How to set up your first pedalboard

Whether you’ve just picked up your first pedal or you’ve already got a few that you’d like to get off the floor and set up properly, this guide will help you put together your very first pedalboard.

From overdrive and reverb to delay, chorus and everything in between, guitar pedals are one of the best ways to unlock cool new sounds and keep your playing fresh. A pedalboard gives those stompboxes a dedicated home, keeping them organised, easy to access and ready to use at the tap of a foot. Guitar pedalboards are also the most practical way to transport your effects, keeping everything secure and ready for gigs.

Getting one up and running is pretty straightforward, but there are a few key things to consider if you want the best performance, a clean signal path and enough room to expand your collection. Don’t worry though, we’ll keep things simple and cover everything you need to create a killer pedal rig.

How to build a pedalboard: step-by-step

We’ll dive into each of these areas in more detail later. But follow these easy steps, and you’ll have a pedalboard you’ll be proud to stomp all over:

Choose your pedals: Start with a selection of essential effects. A tuner, overdrive, delay and reverb are all popular choices and form the backbone of countless pedalboards, regardless of genre.
Invest in a quality power supply: Dedicated pedal power supplies deliver clean, reliable power to your pedals and can help eliminate unwanted noise. Choose one with enough outputs to power your entire setup.
Pick the right-sized pedalboard: Make sure your board has enough room for your current pedals and power supply, with a little extra space left over. Trust us, pedal collections have a habit of growing!
Plan your layout and signal chain: Before sticking anything down, experiment with pedal placement and order. A well-thought-out signal chain will help you get the very best performance from each effect and make your board easier to use.
Connect everything up: Once you’re happy with the layout, link your pedals together using patch cables, connect them to your power supply and double-check that everything is working as intended.
Mount your pedals securely: Apply Velcro to your pedals and pedalboard, then fix everything in place. Make sure you’ve left enough room between your stompboxes to comfortably access each footswitch.
Install your power supply: Most pedal PSUs can be mounted either on top of the board with Velcro or underneath it using dedicated brackets. Attaching one underneath creates a cleaner look, frees up space for more pedals and helps keep cables neatly tucked away.

Fancy an all-in-one pedalboard kit that has everything you need to get started? Check out our genre-specific guitar pedalboard bundles. No guesswork involved, just a handpicked selection of great-sounding mini pedals, a sturdy compact board with a travel case, plus all the power and cables you need to plug in and play.

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How do you know when it’s time to start buying guitar pedals?

Your guitar amp plays a big role in shaping your sound, and many modern amps come packed with handy built-in effects. Reverb is common, some vintage-style amps include a tremolo circuit, while popular modelling amps like the Boss Katana and Positive Grid Reactor offer a huge range of different effects.

But sooner or later, you might reach a point where you want something more. Maybe you’ve heard a guitarist using a soaring delay tone, a rich chorus effect or a gritty fuzz sound that your current setup can’t quite recreate. Or you might just want more control over your sound without having to dive through menus and presets.

If you’ve relied on software plugins up until now, pedals also offer a more hands-on experience. There’s something really satisfying about reaching down, twisting a dial and hearing your sound change instantly. What’s more, guitar pedals are super practical for playing live, putting your favourite sounds just a footswitch press away.

From key effects like overdrive and reverb to more adventurous options such as pitch-shifting and ring modulation, guitar pedals open up a world of creative possibilities. They reflect your musical tastes too, making a pedalboard one of the most personal parts of your rig.

The first guitar pedals you should buy

It’s easy to get distracted by quirky boutique pedals and experimental effects, but every good pedalboard starts with the basics. Here are the essential pedals you’ll find on most guitarist’s boards, from pub giggers to seasoned touring pros:

Tuner pedal

Let’s get the boring one out of the way first. We know pedal tuners might not be the most exciting addition to a pedalboard, but they’re easily one of the most important. Not only do they provide clear visual feedback to help you get back in tune, but they also mute your signal while tuning. That saves everyone within earshot from the dreaded “tuning song”.

Boss tuners have been the industry standard for years thanks to their accuracy and tank-like durability. TC Electronic PolyTune pedals are also a great shout, featuring clever polyphonic tuning tech that can tell you which strings are out of tune with a single strum.

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Overdrive and distortion pedals

You’ll never get by with just a clean tone (unless you’re a jazz cat). That’s why overdrive and distortion pedals are absolute pedalboard staples, capable of adding everything from a subtle edge-of-breakup crunch to a fire-breathing metal tone that’ll melt faces.

They’re so versatile that many guitarists use more than one drive pedal on their board. One might cover low-to-medium gain sounds, while another handles the heavier stuff. Stacking these pedals together can unlock some seriously sweet tones too.

The tricky part is knowing where to start. There are countless drive pedals out there, all inspired by different circuits and eras of guitar tone. So, to make things easier, we’ve broken down some of the most popular styles below:

Types of overdrive pedals

Tube Screamer-style overdrive pedals: Known for their mid-range boost and smooth character, these are great at pushing a clean amp into classic rock territory. They’re a secret weapon for many metal guitarists too, who use them to tighten up their high-gain amp tones.
Klon-style overdrive pedals: Famous for their transparent sound, Klon-inspired pedals enhance your existing tone rather than completely transform it. They work brilliantly as a clean boost, a low-gain overdrive or an always-on tone sweetener.
BluesBreaker-style overdrive pedals: Known for their open, dynamic sound and touch-sensitive response. They add bite and breakup without masking the natural character of your guitar and amp.
Dumble-style overdrive pedals: Inspired by the legendary Dumble amplifiers, these stompboxes deliver awesome sustain, rich harmonics and an amp-like feel that’s loved by blues, fusion and retro rock players.
RAT-style distortion pedals: Sitting somewhere between an overdrive, distortion and fuzz, RAT-style pedals are known for their gritty, aggressive character. They can cover everything from punchy rock tones to fuzzy walls of gain.
High-gain distortion pedals: Designed for modern rock and metal players who need plenty of saturation, sustain and attack. These pedals provide powerful tones primed for heavy riffing, palm-muted chugs and high-octane lead work.

Pro tip: Don’t overthink it. A Tube Screamer-style overdrive and a good high-gain distortion pedal are more than enough to get most players riffing. You can always add more flavours of drive as your pedalboard grows.

Pick up a drive pedal (or two…)

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Reverb pedal

If overdrive is all about adding more grit, reverb is all about adding more space. It’s one of the most popular guitar effects around, helping your sound feel bigger, richer and more atmospheric. From subtle ambience to vast, immersive soundscapes, a good reverb pedal can take a great guitar tone and make it feel truly epic.

Most reverb pedals offer a range of different sounds, including spring, plate, hall and shimmer reverb. Each has its own character, making reverb one of the easiest ways to add depth and colour to your tone.

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Delay pedal

Delay pedals record your guitar signal and play it back as a series of repeats. That might not sound very sexy, but as a creative tool, delay is pretty hard to beat and can totally change the way you play.

Just listen to The Edge’s work with U2. His signature use of delay helped create some of the most recognisable guitar parts ever put to tape. These pedals are brilliant for adding extra depth to clean passages, thickening up overdriven rhythms and giving lead lines more sustain and atmosphere.

Like overdrive pedals, delay is a broad category with plenty of different types to choose from. To keep things simple, most delay pedals fall into one of two camps:

Digital delay pedals: Known for their clean, crystal-clear repeats. They’re great when you want every note to remain distinct, making them a popular choice for modern rock, ambient and worship players. Many also offer extra features like tap tempo, presets and multiple delay modes.
Analogue delay pedals: Loved for their warm, organic and slightly darker sound. Each repeat naturally loses a little high-end detail, creating a characterful echo that sits beautifully behind your dry guitar signal. Blues, alternative and classic rock players swear by them.

In short, if you want pristine repeats, go digital. If you prefer a warmer, more vintage vibe, analogue delay is the way to go. Either way, you’ll soon wonder how you ever played without one.

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Other guitar effects to consider for your pedalboard

We’ve covered the essentials, but you’re bound to want to bolster your board with some extra effects down the line. The pedals below are all solid additions, but whether you need them depends entirely on the sounds you’re chasing:

Fuzz pedals: Popular with blues, alt-rock and doom players looking to make a lot of noise. Big Muff-style fuzz pedals are thick and woolly (think Smashing Pumpkins), while Tone Bender and Fuzz Face-inspired fuzzes are more direct and aggressive. This makes them great for cutting through a mix.
Wah pedals: One of the most expressive effects you can add to a pedalboard. Controlled by a foot treadle, wah pedals alter your guitar’s frequencies to create that famous vocal-like “wah” sound heard everywhere from Hendrix classics to contemporary rock and metal solos.
Chorus pedals: These sit alongside phasers and flangers in the modulation family, adding a shimmering, doubled effect that can make clean tones sound bigger and more spacious (almost like a 12-string guitar). They’re fantastic for adding character, texture and thickening up driven sounds too.
Compressor pedals: Think of a compressor as a tone smoother. These pedals help even out your playing dynamics, making quieter notes easier to hear while adding sustain and punch. They’re loved by country and funk players, but almost any guitarist can benefit from one.
Noise gate pedals: A must-have for hard rock and metal players. If you’re running lots of gain through your amp or distortion pedal, a noise gate can reduce unwanted hiss and hum — helping to keep your rig sounding tight and controlled.

Start with the basics, experiment with a few extras and before long you’ll have a pedalboard that’s completely your own. Just don’t blame us when you’re eyeing up pedal number ten… or twenty!

Choosing the right-sized pedalboard

You’ve got your stompboxes, now it’s time to give them a proper home. Pedalboards come in all shapes and sizes, but the first thing to think about is space. If you mainly play and record in your home office, there’s a good argument for choosing a larger board as you won’t have to move it around much. And even if you don’t have enough pedals to fill it right now, having a little room to grow means you won’t need to replace the whole thing when the inevitable pedal-buying bug strikes.

If you’re a gigging guitarist, portability should be your priority. A huge pedalboard may look impressive, but it’s less appealing when you’re carrying it up a flight of stairs after a two-hour set (speaking from experience here). That’s why many live players go for compact or medium-sized boards packed with versatile effects and mini guitar pedals.

It’s also worth thinking about how you’ll mount your power supply. Many modern pedalboards have a raised design or enough clearance underneath to accommodate a PSU, which helps keep cables hidden away and frees up valuable space on top. Don’t forget about protection too. If your board is regularly travelling to rehearsals and gigs, a quality gig bag or flight case can save a lot of wear and tear in the long run.

A small guitar pedalboard on a stage floor

Popular pedalboard brands

There are plenty of reputable pedalboard manufacturers out there, but these are some of the biggest names in the biz:

Pedaltrain: These guys have been building bulletproof boards for donkey’s years, and you’ll spot them on stages everywhere. Their rail-based designs make mounting pedals a doddle, while leaving plenty of room underneath for cable management and power supplies. Many larger models also feature an angled design, so pedals on the back row are easier to reach. For help choosing the right size, read our guide to Pedaltrain pedalboards.
RockBoard: Warwick‘s RockBoard range offers a huge variety of shapes and sizes, making it easy to find something that suits your setup. They’re lightweight and packed with clever cable-management options, ideal if you’re obsessive about keeping your rig neat and tidy.
Temple Audio: These boards stand out thanks to their unique modular design. They’re super-customisable and offer a range of pedalboard accessories that make it easy to integrate power supplies, patch bays and other gear. If you’re the sort of guitarist who loves optimising every detail, they’re definitely worth a look.

Pro tip: If you’re stuck between two sizes, go for the larger one. Few guitarists ever complain that their pedalboard has too much space.

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Picking a pedal power supply

While it can be tempting to daisy-chain a bunch of pedals from a single adaptor as it’s easier and cheaper, using a fully isolated power supply is the best way to power your board. That’s because each output on an isolated PSU powers a pedal independently, helping to reduce unwanted noise, hum and ground loop issues. The result? A quieter, more reliable pedalboard that’ll behave itself when it matters most.

Before buying a PSU, check how many pedals you need to power, along with the voltage and current requirements of each one. Analogue pedals such as overdrives, fuzzes and compressors usually need very little current. But digital pedals like some delays, reverbs and multi-FX units can be pretty power-hungry. It’s always worth leaving a couple of spare outputs free for future additions too.

Many brands make excellent pedal power supplies, including Strymon, Voodoo Lab, Truetone, Cioks and T-Rex. They also come in a variety of sizes, so whether you’re building a compact grab-and-go board or a sprawling pedal playground, there’s a PSU to suit.

