MKS PedalPad MPS

Easy once you figure out your layout and cable routing. This will take the most time. I have revised it several times already. Always changing...

Patchbay: No signal loss noticable to the ear.
I do like the patch bay. Some nice, different things can be made to happen with it. Just fool around with it and you'll see what I mean.

I will definitely use the patchbay if I decide to go with a different pedal board.

So far it is dependable. The sides are a bit flimsy and if you're not careful, I think you can bust the sides. Good to semi protect your pedals but not rugged.

The power supply hasn't crapped out on me yet but I am still holding my breath. Definitely have back up fuses just in case and /or batteries.

Very bulky and am not too sure that I like the stepped configuration approach. I am more happy about the patch bay than the product in whole. I think the case could have been made more rugged and "road worthy". It does however protect the pedals I have and I use mostly vintage pedals.

If I had to do it over again, I may not pick this pedal board, but it will do for now.

The Pedal Pad is easy to use once you set it up, (which can take hours!), and then get acclimated to the way it works.

The sound quality is very good i that the power supply actually helps to reduce 60 cycle hum from my single coil guitars.

The reliability remains in question. For now I am carrying six 9 volt batteries as a back-up because I gig a lot and wouldn't want to be caught without effects should the power supply crap out.

The box itself is a bit on the flimsy side for the type of use this things sees. I do realize that making it stronger would also make it heavier but therein lies the quandry. At $300, it's not cheap. It offers lots of great features, but that won't do a guy much good if the box falls apart.

When I got mine home I checked all of the screws and gently tightened the ones that seemed loose. They weren't loose, they were stripped. I fully expect the rubber feet to fall off and that I will have to do a fair amount of maintenance on the box just to keep it together.

I play in 4 bands from Classic Rock to Country and this box allows me to carry all the stuff I need for a quick, pro set-up. I have been playing for 30 years and own 14 guitars and 7 amps or varying vintage and style.

If this piece were lost or stolen I would buy their poswer supply built a new box myself. It's pricey at $300 for the quality you get.

I love the features of this product but feel that the general construction is poorly executed.

When I installed my wah wah pedal, I found that the metal plates were too flimsy under the toe portion of the pedal to give me a good, positive feel when activating the wah. It felt mushy and uncertain. Not what a serious player wants to feel when they need to switch sounds quickly on stage. I ended up having to reinforce the plate with a wooden support under the wah pad, and then add a "fifth foot" under the box itself to get better support to keep the box from flexing. Now my wah feels great!

One other feature which is sorely lacking from this product is a convenient access panel so you can stow your cords and electrical cord under the deck. There's lots of wasted space under there and no easy way to access it. And if you throw your cords in on top of your pedals, the cords hit the knobs and change the settings on your effects. To me, this defeats one of the main reasons to buy a box-type effects board as opposed to a flat, bagged type like SKB. I solved this problem by stapling velcro to the support beams inside the box, and then adding velcro to the pad. No one is going to take an allen key and screwdriver out at every gig to set-up and tear down their effects box. A hinged panel with a latch is sorely needed on this box, (especially at this price!)

Now that I have my Pedal Pad squared away, it works great. It's covenient to use, easy to set up and a snap to take down at the end of the gig. But it took several hours to get it this way and I still have my doubts about the durability of the box. We'll see.

The basic idea behind this product is great, but it falls a bit short in the details department and could have been better thought out before going into production. It's also a bit expensive for what you're getting.

This is the only thing that is not perfect on this pedal board. They are still very easy to use but access is not the easiest compared to some of the other pedal boards. I will say though, that I would much rather give on the ease of use to get a great and I mean great product to protect your investment in pedals and supply power to all of them! As oppossed to some of the easier accessable boards that just don't cut it in other areas.

Not really a factor but there is no hum or any issues with the power supply.

The most reliable piece of equipment that involves electronics that I own! I had one 1 1/2 years ago and sold it to buy a Vetta head and FBV. As you can see now I am back with the MPS!!!

There is not a better Tech company around. PERIOD!! I just received one for Christmas and it did not have the 9 volt power cables with it. I emailed Michael and he responded quickly. He asked for my address so he could get them out to me at no cost to me!!! How can you beat that!!!!

I play in a classic rock band that ventures into some of the current mainstream rock stuff. I have been playing for about 21 years and have never used a pedal board any better. It has the tilted base so the pedals are more easy to access without having to point your toes down while playing. It is a breeze to setup. I literally take the lid off of it and plug it in!!! Everything else is already setup inside and underneathe the stainless surface. Keeps everything need and tidy while playing. I would think every guitar player that owns more than 2 or 3 effects pedals would have to have one of these babies!!

The Pedal Pad is an absolutely essential piece of equipment that I am so glad to have found!! It was very easy to set up and use.
The hardest part was figuring out the layout for my pedals.

No issues whatsoever with unwanted noise.

