Furman SPB-8C Pedal Board

It's easy to use because it's a pedal board: a board for your pedals. The patch bay is relatively simple, if that's something you need, although the manual makes it seem more confusing than it is. Everything is pretty much plug and play.

I have had NO noise issues from the power supply, the DC supply, or the patch bay. Everything is very very quiet. The limiting factor here is definitely my pedals and cables, not the board. It has all the power filtration features of a Furman rack unit.

The handle broke after one year. However, it should be said that that was after one year of TOURING, including trips to Australia and Europe. Everything else has been fine. As a stopgap until I could warranty the thing, I drilled holes in the top and installed a handle form an old amp head.

The power supply has been flawless, consistent with my experience with other Furman conditioners. That's really their traditional strong point, I'm guessing the case parts will continue to improve with time.

I contacted Furman about getting a new top after the handle broke, and they were quick getting back to me --- they offered to send me a whole new board, including offering to time the shipping around a couple of short tours I was doing. I ended up just completing those tours and waiting to get the replacement. All I had to do was ship back to them the power supply part of the board (disconnected from the rest of the case), which is 4 pounds -- $16 to ship it. Before they even received it, they shipped me a full replacement, including everything. It was one of the best customer service experiences I've had with a company that does this kind of stuff. They accommodated me in every way.

One note about the velcro on the base: others have noted that the velcro/carpet/fabric stuff on the base tends to come unstuck from the board, causing your pedals to flop around. You can pull that pad and tear off the fabric and replace it with industrial strength velcro strips, which works much better. I had done that with the first board. When Furman sent me my replacement recently, I noticed immediately that they have done exactly that on the new base boards --- replaced the old carpet-y stuff with industrial strength velcro. Big improvement in terms of holding the pedals!

This is the second pedalboard I've owned, so it was obvious what to do with it and how to use it, although they tell you (in the manual) to run the last pedal into the "In from Pedals" jack and then another cable from the "Out to Amp" jack (to the amp) and when I e-mailed them to ask what the advantage was vs. just running the last pedal straight to the amp, they never responded. More on this later...

Pedal-wise I have about 11 pedals (EHX, FullTone, Devi Ever, Visual Sound, Dr Scientist, Radial, Mid-Fi, Digitech, etc etc) plus a passive "kill button" put together from parts you can buy at Radio Shack. The pedal are just about all 100% true bypass. I don't think I've ever noticed a significant difference in sound if I plug straight into the amp (I have an old Hiwatt and a newer Top Hat). As others have mentioned, the "Power" switch is a smart feature, and the construction is generally top-notch except for the velcro itself. IMHO it should have more power jacks- I couldn't get it to power all of my pedals, even after adding a Visual Sound 1-Spot. But I got it worked out- the first pedal, a BYOC Compressor, runs on a battery, and changing it isn't too big of a deal. Obviously having AC outlets is crucial. The power is supposedly 'conditioned and top-notch' but I do think I'm getting some sag from it because one of my pedals sounds cleaner when I run it on a battery, but I'm definitely pushing the limits of what this thing can handle, so I guess I can't complain....?

I do not travel with a backup pedalboard. The board and all the pedals on it cost at least $3000. It's never failed me in terms of power. Again, the velcro is weak, and if it had a foam insert in the lid, that might help hold the pedals down. Sometimes some of the pedals will be off of the board when I unpack it. My old SKB pedalboard has much stronger velcro, and it's considered to be 'inferior' to the Furman stuff.....? I've tried putting a thick piece of foam in the lid, secured with duct tape, but it put a lot of pressure on certain points, which made me nervous. Lately I've been "shifting" the pedals around before and after I pack it, to try and keep the velcro sticking to the board. I assume Furman is working to improve the travel aspects of this board, because it needs to be improved.

I e-mailed them when I first got this board, because I had a few major issues right from the start. I didn't get a response, so I e-mailed them again, then got a response. The response I got suggested that I never sent the first e-mail, which pissed me off, I'll admit. They offered to replace the pedalboard, which does me no good, because I'm sure another one would have been exactly the same, right down the problems I was having. The third time I e-mailed them, I got no response again. I do not have the e-mail I sent anymore, I deleted it, but I was tempted to e-mail them a 4th time and attach the 3rd e-mail as "proof" that they hadn't gotten back to me, but I decided I don't care that much, and I'm kinda on my own with this thing. Overall, I'd say they're a little arrogant about their products. Actually, more than a little arrogant.

