Pedalboard soft cases - any good?

mark_jwedge

I need an new pedal board and have seen that a lot now come with soft cases/gigbags. I have had my current pedal board for years and it came with a hard case so that is all I have ever used but I'm attracted by the portability of a soft case.

I know guitar gigbags/soft cases are actually pretty decent now and a good option as an alternative to hard cases, is this the same for pedal board cases, in particular the ones that come with pedal train boards.

I gig about twice a month and have a weekly rehearsal so it will be used regularly so I'm keen to know how robust and durable the soft cases are in addition to the protection they offer the pedals.

meltedbuzzbox

They're ok. Not bullet proof by any means. 
I would still carefully handle my board in the soft case as it is very much soft

Chris_J

What size are you looking at? 

Think I'd be happy with a small board in a soft case, but, for a larger board I'd want the extra protection. 

I've a Pedaltrain Novo 18 in softcase I could sell if you were interested? 

stickyfiddle

For a small board I'm very happy with soft cases. I had a PT Jr in the standard soft case for years and had no drama. You obviously have to be a little more careful with it than a hardcase, that's tempered by being able to sling it over your shoulder to make load-in quicker. 

markjohnson

I use the PT soft case that came with my Novo 24 and it's been absolutely fine. The sides are like a think plastic board with padding internally and I honestly can't imagine what would have to happen (and the level of neglect / misfortune involved) to have an serious damage come by your pedals.

If you're literally just loading up a van tetris style and there's a risk something incredibly heavy is going to land on it then OK go hard case, but for the saving in money and weight for me the decent softcase was the right option.  

Incidentally Mono do a softcase for certain PT boards - worth checking out if it fits, they're pretty much the best soft cases out there. 

Moe_Zambeek

Mono ones are good - I have one - but there was a batch I heard about a year ago where the strap mounts ripped out of the sides easily. However the person I knew with one had it replaced under warranty. Mine has been fine for going on 3 years now and much easier to manoeuvre than the hardcase. Just bear in mind they don’t have a lot of height inside so an angled board with tall pedals on the back row can be a squeeze.

not_the_dj

Been thinking about this myself over the weekend. For years I've used a Giago gigman, but I need a bit of extra space so looking at the Pedaltrain Classic 2. 

mark_jwedge

Chris_J said:

What size are you looking at? 

Think I'd be happy with a small board in a soft case, but, for a larger board I'd want the extra protection. 

I've a Pedaltrain Novo 18 in softcase I could sell if you were interested? 

It's the pedal train classic jr I'm looking at. I have stripped my board down from a larger one, but not quite far enough to squeeze everything onto a Novo 18. Thank you for the offer though

TTBZ

I've been using a Metro 16 with a padded bag for a while and not had any problems. It's so much easier being able to sling it on your shoulder, frees up another hand for carrying so I can get everything in one trip now. I'm sure you could just get a strap for a hardcase if you wanted to though.

Boromedic

I've had 2 PTs in soft cases and all my pedals have been fine. Obviously you have to be careful with where and how you load it, but aside from that no issues. Only issue I've had is the is the zip on the pocket. On both bags the metal zip has broken, and I'm careful with my gear so it annoys me somewhat.

TheBigDipper

I've used a 55cm-ish T-Rex ToneTrunk board in a soft case for several years. The board needs care laying it down in the car boot and nothing too heavy on it if it's flat, but the pedals are fine. I do put a towel over the top of the pedals before zipping up the case to protect knobs and switches a bit more, too.  The case itself has a broken shoulder strap and three corners are worn out and very frayed. I would buy a hard case next time. FWIW, T-Rex seem to be using a different bag these days - might be better. 

Grunfeld

I've got a Pedaltrain Metro 24 and at first I thought the hard case was a daft choice because the pedals have to fit or you can't close the case.  1mm over?  Too bad.
On the other hand I also have a large, impressive dent in my hard case.  I don't know how it happened but everything inside is unscathed. 

Keefy

I have a Pedaltrain 2 which lives in a soft case, but there are hard (plastic?) inserts in the largest surfaces - these would spread the impact of a bump. I used to have the hard case, which had loads of room inside but weighed as much as a small car and always seemed to eat my shins when I carried it.

mark_jwedge

Those of you that use soft cases, do you find the settings on your pedals get knocked about when in the case? 

joetele

mark_jwedge said:

Those of you that use soft cases, do you find the settings on your pedals get knocked about when in the case? 

To answer your original post - My wife bought me a Donner pedal board and soft case for my birthday this year - obviously not top end stuff but the board inside is metal and the case has nice thick padding. It's fine for me because band practice isn't as frequent as I'd like - but I might consider sanding the edges of the board's feet so they don't tear the material of the bag. 

Re getting knocked - I don't find this to be an issue as the larger pedals (Whammy, volume) are at the top and so the smaller pedals are further down the board and, by virtue of the foot pedals being at the top of the bag, kind of protected. 

So far I'm happy with it - it's much lighter than what I used to use (a large metal Behringer shop display board with little seats for each pedal but a lot of wasted space and very heavy/cumbersome) and thanks to the velcro the pedals stay attached. 

Keefy

mark_jwedge said:

Those of you that use soft cases, do you find the settings on your pedals get knocked about when in the case? 

Not that I've notice.

TTBZ

Mine do get knocked a bit but that's more because I stuff all cables etc into the case as well.

Chris_J

Re knobs getting knocked... For pedals I like in a certain position I use a sharpie to mark that position. Makes finding it again super quick 

steer

mark_jwedge said:

Those of you that use soft cases, do you find the settings on your pedals get knocked about when in the case? 

I have a biggish pedal board in a soft case. If I am getting there in the car, then no. If I go on the bus then sometimes the settings get knocked around a bit. 

sgosden

Software good because light. 
Bad when bassist puts his 8x10 on top of it in the back of the van because he used to be able to with the flightcase board I had before. 

piers_ward

Pedaltrain have recently released a range of premium soft cases which feature additional padding and reinforced joints and zips. They also include hideaway backpack straps which should come in handy.

They have been available in the US since Q4 last year and I believe they will be available in the UK in April.

Link: https://buypedaltrain.com/collections/cases/products/pt-18-psc-x?variant=52181698453