Top 5 Best PedalBoards For Your Acoustic Guitar (2020 Review)

Top 5 Best Pedalboards For An Acoustic Guitar

In a hurry? Check out my top 5 pedalboards below! Keep reading to learn more about these best pedalboards for your acoustic guitar.

1. Pedaltrain PT-NPL-SC Nano+ With Soft Case (My Top Pick)
2. Gorilla Universal Guitar Effect Pedal Board (Best Budget) 
3. Boss BCB-60 Pedal Board (Best High-End)
4. GOKKO Guitar Pedal Board Case
5. Donner Guitar Pedal Board Case DB-3

What Are Pedalboards and Why Do We Need Them for Acoustic Guitars?

A pedalboard is essentially a toolbox for guitarists to stock and organise their effect pedals. They make transporting, powering and storing those pedals a lot easier.

Also, as pedalboards are generally carried in cases, your pedals, and cables, will likely last longer.

If you’re an acoustic guitar player, you’re likely to want a few effect pedals to solidify your acoustic tone. Pedalboards are a must-have toolbox to house these guitar pedals.

How Much Do Pedalboards Cost?

At first glance, pedalboards can seem remarkably overprice and you may be tempted to build your own instead, but there are many valid reasons to invest in a pre-made one.

After all, not everyone has the means and ability to build a pedalboard themselves. Not to mention the time-consuming labour involved.

Even if you could build one yourself, it would be an initial pain to get the required material you need to do so, and this may even come at a heftier price than it would be to just buy one.

A pedalboard can cost you as little as $30 and range up to the hundreds but this doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be better off with a more expensive one. With pedalboards, it’s all about getting the right one for your needs.

What Pedals Do You Need for an Acoustic Guitar?

Pedals subtly influence the way your guitar sounds and guitarists use them to add versatility to their guitar. Acoustic players can amplify their sound using a variety of acoustic guitar effects.

Some must-have acoustic guitar pedals include a:

Compressor Pedal

This beauty is an essential on my pedalboard.

Playing acoustic can be a real pain when it comes to volume control due to the harsh tone that usually comes with an acoustic guitar–this is where a compressor pedal is useful.

A compressor pedal ‘compresses’ the loudest signals with the quietest, allowing you to keep a constant volume while preserving the tone of your dynamics and smoothing the edges to create a more refined sound.

Reverb Pedal

One common problem I face with my acoustic guitar is the lack of natural reverb.

However, I’ve easily fixed this issue by using a reverb pedal. Having an individual reverb pedal has allowed me to be more versatile than I would be if I were to use my amp as I’m able to tweak it.

Tuner Pedal

If you plan on doing live performances, it’s inevitable that you’ll be in need of a guitar tuner sooner or later. Yes, most guitars come with a built-in tuner but these have a tendency to suffer with accuracy when they're exposed to external noise.

If you often perform at gigs you may find it difficult to perform live without a pedal tuner due to the loudness of the venue making it difficult for you to tune by ear.

Having a tuner will make your performances a lot easier and you’ll be able to tune your guitar while looping (making your performance free of interruptions!).

How Should You Arrange the Pedals on Your Pedal Board?

Should you just plug in a mxr there or an EQ pedal on the side?

Where does the multi-effects unit go? 

Most guitar players are often left questioning themselves on this topic as there really aren’t any specific rules for organising your pedals on your pedalboard.

Instead, it’s recommended that you try many different orders yourself and find out the one which works best for you.

However, if you’re looking for a simple order that works, a common one used by acoustic players, (including myself) is:

Guitar>Compressor>Volume>Overdrive>EQ>Pitch>Chorus Effects>Tremolo>Delay pedal>Reverb>Preamp

Watching this video will give you a deeper understanding on why this order is recommended.

How To Set Up A Pedalboard With Your Acoustic Guitar?

After your journey of finding the perfect pedalboard has reached its end you’re left pondering as to how you should set-up your board and connect it to your acoustic guitar.

Below are a simple set of instructions which will allow you to mess with your guitar and new pedals within minutes.

1)  Obtain Adhesive

If you’ve bought a pre-made pedalboard, it should have come with Velcro straps or some other means of attaching your pedals onto your board, if not then you can easily purchase one from your local music shop or Amazon.

2)  Clean pedalboard surface

Before you add your adhesive, it’s important that you wipe down the surface of your pedalboard as this will make sure the adhesive sticks on well to the surface and doesn’t come off when you’re replacing pedals in the future.

3)  ‘Daisy chain’ your pedals

To power your board, you’ll need a power supply which you can usually Velcro to the bottom of your board. Make sure to check the voltage requirements of your pedals before purchasing one.

Once the adhesive is on your board, you’ll want to have some patch cables ready to plug into the output from one pedal to the input of the one beside it. This is referred to as ‘daisy chaining’ as you connect all of your pedals with each other to be powered from a single power supply.

In the section above, I’ve outlined a common order used to attach pedals starting with the guitar being attached to the compressor and ending with the last pedal being connected to the power supply.

What to Look For When Buying Pedalboards For Your Acoustic Guitar?

There’s no ‘one’ magic pedalboard that’ll work for everyone.

The pedalboard you purchase is reliant on what you hope to use it for e.g. someone who performs regularly will need a pedalboard they can move around easily compared to someone who only plays at home (in which case the weight wouldn’t matter).

Here are some features you should consider:

Frame

You should consider the craft of the frame. Ideally you’d want a structure which will make it easy for you to install a power supply on the underside and hide the cables beneath the frame so you’re able to have a clutter-free environment. All the pedals should also be easy to reach and attach/detach.

When buying, also consider the material the frame is made of. Chances are you’re not thinking about leaving your guitar anytime soon, which gives you all the more reason to invest in a pedalboard that lasts.

Most guitar pedalboards used to be made of wood, however there has been a shift towards using aluminium and plastic over the years.

When buying your pedalboard consider the material the frame is made of and be sure to do some background research. For performers, a pedalboard frame should be strong, yet lightweight, so it’s easy to carry around.

Size

While acoustic players may not need as many pedals as those who play an electric guitar, there really is no limit on how many pedals one can use.

If you were to only use the recommended pedals I’ve listed for an acoustic guitar, you should be fine with a small pedalboard.

To get an approximate measure of the dimensions you need for your pedalboard you can take all your effects pedals and lay them across a flat surface, with a measuring tape have a look at the space they take. A small pedalboard should be able to fit around four regular-sized pedals.

Pedal Fastener

The way your pedal attaches to the pedalboard is important for accessibility and aesthetic.

For instance, a Velcro might seem convenient for attachment but you may prefer a more solid attachment in which case you may consider screw-in pedal plates which would also commend you a clean look.

However, this would make it harder for you to replace pedals in the future. So it’s necessary for you to weigh the pros and cons of whichever adhesive you use.

Read Also: What are the best strings for your acoustic guitar?