A Palmer pedal power supply mounted underneath a guitar pedalboard

Pedal power supplies: jargon buster

Here’s a quick breakdown of some common terms that’ll crop up when shopping for a pedal power supply:

Voltage: Most pedals run on 9V DC (direct current), but some require 12V or 18V. So, always double-check the manufacturer’s specs before connecting them to your PSU. A handful of pedals use AC (alternating current) instead, although these often come with their own dedicated power supply. Using the wrong voltage can damage a pedal, so be careful!
Current: This refers to the amount of electrical charge a pedal needs and is usually measured in milliamps (mA). You’ll often see values such as 100 mA, 250 mA or 500 mA listed on both pedals and power supplies. If a pedal doesn’t receive enough current, it won’t work right. On the other hand, supplying more current than a pedal requires is perfectly safe, provided the voltage is correct.
Isolated outputs: An isolated output is electrically separated from the other outputs on a power supply. This helps prevent annoying buzzing and hum from sneaking into your guitar signal, making isolated PSUs the preferred choice for most pedalboards.
Daisy chain: A cable that allows multiple pedals to share a single power output. These can be a cost-effective solution for smaller setups, but they’re more likely to introduce unwanted noise and can struggle with demanding digital pedals.
Sag: Some pedal power supplies feature a sag control that lowers the voltage of an output to simulate a dying battery. This can create a softer, more compressed feel and is particularly popular with certain fuzz pedals — helping to produce cool sputtery tones.
Switchable outputs: Some power supplies boast outputs that can be switched between different voltages (typically 9V, 12V and 18V), allowing them to power a wider range of pedals and making them more future proof.

How to install a pedal power supply

Most guitarists mount a power supply underneath their pedalboard to free up valuable space on top and keep everything looking neat and tidy. While Velcro can sometimes do the job, pedalboard PSUs tend to be one of the heaviest components on a board. That’s why dedicated pedalboard power supply brackets are often the better option, as they hold everything more securely and reduce the risk of it coming loose on the way to a gig.

Before fitting anything, check the installation instructions that came with your power supply. Many pedalboards are designed with PSU mounting in mind, featuring raised frames, pre-drilled mounting points or optional brackets that make installation quick and easy.

If you’re using a low-profile pedalboard, don’t fret. Plenty of power supplies are specifically designed to squeeze into tighter spaces beneath smaller boards. That means you can keep your setup clean without sacrificing precious pedal real estate.

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What order should you place your guitar pedals on a pedalboard?

When it comes to setting up your signal chain, there’s no definitive right or wrong answer. Plenty of guitarists enjoy playing around with pedal order to discover unusual sounds and happy accidents.

That said, if you’re building your first pedalboard and want a setup that’s versatile, easy to use and sounds wicked, the signal chain below is a tried-and-tested starting point:

A diagram showing an optimal guitar pedal signal chain

Understanding a guitar pedal signal chain

Your signal chain begins at your guitar, travels through each pedal on your pedalboard, and then ends at your amplifier. As a general rule, pedals placed near the beginning of the chain have a bigger influence on your core guitar tone. While pedals later in the chain process everything that comes before them.

For example, placing a wah pedal before a distortion pedal will usually deliver a more defined, natural and wider sweep. Put the same wah after the distortion, and the effect becomes gnarlier but with a narrower sweep that’s sometimes downright weird. Neither approach is wrong, but it’s a great example of how pedal order can dramatically change your sound.

For most players, a signal chain like this provides a good balance of flexibility and rockin’ tone:

Tuner
Pitch-shifter
Wah
Compressor
Overdrive
Distortion
Fuzz
Noise gate
Modulation (chorus, phaser, flanger, etc.)
Delay
Reverb

Pro tip: Treat this order as a guideline rather than a rulebook. Some players love running fuzz before wah, while others like placing modulation after reverb for huge ambient textures.

How to use your guitar amp’s effects loop

Lots of electric guitar amps feature Send and Return jacks on their back panel, which indicate that it has an effects loop. If your amp doesn’t have them, no probs. Just connect your pedals in the order we outlined above and continue. If it does, read on…

An effects loop lets you insert certain pedals between your amp’s preamp and power amp. While that might sound a bit technical, the practical benefit is simple: effects such as chorus, phaser, flanger, delay and reverb often sound clearer and more natural when connected this way, especially if you’re getting your overdrive or distortion from your amplifier.

For example, if you’re using a high-gain amp, putting delay and reverb in front of it can sometimes make those effects sound muddy or overly compressed. Running them through the FX loop helps keep repeats and ambient effects nice and clear.

The back of a Victory Deputy guitar amplifier showing the FX loop send and return jacks

Connecting your pedals this way is often referred to as the ‘4 cable method’. Here’s how to get everything hooked up:

Plug a guitar cable from your amp’s Send jack into the input of the first pedal you want in the effects loop (typically a modulation pedal such as chorus or phaser).
Connect any other modulation, delay or reverb pedals using patch cables as normal.
Take another guitar cable from the output of the last pedal in that chain (usually your delay or reverb pedal).
Plug the other end of that cable to your amp’s Return jack.

The rest of your pedals, such as your tuner, compressor and overdrives, should remain connected between your guitar and the amp’s main input.

Connecting your guitar pedals

Got your signal chain sorted? Great. Now it’s time to figure out exactly where each stompbox will live on your pedalboard. Before reaching for the Velcro, place your pedals on the board and experiment with different layouts. You can do this by physically moving them around, sketching out a rough diagram or using a website like Pedal Playground to plan everything digitally.

As a general rule, it’s best to keep the pedals you’ll be stomping on most often at the front of the board, with less frequently used effects towards the back. If you’re working with a compact board, practicality and available space may ultimately dictate where everything ends up. Pedalboard building is a bit like a game of Tetris, really!

Once you’re happy with the layout, it’s time to connect everything together…

Patch cables

Patch cables are short instrument cables designed specifically for linking pedals together. Many feature low-profile or flat jack connectors, letting you position pedals closer together and make the most of your pedalboard’s space.

Brands like EBS, Ernie Ball and Boss all offer excellent patch cables in a range of lengths. It’s worth measuring the gaps between pedals before buying, as shorter cables can help keep your board looking cleaner and more organised.

Mix and patch!

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Pedalboard cable kits

If you want the neatest possible setup, solderless pedalboard cable kits are well worth considering. These kits typically include a long length of cable that can be cut to size, along with a selection of connectors that you assemble yourself.

The biggest advantage is being able to create cables that are the exact length you need, helping to reduce clutter and keep your wiring tidy. Some kits even feature configurable connectors that can be used as either straight or angled jacks. These give you even more flexibility when squeezing pedals into tight spaces.

Wire your rig

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Pro tip: Once everything is connected and working properly, use cable ties or adhesive cable clips to keep patch and power cables neatly routed underneath the board. Not only will your pedalboard look tidier, but it’ll also make troubleshooting much easier if something stops working before a gig.

Assembling your pedalboard

Right, the finish line is in sight — all that’s left is sticking your pedals down. Most pedalboards come with two rolls of Velcro: a hook side and a loop side. But before you start applying it, give both the pedalboard and the undersides of your pedals a quick wipe with a clean cloth to remove any dust or manufacturing residue. Then, apply the softer loop side to the pedalboard and the hook side to your pedals, making sure you cover as much surface area as possible for a secure fit.

A handy trick is to plug in your patch cables before sticking the pedals down. This lets you check spacing and make sure everything fits comfortably without putting strain on the cable connectors. Once you’re happy, firmly secure your pedals in place and connect each one to the appropriate output on your power supply.

Next, plug your guitar into the first pedal in the signal chain and run another cable from the last pedal to your amp’s input. If you’re using your amp’s effects loop, you’ll need two additional guitar cables to connect that part of the signal chain too.

A pedalboard on a white rug in a lounge next to an amp with settings being changed by a person

With everything connected, power on your pedalboard and test each pedal one at a time. Check that every stompbox working and that audio is passing through the chain without unwanted noise. If something isn’t working, don’t panic. Double-check your patch cables, power connections and pedal order before assuming the gear is at fault.

And that’s it! You’ve officially built your first pedalboard. Now comes the fun part: stomping on switches, chasing great tones and inevitably finding room for just one more pedal.

Ready for the next step?

Want to control your effects like the pros? We’ve rounded up the best pedal switchers to help you organise your signal chain and switch between effects with minimal tap dancing. Or check out our guitar pedal buyer’s guides to learn more about the weird and wonderful world of guitar effects.