I got tired of trying to justify a $300 purchase for a road-worthy pedalboard. Yeah, I’ll probably go that way eventually. But not now. That, and I finally retired my Boss BCB60 pedalboard. It was a great compact concept, but eventually broke and simply didn’t have enough real-estate for my pedals.

I’d long had a vision of filling a briefcase with my pedals, and put it on my to-do list in 2009. Yeah, I know. It’s 2011.

So while I was helping my parents move (ie, picking through some of my old junk), I found a briefcase from the late seventies. And decided it was time.

Here’s the process:

1.) The briefcase. Nedrick, I’ve named him. A late 70′s model that’s seen better days, but that’s really in top condition.

2.) The latch prongs on the lid were very lose (and will eventually be replaced; read on). And the folio trays (on lid) were ripping away. All in all a real find. As the bottom is actually too deep for the pedals (without making the handled-face section a fold-down…far too much work), I opted to use the lip as the pedal tray.

3.) I tore the folio trays out completely, unscrewed the latch prongs, and started scrapping away at the paperboard and glue that missed out on the rapture. Poor dears. I also cut off the two button straps (pictured).

4.) I could see myself staring at the tacky wood finish of my pedal board and getting distracted during a worship set, thinking, “Why in the world didn’t I take a few minutes to at least spray paint a neutral color over that thing? Gosh.” So I prepped it for painting using some electrical tape, plastic bags, and leftover construction paper.

5.) Two light coats of Valspar white later, it’s time for three strips of industrial strength 2″ Velcro. I prefer the bristly “hooked” side on the floor as it gathers less fuzzies, leaving the “furry” side for the bottoms of the pedals.

6.) My initial lay-down doesn’t look too shabby. The plugs on the top of my Boss AD-5 (a unit I will eventually replace) forced my to turn it on it’s side in order to make enough room for my tremolo (Boss TR-2; not pictured). The top row of pedals is for my acoustic, while the bottom is dedicated to my electric.

7.) Future mods will include: removing the latch prongs (disregarding the stock locking system altogether), and outfitting the briefcase with 4 snap-on latches from Home Depot ($10); cutting off the bottom entirely (and removing the hinged arms) to make the “top” completely removable (latched on when finished by the 4 new latches); permanently screwing the AC/DC power-supply converter to the tray (pictured lower left); and adding a 1/2″ wooden square dowel (stored inside) to place under the far side of the tray to give the board a slight angle when in use. I may also get super fancy and give Nedrick some exterior branding; any ideas?

If you have a project of your own, please feel free to link it below. And any ideas for mine are welcome, too! ch: