listen for hum, crackle or volume drops. Moving one power lead or swapping a patch cable often solves a noise problem.
Example Boards by Budget
About £150 to £200 (plus pedals). A Pedaltrain Nano or Metro 16, a Truetone 1 Spot Combo or Ordo OP-8, and a set of patch cables. Room for a tuner, a drive, a delay and one more.
About £250 to £350 (plus pedals). A Pedaltrain Metro 20 or NUX Medium Bumblebee, a Strymon Ojai or Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus, a solderless cable kit and decent main cables. Room for six to eight pedals.
Ambient and atmospheric boards. Reverb is often the star. If you want a convolution reverb that recreates real spaces, Fency Music also carries the Hotone Verbera NC-200, which loads impulse responses and runs in stereo.
Hybrid boards. Many players now put an amp modeller on the board alongside a few favourite pedals. A unit that runs Neural Amp Modeler captures can replace the amp entirely; our guide to NAM explains how that works, and our guide to modelling vs valve amps covers the wider trade offs.
Recording with Your Board
A finished board makes recording easier, because your sound is the same every time. Plug the board into an amp and mic it, or run it into a modeller or audio interface with a cabinet simulator. Our guide to recording guitar at home covers both routes. Take a photo of your settings before each session so you can recreate a sound later.
What I Don't Like About Pedalboards
They grow. A board that started with three pedals can turn into a heavy, expensive project. Decide what you actually need for your songs.
Power gets complicated. Different voltages, current draws and plug polarities can be confusing, and mistakes can damage pedals.
Noise hunting is tedious. Tracking down hum from one cable or power lead can take an afternoon.
Weight. A full board with a tour case can be heavy. Think about how you will carry it, especially on public transport.
Who Should Skip a Pedalboard
Players with one or two pedals. A pedal on the floor and an adaptor is enough.
Players who mainly practise with headphones. A multi effects unit is simpler, quieter and cheaper. Our best practice amps roundup covers amps with effects built in.
Players on a very tight budget. Spend on a good amp and a proper setup first.
Anyone buying used pedals without checking them. Test every pedal before it goes on the board. Our guide to buying a used guitar in the UK explains your rights when buying second hand gear.
FAQ
What order should guitar pedals go in?
The standard order is tuner, wah, compressor, fuzz, overdrive and distortion, boost, modulation, delay and reverb. It is a starting point, not a rule. Try moving one pedal at a time and listen. Many players put fuzz first and experiment with boosts before or after their drive pedals.
Do I need an isolated power supply?
You do not always need an isolated supply, but it is the best way to avoid hum. A daisy chain works for a few analogue pedals. If you mix digital and analogue pedals, or hear noise, an isolated supply such as the Ordo OP-8 or Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus usually solves it.
How big a pedalboard should I buy?
Buy a pedalboard with space for one or two more pedals than you own now. Lay your pedals out on the floor, measure the width and depth, and add a margin. Small boards suit three to five pedals; medium boards suit five to eight and leave room to grow.
What is the difference between true bypass and buffered pedals?
A true bypass pedal connects its input straight to its output when switched off, so it adds nothing to your sound. A buffered pedal drives the signal more strongly through long cables. Lots of true bypass pedals and long cables can dull your tone, and one good buffer usually fixes that.
Can I put a multi effects unit on a pedalboard?
Yes, you can put a multi effects unit on a pedalboard. Many players use one for amp sounds, delay and reverb, and add a few favourite analogue pedals around it. Check its power needs, because multi effects units often draw much more current than compact pedals.
The Bottom End
Building a pedalboard is less about gear and more about planning. Measure your pedals, choose a board with room to grow, put the pedals in a sensible order, give them clean power and keep the cables short. Do that and your sound becomes reliable, your setup becomes quick, and you spend more time playing. Start small, add pedals only when a song needs them, and the board will grow into something that truly sounds like you.
