As guitar players, we have so many options available for floor based effects today. Sometimes our purchases can really get out of hand, and we suddenly find ourselves with a tangled mess of patch cables, power cords, and stompboxes at our feet. For the gigging guitar player, this can be especially frustrating as the set up and tear down time can become a hassle. Just moving all this extra gear around can be a huge undertaking in itself.

Another irritating side affect of stompbox fever is the cost associated with 9-Volt batteries, especially if you don’t have power supplies for all your pedals. All you need to do is leave your pedal plugged in overnight, and your battery will be dead. This can get extremely expensive over the long run. If you do not have fresh batteries on hand, you could find yourself in the middle of a gig, with pedals that suddenly don’t work.

Fortunately Gator Cases has come up with an affordable new product that solves the problems associated with the stompbox train wreck. Their new "Gator Pedal Tote" coupled with their "G-BUS-8" multi-output power supply can make your life a whole lot easier.

Gator Pedal Tote



The Gator Pedal Tote comes with a Tolex covered 16 ½" x 12" pedal board constructed of high density plywood. The board itself feels very solid and strong and will hold up to some serious stomping abuse. The face of the board is covered with Velcro for holding pedals in place and Gator also includes Velcro® mating strips to attach to the bottom of your pedals.

The board has a tilt design that allows you to store the power cables under the board instead of under your feet. This makes for a cleaner looking board as well as protection and longer life for your power cables. This tilt also allows room to install a power supply for your pedals such as Gators own G-BUS-8 which mounts directly to the bottom of the pedal board. The board has four mounting screws that will fit most power supplies. An access hole in the board allows you to bring the power source cables up to the pedals while keeping them out of the way.

The pedal board itself is only one component of the Gator Pedal Tote. This unit also includes a custom fit 600-Denier Nylon padded carrying case. This case comes in three designer looks, including "black", "camouflage", and "black with flames".

The pedal board fits perfectly in this carrying case without unhooking any of your power or patch cables. The Velcro holds the pedals in place so that you can use the built in handle to carry the tote like a briefcase. Once you get to the next gig, you can pull the pedal board out of the tote, plug in your guitar and amp, and you are ready to rock again.

The bag also comes with a very large and practical storage pocket that can hold extra cables, or any other small items you may need when you are out on a gig.

The case is padded for protection of your pedals in transport. While this padding is exceptionally helpful, you will still not want to stack heavy items on top of it during transport. It is not designed for weight protection any more than a guitar gig bag is. If you need more protection, you may want to consider Gator’s hard case "Gig Box", or "Gig Box Junior".

G-BUS-8



The G-BUS-8 is a pedal power supply housed in a rugged aluminum chassis with short circuit protection and a reset. Included are eight (8) 9-Volt outputs for standard pedals and three (3) 18-Volt outputs for the bigger power hungry multi effects pedals that are becoming increasingly popular today.

The G-BUS-8 also includes power cables to run to your pedals. I found that the supplied power cables fit almost all the pedals I own, but there were a select few that they did not fit. Unfortunately, pedal manufactures have not quite yet standardized power supply input connections, but Gator does give you plenty of the most common connection types.

Closing Thoughts

I found Gator Pedal Tote to be an economical and functional solution to your pedal board needs. It easily solves the major organizational problems that players face with stompbox effects while at the same time offers basic transportation protection for light to medium gigging schedules. The quality and value of the Pedal Tote can easily be justified by the savings in set up time as well as the money saved in batteries and power cables rendered useless from being kicked around and stepped on.

Gator Cases has created a reputation for building very versatile and innovative case solutions for the music industry. The Gator Pedal Tote is just another example of how they approach problems faced by real musicians. Their designs are affordable and suit the practical needs at hand. Because my pedals are now all stuck to this board, the Gator Pedal tote recieves the Guitar Gear Heads "Approved" award and the "Rig Ready" award for 2006. Please visit them at www.gatorcases.com to see all their other products.



Gary Allen

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