I play on everything from space-punk performance-art freakouts to Disney records. I use tons of pedals. I own probably 30 pedals, 25 guitars, and about 14 or 15 amps. If this were lost or stolen, I would most likely buy a similar product from another manufacturer. It's well-made in some respects, and really bad in others. IMHO "Conditioned Power" isn't quite as important as basic structural reliability. But again, Furman is probably making improvements on this board. Not that it does me any good. Considering what it cost (I think it was about $300), I'm pretty underwhelmed, and I told them so. I've had it for about a year and a half now, so I feel qualified to give it an honest and thorough evaluation.

So easy to use, there are signs on all of the inputs to show you where to hook up your instrument cables. It's basically plug in your pedals and start playing.

I'm using my pedal board through a gibson double cutaway les paul, and a marshall jcm2000 tsl100.

The features on it keep the signal running real smooth, basically, it's furman, you're power supply is gonna be awesome of course.

well, the velcro, is held to the board, terribly. comes off if you try to move your pedals. but luckily, i contacted furman, and they sent me new velcro right away. so i have to give this an 8, but since they sent me new velcro i'd wanna give it a 10.

they were the nicest people in the world, i dealt with a guy named mike, who sent me instructions on how to put the velcro on my board. they were very detailed so i don't screw it up.

Removable hardshell case, extendable luggage handle, wheels, power conditionarer with On/Off switch (finally!), 4 AC outlets and 8 DC outlets.

I run a bunch of effects between my guitar and the amp's input, and I also run a separate section that goes through my amp's effects loop. For the effects loop section I use the pedalboard's loop and it's completely noiseless.

One important note: I noticed some people had problems with the next model down of this pedalboard, where if they used the DC jacks to power effects both before the amp's input AND through the amp's effects loop, they would get ground hum or other noise. I have not tried this yet, but since I had a One Shot power supply, I took their advice and use it to power my loop effects separately. Therefore, I do not know whether this is an issue, but it might help someone out to know that you may need to use a separate power suplly for the effects going to your amp's loop.

I can't think of a complaint, so I'll rate this a 10. It really is much nicer than the model below it in terms of everything.

I had the model below this (I THINK it was the PB-8, it was the one that had came with a gig bag instaead of the hard case), and that one sucked in several ways. The power supply on that burnt out on my in 2 weeks. This model seem much better.

Overall I'd say it's an instant winner. Some nit-picking suggestions would be:
Been playing guitar since they came out with the Caabbage Path Kids dolls, and since niel Young made Rust Never Sleeps.
1. Put stronger velcro carpeting on the main board.
2. You carry it with the side handle and set it down and immidatelt you find the board is facing away from you rather than toward you. That's fruity. You can rotate the top and latch it on so that the next time you open it, it faces you, but there are gaps because the cover wasn't meant to be snapped on quite that way.
3. Could use a compartment inside the top for cables, instruction manuals, etc.
4. Floor rug feel a little on the chep side.

I'd buy it again if it got trounced

There are several features of the SPB-8C which make it easier to use than other pedal boards:

The on/off switch is a relief; I???ve had to unplug my previous pedal boards to turn them off. The AC ???wall wart??? outlets are great for consolidating amps and effects on to one outlet. The 10 foot cable (which is detachable) is heavy duty and long enough to reach outlets that are far away.

The SPB-8C has wheels and a telescoping handle to make transport much easier.

Unlike other pedal boards that get stored within a separate hard/soft case, the SPB-8C is a pedal board that attaches directly to a large protective shell. The case/shell can be removed for instant access to the pedal board. Furthermore, the case/shell is big enough so you can leave AC ???wall warts??? plugged in when you're moving the board around.

I play a Baker Guitar into a Reverend Kingsnake.
My set up is: Maxon OD-9 > Budda Wah > Ernie Ball Volume Pedal > Pigtronix EP-1 > Pigtronix Echolution

The patch bays are solid, well made, and don???t effect tone. I use them to split my signal for a tuner pedal. The power supply doesn???t add any noise.

I haven???t had the board very long; however some things are immediately apparent.

Another online review had a similar problem as me: the ???loop??? Velcro fabric on the pedal board doesn???t hold very well. Furman has fixed this since the first batch was released. See below for how Furman fixed this.

The pedal board compromises between weight and strength. The board is very sturdy under your feet and the case is made of a lightweight, yet sturdy plastic. The case seems like it will offer good protection. Nevertheless, I was surprised to feel how manageable the weight of the whole board was.

When the pedal board came with a poor Velcro fabric I called Furman for advice. They immediately offered to send me a new board insert for free. I was quite impressed.

I play jazz, classic rock, and funk. I have played guitar for 11 years.

The 8C isn???t the largest pedal board but it is packed full of features that musicians will love. It is more expensive than SKB???s equivalent and the SPB-8, however the 8C has a lot of value. The pedal board is a nice median between all-in-one prefab models and very expensive custom models.

Despite its price, I recommend that people seriously consider this pedal board.