As much as we love the idea of expansive, all-encompassing boards, having a minimalist outlook has its advantages. If you need portability above all else, here are 10 pedalboards that combine an on-the-go vibe with pro-level features.
Schmidt Array SA350
This double decker setup offers pro-level features within a road-worthy enclosure that has a hinged upper deck, IEC power socket, room for two custom patch bays, LED lights, and a USB rechargeable power pack.
Blackbird Feather Board
Available in a few different Tolex options, this barebones setup can carry about five regular-sized pedals. It also has two power bays for easy access and has a built-in loop top to keep your stomps secure.
MONO Pedalboard Small With Club Accessory Case 2.0
This sleek board that’s crafted entirely out of a single piece of lightweight aluminum offers a ton of flexibility due to the cutouts. The comfortable incline allows plenty of access to the back row of pedals and room to mount a power supply underneath.
Gator Small Pedalboard with Bag - 15.75"x7" Black
If you only need to pack a few pedals, this rugged setup might be the way to go. It has several cutouts for cabling, a mount underneath for a power supply, and it comes with a deluxe gig bag.
SKB 1SKB-PS-8 8-Port Pedalboard with Gig Bag
This low-profile setup contains an integrated power supply that can fuel up to eight pedals, plus it includes all the various cabling you’ll need to get up and going. Bonus: It also comes with a nylon gig bag with a shoulder strap.
SKB 1SKB-PS-8 8-Port Pedalboard with Gig Bag
This low-profile setup contains an integrated power supply that can fuel up to eight pedals, plus it includes all the various cabling you’ll need to get up and going. Bonus: It also comes with a nylon gig bag with a shoulder strap.
Voodoo Lab Dingbat Pedalboard - Small 18" x 7.75"
Crafted from aircraft-grade aluminum, this board weighs less than 3 pounds, is custom designed to work with Voodoo Lab power supplies, and comes with hook-and-loop mounting fasteners.
Pedaltrain Metro 20 20-inch x 8-inch Pedalboard with Soft Case
This three-rail system comes in at 20", which can likely handle up to nine pedals comfortably. Its durable, low-profile frame offers plenty of room for a power supply underneath and comes with both hook-and-rail tape and zip ties.
Boss BCB-30X Deluxe Pedal Board and Case
An ultra-portable board that is integrated with a hardshell carrying case and comes lined with high-density foam. You can even cut the foam to create a customized fit for your pedals.
D'Addario XPND Pedalboard - Small
Not sure how much space you'll need? This fully adjustable pedalboard can be customized to your current needs by simply expanding the available real estate. It stretches from 13.75" to 24.75" and comes with an inventive cable management system.
Temple Audio SOLO 18 Templeboard
Designed with an entirely modular approach, this board uses the company’s quick-release mounting system to keep your pedal secure and offers different modules to keep the inputs and outputs as streamlined as possible.
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Left to right: Joe Lally. Brandan Canty, and Anthony Pirog
So you might be surprised to learn that such an accomplished low-ender didn’t always feel confident about his own musical knowledge. “I spent all that time in Fugazi not formally being able to articulate about music very well with the other people in the band,” Joe says. “It was very frustrating at times. There were times I wanted to leave the band because it felt like I couldn’t even talk about what I wanted to do.”
It was only after Fugazi went on indefinite hiatus that, realizing he wanted to keep making music, Joe decided to get some education. “I took a few lessons at Flea’s school in L.A., the Silverlake Conservatory. I studied with Tree, the dean of the school, who showed me some things about songwriting on piano. I was looking at it like I was getting piano lessons, but really he was showing me the sound of major, the sound of minor, and the sound of the dominant 7 chord. Those three chords are the basic beginnings of learning music theory.”
As Joe learned it, the major sound was “Here, There, and Everywhere" by the Beatles, the minor was Santana’s “Evil Ways,” and the dominant 7 was “I Feel Good” by James Brown. “I learned to play those chord changes on piano, and came to understand more about songs and completing my own song ideas.”
Joe mainly learned by asking questions. “To a degree, that’s what I want people to get from the lessons I give,” he continues. “There’s so much you can go into theory-wise, but you don’t really need to to be able to write music, play music, and figure out other people’s music.”
Joe went on to write and release three solo albums, as well as two with Ataxia, his project with Red Hot Chili Pepper guitarists John Frusciante and Josh Klinghoffer. In 2016, he formed instrumental jazz-punk fusion trio the Messthetics with Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty and genre-spanning guitar virtuoso Anthony Pirog. They’ve since toured heavily and released three full lengths. He also joined Ian Mackaye—Fugazi’s and the Evens’s singer-guitarist—along with Evens drummer Amy Farina to form Coriky.
Lally’s humble online flyer.
“I foolishly never picked up a book because I thought it would ruin what I did know. When I told a friend I was teaching theory, he asked, ‘Has it ruined your playing yet?’”
When off the road, Joe worked different jobs in DC’s independent music scene to pay the bills. But when the pandemic lockdown came, he decided to start giving online lessons. He made flyers and posted them on social media.
“I’m not teaching formal theory, which I think is weird and abstract and doesn’t show people everything,” says Joe. “It takes years of learning formally to see how everything is connected to see how this thing is part of that other thing we learned years ago. Most of my students are adults who have been playing but now want to know more about what they’ve been doing.”
But music theory is something we all operate within, says Joe, whether we’re knowledgeable about it or not. “We are engaged in theory. We just may not know it. When you’re playing or writing a song, you might think ‘that note sounds right’ or ‘that note sounds wrong.’ It's because we are relating it to something in theory that we’ve picked up from all the music we’ve listened to.”
Joe recognizes that some people are apprehensive about learning music theory, and he admits that when he was in Fugazi, he was, too. “I foolishly never picked up a book because I thought it would ruin what I did know. When I told a friend I was teaching theory, he asked, ‘Has it ruined your playing yet?’
“But formal study should use your thinking mind, and when you play, you’re outside of thinking. Creativity is outside of thought. You hear about jazz players who practice scales over and over, and what they’re really practicing is the sounds of these things that they want to hear. But when they play, they let go of all of that. So I realized my playing is never going to change. I’m always going to write the way I wrote.”
To immerse yourself in Joe’s creative world, check out the Messthetics’s 2024 album, The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis, which adds saxophonist Lewis to the trio, bringing together Fugazi’s powerful rhythm section with two players from the creative improv world.
To inquire about bass lessons with Joe Lally, contact him on Instagram at @joelally898.
In the early ’60s, some of the British guitarists who would shape the direction of our instrument for decades to come all found themselves at a concert by Sister Rosetta Tharpe. What they heard from Tharpe and what made her performances so special—her sound, her energy—must have resonated. Back at home in the U.S., she was a captivating presence, wowing audiences going back to her early days in church through performing the first stadium rock ‘n’ roll concert—which was also one of her weddings—and beyond. Her guitar playing was incendiary, energetic, and a force to be reckoned with.
On this episode of 100 Guitarists, we’re joined by guitarist Molly Miller, who in addition to being a fantastic guitarist, educator, bandleader, and performing with Jason Mraz, is a bit of a Sister Rosetta scholar. We chat with Molly about Sister Rosetta’s “immediately impressive” playing, which blends jazz, gospel, chromaticism, and blues into an early rock ‘n’ roll style that was not only way ahead of its time but was also truly rockin’.