Build like a tank!!! Should last many years!!

Customer support is top notch! Fast response to all my questions.
Great guys!

We are a rock and roll cover band playing the best of rock from the 70's to today.... www.badhabitbandrocks.com
Our shows are high energy and we need quality gear that won't let us down.... PEDAL PAD meets that requirement!! ROCK ON!

This is easy to use, but setting up any pedalboard properly takes a little time. The great thing is that once you're done, you don't ever have to mess with it again!
Get some super glue to make sure the velcro stays affixed.

Everything sounds great through the powerpad. Use a power strip for any extra adapters to pedals that aren't 9VDC negative center.

You can count on this one!

This is awesome customer support and Mike is the best out there!

I'm hard to please, and the quality here is incredible!

Our band has purchased three of these and I highly recommend you get one!

It's built to stand up to all kinds of abuse. Great product and great company!

It's easy to use, but I'll agree with others here and say it takes some extra thought to figure out the best placement. Here's a hint: if you use custom cables (like George L's) either a) cut them all to the same length, and leave slack, or b) get your placement down beforehand. Also, I'm still looking for a better way to get the velcro adhesive to stay where it should.....We need super adhesive, and weaker hook/loop connections. Most often than not, trying to move a pedal is going to undo the adhesive on either side. BUT....the MPS modular design has saved my ass on many a gig; it allows you to access your routing ONLY where you need to..AND you do it by loosening one allen-head bolt.

I don't hear any added noise into the circuit, so I'll give it a 10. I run a Peavey Classic 50 head into a Mesa 2x12 cab; tuner, wah, phaser, clean boost up front, and delay in the FX loop.

I've had it for almost 2 months now....so far, it's rock solid. I had a minor crisis occur at a gig where a woman kicked over a soda on the PowerPad (modular power supply). After the set, I opened it up and soaked it in water (to get the soda off of the solder points), and later low-temp. oven-baked it. Now it works flawlessly, (and it's internal design is QUALITY). Only thing is that I lost the screws.....(read Customer Support)

Ok...this is the reason I'm writing this review. After loosing the PowerPad's screws and not being able to find replacements in hardware stores, I contacted MKS (both voicemail and email), explained the problem, and asked if I could buy new screws from them. In LESS than 24, I get a voicemail from Micheal (who I realize later is M. K. Stratton, the president) who just wanted my mailing address so he could send the screws for free. The guy (and this company) understands customer support....they know that the extra mile...a little TLC, turns a frustrated customer into a brand-loyal one. And I am now....I tell everyone about this, and they all agree....kickass company. Thanks Michael!

Only giving it a 9 b/c it's a little on the expensive side, but man.....you get what you pay for.

The design works well for routing cables. It looks very clean and organized. The directions that came with it are very simple.

the unit does not seem to have any added noise. The power supply works well with all my pedals.

I use it two times weekly with our worship band. It has not given me any trouble yet. I'm not sure if it's airline proof. For that matter I'm not sure any case is airline proof!!! I'll give it a 9 because I have not flown with it yet.

Michael at pedalpad.com is great. His phone number is listed on the web site and he actualy answers it. He is very helpful and answered all my questions. I'm sure if I had any problems he would take care of them immediately. This is an easy 10

I'v been playing for 7 years I play all kinds of music mostly christian contemporary. I realy like this pedal board. It works very well for me. It has more fetures than i need(If you don't need to use your effects loop or want to run stereo amps you can get the MPS9 and run to the front of the amp off your last pedal)For the money I think this is the best pedal board out there. You can get more expensive custom boards with built in bypass but if you buy good pedals you won't need it. I give it a 9 because I want the 10 to realy count

Not easy to use, but then if you put together ANY good pedalboard, it is not supposed to be easy. Since that is not the manufacturers fault, I have to give this a 9. MKS does a good job with the 2 tiers and the movable plates, at making this as easy as possible.

Not relavent.

Have to give this a 8 1/2 or 9. Have owned this for a couple years now and last year the power supply went out. But thanks to the folks at MKS, they fixed it free and I have not had a problem since.

I hate giving 10's, but when the power supply went out, they were kind enough to VERY quickly Email me back as well as fix it for free, even though I had bought this through musicians fiend. Some good folks over there and I have been very happy with this thing. I would order another one right now if I had the cash.

Since I dont hand out 10's like candy (and really dislike it when people do at HC), I will give this a 9. Would be nice if somebody would invent a better way to hold pedals onto a surface. I am using the current velcro which is good for holding the pedals in place during a gig, but doesnt hold some of the larger pedals when packing up and moving the thing. Also, before the company cut a deal with Musicians fiend, they made a 3 tier version which I would still love to have, but they no longer make that now which is a shame. But I do love the fact that they have a great power supply with this thing. Also comes with a patch bay (which I dont use). At the end of the day, great product with great support.

