Swiss firm Ebbe Design has launched a Kickstarter campaign for a new modular pedalboard design that ditches velcro in favor of magnets for cleaner, more flexible setups. And it’s gone to extreme lengths to show how well it works.
Set up by two Swiss industrial designers and first conceptualized in 2024, Ebbe Design’s modular pedalboard looks like a bold step forward for pedalboard design.
The idea is simple but manyfold: metal boards piece together like Lego, so players can customize their 'board size, with pedals fastening via ultra-strong magnetic plates attached to the bottom of the pedals.
There’s a 5mm gap for patch cables to run underneath each pedal, space for a power supply underneath, and each pedalboard comes supplied with magnetic clips to make cable management on the underside a dream. Its feet are also height-adjustable.
To show how strong the magnets are, the firm took one of its 'boards to the Pendenta Bridge in Graubünden, Switzerland, which is 270m long and nearly 100m above the Rhine river.
There, the pedalboard, which features a Boss OC-2 octaver and an expression pedal, was given the ultimate litmus test.
“To show you how much we trust this product, we’re gonna throw it off this bridge,” he says before gleefully tossing the pedalboard – which was attached to a bungee rope – over the edge
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Every single pedal held steadfast as the bungee cable jerked back skywards and beyond. It’s one hell of a demo.
What makes this really cool is the level of attention to detail Ebbe Design has shown. The magnets, vitally, have been designed through an exhaustive process to ensure they don’t interfere with audio signals, while the cable routing looks intuitive and sufficient to satisfy even the freakiest of neat freaks.
Plates featuring the magnets attach to the bottom of pedals with adhesive, but are easily removable thanks to pull strips, which are said to leave no damage or residue behind, helping remedy an age-old issue with velcro and other adhesives. Also, the fact the boards can effortlessly be made bigger or smaller means that customizing a rig for each gig is a doddle.
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Kickstarter pledges start at €235 (approv $270/£204). That tier includes a one-row board set up (44.8 cm x 17.6 cm), which can house up to five pedals, a host of plates and cable clips, and an equally modular soft case.
That means it can grow and shrink in tandem with your board. It’s made from ballistic nylon, a heavy-duty fabric, too, so it can take a beating. But only throw it off a bridge if it's attached to a bungee.
See Kickstarter for more.