Very well thought out product. I particularly like the two pitched tiers and the flexibility offered by the moveable ally plates. But - it does take some thought and care to get the most out of the MPS-9 eg pedal placement, wiring, power etc. It's no big deal but set aside several hours to do a good job.
Interestingly, because I bought this in Switzerland, this model is not shipped with the Power unit or Patch bay. Personally this is no big deal as I already have a Voodoo Labs Pedal Power and some Loooper patchbay boxes.
Basic manual (leaflet) supplied plus some velcro. In my opinion, for this size pedal board, the quantity of velcro supplied was insufficient.
I've marked it at 5 because you do need to plan and think how best to organise the pedals and the wiring. This is not a negative - just a reflection on initial ease of use. Once it's set up with your pedals, the score is 10!

A small collection of G&L ASATs and a PRS Singlecut. Occasionally use an LP Classic (cos it looks nice, rather than the sound!). Amp is a Cornford Hellcat head and 2x12 cab.

Sound quality? Not relevant, but your choice of pedals and how you wire them and power them up obviously do have an impact...

My set up is:
Loooper Paatcher, Loop1 Gtr to Amp =
Boss LS-1 (one output for tuner) > Crybaby (with Loooper Micro loooper for true bypass) > MXR Dyna Comp

Loop2 Amp FX loop =
Roger Mayer Voodoo Vibe Jr > Carl Martin Trem'O'Vibe > T-Rex Tremster delay > MXR Micro Amp (for clean boost)

All above pedals plus tuner are mounted on the MPS Pedal Pad. Plus, Voodoo Labs Pedal Power and 4 way adapter (for Mains AC) mounted in the compartment under the upper tier. George L solderless connectors used throughout. Very quiet (except at high gain - but what do you expect with a tube amp?).

Very happy.

Yes, it's solid and seems well put together. Not sure how the carpet covering will hold up to longer term ownership. I would have preferred some kind of laminate finish but I guess this would have put the price up.

No contact. Reasonably informative web site. Swiss dealer was very helpful and gave me a good discount.

Rock, Pop, Indie.
Probably the best pedal board I've owned (had an SKB 25, too plasticky, PedalTrain, too small). Although the case is not insubstantial, it seems to do the job well and makes for a professional looking set-up. Not to mention the time saved wiring up all your pedals before every gig...
Only slight negatives / suggestions: Mine was supplied with 4 x double width plates and 2 x single widths. I think increasing the number of singles at the expense of doubles would add some more flexibility. Also it is rather awkward to access the compartments under the plates if you have a long pedal (eg Wah) spanning both upper and lower levels. I wonder if some thing a bit more user friendly could be developed for this? Finally, it would be nice to see some sort of cable management eg clips, retainers etc to really tidy things up.
Overall, it's excellent and I'm very happy with it.

Pedal board reviews don't fit perfectly into the Effects review database, but I'll do my best to put the right info in the right place. This is the latest version of MKS PedalPad's pedalboard. This is the standard version, not the larger MPS-XL. Since its a pedal-board, it is inherently easy to use, but it does take some time and thought to get this beast setup. The design is pretty brilliant. The pedal board can be configured in a number of different ways with regard to both pedal placement and audio routing. In addition to 10 9-volt outlets, there are two 120VAC outlets - one on each side of the power module. Depending on how you phyisically configure the board, you may only get use of one of these outlets (the other would be butted up against the pedal board side). I only need one for my Carl Martin Compressor, which requires 120VAC. The board is made of what seems like particle board or a light MDF - it feels too light to be made of plywood. The pedal surfaces are aluminum and seem sturdy. Its about 29 pounds w/out pedals. With the cover attached, it carries like a farily light 2 x 12 amp. Great design - extremely flexible. Lots of ways to route your connections in stealth.

Well - its a pedal board, so you would think it has no sound...however, there are audio connections and a power supply so it could have an impact. THe power supply seems quite, works with my Fullton, Voodoo Lab and Guyatone pedals without introducing any noise whatsoever. The audio connections are point to point wires and are also transparent. I wired up my board's audio connections with George L's Vintage Red cable and solderless connectors and what an improvement over the several 2-3' generic audio patch cables I had been using. The board doesn't necessarily enhance your tone, it just allows you to set your stuff up much cleaner and smarter.

I just got it, but I gig a lot, so I'll be depending on this heavily and will report back on reliability.

Never had to deal, but be aware that these are avaialble only at limited vendors. The website is basic, and the links to the supporting documentation don't work. A couple of weeks ago, the site was shut down and then back up a few days later. I was a little leary of the company, but this is the only pedal board that had exactly what I wanted, so I took a chance.

For a pedal board that turns into its own case, has a power supply and several audio routing options and is so absolutely flexible, I have been able to find no other. There are the custom boards, which might be more appropriate for travel in a tractor trailer on a national tour, but outside of that, this pedal board is a great product and a very good value. So far, I couldn't be happier.